Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 24:1

Clarke's Commentary

PSALM XXIV

The Lord is Sovereign Ruler of the universe, 1, 2.

The great question, Who is fit to minister to the Lord in his

own temple? 3-6.

The glory of God in his entrance into his temple, 7-10.

NOTES ON PSALM XXIV

It is probable that this Psalm was composed on occasion of bringing the ark from the house of Obed-edom to Mount Sion, and the questions may respect the fitness of the persons who were to minister before this ark: the last verses may refer to the opening of the city gates in order to admit it. As many of the expressions here are nearly the same with those in Psalms 15:0, I must refer to that place for their particular illustration; though it is most likely that the two Psalms were composed on very different occasions. The first contains a general question relative to who shall be saved? This is more particular; and refers to the temple and tabernacle service, and who is fit to minister there.

Verse Psalms 24:1. The earth is the Lord's — He is the Creator and Governor of it; it is his own property. Men may claim districts and kingdoms of it as their property, but God is Lord of the soil.

The fullness thereof — "All its creatures." - Targum. Every tree, plant, and shrub; the silver and the gold, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

They that dwell therein. — All human beings.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 24:0 The triumphal entry

Saul had taken little interest in the religious life of Israel. During his reign the ark of the covenant (or covenant box) remained in a country house in Kiriath-jearim. David set about correcting this state of affairs by restoring the ark, symbol of God’s presence, to its rightful place at the centre of the nation’s religious life. One of the greatest days of his life, therefore, was the day on which he brought the ark into Jerusalem (1 Samuel 7:1-2; 2 Samuel 6:12-19; 2 Samuel 6:12-19). This was probably the occasion on which Psalms 24:0 was first sung.

As the procession approaches the hill of the Lord (Jerusalem), a question is asked: who is able to enter the presence of the almighty Creator, Yahweh, the holy God of Israel (1-3)? The answer comes back: only those who have ‘clean hands’ in all their dealings with others and pure hearts in their loyalty to God (4; cf. 2 Samuel 6:1-13; Psalms 15:1-5). Such are God’s true people, and God will defend them against their opponents (5-6).

At the gate of the city the procession stops and demands entrance in the name of the king of glory (7). The gatekeepers challenge the right of the procession to enter, by asking the identity of this king of glory. They receive the reply that he is Yahweh, the almighty God of Israel who gave the nation victory over its enemies (8-10).

Whatever meaning the song may have had to the Israelites of Old Testament times, it will have added meaning if it is sung at the king of glory’s greater victory procession that is yet to come (cf. Philippians 3:20-21; Revelation 19:1-8).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"The earth is Jehovah's, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the floods."

"The earth is Jehovah's, and the fulness thereof" (Psalms 24:1). No man possesses the earth, or any portion of it, except in a very limited and accommodative sense. The title deeds which men treasure are merely the written permission of the societies in which they Five, conveying the right of use for the brief period of their earthly lives. The cattle upon a thousand hills are God's possession, not men's. All of the earth and everything in it belong to God.

"The world and they that dwell therein" (Psalms 24:1). Contrary to the pagan beliefs of that period, God is the God of the whole world. This means that God is the God of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews. There are no peoples upon the planet earth who do not belong to God and who are not accountable to Him for their deeds. God is the God of all mankind.

"He hath founded it" (Psalms 24:2). This means that the earth is God's by the right of creation. Anything that one makes of his own free will belongs to him, because he made it.

"He established it" (Psalms 24:2). This indicates that God not only created the earth and everything in it, and all who dwell in it, but that he is the sustainer of the entire creation continually. God through Christ "Upholds all things through the word of his power" (Hebrews 1:3). Why do the particles of an atom revolve around the nucleus at the speed of light for countless thousands of years without ever slowing down? Why do the stars and satellites of all the galaxies move at a speed almost incomprehensible throughout eons of time? Who supplies the power for all this? The answer is, Almighty God, of course.

"Upon the seas" (Psalms 24:2). The rendition here is faulty, according to Leupold, who wrote that, "The words here may be legitimately translated by the seas or by the side of the seas. There is no compelling necessity to translate this passage in such a way as to make it possible to find `remnants of some primitive Semitic cosmology'; and then to make the claim that, `Ethical theism has here triumphed over Semitic mythology.'"H. C. Leupold, p. 218. It is simply not true that Genesis teaches that there were seas under the earth, aside the earth, and in the heavens above. Such notions are not in Genesis, except as they have been read into it by people who did not understand what is written there. Addis, for example, affirmed that, "There was sea below the earth, another on a level with the earth, and a third above the firmament."W. E. Addis, p. 377.

Leupold's words above refute the false notion of a sea under the earth; and the fact that the Hebrews had no word for "vapor" leaves it perfectly clear that the "waters above the firmament" in Genesis is a reference merely to the clouds which contain trillions of tons of water in a vapor state.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The earth is the Lord’s - The whole world belongs to God. He is the Creator of the earth, and therefore, its Proprietor; or, in other words, “the property vests in him.” It belongs to Him in a sense somewhat similar to our right of property in anything that is the production of our hands, or of our labor or skill. We claim that as our own. We feel that we have a right to use it, or to dispose of it, as we choose. No other person has a right to take it from us, or to dictate to us how we shall employ it. Thus, God, in the highest possible sense, has a right to the earth, and to all which it produces, as being all of it the creation of His hands, and the fruit of His culture and skill. He has a right to dispose of it as He pleases; by fire, or flood, or tempest; and He has an equal right to direct man in what way He shall employ that portion of the productions of the earth which may be entrusted to Him. All the right which any person has to any portion of the earth’s surface, or to what is treasured up in the earth, or to what it is made to produce, is subordinate to the claims of God, and all should be yielded up at His bidding, whether He comes and claims it to be employed in His service, or whether He comes and sweeps it away by fire or flood; by the locust, or by the palmer-worm.

And the fulness thereof - All which it contains; everything which goes to “fill up” the world: animals, minerals, vegetables, people. All belong to God, and He has a right to claim them for His service, and to dispose of them as He pleases. This very language, so noble, so true, and so suitable to be made conspicuous in the eyes of human beings, I saw inscribed in a place where it seemed to be most appropriate, and most adapted to arrest and direct the thoughts of men - on the front of the Royal Exchange in London. It was well to remind the great merchants of the largest commercial city in the world of the truth which it contains; it does much to describe the character of the British nation that it should be inscribed in a place so conspicuous, and, as it were, on the wealth of that great capital.

The world - The word used here - תבל têbêl - is a poetic word, referring to the earth considered as fertile and inhabited - the “habitable” globe; the same as the Greek, οἰκουμένη oikoumenē.

And they that dwell therein - All the inhabitants of the earth, embracing men and animals of all kinds. Compare Psalms 50:10-11. God has a claim on people - upon their services, upon their talents, upon all that they can acquire by labor and skill; He has a right to all that fly in the air, or that walk the earth, or that swim in the sea. On the occasion on which it is supposed that this psalm was written, in bringing up the ark of God, and placing it in the tabernacle provided for it in the capital of the nation, no sentiment could be more appropriate than that which would recognize the universal supremacy of God.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

1.The earth is Jehovah’s. We will find in many other places the children of Abraham compared with all the rest of mankind, that the free goodness of God, in selecting them from all other nations, and in embracing them with his favor, may shine forth the more conspicuously. The object of the beginning of the psalm is to show that the Jews had nothing of themselves which could entitle them to approach nearer or more familiarly to God than the Gentiles. As God by his providence preserves the world, the power of his government is alike extended to all, so that he ought to be worshipped by all, even as he also shows to all men, without exception, the fatherly care he has about them. But since he preferred the Jews to all other nations, it was indispensably necessary that there should be some sacred bond of connection between him and them, which might distinguish them from the heathen nations. By this argument David invites and exhorts them to holiness. He tells them that it was reasonable that those whom God had adopted as his children, should bear certain marks peculiar to themselves, and not be altogether like strangers. Not that he incites them to endeavor to prejudice God against others, in order to gain his exclusive favor; but he teaches them, from the end or design of their election, that they shall then have secured to them the firm and peaceful possession of the honor which God had conferred upon them above other nations, when they devote themselves to an upright and holy life. ⁽⁵⁴⁰⁾ In vain would they have been collected together into a distinct body, as the peculiar people of God, if they did not apply themselves to the cultivation of holiness. In short, the Psalmist pronounces God to be the King of the whole world, to let all men know that, even by the law of nature, they are bound to serve him. And by declaring that he made a covenant of salvation with a small portion of mankind, and by the erection of the tabernacle, gave the children of Abraham the symbol of his presence, thereby to assure them of his dwelling in the midst of them, he teaches them that they must endeavor to have purity of heart and of hands, if they would be accounted the members of his sacred family.

With respect to the word fullness, I admit that under it all the riches with which the earth is adorned are comprehended, as is proved by the authority of Paul; but I have no doubt that the Psalmist intends by the expression men themselves, who are the most illustrious ornament and glory of the earth. If they should fail, the earth would exhibit a scene of desolation and solitude, not less hideous than if God should despoil it of all its other riches. To what purpose are there produced so many kinds of fruit, and in so great abundance, and why are there so many pleasant and delightful countries, if it is not for the use and comfort of men? ⁽⁵⁴¹⁾ Accordingly, David explains, in the following clause, that it is principally of men that he speaks. It is his usual manner to repeat the same thing twice, and here the fullness of the earth, andthe inhabitants of the world, have the same meaning. I do not, however, deny that the riches with which the earth abounds for the use of men, are comprehended under these expressions. Paul, therefore, (1 Corinthians 10:26) when discoursing concerning meats, justly quotes this passage in support of his argument, maintaining that no kind of food is unclean, because, “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”

(540) “Qu’adonc ils entrerent en ferme et paisible possession de l’honneur que Dieu leur a fait par dessus les autres nations.” — Fr.

(541) “Car a quelle fin font produits des fruits de tant de sortes, et en telle abondance, et qu’il y a tant de vieux de plaisance, si non pour l’usage et commodite des hommes ?” — Fr.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 24:1-10

Psalms 24:1-10 :

The earth is the LORD'S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein ( Psalms 24:1 ).

It all belongs to God.

For he hath founded it upon the seas, he established it upon the floods ( Psalms 24:2 ).

Now the question, the whole thing is God's, the earth's the Lord's, the fullness thereof. He founded it. He made it. It belonged to him.

Who shall ascend ( Psalms 24:3 )

The question:

Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? ( Psalms 24:3 )

The answer:

He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart ( Psalms 24:4 );

Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" ( Matthew 5:8 ).

who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory ( Psalms 24:4-10 ).

Beautiful psalm. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

David affirmed Yahweh’s sovereignty over all things. He is over all because He created all. Paul appealed to this verse to support his doctrine that the Christian may eat anything, provided doing so does not cause someone else to stumble (1 Corinthians 10:26).

The pagans viewed their gods as limited to certain regions and functions, but Yahweh is sovereign over all. Psalms 24:2 looks back to the creation of the world. The "rivers" (NASB) or "waters" (NIV) is a synonym for "seas." It probably describes the watery chaos out of which Moses described the world emerging in the Genesis account of creation (Genesis 1:10).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. Ascent to the sanctuary 24:1-6

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 24

Only people characterized by righteous deeds and pure thoughts may enter the place where the glorious King of the Universe dwells.

The occasion that inspired the composition of this psalm is unknown. However, in view of its content, many interpreters believe David may have written it when he brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6). [Note: E.g., Delitzsch, 1:334.] Perhaps he wrote it when he returned from some victory in battle. [Note: Craigie, pp. 213-14.]

During the Exile, the Jews developed the tradition of reading this psalm every Sunday, celebrating the first day of Creation. They also read other psalms on the other days of the week: 48 on Monday, 82 on Tuesday, 94 on Wednesday, 81 on Thursday, 93 on Friday, and 92 on Saturday. [Note: See Roy A. Rosenberg, "Yahweh has become King," Journal of Biblical Literature 85 (1966):297-307.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

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,

Psalms 104:24; see Psalms 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.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

A psalm of David.

      1 The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.   2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

      Here is, I. God's absolute propriety in this part of the creation where our lot is cast, Psalms 24:1; Psalms 24:1. We are not to think that the heavens, even the heavens only, are the Lord's, and the numerous and bright inhabitants of the upper world, and that this earth, being so small and inconsiderable a part of the creation, and at such a distance from the royal palace above, is neglected, and that he claims no interest in it. No, even the earth is his, and this lower world; and, though he has prepared the throne of his glory in the heavens, yet his kingdom rules over all, and even the worms of this earth are not below his cognizance, nor from under his dominion. 1. When God gave the earth to the children of men he still reserved to himself the property, and only let it out to them as tenants, or usufructuaries: The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof. The mines that are lodged in the bowels of it, even the richest, the fruits it produces, all the beasts of the forest and the cattle upon a thousand hills, our lands and houses, and all the improvements that are made of this earth by the skill and industry of man, are all his. These indeed, in the kingdom of grace, are justly looked upon as emptiness; for they are vanity of vanities, nothing to a soul; but, in the kingdom of providence, they are fulness. The earth is full of God's riches, so is the great and wide sea also. All the parts and regions of the earth are the Lord's, all under his eye, all in his hand: so that, wherever a child of God goes, he may comfort himself with this, that he does not go off his Father's ground. That which falls to our share of the earth and its productions is but lent to us; it is the Lord's; what is our own against all the world is not so against his claims. That which is most remote from us, as that which passes through the paths of the sea, or is hidden in the bottom of it, is the Lord's and he knows where to find it. 2. The habitable part of this earth (Proverbs 8:31) is his in a special manner--the world and those that dwell therein. We ourselves are not our own, our bodies, our souls, are not. All souls are mine, says God; for he is the former of our bodies and the Father of our spirits. Our tongues are not our own; they are to be at his service. Even those of the children of men that know him not, nor own their relation to him, are his. Now this comes in here to show that, though God is graciously pleased to accept the devotions and services of his peculiar chosen people (Psalms 24:3-5; Psalms 24:3-5), it is not because he needs them, or can be benefited by them, for the earth is his and all in it, Exodus 19:5; Psalms 50:12. It is likewise to be applied to the dominion Christ has, as Mediator, over the utmost parts of the earth, which are given him for his possession: the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hand, power over all flesh. The apostle quotes this scripture twice together in his discourse about things offered to idols, 1 Corinthians 10:26; 1 Corinthians 10:28. "If it be sold in the shambles, eat it, and ask no questions; for the earth is the Lord's; it is God's good creature, and you have a right to it. But, if one tell you it was offered to an idol, forbear, for the earth is the Lord's, and there is enough besides." This is a good reason why we should be content with our allotment in this world, and not envy others theirs; the earth is the Lord's, and may he not do what he will with his own, and give to some more of it, to others less, as it pleases him?

      II. The ground of this propriety. The earth is his by an indisputable title, for he hath founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods,Psalms 24:2; Psalms 24:2. It is his; for, 1. He made it, formed it, founded it, and fitted it for the use of man. The matter is his, for he made it out of nothing; the form is his, for he made it according to the eternal counsels and ideas of his own mind. He made it himself, he made it for himself; so that he is sole, entire, and absolute owner, and none can let us a title to any part, but by, from, and under him; see Psalms 89:11; Psalms 89:12. 2. He made it so as no one else could. It is the creature of omnipotence, for it is founded upon the seas, upon the floods, a weak and unstable foundation (one would think) to build the earth upon, and yet, if almighty power please, it shall serve to bear the weight of this earth. The waters which at first covered the earth, and rendered it unfit to be a habitation for man, were ordered under it, that the dry land might appear, and so they are as a foundation to it; see Psalms 104:8; Psalms 104:9. 3. He continues it, he has established it, fixed it, so that, though one generation passes and another comes, the earth abides, Ecclesiastes 1:4. And his providence is a continued creation, Psalms 119:90. The founding of the earth upon the floods should remind us how slippery and uncertain all earthly things are; their foundation is not only sand, but water; it is therefore our folly to build upon them.