I. Notice the historical and original application of these words to the King who dwelt with Israel. The thought of God in these words is mainly that of a God of strong and victorious energy, a Warrior-God, a conquering King, One whose word is power, who rules amidst the armies of heaven and amidst the inhabitants of earth.
II. These words speak to us not only of the God that dwelt in Zion in outward and symbolical form, by means of a material presence which was an emblem of the true nearness of Israel's God, but yet more distinctly, as I take it, of the Christ that dwells with men. Christ is all, and more than all, that this Psalm proclaimed the Jehovah of the old covenant to be. (1) He is the highest manifestation of the Divine rule and authority. (2) He is the highest raying out of the Divine light, or, as the Epistle to the Hebrews calls it, "the effluence of His glory." (3) He is the mightiest exhibition of the Divine power.
III. Look at the application of these words to the Christ Who will dwell in your hearts. The very central idea of the Gospel is this, that if you will open the gates of your hearts, He will come in, in all the plenitude of His victorious power, and dwell in your hearts, their Conqueror and their King.
A. Maclaren, Christian Commonwealth,December 18th, 1884.
References: Psalms 24:7; Psalms 24:8. E. M. Goulburn, Sermons in Holywell,p. 353.Psalms 24:7-10. J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes,4th series, p. 50; G. Huntington, Sermons for Holy Seasons,p. 227. Psalms 24:8. Spurgeon, Evening by Evening,p. 340. Psalms 24:9. Ibid., Sermons,vol. xiii., No. 750. Psalms 24:10. Outline Sermons to Children,p. 58. Psalms 24 A. Maclaren, Life of David,p. 174; I. Williams, The Psalms Interpreted of Christ,p. 429. Psalms 25:5. Spurgeon, Evening by Evening,p. 191.Psalms 25:6. F. E. Paget, Helps and Hindrances to the Christian Life,vol. ii., p. 53.Psalms 25:6; Psalms 25:7. G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons,p. 243.