I. (24:1–2) The Lord Is Creator and Owner of All. “The Lord” (the covenant God of Israel) is the one who founded the world and therefore the one to whom it all belongs.

No doubt this reflects back on the creation account of Genesis 1:1–2:3, although the specific vocabularies of the two passages differ.214 For example, in Genesis 1 the Creator is called “God,” which stresses his transcendence, then in Genesis 2:4 is called “the Lord God,” identifying the Creator with Israel’s God (cf. Section Overview of Psalm 19). The focus here is on “the earth” as the dry land, distinguished from the waters (Gen. 1:9–10); this is the place where human beings dwell.215 Not only does the world belong to God but so do its inhabitants. In the context of this psalm the singing congregation remember that it has a special privilege for the sake of the rest of mankind (cf. Ex. 19:5–6).216

Paul quotes Psalm 24:1 in 1 Corinthians 10:26 to explain that, since God owns everything, foods are included and thus may be enjoyed without qualms; the psalm’s creational and universal emphases make it well suited to Paul’s purpose.217

II. (24:3–6) Who Receives Blessing from Him? In this section the worshipers rehearse a theme that recurs often in the OT: although every Israelite may attend worship at the sanctuary, not everyone will really “receive blessing” or will genuinely enjoy the status of “righteousness.”

Similarly to Psalm 15, these verses raise the questions “Who shall ascend?” and “Who shall stand?” The “hill of the Lord” is the location of “his holy place,” the elevated part of Zion to which David brought the ark in preparation for the temple (2 Sam. 24:24–25); Psalm 3:4 calls it “his holy hill.” The worshiper would “ascend” and then “stand”—but the physical action should correspond to the spiritual reality. The point is that not everyone who carries out the physical actions receives all the benefits.

The right kind of person has “clean hands and a pure heart” (Ps. 24:4). The Hebrew for “clean” can also be translated “innocent”; clean hands are those that have acted innocently toward others (Gen. 20:5; Pss. 26:6; 73:13). Likewise the “pure heart” is the one cleansed of all unworthy motives toward other people. (The LXX translation for “pure heart” lies behind the sixth beatitude; Matt. 5:8.) To “lift up his soul to what is false” uses an expression found elsewhere, rendered “to set the heart on” something (Prov. 19:18; Hos. 4:8; cf. Deut. 24:15 [“he . . . counts on it”]); the idea is to set one’s desires on falsehood, probably false gods or idols. This person also “does not swear deceitfully”; his word is trustworthy.

Psalm 24:5–6 is the assurance for such people: they will “receive blessing” (God’s “fullest benediction,” as John Mason Neale’s hymn puts it; “Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation,” 1851) and “righteousness.” The term “righteousness,” as explained earlier (cf. comment on 1:5–6), can refer to authentic participation in the life of the covenant; here there seems to be a metonymy, namely, God’s declaration of such righteousness. That is, God knows the heart and he discerns those hearts that are properly directed to him. This becomes clear from what follows: such people are the “generation of those who [genuinely] seek” the Lord, who “seek the face of the God of Jacob.”218

Thus true piety is shown both in hunger for God and in fair and generous dealing with one another. That is, the vertical (toward God) and the horizontal (toward fellow humans) dimensions of life are intertwined; they support each other. God’s saving activity in the OT (and in the NT) is to form a people who are to receive his blessing in order to be his new humanity. Biblical writers do not condone a convention that has become common among religious believers today, namely, that we can isolate these as separate components of the spiritual life (often with the implication that we must concentrate on getting the vertical sorted out and then the horizontal will fall into place). They come as a package deal, to be embraced as a gracious gift, the gift of having the image of God restored within the people of God.

God expects his people to embrace their privileges from their hearts and to show that embrace in their behavior. This theme appears elsewhere in the Psalms (Psalm 15), as well as in Proverbs (Prov. 15:8) and the Prophets (Isa. 1:11–17).

III. (24:7–10) Lift Up Your Heads, O Gates! This section moves to a set of questions and answers that would seem most fitted to the arrival of the ark at the gates of the sanctuary, perhaps in a processional (as in 2 Sam. 6:12–19). Those escorting the ark request entry (Ps. 24:7), and those inside inquire as to who it is that wants to come in (v. 8a); the escorts reply (v. 8b) and then renew their request for entry (v. 9). Then those inside repeat their question (v. 10a), followed by the final answer: “The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!” (v. 10b).

The psalm affirms that the Lord, Yahweh, is “the King of glory”: this probably means that Yahweh, the King over all he made, is worthy of having glory and honor ascribed to him (using “glory” as in 19:1), in view of 24:1–2. Perhaps as well, since the sanctuary has come into view (v. 3), there is also a hint of the “glory” that resides there, welcoming worshipers with the very presence of God.219 God is the King over all his creation, and he is also in a special way the King over his people (cf. comment on 5:1–3). Yahweh is also “strong and mighty” and “mighty in battle.” He has proven it in the way he gave success to David (2 Sam. 7:1), and he will continue to show it to his people—if they be faithful, in his protection of them, but if unfaithful, in his judgment. Indeed, the term “mighty God” (Hb. ʼel gibbor) is a title of God (Deut. 10:17; Isa. 9:6; 10:21; Jer. 32:18; Neh. 9:32), a perpetual reminder of this very truth.