Bible Commentaries
Psalms 24

Verses 1-6

The Messianic kingdom.

A psalm of David, another hymn of the Messiah and His kingdom, to prepare the believers of the Old Testament for His coming and to inspire the believers of the New Testament with the proper regard for their King.

v. 1. The earth is the Lord's, the entire visible creation belongs to Jehovah, as the product of His almighty power, and the fullness thereof, what fills up its contents, everything it contains, is in His power; the world and they that dwell therein, not only the inanimate creatures, but all the living creatures which inhabit the world. All this is in His absolute, unlimited power, it belongs to His Kingdom of Power.

v. 2. For He hath founded it upon the seas, He set the foundation of the earth in the midst of the mighty ocean, and established it upon the floods, giving it a firm base when He separated the water from the dry land and called the latter earth. This is the largest and most extensive kingdom of Jehovah, that which includes all created beings. But the description now narrows down to a smaller kingdom.

v. 3. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, the mountain of Jehovah, or Zion, the place of His presence in the midst of His people and type of His holy congregation? Or who shall stand in His Holy Place? the place of His holiness, where He revealed Himself to the members of His Church; for at that time only such persons were permitted to enter the inner courts as were members of the Jewish Church.

v. 4. He that hath clean hands, which were Levitically pure and unstained with crimes, and a pure heart, whose love to Jehovah is without hypocrisy; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, in any form of idolatrous behavior, nor sworn deceitfully, in false oaths. The true members of the Jewish Church are a type of the Church of the New Testament, to which all men belong whose hearts have been purified by faith in the Redeemer, whose hands are kept clean from sin and every form of vileness for love of Him, whose souls are in no way concerned with the idolatrous vanities of the present world. Men to whom this description applies are welcome on the mount of Jehovah, they are eagerly sought by Him in the place of His holiness.

v. 5. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, namely, the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ, imputed to all believers and assuring them of their salvation, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. It is by this process of granting righteousness to one hearer of the Word after another that a generation, a people, is gathered whose chief aim in life is to learn more of Jehovah, their God.

v. 6. This is the generation of them that seek Him, that seek thy face, O Jacob, desiring to follow the God of Jacob, to do His bidding, to enter into an ever more perfect communion with Him, for in inquiring for Jacob, patriarch of the true religion, they inquire for Him who inspired it, the eternal God of their salvation. Selah. Thus the Kingdom of Grace, the Church of Jesus Christ, is briefly, but fittingly described.

Verses 7-10

The Welcome of the King

v. 7. Lift up your heads. O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. The picture is that of a mighty host moving forward to take possession of Mount Zion, with a great King, who wants to enter the city, the congregation of the saints, at its head. The challenging cry rings out that the gates of Zion, of the spiritual Temple of the Lord, should lift up their heads, their lintels, widen out, make room for the entering of this great King. Doors of eternity they are called, because they were in existence since the first man accepted the promise of the Messiah, and will remain throughout eternity, in spite of all attempts on the part of the portals of hell to overthrow them. A solo voice now asks,

v. 8. Who is this King of Glory? And the chorus joyfully answers: The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. The Messiah is the almighty God, mighty, invincible in war, clothed with everlasting glory and majesty. He is here represented as coming to His people as One to whom the victory over all enemies is assured from the outset, who will overwhelm all His foes. Once more the challenge rings out,

v. 9. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. The Messiah is eager to enter into the hearts of all those who will accept His love and mercy. A single voice:

v. 10. Who is this King of Glory? And the chorus answers, in joyful exultation: The Lord of hosts, the great Jehovah Sabaoth, He is the King of Glory. Selah. May every heart be opened to Him in joyful welcome in order that He may enter in and abide throughout eternity, in the majesty of His greatness and in the beauty of His love.