FRCC Harp & Bwl Ministry The Bk f Psalms 1 Psalm 24:1-6 1 The earth is the LORD S, and all it cntains, The wrld, and thse wh dwell in it. 2 Fr He has funded it upn the seas And established it upn the rivers. 3 Wh may ascend int the hill f the LORD? And wh may stand in His hly place? 4 He wh has clean hands and a pure heart, Wh has nt lifted up his sul t falsehd And has nt swrn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive a blessing frm the LORD And righteusness frm the Gd f his salvatin. 6 This is the generatin f thse wh seek Him, Wh seek Yur face even Jacb. Selah. Frm Ntes n Psalms (2010 Editin), BY DR. THOMAS L. CONSTABLE PSALM 24 Only peple characterized by righteus deeds and pure thughts may enter the place where the glrius King f the Universe dwells. The ccasin that inspired the cmpsitin f this psalm is unknwn. Hwever in view f its cntent many interpreters believe David may have written it when he brught the ark f the cvenant int Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6). Perhaps he wrte it when he returned frm sme victry in battle.150 During the Exile the Jews develped the traditin f reading this psalm every Sunday, celebrating the first day f Creatin. They als read ther psalms n the ther days f the week: 48 n Mnday, 82 n Tuesday, 94 n Wednesday, 81 n Thursday, 93 n Friday, and 92 n Saturday.151 ASCENT TO THE SANCTUARY (24:1-6) 24:1-2, 1 The earth is the LORD S, and all it cntains, The wrld, and thse wh dwell in it. 2 Fr He has funded it upn the seas And established it upn the rivers. David affirmed Yahweh's svereignty ver all things. He is ver all because He created all. Paul appealed t this verse t supprt his dctrine that the Christian may eat anything, prvided ding s des nt cause smene else t stumble (1 Cr. 10:26). The pagans viewed their gds as limited t certain regins and functins, but Yahweh is svereign ver all. Verse 2 lks back t the creatin f the wrld. The "rivers" (NASB) r "waters" (NIV) is a Frerunner Christian Church www.frerunner.cc
FRCC Harp & Bwl Ministry The Bk f Psalms 2 synnym fr "seas." It prbably describes the watery chas ut f which Mses described the wrld emerging in the Genesis accunt f creatin (Gen. 1:10). 24:3-4, 3 Wh may ascend int the hill f the LORD? And wh may stand in His hly place? 4 He wh has clean hands and a pure heart, Wh has nt lifted up his sul t falsehd And has nt swrn deceitfully. The psalmist then wndered wh culd g int the sanctuary f such a great Gd n Mt. Zin (cf. 23:6). Wh culd have the curage t d s? Right actins (clean hands) and right attitudes (a pure heart) are necessary if ne hpes t attain admissin t His presence. Idlatry and bearing false witness, perhaps representing all sins Gd-ward and man-ward, disqualify any ptential wrshipper. 24:5-6, 5 He shall receive a blessing frm the LORD And righteusness frm the Gd f his salvatin. 6 This is the generatin f thse wh seek Him, Wh seek Yur face even Jacb. Selah. Gd will bless thse individuals wh seek Gd's fellwship by pursuing the ways f righteusness by granting their desire. "Whatever is functining as it shuld is 'righteus': in curt, the man in the right; in character, the hnest man; in the run f affairs, success. Prbably all three are present in this cntext. This man has the smile f Gd upn him: he is accepted, he is helped t live an upright life, his affairs under Gd's blessing will run as they shuld [cf. 23:3b; 65:5]." The "generatin" f thse wh seek Him prbably refers t the grup wh seek Gd's face (i.e., seek Gd). The psalmist referred t the Gd f Jacb (NIV) here. This reference t Jacb brings t mind Jacb wrestling with the Lrd t receive a blessing frm Him (Gen. 32:24-32). All wh similarly struggle t btain the Lrd's blessing by pursuing righteusness will receive His favr, as Jacb did. Cmmentary n Psalms Vlume 1, BY JOHN CALVIN PSALM 24 As Gd stands related t all mankind as their Creatr and Gvernr, David, frm this cnsideratin, magnifies the special favr which Gd manifested twards the children f Abraham, in chsing them t be his peculiar peple, in preference t the rest f mankind, and in erecting his sanctuary as his huse that he might dwell amng them. He shws, at the same time, that althugh the sanctuary was pen t all the Jews, Gd was nt near t all f them, but nly t thse wh feared and served him in sincerity, and wh had cleansed themselves frm the pllutins f the wrld, in rder t devte themselves t hliness and righteusness. Mrever, as the grace f Gd was mre clearly manifested after the temple was built, he celebrates that grace in a strain f splendid petry, t encurage true believers with the mre alacrity t persevere in the exercise f serving and hnring him. PSALM 24:1-4 1 The earth is Jehvah s, and the fullness theref; the wrld, and they that dwell therein: 2 Fr he hath funded it upn the seas, and established it upn the flds. 3 Wh shall ascend unt the hill f Jehvah? wh shall stand in his hly place? 4 He wh is clean f hands, and pure f heart; wh hath nt lifted up his sul t vanity, nr swrn deceitfully. Frerunner Christian Church www.frerunner.cc
FRCC Harp & Bwl Ministry The Bk f Psalms 3 The earth is Jehvah s. We will find in many ther places the children f Abraham cmpared with all the rest f mankind, that the free gdness f Gd, in selecting them frm all ther natins, and in embracing them with his favr, may shine frth the mre cnspicuusly. The bject f the beginning f the psalm is t shw that the Jews had nthing f themselves which culd entitle them t apprach nearer r mre familiarly t Gd than the Gentiles. As Gd by his prvidence preserves the wrld, the pwer f his gvernment is alike extended t all, s that he ught t be wrshipped by all, even as he als shws t all men, withut exceptin, the fatherly care he has abut them. But since he preferred the Jews t all ther natins, it was indispensably necessary that there shuld be sme sacred bnd f cnnectin between him and them, which might distinguish them frm the heathen natins. By this argument David invites and exhrts them t hliness. He tells them that it was reasnable that thse whm Gd had adpted as his children, shuld bear certain marks peculiar t themselves, and nt be altgether like strangers. Nt that he incites them t endeavr t prejudice Gd against thers, in rder t gain his exclusive favr; but he teaches them, frm the end r design f their electin, that they shall then have secured t them the firm and peaceful pssessin f the hnr which Gd had cnferred upn them abve ther natins, when they devte themselves t an upright and hly life. In vain wuld they have been cllected tgether int a distinct bdy, as the peculiar peple f Gd, if they did nt apply themselves t the cultivatin f hliness. In shrt, the Psalmist prnunces Gd t be the King f the whle wrld, t let all men knw that, even by the law f nature, they are bund t serve him. And by declaring that he made a cvenant f salvatin with a small prtin f mankind, and by the erectin f the tabernacle, gave the children f Abraham the symbl f his presence, thereby t assure them f his dwelling in the midst f them, he teaches them that they must endeavr t have purity f heart and f hands, if they wuld be accunted the members f his sacred family. With respect t the wrd fullness, I admit that under it all the riches with which the earth is adrned are cmprehended, as is prved by the authrity f Paul; but I have n dubt that the Psalmist intends by the expressin men themselves, wh are the mst illustrius rnament and glry f the earth. If they shuld fail, the earth wuld exhibit a scene f deslatin and slitude, nt less hideus than if Gd shuld despil it f all its ther riches. T what purpse are there prduced s many kinds f fruit, and in s great abundance, and why are there s many pleasant and delightful cuntries, if it is nt fr the use and cmfrt f men? Accrdingly, David explains, in the fllwing clause, that it is principally f men that he speaks. It is his usual manner t repeat the same thing twice, and here the fullness f the earth, and the inhabitants f the wrld, have the same meaning. I d nt, hwever, deny that the riches with which the earth abunds fr the use f men, are cmprehended under these expressins. Paul, therefre, (1 Crinthians 10:26) when discursing cncerning meats, justly qutes this passage in supprt f his argument, maintaining that n kind f fd is unclean, because, the earth is the Lrd s, and the fullness theref. Fr he hath funded it upn the seas. The Psalmist here cnfirms the truth, that men are rightfully under the authrity and pwer f Gd, s that in all places and cuntries they ught t acknwledge him as King. And he cnfirms it frm the very rder manifested in the creatin; fr the wnderful prvidence f Gd is clearly reflected in the whle face f the earth. In rder t prve this, he brings frward the prf f it, which is mst evident. Hw is it that the earth appears abve the water, but because Gd purpsely intended t prepare a habitatin fr men? Frerunner Christian Church www.frerunner.cc
FRCC Harp & Bwl Ministry The Bk f Psalms 4 Philsphers themselves admit, that as the element f the water is higher than the earth, it is cntrary t the nature f the tw elements fr any part f the earth t cntinue uncvered with the waters, and habitable. Accrdingly, Jb (Jb 28:11, 25) extls, in magnificent terms, that signal miracle by which Gd restrains the vilent and tempestuus ragings f the sea, that it may nt verwhelm the earth, which, if nt thus restrained, it wuld immediately d and prduce hrrible cnfusin. Nr des Mses frget t mentin this in the histry f the creatin. After having narrated that the waters were spread abrad s as t cver the whle earth, he adds, that by an express cmmand f Gd they retired int ne place, in rder t leave empty space fr the living creatures which were afterwards t be created (Genesis 1:9). Frm that passage we learn that Gd had a care abut men befre they existed, inasmuch as he prepared fr them a dwelling-place and ther cnveniences; and that he did nt regard them as entire strangers, seeing he prvided fr their necessities, nt less liberally than the father f a family des fr his wn children. David des nt here dispute philsphically cncerning the situatin f the earth, when he says, that it has been funded upn the seas. He uses ppular language, and adapts himself t the capacity f the unlearned. Yet this manner f speaking, which is taken frm what may be judged f by the eye, is nt withut reasn. The element f earth, it is true, in s far as it ccupies the lwest place in the rder f the sphere, is beneath the waters; but the habitable part f the earth is abve the water, and hw can we accunt fr it, that this separatin f the water frm the earth remains stable, but because Gd has put the waters underneath, as it were fr a fundatin? Nw, as frm the creatin f the wrld, Gd extended his fatherly care t all mankind, the prergative f hnr, by which the Jews excelled all ther natins, prceeded nly frm the free and svereign chice by which Gd distinguished them. Wh shall ascend unt. It being very well knwn that it was f pure grace that Gd erected his sanctuary, and chse fr himself a dwelling-place amng the Jews, David makes nly a tacit reference t this subject. He insists principally n the ther pint cntained in the verse, that f distinguishing true Israelites frm the false and bastards. He takes the argument by which he exhrts the Jews t lead a hly and righteus life frm this, that Gd had separated them frm the rest f the wrld, t be his peculiar inheritance. The rest f mankind, it is true, seeing they were created by him, belng t his empire; but he wh ccupies a place in the church is mre nearly related t him. All thse, therefre, whm Gd receives int his flck he calls t hliness; and he lays them under bligatins t fllw it by his adptin. Mrever, by these wrds David indirectly rebukes hypcrites, wh scrupled nt falsely t take t themselves the hly name f Gd, as we knw that they are usually lifted up with pride, because f the titles which they take withut having the excellencies which these titles imply, cntenting themselves with bearing nly utside distinctins; yea, rather he purpsely magnifies this singular grace f Gd, that every man may learn fr himself, that he has n right f entrance r access t the sanctuary, unless he sanctify himself in rder t serve Gd in purity. The ungdly and wicked, it is true, were in the habit f resrting t the tabernacle; and, therefre, Gd, by the Prphet Isaiah, (Isaiah 1:12) repraches them fr cming unwrthily int his curts, and wearing the pavement theref. But David here treats f thse wh may lawfully enter int Gd s sanctuary. The huse f Gd being hly, if any rashly, and withut a right, rush int it, their crruptin and abuse are nthing else but plluting it. As therefre they d nt g up thither lawfully, David makes n accunt f their ging up; yea, rather, under these wrds there is included a severe rebuke, f the cnduct f wicked and prfane men, in daring t g up Frerunner Christian Church www.frerunner.cc
FRCC Harp & Bwl Ministry The Bk f Psalms 5 int the sanctuary, and t pllute it with their impurity. On this subject I have spken mre fully n the 15th psalm. He wh is clean f hands, and pure f heart. Under the purity f the hands and f the heart, and the reverence f Gd s name, he cmprehends all religin, and dentes a well rdered life. True purity, n dubt, has its seat in the heart, but it manifests its fruits in the wrks f the hands. The Psalmist, therefre, very prperly jins t a pure heart the purity f the whle life; fr that man acts a ridiculus part wh basts f having a sund heart, if he des nt shw by his fruits that the rt is gd. On the ther hand, it will nt suffice t frame the hands, feet, and eyes, accrding t the rule f righteusness, unless purity f heart precede utward cntinence. If any man shuld think it absurd that the first place is given t the hands, we answer withut hesitatin, that effects are ften named befre their causes, nt that they precede them in rder, but because it is smetimes advantageus t begin with things which are best knwn. David, then, wuld have the Jews t bring int the presence f Gd pure hands, and these alng with an unfeigned heart. T lift up, r t take his sul, and hath nt swrn deceitfully I have n dubt this phrase is here put fr t swear. It is, therefre, here required f the servants f Gd, that when they swear, they d it with reverence and in gd cnscience, and, under ne particular, by synecdche, is dented the duty f bserving fidelity and integrity in all the affairs f life. That mentin is here made f aths, appears frm the wrds which immediately fllw, And hath nt swrn deceitfully, which are added as explanatry f what ges befre. It is a manner f speaking which carries in it great emphasis, fr it means, that thse wh swear ffer their suls as pledges t Gd. Sme, hwever, may perhaps prefer the pinin, that t lift up the sul, is put fr t apply it t lying, an interpretatin t the adptin f which I have n great bjectin, fr it makes little difference as t the sense. PSALM 24:5-6 5 He shall receive blessing frm Jehvah, and righteusness frm the Gd f his salvatin. 6 This is the generatin f them that seek him, f them that seek thy face, O Jacb! He shall receive blessing. The mre effectually t mve the minds f the Israelites, David declares that nthing is mre desirable than t be numbered amng the flck f Gd, and t be members f the church. We must here cnsider that there is an implied cntrast between true Israelites and thse f them wh were degenerate and bastards. The mre license the wicked give themselves, the mre presumptuus are they in pretending t the name f Gd, as if he were under bligatin t them, because they are adrned with the same utward symbls r badges as true believers. Accrdingly, the demnstrative prnun this, in the fllwing verse, is f great weight, fr it expressly excludes all that bastard generatin which glried nly in the mask f external ceremnies. And in this verse, when he speaks f blessing, he intimates that it is nt thse wh bast f being the servants f Gd, while they have nly the name, wh shall be partakers f the prmised blessing, but thse nly wh answer t their calling with their whle heart, and withut hypcrisy. It is, as we have already bserved, a very pwerful inducement t gdliness and an upright life, when the faithful are assured that they d nt lse their labr in fllwing righteusness, since Gd has in reserve fr them a blessing which cannt fail them. Frerunner Christian Church www.frerunner.cc
FRCC Harp & Bwl Ministry The Bk f Psalms 6 The wrd righteusness may be explained tw ways. It either means all the benefits f Gd, by which he prves himself t be righteus and faithful twards his peple in keeping his prmises t them, r it dentes the fruit r reward f the believer s righteusness. Indeed, David s meaning is abundantly manifest. He intends t shw n the ne hand, that it is nt t be expected that the fruit r reward f righteusness will be bestwed n thse wh unrighteusly prfane Gd s sacred wrship; and n the ther hand, that it is impssible fr Gd t disappint his true wrshippers; fr it is his peculiar ffice t give evidence f his righteusness by ding them gd. This is the generatin. I have just nw bserved, that by the demnstrative prnun this, the Psalmist erases frm the catalgue f the servants f Gd all cunterfeit Israelites, wh, trusting nly t their circumcisin and the sacrifices f beasts, have n cncern abut ffering themselves t Gd; and yet, at the same time, they rashly thrust themselves int the church. Such persns may pretend t have delight in the service f Gd, by ften cming t his temple, but they have n ther design than t withdraw themselves frm him as far as they can. Nw, as nthing was mre cmmn in the muths f each f them than t say, that they all belnged t the hly seed, the Psalmist has limited the name f hly generatin t the true bservers f the law; as if he had said, All wh have sprung frm Abraham, accrding t the flesh, are nt, n that accunt, his legitimate children. It is, n dubt, truly said in many ther places, as we shall see in Psalm 27, that thse sught the face f Gd wh, t testify their gdliness, exercised themselves in the ceremnies befre the ark f the cvenant; that is t say, if they were brught thither by a pure and hly affectin. But as hypcrites seek Gd externally in a certain way, as well as true saints, while yet they shun him by their windings and false pretences, David here declares that Gd is nt sught in truth unless there g befre a zealus cultivatin f hliness and righteusness. T give the sentence greater emphasis, he repeats it, using the secnd persn, and addressing his discurse t Gd. It is as if he summned befre the judgment-seat f Gd hypcrites, wh accunt it nthing falsely t use the name f Gd befre the wrld; and he thus teaches us, that whatever they may say in their empty talk amng men, the judgment f Gd will be a very different matter. He adds the wrd Jacb, fr the cnfirmatin f the same dctrine putting it fr thse wh were descended frm Jacb; as if he had said, Althugh circumcisin distinguishes all the seed f Jacb accrding t the flesh frm the Gentiles, yet we can nly distinguish the chsen peple by the fear and reverence f Gd, as Christ said, Behld an Israelite indeed, in whm is n guile! (Jhn 1:47.) Frerunner Christian Church www.frerunner.cc