PSALM 24

1 The earth is Yahweh’s, and all it contains,[1]	The world, and those who dwell in it. [2]
2 For He has founded it upon the seas	And established it upon the rivers.

3 Who may ascend into the hill of Yahweh?		And who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,	Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood		And has not sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive a blessing from Yahweh		And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of those who seek (darash) Him,		Who seek (baqash) Your face—even Jacob. [3] [4] Selah.

7 Lift up your heads, O gates,	And be lifted up, O ancient doors,	That the King of glory[5] may come in!
8 Who is the King of glory?	Yahweh strong and mighty,	Yahweh mighty in battle. [6]
9 Lift up your heads, O gates,	And lift them up, O ancient doors,	That the King of glory may come in!
10 Who is this King of glory?	Yahweh of hosts,	He is the King of glory. Selah.

[1] This verse is quoted by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:26.

[2] “Underlying the giving of the tithe was the basic idea that “the earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it” (Ps. 24:1). To give a tenth, therefore, meant to acknowledge in a tangible way the Lord’s ownership of the land and its produce. Hence, Judah’s failure to do this was tantamount to robbing God (Mal. 3:8, 10), not of the material things themselves—these already belonged to God (Ps. 50:10)—but of the recognition that these material things belonged to him and were exclusively his. Man’s possessions were seen as gifts given by God, the proper response to which was gratitude” (G.F. Hawthorne, “Tithe” in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology [Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986], Volume 3:854).

[3] For similar parallel statements see Deuteronomy 4:29; Judges 6:29; Isaiah 65:1; Jeremiah 29:13; Zephaniah 1:6; Psalm 105:4; 1 Chronicles 16:11; 2 Chronicles.20:3-4.

[4] Verses 5-6 of Psalm 24 allude to Jacob wrestling with Yahweh at Penuel. Jacob wouldn’t let go because he wanted the Lord’s blessing. The generation that seeks God with the same tenacity of Jacob will also find the Lord!

After Jacob received God’s blessing he named the place Penuel because he had seen God’s face.

It took Jacob sixty years before he finally saw God’s face – and the promise of God is that the one who seeks God’s face will see it. Seeking God’s face is reminiscent of the Aaronic Benediction in Numbers 6:24-26:

Yahweh bless you and keep you;

Yahweh make His face shine on you,

And be gracious to you;

Yahweh lift up His countenance/face on you,

And give you peace.

[5] “The divine epithet “King of glory,” found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible, is repeated five times” (Schaefer 60).

[6] Strong, mighty, mighty in battle, and Yahweh of hosts emphasizes God as the Divine Warrior (vv.8,10; cf. Exodus 15:2-3; Numbers 10:35; Deuteronomy 10:17; Isaiah 10:21; Jeremiah 32:18).