1 <A Psalm. Of David.> The earth is the Lord's, with all its wealth; the world and all the people living in it.
2 For by him it was based on the seas, and made strong on the deep rivers.
3 Who may go up into the hill of the Lord? and who may come into his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a true heart; whose desire has not gone out to foolish things, who has not taken a false oath.
5 He will have blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of those whose hearts are turned to you, even to your face, O God of Jacob. (Selah.)
7 Let your heads be lifted up, O doors; be lifted up, O you eternal doors: that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory? The Lord of strength and power, the Lord strong in war.
9 Let your heads be lifted up, O doors; let them be lifted up, O you eternal doors: that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is the King of glory? The Lord of armies, he is the King of glory. (Selah.)
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 24
Commentary on Psalms 24 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 24
Ps 24:1-10. God's supreme sovereignty requires a befitting holiness of life and heart in His worshippers; a sentiment sublimely illustrated by describing His entrance into the sanctuary, by the symbol of His worship—the ark, as requiring the most profound homage to the glory of His Majesty.
1. fulness—everything.
world—the habitable globe, with
they that dwell—forming a parallel expression to the first clause.
2. Poetically represents the facts of Ge 1:9.
3, 4. The form of a question gives vivacity. Hands, tongue, and heart are organs of action, speech, and feeling, which compose character.
hill of the Lord—(compare Ps 2:6, &c.). His Church—the true or invisible, as typified by the earthly sanctuary.
4. lifted up his soul—is to set the affections (Ps 25:1) on an object; here,
vanity—or, any false thing, of which swearing falsely, or to falsehood, is a specification.
5. righteousness—the rewards which God bestows on His people, or the grace to secure those rewards as well as the result.
6. Jacob—By "Jacob," we may understand God's people (compare Isa 43:22; 44:2, &c.), corresponding to "the generation," as if he had said, "those who seek Thy face are Thy chosen people."
7-10. The entrance of the ark, with the attending procession, into the holy sanctuary is pictured to us. The repetition of the terms gives emphasis.
10. Lord of hosts—or fully, Lord God of hosts (Ho 12:5; Am 4:13), describes God by a title indicative of supremacy over all creatures, and especially the heavenly armies (Jos 5:14; 1Ki 22:19). Whether, as some think, the actual enlargement of the ancient gates of Jerusalem be the basis of the figure, the effect of the whole is to impress us with a conception of the matchless majesty of God.