"A Psalm of David.
1 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
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?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Selah"
Psalm 24
Two widely differing suggestions have been made as to the setting of this Psalm. Many scholars hold that it was written to be sung when the Ark of the Covenant was taken up from the house of Obed-Edom to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:6-19) after the capture of the ancient Jebusite stronghold by David. Others, however, maintain that it was sung at the great Feast of Tabernacles, and that the procession is to the Temple in that most spectacular of feasts. From the point of view of the spiritual lessons it contains for us, it does not much matter which of these suggestions is right, although the direction of these lessons might be different in either case. What is common to both, however, is that the Psalm is a Processional, depicting the people of God on their way to the gates of the city or the Temple (as also, for example, in Psalm15 and Psalm 122). For what it is worth, our own view is that the reference is to the return of the Ark to Jerusalem (the question in 3, 'Who shall ascend...?' may well be prompted by the fate that overtook Uzzah, 2 Samuel 6:6, 7). Here, then, we have
(a) vv 1-2 The worship of God as the Creator, the true and living God.
(b) vv 3-6 The description of the true people of God, in answer to the question 'Who shall ascend...?'
(c) vv 7-10 The description of the true King of glory, who is worthy to enter through the gates into the city.