Psalm 24: The LORD of Hosts Is His Name

So Amy and I have been reading this Karen Kingsbury book about the lost love of a high school couple. . .Uh yeah.

I admit that the book is of the girly genre of Christian fiction and definitely consists of over-the-top melodrama. But I’ll also admit that I am enjoying it.

See, Amy is a great reader so she always reads aloud, and quite frankly, I am a great listener. It works great. She never stutters, and I take in every word. We can easily get lost for an hour as we take two or three chapter bites at a time. We discovered a long time ago that if we flip the roles, if I try to read while she tries to listen, we are both asleep in ten minutes. Actually, Amy is asleep in like four minutes, and I don’t notice for another six minutes until I role over to kiss her goodnight because I am so sleepy myself.

I know what John Michael is thinking: "If you don’t notice that she is asleep until the ten minute mark, how do you know that she fell asleep at the four minute mark?" Well, I know because five or six minutes is the amount of time it takes for a good line of drool to attach itself to the pillow, and she usually has one. No, I’m just kidding; my wife never drools. Well, maybe now I’m kidding.

Anyway, the part we were reading the other night was about how this girl, Lauren, had unknowingly missed her daughter’s entire childhood because she thought that her daughter, Emily, died as an infant to pneumonia when really she didn’t, but Lauren ran away angry at the world over Emily’s supposed death, and never found out that she was alive, and now Emily’s eighteen, and Lauren’s a reporter in Afghanistan . . . I told you it’s dramatic.

But here’s the thing. It really made me sad, not because of the storyline so much, but because it made me start thinking about my own daughters. I started thinking about the horrors of ever being separated from them. I began to dwell on how much I want to be there to enjoy them and to protect them, and how time keeps slipping away. So there I was, midnight, in bed, and mopey.

But then the worst feelings came when I started thinking about how I could never protect my girls from all the evil that this world is going to hurl at them. Evil is unavoidable. Broken hearts are unavoidable. Injustice is unavoidable. Pain, hurt, fear, seclusion, all unavoidable. When it comes to a form of protection against the onslaught of wicked people, of a wicked world system, and of wicked principalities, a dad is not that powerful. In fact, I’m pretty weak.

So these thoughts make me truly sad. They make me long for a new world order, one in which evil does not exist, where a dad has forever to enjoy the beauty of his daughters, and where he knows they are safe. I desire a place of the Lord’s blessing and righteousness where his face is sought by all and his fellowship is experienced by all. But that is not the world in which we presently live.

Now what can possibly lift a Christian dad’s spirits when he is contemplating his own inability to protect his family and the reality of their oppressive environment? Well actually, the question is not a matter of "what?" but "who?"

Answer: The LORD of hosts.

Psalm 24:10 identifies the source of comfort. He is "the LORD of hosts." That’s the way the KJV and the NAS translate this title for the LORD. The NIV reads "the LORD Almightly." That’s pretty good too.

But I want to ask you a question. What comes to mind when you hear the word "hosts"?

Is it the starry hosts of the night sky?
Is it singing angels, as in "a multitude of the heavenly host" were singing praises in Luke 2:13?
Is it talk show hosts, as in Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O’Brien?

The Hebrew word in this very common title for the LORD translated "hosts" is the word "tsava’." This word occurs primarily throughout the Old Testament as a warfare term. It means "an army prepared for battle." When combined with the name, "Yahweh," it means literally, "The LORD of armies" or "The LORD of war." So the term "hosts" in the KJV and NAS refers to God’s angelic armies. Angels can sing well, yes. But they can also fight. In 2 Kings 19:35, one angel took out 185,000 enemy men in one night. Pretty tough dude huh? God has hosts of them.

Now notice that Psalm 24 has three sections.

The first (v. 1-2) reminds us that the LORD is the omnipotent owner of all things because he created all things.

The second (v. 3-6) informs us that the LORD’s past creative act has a present consequence. The urgent question is, "How are we going to be in fellowship with this Creator God?"

The final section (v. 7-10) tells us that our condition in section two determines our future anticipation.

I love the language in this third section: "Lift up your heads, O gates; And lift them up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in." These are the words of triumphant procession. The psalmist cannot wait to experience the presence of his God and King. Essentially he is saying, "Get ready, whatever is standing between me and my blessed fellowship with the LORD. Pay attention, barriers, cause you ‘bout to get up out his way. My King is coming!"

And he is coming "strong and mighty in battle (v. 8). In this psalm, the comfort of God’s presence is intimately connected to his ability to fight. He doesn’t just bring blessing and righteousness; he brings them through conquering the enemies of blessing and righteousness. His "holy hill" (v. 3) is not just a place of fellowship. It is a place of safe fellowship.

Well, where does all this leave me when I consider my bedtime sadness over my girls?

I remember that though the earth is possessed with evil, it is not the possession of evil. "The earth is the LORD’s, and all it contains" (v. 1).

I remember for my family the present urgency and benefits of seeking the LORD's face. "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation" (v. 3-5).

I anticipate his coming to establish his lasting fellowship over me and my family while I trust in his ability to carry us there. I call on the name of the victorious King of Glory: "The LORD of hosts."

Of course, sometimes I like to just call him "Jesus."

Soli deo gloria,
Glenn