Wheat field Banner

Gleanings From The Word

Tag: Bible reading

  • Open Gates – Welcome the King of Glory

    Open Gates – Welcome the King of Glory

    I have been reading in the Psalms and stopped to meditate on Psalm 24. It’s a Psalm of ascent; that is, it was sung on the way up to the temple and is often overshadowed by its more well-known neighbor, Psalm 23.

    The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,

        the world and those who dwell therein,

    for he has founded it upon the seas

        and established it upon the rivers.

    Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

        And who shall stand in his holy place?

    He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

        who does not lift up his soul to what is false

        and does not swear deceitfully.

    He will receive blessing from the Lord

        and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

    Such is the generation of those who seek him,

        who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

    Lift up your heads, O gates!

        And be lifted up, O 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, O gates!

        And lift them up, O ancient doors,

        that the King of glory may come in.

    Who is this King of glory?

        The Lord of hosts,

        he is the King of glory! Selah Psalm 24 ESV

    The Psalm opens with the recognition that everything that exists belongs to God. He is the creator and sustainer of everything in the created universe. With that recognized, the psalm moves quickly to God’s calling for personal righteousness.

    Who can come before the Lord and receive His blessings? Only “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.“

    Of course, we know, as did the ancient people of Israel and Judah, that no one can meet those requirements. They trusted in YAHWEH by faith to redeem them and take away their sin, so they could stand before the Lord. They did not yet know Jesus by name, as He had not come, but they knew the Lord had promised a savior and trusted that promise.

    The very city itself is called to open its gates for the coming King. The King of Glory, the Lord of Hosts, is coming. Jesus has come now, but we know He is returning. The King of Glory is coming back to the place He owns.

    Will we have clean hands and hearts to be in His presence and receive His blessings?

    Will we open our hearts and gates? Will we make Him welcome, or will we close up and try to hold out against His undefeatable power?

    With Christ’s imputed righteousness, we too can come before the Lord and be blessed. We must trust in what He has done by faith. He’s coming for the believer and unbeliever, one to eternity in His presence and blessing, the other to eternal separation and damnation.

    Let’s be found with open gates, clean hearts and singing praises in anticipation of the day He comes back.

    Be blessed, Kevin

    Did you enjoy this? Subscribe today for more.

    You might also like

    On a similar theme

    SUMMARY

    As I sat with Psalm 24, I was struck by how quickly it moves from declaring God’s ownership of all creation to asking who is fit to stand in His presence, and the answer is a standard none of us can meet on our own. I’m reminded that only through Christ’s imputed righteousness can we approach the King of Glory with clean hands and open hearts, ready for the day He returns.

    TAKEAWAY

    Everything that exists belongs to God as Creator and Sustainer, which sets the stage for the Psalm’s call to personal holiness

    No one meets the standard of clean hands and a pure heart apart from trusting in the Lord’s promised redemption, first by faith in YAHWEH’s promise and now through Christ

    The ancient call to “lift up your heads, O gates” points forward to Christ’s return, and the question becomes whether our hearts will be open or closed when the King of Glory comes back

    Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone) 

    © 2001, 2026 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, “Gleanings From the Word.” All rights reserved. 

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

  • End Times Speculation- Why I’d Rather be Found Faithful

    sideways hourglass - no one knows the day or hour

    I’m probably going to push somebody’s buttons this morning. I’m sometimes asked why I don’t write about eschatology (the study of the end times) more often. I’ll often talk about what the Bible reveals about life with Jesus but very seldom about the timing.

    My reason is simple: I believe that Christians spend far too much time debating the “when” and “how” it will happen. We divide about the timing of the rapture and the nature of the thousand-year reign. We argue and split over whether or not someone holds our views. We spend more time trying to figure out if this “is it” than we do loving others and sharing the gospel.

    Is the book of Revelation to be viewed from a Preterist, Historicist, Futurist, Idealist (symbolic), Progressive Futurist or some other view? Should we be Premillennialists, Postmillennialists, or Amillenialists? Perhaps some combination of the above or even none of the above.

    Now, please understand. I am not saying the end times are unimportant. I’m saying we put too much time and effort into figuring them out. You may or may not agree. We’re only going to know who was correct when it’s done, and then, frankly, I don’t think we will care.

    Jesus is returning; the Scriptures are clear on that. But the Bible also very clearly says:

    Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.  For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be.” Matthew 24:25-27

    If you have the date figured out, I can promise you that you are dead wrong. Many have claimed to have it and they have all been proven liars.

    We know He is returning. The Lord tells us that for two important reasons.

    • Give us real hope when times get dark
    • Spur us on to loving one another and sharing the gospel.

    Debating the exact nature of the eschaton can be interesting and even fun. Let’s make certain, though, that it doesn’t divide us needlessly or take away from our real mission.

    He might come before I finish this issue of Gleanings. He might not come for two weeks, two years, two decades, two centuries or two millennia. It will be sudden and surprise us all. 

    Let’s be sure to be found faithful when it does occur.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God)

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    I explain why I rarely write about the timing of the end times, even though people often ask me to. I believe Scripture calls us to hold the certainty of Christ’s return with humility about its timing, and to spend our energy loving others and sharing the gospel instead of debating dates and systems.

    TAKEAWAY

    No one knows the day or hour of Christ’s return, so anyone claiming to have figured it out is guaranteed to be wrong. 

    Debates over rapture timing, millennial views, and interpretive frameworks for Revelation too often divide believers rather than draw us closer to our mission. 

    The certainty that Jesus is coming back should give us hope in dark times and spur us on to love one another and share the gospel now.

    You might find this interesting

    On a similar theme