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Psalm Twenty-four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 24
A Psalm of David. This psalm is thought by some of the Jewish
writersF4Aben Ezra & Kimchi. to have been wrote when the ark was
brought from the house of Obededom to the city of David, and put into the place
prepared for it by him, 2 Samuel 6:17; to which reference is
supposed to be had in Psalm 24:7; or after that David had built
an altar in the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, and had knowledge of
the hill Moriah, as the place where the sanctuary was to be built; called the
hill of the Lord, and his holy place, Psalm 24:3; however, it was certainly
written by David, under the inspiration of the spirit of God; and is a prophecy
of Christ, and of the Gospel church, and describes the members of it.
Psalm 24:1 The
earth is the Lord’s,
and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.
YLT
1A Psalm of David. To
Jehovah [is] the earth and its fulness, The world and the inhabitants in it.
The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof,.... The whole
universe, all the terraqueous globe, both land and water, and the circumambient
air, and all that is therein; the fishes of the sea, the fowls of the air, the
beasts of the field, all plants and vegetables that spring out of the earth,
and metals and minerals in the bowels of it; all which are the riches of the
Lord the earth is full of, Psalm 104:24; see Psalm 50:10;
the world, and they that dwell therein; the habitable
world, and the dwellers on it, rational and irrational. These words may be
interpreted of Christ, who is Lord of all; he made the world, and has a right
and claim to all things in it; for the same person is here spoken of as in the
preceding psalm, under the character of a shepherd; and this shows him to be
very fit and proper for such an office, seeing he cannot fail of feeding and
protecting his sheep; nor can they want any good thing, since the fulness both
of nature and of grace is with him; and hence it is that all things are theirs,
whether the world, or things present, or things to come; and though they seem
to have nothing, yet possess all things, they possessing him whose all things
are. The apostle makes use of this passage of Scripture, to prove, explain, and
direct in the use of Christian liberty, with respect to the free use of
creatures, they all being the Lord's; and therefore good, and to be received
with thanksgiving: and yet, inasmuch as there is a variety of them, such should
be abstained from, when to use them serves to embolden evil men in their wicked
ways, or offend and grieve weak Christians, 1 Corinthians 10:25.
Psalm 24:2 2 For He has founded it upon
the seas, And established it upon the waters.
YLT
2For He on the seas hath
founded it, And on the floods He doth establish it.
For he hath founded it upon the seas,.... Or
"with" them, as some interpretF5R. Moses in Aben Ezra in
loc. the particle על; he hath founded the earth and
seas together, and both upon nothing; and yet are stable and firm; or "by
the seas"F6על ימים
"juxta maria", Vatablus, Gejerus, Amama; so Kimchi & Ben Melech.
, near unto them, at the side of them; which, though higher than the earth, are
wonderfully bounded by the power of God, so as not to return and cover the
earth; see Job 38:8; so the particle is used in Psalm 1:3. Some have thought that the first
earth, which Peter says was standing in the water, and out of the water, 2 Peter 3:5, was made in the form of an
egg, and that the waters were under the earth, and the earth was as a crust or
shell over them, until the deluge came; and this crust then broke in, and
formed the sea; and so it was literally true, that the earth was founded upon,
or over the waters;
and established it upon the floods; the floods of the seas,
or rivers of water running to and fro in it: this shows the ground and
foundation of Christ's right and claim to the earth, and all that is in it;
which is not by reason of his father's gift to him as Mediator, but by virtue
of his concern in creation, the world, and all things in it, being made and
established by him; in him do all things consist, Colossians 1:16.
Psalm 24:3 3 Who may ascend into the
hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
YLT
3Who goeth up into the hill
of Jehovah? And who riseth up in His holy place?
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?.... Though
the Lord has a claim in general to the whole world, and all its fulness; yet
there is a particular part of it, or spot in it, which is his special and
peculiar property, and that is his church and people; for though some reference
may be had, in this passage, to Mount Moriah, and the hill of Zion, on which
the temple was afterwards built, and is called the hill of the Lord, where he
desired to dwell, Psalm 68:15; yet the church is mystically
intended, and is so called on account of its visibility, through a profession
of faith in Christ, and for its immovableness, being built on him;
and who shall stand in his holy place? the same with
the hill of the Lord; the temple being to be built upon it, where the Lord took
up his residence, and was worshipped, and holiness becomes the house of God for
evermore: the import of these questions is, who is a proper person to be an
inhabitant of Zion, or a member of a Gospel church? and the answer to them is
in Psalm 24:4, in which is a description much
like that which is given of one hundred forty and four thousand seen with the
Lamb on Mount Zion, Revelation 14:1; compare with this verse.
Psalm 24:4 4 He who has clean hands and
a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
YLT
4The clean of hands, and
pure of heart, Who hath not lifted up to vanity his soul, Nor hath sworn to
deceit.
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart,.... Though
"clean hands" are mentioned first, as being more obvious to view, and
better known, and more subject to the cognizance and observation of others; yet
a "pure heart" is first in being and in order; from whence cleanness
of hands, when right and truth springs: no man has a pure heart naturally and
of himself: the heart is desperately wicked; the imagination of the thoughts of
it is evil continually; the mind and conscience are defiled with sin; nor can
any man make his heart clean, or say he is pure from sin; but it is God that
creates a clean heart, and renews a right spirit within men, and purifies the
heart by faith, which is led to the blood of sprinkling, which purges the
conscience, and cleanseth it from all sin; and from this purity of heart flows
purity of life and conversation, signified by "clean hands"; the hand
being the instrument of action, holy actions, or good works, performed from a
principle of grace, are meant; the phrase is expressive of a holy, harmless,
and innocent conversation, washing the hands being used to denote innocence, Matthew 27:24; not a conversation entirely
free from sin, nor by which a man is justified before God; for though he wash
his hands ever so clean, they will not be pure in his sight, and will need
washing in the blood of the Lamb; but it denotes a conversation upright in general,
and declares a man righteous in the sight of men, and distinguishes him from
one of a dissolute life, whose hands are full of blood, and defiled with sin;
who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity; or "set
his heart upon"F7לא נשא נפשו "non inhiat, aut
intentus est", Vatablus, Amama; so Gejerus, Michaelis. , and desired vain
things, as the phrase is sometimes used, Deuteronomy 24:15; that is, the vain things
of this world; as the riches, honours, pleasures, and profits of it; or has not
served other gods, the idols of the Gentiles, which are lying vanities, but has
lifted up his soul to God, and served him only: or "who hath not received
his soul in vain"F8So Pagninus. ; from the hands of God, but
loves him with all his soul, believes with the heart in Christ for
righteousness, being sanctified by the Spirit of God; and so the desire of his
soul is to his name, and the remembrance of him. The "Keri", or
marginal reading, according to the points, is, "who hath not lifted up my
soul to vanity"F9"Animam meam", Montanus, Vatablus,
Hillerus. ; that is, has not taken the name of God in vain, or swore falsely by
his name; his soul being put for his name or himself; and by which he is said
sometimes to swear, Jeremiah 51:14; and this sense the Jewish
interpretersF11Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, & Ben Melech in loc.
generally give into. The Targum seems to take in both the writing of the text
and the marginal reading, as it often does, and renders the words, "who
hath not sworn in vain, to the condemnation of his soul"; though sometimes
to his own disadvantage, yet not to the hurt of others; see Psalm 15:4; it follows,
nor sworn deceitfully; by bearing false witness
against any man; or by cheating him out of his substance through a false oath.
Psalm 24:5 5 He shall receive blessing
from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
YLT
5He beareth away a blessing
from Jehovah, Righteousness from the God of his salvation.
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord,.... Or
"who receives"F12ישא "qui
accipit", Cocceius. ; the future for the present; and so is a continuation
of the description of a person proper to enter and abide in the church of God,
as Psalm 24:6 seems to require; even one who
has received every spiritual blessing in Christ in general, special grace out
of his fulness; particularly the blessing of pardon, as also adoption, and a
right to eternal life; though it may be that the following clause is
explanative of this;
and righteousness from the God of his salvation; from Christ,
who is God his Saviour, the author of salvation; and who has brought in an
everlasting righteousness, which is in him, and is a gift of his grace, and is
received from him by faith, and is a great blessing indeed; it secures from
condemnation and death, and entitles to eternal life.
Psalm 24:6 6 This is Jacob, the
generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah
YLT
6This [is] a generation of
those seeking Him. Seeking Thy face, O Jacob! Selah.
This is the generation of them that seek him,.... The
persons above described are such, who in every age are the generation of the
children of God, and are accounted by him for a generation; they are such that
seek him, in the first place, with their whole hearts, and in Christ, where
they find him;
that seek thy face, O Jacob. By the "face"
of God is meant the favour of God, the discoveries of his love, the light of
his countenance, than which nothing is more desirable to gracious souls, or
more sought after by them; and by Jacob is meant the God of Jacob; and so
Apollinarius has it in his metaphrase; see Psalm 10:1; unless Christ should be
intended, one of whose names is Israel, Isaiah 49:3; or the words may be supplied,
as they are by some Jewish writersF13Aben Ezra, Kimchi, & Ben
Melech in loc. , "this is Jacob"; or the persons before described are
the seed of Jacob, and who are called by his name: and it may be observed, that
the church of God often bears the same name, Isaiah 43:1; and then the sense is, the
persons whose characters are given above are fit to ascend, and stand in the
holy hill of God, are Israelites indeed, in whom there is no guile.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psalm 3:2.
Psalm 24:7 7 Lift up your heads, O you
gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall
come in.
YLT
7Lift up, O gates, your
heads, And be lifted up, O doors age-during, And come in doth the king of
glory!
Lift up your heads, O ye gates,.... By which the gates
of hell are not meant; nor are the words to be understood of the descent of
Christ thither, to fetch the souls of Old Testament saints from thence; who the
Papists dream were detained in an apartment there, as in a prison, called by
them "limbus patrum"; seeing these, immediately upon their separation
from the body, were in a state of happiness and glory, as the parable of the
rich man and Lazarus shows; and since Christ, at his death, went, in his human
soul, immediately into heaven, or paradise, where the penitent thief was that
day with him: nor do the words design the gates of heaven, and Christ's
ascension thither, shut by the sins of men, and opened by the blood of Christ,
by which he entered himself, and has made way for all his people; though this
sense is much preferable to the former. The Jewish interpreters understand the
phrase of the gates of the temple, which David prophetically speaks of as to be
opened, when it should be built and dedicated by Solomon, and when the ark, the
symbol of Jehovah's presence, was brought into it, and the glory of the Lord
filled the house; so the Targum interprets this first clause of "the gates
of the house of the sanctuary"; though the next of "the gates of the
garden of Eden"; but the words are better interpreted, in a mystical and
spiritual sense, of the church of God, the temple of the living God, which is
said to have gates, Isaiah 60:11; and is itself called a door, Song of Solomon 8:9; where the open door of
the Gospel is set, or an opportunity of preaching the Gospel given, and a door
of utterance to the ministers of the word, and the doors of men's hearts are
opened to attend to it; and indeed the hearts of particular believers,
individual members of the church, may be intended, or at least included in the
sense of the passage; see Revelation 3:20; and it may be observed,
that the new Jerusalem is said to have gates of pearl, through which Christ,
when he makes his glorious appearance, will enter in his own glory, and in his
father's, and in the glory of the holy angels;
and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; or "the
doors of the world"F14פתחי עולם "ostia mundi", Gejerus, Schmidt. ; which
some understand of the kingdoms and nations of the world, and of the kings and
princes thereof, as called upon to open and make way for, and receive the
Gospel of Christ into them, and to support and retain it; but it is best to
interpret it of the church and its members, whose continuance, perpetuity, and
duration, are here intimated, by being called "everlasting doors";
which may be said to be "lifted up", as it may respect churches, when
those things are removed which hinder communion with Christ; as their sins,
which separate between them and their God, and the wall of unbelief, behind
which Christ stands; and sleepiness, drowsiness, coldness, lukewarmness, and
indifference; see Isaiah 59:2; and when public worship is
closely and strictly attended on, as the ministration of the word and
ordinances, prayer to God, which is the lifting up the heart with the hands to
God, and singing his praise: and as it may respect particular believers; these
doors and gates may be said to be lifted up, when their hearts are enlarged
with the love of God; the desires and affections of their souls are drawn out towards
the Lord, and the graces of the Spirit are in a lively exercise on him; and
when they lift up their heads with joy in a view of Christ coming to them. This
must not be understood as if they could do all this of themselves, any more
than gates and doors can be thought to open and lift up themselves;
and the King of glory shall come in; the Lord Jesus Christ,
called the Lord of glory, 1 Corinthians 2:8; who is glorious in
himself, in the perfections of his divine nature, as the Son of God; being the
brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person; and in
his office as Mediator, being full of grace and truth, and having a glory given
him before the world was; and which became manifest upon his resurrection,
ascension to heaven, and session at God's right hand; and particularly he is
glorious as a King, being made higher than the kings of the earth, and crowned
with glory and honour; and so the Targum renders it מלך
יקירא, "the glorious King"; and he is
moreover the author and giver, the sum and substance, of the glory and
happiness of the saints: and now, as the inhabitants of Zion, and members of
the church, are described in the preceding verses, an account is given of the
King of Zion in this and the following; who may be said to "come
into" his churches, when he grants his gracious presence, shows himself
through the lattices, and in the galleries of ordinances, in his beauty and glory;
takes his walks there, and his goings are seen, even in the sanctuary; and
where he dwells as King in his palace, and as a Son in his own house; and he
may be said to come into the hearts of particular believers, when he manifests
himself, his love and grace, unto them, and grants them such communion as is
expressed by supping with them, and by dwelling in their hearts by faith,
Psalm 24:8 8 Who is this King of
glory? The Lord
strong and mighty, The Lord
mighty in battle.
YLT
8Who [is] this -- `the king
of glory?' Jehovah -- strong and mighty, Jehovah, the mighty in battle.
Who is this King of glory?.... Which question is
put by the church, or particular believers; not through ignorance, as the
daughters of Jerusalem, Song of Solomon 5:9; or the Pharisees, when
Christ made his public entrance into Jerusalem, Matthew 21:10; much less in pride and
haughtiness, in scorn and derision, as Pharaoh, Exodus 5:1; and the Capernaites, John 6:42; but as wondering at the glories
and excellencies of his person, and as desirous of knowing more of him. The
answer to the question is,
the Lord strong and mighty: he whose name alone is
Jehovah; the most high in all the earth; the everlasting I AM; Jehovah our
righteousness; the mighty God, even the Almighty; the Son of Man, whom God has
made strong for himself: his strength and might have been seen in the creation
of all things out of nothing, in upholding all things by his power, in the
redemption of his people, in the resurrection of himself, in dispossessing the
strong man armed out of the hearts of his chosen ones, in the government of his
church, and the care of all his saints, and in keeping them from a final and
total falling away. From the first of these words, which is only here used,
Mars, because of his strength, has the name of Azizus; which name of his JulianF15Orat.
4. in solem, p. 281. makes mention of; and very probably Hesus, also a deity of
the ancient Gauls, spoken of by the poetF16"Teutates horrensque
feris altaribus Hesus". Lucan. , and by LactantiusF17De Fals.
Relig. l. 1. c. 31. ; but to none does it belong as to our Jehovah;
the Lord mighty in battle; as he was when he was up
on the cross; when he made an end of sin, spoiled principalities and powers;
abolished death, and destroyed him that had the power of it; and as he will be
at the last day, when the kings of the earth shall make war with him, and he
shall overcome them; when the beast and false prophet shall be taken, and cast
alive into the lake of fire; and the remnant shall be slain with the sword of
his mouth; see Revelation 17:14; and who is now the
Captain of salvation to his people, their Leader and Commander; who furnishes
them with weapons of warfare, which are mighty through God; who teaches their
hands to war, and their fingers to fight the good fight of faith; and makes
them more than conquerors, through himself, that has loved them.
Psalm 24:9 9 Lift up your heads, O you
gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.
YLT
9Lift up, O gates, your
heads, And be lifted up, O doors age-during, And come in doth the king of
glory!
Lift up your heads, O ye gates even lift them up, ye
everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. See Gill on Psalm 24:7. This is repeated on account of
the backwardness and negligence of churches, and particular believers, to open
and let Christ in; as may be seen in the case of the church in Song of Solomon 5:2; as well as the more to
set forth the greatness and glory of Christ, about to make his entrance, and to
command a proper awe and reverence of him: some think respect is had to the
twofold coming of Christ; first into the second temple, and next at the last
judgment; though rather the certainty of his coming, in a spiritual manner, to
his church and people, is here designed.
Psalm 24:10 10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord
of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah
YLT
10Who [is] He -- this `king
of glory?' Jehovah of hosts -- He [is] the king of glory! Selah.
Who is this King of glory?.... This is repeated,
because of the preceding words, and in order to have a further account of his
glorious Person, as follows:
the Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory; he who is the
Lord of sabaoth, the Lord of the armies, both of the heavens and the earth; at
whose dispose and control all things are in both worlds, above and below: this
is the great and glorious Person that condescends to dwell in his churches, and
in the hearts of his people; and this honour have his saints.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psalm 3:2.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》