King of Glory

Isaiah 32:1-8 NLT

“1 Look, a righteous king is coming!
    And honest princes will rule under him.
2 Each one will be like a shelter from the wind
    and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
    and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land.
3 Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth,
    and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it.
4 Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding.
    Those who stammer will speak out plainly.
5 In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes.
    Scoundrels will not be respected.
6 For fools speak foolishness
    and make evil plans.
They practice ungodliness
    and spread false teachings about the Lord.
They deprive the hungry of food
    and give no water to the thirsty.
7 The smooth tricks of scoundrels are evil.
    They plot crooked schemes.
They lie to convict the poor,
    even when the cause of the poor is just.
8 But generous people plan to do what is generous,
    and they stand firm in their generosity.”

Jesus is coming! That was my first thought when I read verse 1 of today’s reading. What other king could ever be called righteous? The theme of the coming Messiah is recorded throughout the Old Testament, and scholars estimate there are between 300 and 400 Old Testament messianic prophecies regarding Christ’s first coming, with roughly 109 to 300+ specifically fulfilled during His earthly ministry, and over 200 to 225 unfulfilled prophecies pointing specifically to His second coming. So here in Isaiah 31:1 we read one of them. But a Righteous King is desperately needed in this world today. Everywhere we look, we see men and women floundering in their leadership roles, gravitating towards ungodliness and foolishness as we watch verse 6 play out before us with their evil plans, ungodliness, and foolish policies that deprive ordinary people of food and water. Believe it or not, that very thing is happening in the UK today. In Psalm 72:1-4 we receive another view of the Righteous King: “Give your love of justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the king’s son. Help him judge your people in the right way; let the poor always be treated fairly. May the mountains yield prosperity for all, and may the hills be fruitful. Help him to defend the poor, to rescue the children of the needy, and to crush their oppressors”. That is our King. Come Lord Jesus, we pray.

Perhaps the “honest princes” are those saints who can be found in Revelation 20:4, “Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years“. What better qualification for being an “honest prince” than to be someone who had never succumbed to the beckoning of the world’s evils and hedonistic attractions, who had stood firm to the point of death for righteousness’ sake. Isaiah 32:2 provides a few more details of what these “princes” will be like. “A shelter from the wind” evokes a picture of something solid and dependable, something that can withstand the storms of life and provide protection for those who are unable to protect themselves. There are many in that category living around us, people with physical and mental issues that push them to the fringes of our society, a society which favours the strong and despises the weak. O Lord! They so desperately need an “honest prince” to speak out for them and protect them from the winds that bring so much adversity and distress. And as I wrote this I heard the Holy Spirit whisper to me to do something about it. There is an opportunity for all of us pilgrims to help those without food and water, and verse 8 of today’s reading says, “But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity“. That is a description of an “honest prince”, honesty going hand in hand with generosity.

During a severe storm, people naturally look for somewhere secure: a solid building, a shelter or somewhere protected from the wind and rain. In the same way, people experiencing bereavement, financial difficulty, family problems or uncertainty need somewhere spiritually secure. We pilgrims can become that shelter by listening, praying, helping practically and refusing to abandon people when life for them becomes difficult. However, when people encounter us during their storms, do they experience shelter or another source of pressure? An “honest prince” needs to prayerfully contact the “Righteous King” to provide what people need.

Isaiah 32:3 provides a wonderful picture of what life will be like under the rule and reign of the Righteous King. We read, “Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth, and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it“. This verse describes a spiritual awakening and it enables people to see reality correctly. As we look on at the confusion that has our country tied up in knots, even to the point that some people apparently don’t know the difference between a man and a woman any more. Is that the sort of problem that Isaiah could see when he wrote, “For fools speak foolishness and make evil plans. They practice ungodliness and spread false teachings about the LORD. … ”? In that respect, there are even some Christian denominations that suffer the same confusion themselves, denying the truth of Scripture when it conflicts with the worldview of people who walk through their church doors.

The “honest princes” are also “like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land“. Under a Godly leader, an “honest prince”, the people will thrive like the picture in Psalm 1:3: “They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do“. But, some ask, without a Godly leader, people still seem to prosper. They may for a while, of course, but no one takes anything with them across the Great Divide. We pilgrims know that a people without God ” … are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly”. This is why we do our utmost to help “everyone who has eyes [to] be able to see the truth, and everyone who has ears [to] be able to hear it“. Psalm 1 ends, “For the LORD watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction“.

Who is the “righteous King”? David knew the answer when he wrote Psalm 24. “Who is the King of glory? The LORD of Heaven’s Armies— he is the King of glory“. David glimpsed the coming King. We pilgrims have as well. But do we really know Him? There is only one way to find out, and that is to spend time with Him. Every moment that we can, and then there will come that wonderful day when we will never be out of His company.

Dear Lord Jesus, the Righteous King. We praise and worship You today. We pray for help, to see You more clearly, love You more dearly, and follow You more nearly, day by day. Amen.

“Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty – he is the King of glory.”
Psalm 24:7-10 NIVUK

Theologians have determined that the “gates” and “ancient doors” refer to the gateways to Jerusalem, and the context of this Psalm applies to the courtesies rolled out for special guests, perhaps royalty from other nations. Important people required special measures being applied so that royal entries could be achieved through the gates and doors. Some gates were portcullis affairs that were lifted much higher than usual, so that their tops, their “heads”, appeared over the top of the City walls. Sometimes doors were removed from their hinges, “lifted up”, making the opening in the wall as wide as possible. Quite a lot of fuss, probably, but then we stop and think about the importance of the King of Glory, “the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle“. David made the point about the importance of the “King of Glory” because he repeated verses 7 and 8 again in verses 9 and 10. The phrase “king of Glory” was mentioned four times in these four verses.

In our Western cities, there are a few with some residual parts of medieval city walls that had gates to keep out the more undesirable elements of society. London once had a city wall, with seven gates into it, although they weren’t used after the mid-eighteenth century. Southampton still has its “Bargate” located at the end of the High Street and a remaining part of the old sea port’s city wall. In the walled parts of cities, there are occasions when certain traditions are re-enacted, reminding observers, mainly tourists, of how things used to be, but in modern Britain gates are of little use for security purposes.

But this Psalm is far more than being just an architectural nicety connected to ancient royal customs. Jesus used the analogy of a door or gate when He said, “ … I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.” (John 10:7-9). This illustration would have been easily understood by the common people of Jesus’ day. The shepherd would have positioned himself at the entrance way to a walled pen, a sheepfold, where the sheep would have gone for safety at night, and no-one would have been able to steal or harm the sheep without the shepherd knowing about it. Jesus’ illustration confirmed that there is only one sheepfold and only one Shepherd; there is only one way to be saved and only through one Person can it be achieved. Later, in John 14:6, Jesus said, “ … I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me“. Of course, there are many who would claim other ways to get to Heaven and experience eternal life, pointing to other religions as the alternatives. There are even others who claim that they can get there just by being good, without needing any knowledge of Jesus at all. Still others claim that everyone will go to Heaven one day regardless of how they behave or what they think. But there is only one way, as we pilgrims know and understand. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it”. By God’s grace, we found the narrow gate leading us on a journey that at times is difficult. At times it seems to be populated by people on a broad highway, who are coming towards us and trying to get us to turn round and journey with them to the place we call hell. It is hard to find ourselves swimming against the tide sometimes. But we stick it out, persevering along the narrow road that leads to Glory.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus said to the church in Laodicea, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends”. The believers in Laodicea were admonished for being neither hot or cold in their faith. They claimed that they needed nothing but failed to realise how spiritually impoverished they were. But after giving them a hard time, Jesus’ grace prevailed with an invitation to listen for His voice and open up their hearts to allow Him to minister to them once again. But what an invitation it was, and one we can receive personally! Think about it. That Jesus would deign to share a meal with us, if only we would cast aside our pride and arrogance and in all humility bow at His feet. We must open up our gates and ancient doors before Him so that the King of Glory can be admitted. Jesus is waiting, but we have to do the opening.

Father God. You are the King of Glory, the Lord strong and mighty. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

The Righteous King and Honest Princes: A Reflection on Isaiah 32

Gates and Ancient Doors