There is a tendency among commentators to exaggerate the greatness, depth or pathos of any portion of Scripture they are expounding, in this case, for example, calling Psalm 25 "a sob of great sorrow"1 or "the deep soul exercise of the godly remnant of Israel in the time of trouble and distress.”2 I think the tendency is misleading in this case. Psalm 25 is great, but it is great in its calm and quiet maturity. It is not some powerful cry of anguish but rather a thoughtful prayer of one who knows that the only adequate foundation for any worthwhile life is God.

The final section of Psalm 24 describes the entrance of the king into Jerusalem. It is the obvious climax. In verses 1 and 2 the earth is prepared for his coming. In verses 3-6 his people, the inhabitants of the earth, are prepared for him. In the third section, verses 7-10, the king comes. Who is he? He is "the great representative man, who answered to the full character laid down, and therefore by his own right ascended the holy hill of Zion."4 He is Jesus, who entered the city on Palm Sunday in order to die for us. It is because he ascended the approach to Jerusalem, entered it and died there that we can enter heaven.

2. Vindication from God. What will such a person find when he or she comes to God? The answer is in the second part of the worshiper's qualifications, and it is twofold. First, she will find “blessing from the LORD." Second, he will find "vindication from God his Savior" (v. 5).

Who may come to such a great king to pay homage? This is no mere earthly monarch, whose presence would be awe-inspiring enough, but rather the thrice holy God. Who dares come into his holy presence? The answer to this question is in verses 3-6, and it is both wonderfully complete and profound. It falls into two parts.

I have pointed out in dealing with earlier psalms that it is not always easy to tell which psalms are Messianic, that is, which psalms actually prophecy something about the Messiah to come. This is because they are often couched in images based on natural situations or events. For example, they may speak of a king. But we wonder: Are we to think of the king as King David (or one of the human descendants of King David), or is this rather a veiled reference to the King of kings, that is, to Jesus? Since it is not always easy to tell which is the case, we have to be cautious when we draw Christian allusions or teachings from these essentially Jewish poems.