PSALM 24 - Messiah: The Chief Shepherd, the King of Glory, rewards His sheep. (1Pet 5:4)
Psalm 24 is the culmination of the three Psalms of the Shepherd:
Psa 22 -The Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep. (Joh 10:11)
Psa 23 -The Great Shepherd, alive from the dead, cares for His sheep. (Heb 13:20,21)
Psa 24 -The Chief Shepherd, King of Glory, rewards His sheep. (1Pet 5:4)
Psalm 24 divides naturally into 3 stanzas:
  1. He is the King of Creation, v.1-2
  2. He is the King of Righteousness, v.3-6
  3. He is the King of Glory, v.7-10
 
A. He is the King of Creation, v.1-2
24:1 A Psalm of David.
The earth [is] the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof;
As Possessor of heaven & earth, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth
of every mine, the fruit of the field, and even the meat offered to idols.
cp. Gen 14:19,22; Psa 50:10; 1Cor 10:25-"26"-"28" (note the NT quotes)
the world, and they that dwell therein.
the world - ie., the inhabited earth.
they that dwell therein - includes all people: kings, presidents, peasants, paupers...
Prov 16:4; Rev 14:6
24:2 For he hath founded it upon the seas,
and established it upon the floods {rivers, fluid currents}.
The LORD has title to the earth because He has created and sustains it.
All others are temporary tenants subject to eviction without notice.
Joh 1:1-5; Col 1:16,17
founded... upon the seas...-
The wise man builds upon rock, the foolish upon sand. Mat 7:24-27
But who upon unstable liquid?
Considering the space within and between atoms, there is nothing truly solid in the universe.
Who, but God, could build with such fluid forces? Gen 1:1,2,9; 2Pet 3:5-7
 
B. He is the King of Righteousness, v.3-6
24:3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD?
or who shall stand in his holy place? (cp. Rom 10:6)
Who is described in vs.3-6?
Scholars hold two conflicting views:   [The editor holds view 'B.']
  1. the Redeemed, the elect, "the Israel of God" (* Gal 6:15,16), referred to as "Jacob" in v.6.
    Verses cited to support this view include Psa 15:1-5 and Rom 9:6-13; 11:5-7.
       However, this view seems to imply that 'the elect' gain access to God, either by means of their inherent righteousness, or by climbing steps of progressive 'works of righteousness.' Of course, neither path is valid. Because, all men fall short of the requirements (as presented in v.4,5 [below] and Psalm 15) for entrance into the LORD's Presence. If they were inherently righteous, they would not need salvation. Because they are unrighteous, they cannot approach the LORD, to receive salvation from Him. As the patriarchs trusted God to fulfill promises, which were beyond their means (Romans 9), so the redeemed can only be saved by faith in the One, who because of His inherent righteousness, is worthy to "ascend into the hill of the LORD," to receive salvation for those whom He represents.
       [* Regarding "the Israel of God," see the Book Notes at Gal 6:15,16.]
  2. the Redeemer, who is inherently righteousness,
    and who, by His work of redemption, has obtained salvation and righteousness, for His people. He Himself is their means of access into the Presence of the LORD. Joh 14:6
       This view harmonizes Psalm 24 with the biblical teaching that salvation is by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ. eg., Eph 2:8,9; Titus 3:5,6
    But can the Messiah be called "Jacob"? (This will be discussed at v.6.)
Only the Redeemer satisfies the requirements set by the questions posed here:
  1. Who has the right to rule the earth? Who can claim its title deed?
    The 'hill' {HB=har, mountain} of the LORD refers to His dominion. eg., Isa 2:1-5
    cp. v.1,2; Psa 2:6; Dan 7:13,14; Rev 5:1-10
  2. Who can ascend... (having access to the LORD's holy dwelling place)?
  3. Who can stand (remain without being consumed) in the presence of God's holiness?
    Psa 1:5,6
24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;
who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully {ie., falsely}.
clean hands - do not necessarily indicate right motives. (eg., Pilate, Mat 27:24)
and a pure heart - Prov 20:9; cp. Mat 23:25-28
vanity {ie., emptiness, idolatry}...-
The desires, deeds, deceptions, and devotions of the flesh will come to nothing.
Rom 8:5-8; Gal 5:19-21; Rev 21:8
These tests exclude me from His Kingdom. Rom 3:10-12
Since no man is qualified even to enter, who can stand in God's presence?
Only the Lord Jesus Christ qualifies. Joh 3:13; Rev 5:4-7
"There was no other good enough, to pay the price of sin.
He only could unlock the gate of heav'n and let us in."
[Hymn: "There is a Green Hill Far Away," by Cecil F. Alexander]
24:5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD,
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
He shall receive...- The Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is worthy to approach the Father,
has received these gifts on our behalf.
cp. Psa 68:18; Eph 4:7-10; Eph 1:3,7; Rom 4:6-8; 10:5-10
Here is a picture of the High Priestly work of our Lord. Heb 4:14-16
...from the God of his salvation {HB= yesha, deliverance}.-
'His' salvation? Was our Savior in need of salvation?
Psalm 22 records Christ's agonizing death, in our sins.
He "who knew no sin," was forsaken by God, when He was "made sin," so "that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2Cor 5:21). The first half of Psalm 22 is Christ's desperate prayer for deliverance from the grasp of evil. The last half of that Psalm, is His song of praise, when that deliverance was realized, in His resurrection out of death (eg., Psa 22:20-24).
     Because He died for our sins, and because God has raised Him from the dead, He has "received... righteousness from the God of His salvation." His righteousness is imputed to those who trust in Him, as their only hope of deliverance from sin and its consequences.
24:6 This [is] the generation of them that seek him,
that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
the generation...- ie., the class or group of individuals sharing a common characteristic:
They seek the face of Him who received righteousness for them.
...them {plural} that seek him {singular}- Although one individual ascended the hill,
many are brought into this righteousness received from God. Heb 2:9,10; cp. Rom 5:14-17
that seek thy face, O Jacob.- This phrase has confounded many translators,
because the literal reading (as in the KJV text, above) applies the name "Jacob" to God and/or to the Messiah. No other passage does this.
Therefore, some translations reword v.6 to favor 'View A' (see notes at v.3), ie., that those who 'ascend the hill' are the redeemed:
  • "...who seek your face, [O God] of Jacob." [NIV]
  • "[This is] Jacob, the generation of them that seek Him..." [NKJV]
  • "...who seek Thy face, [like] Jacob." [Berkeley]
Here are typical arguments against using the literal reading (with answers) --
  1. God is called by a man's name ('Jacob').
    Answer: Why not? God became a man named 'Jesus'.
  2. The character of the man Jacob, and the meaning of his name:
       "Jacob" means "supplanter" or "displacer."
       Jacob deceived his father, to acquire his brother's birthright & blessing.
       How can this be a picture of God or of the Messiah?
    Answer: Look beyond Jacob's scheming to God's design.
    • When Jacob forsook his fleshly ways, trusting God to deal with his enemies,
      the LORD changed his name to Israel ("God contends" or " God prevails"). (Gen 32:24-30; Gen 35:10-12)
      After that, when something required displacing (to make room for Israel), God Himself did that work. For example:
      • Esau's hatred of his brother (Gen 32:6-11; 33:4),
      • Esau's occupancy of the promised land (Gen 36:6-8),
      • The gentile occupants of the land (Josh 24:12,13).
        These 'displacements' were the work of God acting as the great "Supplanter" for the sake of Israel. Later, when the nation turned from Him, He displaced them from His land (temporarily, until they recognize and turn again to their Redeemer).
    • Jacob's new name "Israel" is also applied to the Messiah, in Isa 49:3,
      where the context (see Isa 49:1-9) cannot refer to the nation of Israel, since it addresses an individual who would become salvation for people from all nations, including the nation called Jacob and Israel. For those who trust Him, He does for them what they could never do for themselves. As Israel {'God prevails'}, Jesus Christ is the Redeemer, in whom God has provided Salvation for every believer everywhere.
Christ supplants (ie., displaces) all other claimants to dominion over the earth (cp. v.1,2).
For example:
  1. Adam - God gave Adam dominion over the earth.
    But he failed the test of v.3,4 and fell from acceptance before God.
    Adam was displaced by Christ, who is the head of the redeemed race, and the One to whom the LORD has given all dominion. Rom 5:18,19; 1Cor 15:21-22, 45-47; Eph 1:20-22
  2. The man of sin (the Antichrist) - 2Thes 2:4,8; Rev 11:15; 19:20
  3. Satan - Joh 12:31; Rev 20:10,11
For the believer, Christ displaces: (This list is far from exhaustive.)
Selah {HB: "pause", a musical notation, or a cue to stop & think about the foregoing}
 
C. He is the King of Glory, v.7-10
24:7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
lift up your heads (or 'tops') - "As though, with all their glory,
the gates of Heaven are not great enough for the all glorious King." [CHS]
everlasting {HB= 'olam, ancient, everlasting}.- The 'everlasting doors', seen here, are...
  1. First, the gates of Jerusalem through which Messiah entered once & will enter again.
    • His historic entrance (Psa 118:19-28; Mat 21:9,10),
      when the King presented Himself to the nation of Israel, but having been rejected, He offered Himself as the Lamb of God, to redeem such as would believe.
    • His future entrance (Eze 43:1-7; 44:1-3; Rev 20:1-6),
      when He will establish His Millennial Kingdom, to reign from Jerusalem, over all the earth for 1,000 years.
  2. Finally, the gates of Heaven (see discussion at v.9, below).
24:8 Who is this king of glory?
A good question, which men, by worldly wisdom, fail to answer. 1Cor 2:7,8
The LORD strong and mighty, {Isa 9:6}
the LORD mighty in battle.
the LORD... the LORD...- The Messiah, the King of Glory, is the LORD (ie., Jehovah).
The Man who ascended into the hill of the LORD, is revealed to be the LORD from Heaven.
1Cor 15:45,47; Eph 4:8-10; 1Tim 3:16
the LORD mighty in battle.-
Only the LORD, the ever-living One, could be victorious in the battles of the ages..
Observe that, He is alone in battle.
No one is able to assist Him. He needs no assistance.
The battles pictured here are...
24:9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
even lift [them] up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
This final stanza repeats much of the previous stanza, and also adds something new.
The repetition may have two purposes:
  • to emphasize the King's glory, which cannot be overstated.
  • to depict Christ's repeated entrances into Jerusalem (as discussed at v.7), and
    also into Heaven, where...
    1. He entered once, with His own blood, to put away sin (Heb 9:12),
    2. He will enter a second time, without sin unto salvation, with those who look for Him.
      cp. Joh 14:1-3; Heb 9:28; 1The 4:16,17
24:10 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts {ie., Jehovah Sabaoth}, he [is] the King of glory. Selah.
hosts {HB= tsabaw, armies, multitudes} - Here is a new thing...
The LORD, who fought alone to destroy sin and the Devil (v.8), returns to His glory, bringing a multitude with Him.
Joh 14:3; Rev 19:1-2, 6-8, 11-14
Who is this King of Glory? -
In that day, the answer will be obvious, for His identity will be revealed to all. Rev 5:5-14
This Concludes the study in Psalm 24.
Click here to begin the study in Psalm 40
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