1God's sovereignty over the whole world. 3Who shall stand in his holy place. 7The solemn entrance of the Lord into his sanctuary.
0A Psalm of David.
1THEa earth is the LORD's, and the 1fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
a Exod. 19:5; Deut. 10:14; Job 41:2; Psalm 50:12; 1 Cor. 10:26, 28.
1 Namely, all creatures, wherewith the Lord has filled the earth. (It) is of His special grace that out of this all, (which by right of creation appertains to Him), He has chosen for Himself His people to be a peculiar possession and to make (them) lodge upon His holy hill. Compare Exod. 19:5; Deut. 10:14, 15.
2For he hath founded it 2upon the 3seas, and established it upon the floods.
2 Or, at, or, by the seas, and so in the sequel at or by the floods.
3 That is, waters. See Gen. 1 on verse 10. It is known and it appears in Exod. 20:4 that there are waters under the earth. Yet, this may also be understood that God made the earth or the dry land to stand out above the waters which previously covered the earth, and founded and bulwarked the same, as it were, with, at and upon the waters, which (notwithstanding that they are moist and flowing, unstable by nature and would be unsuitable to that end) He makes to be a very firm and stable foundation of the earth, the same as He brings forth light out of darkness; holding and maintaining thus both water and earth together in their ordained places through His power. See further Psalm 104:5, 6, 7, 8; 136:6, and compare Job 26:7; 38:4, 6; Micah 6:2.
34Whob shall ascend into the 5hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 As if he would say: Though Israel be God’s peculiar people, yet they are nevertheless hypocrites, who are truly Israelites according to the flesh, and making some appearance in the outward worship they are no true members of His people, but only those who make up the spiritual Israel and are described in the sequel by proper marks. Compare Rom. 2:28, 29; 9:6; Gal. 6:16.
bPsalm 15:1; Isa. 33:14, 15.
5 See Psalm 2 on verse 6.
4He that hath 6clean hands, and a 7pure heart; who hath 8not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn 9deceitfully.
6 That is, foreign to stealing, robbing, killing, adultery, etc. Compare Gen. 20 on verse 5.
7 That is, sincere, upright and unfeigned in all his service to God.
8 That is, who does not turn to vanity or falsehood; or, who has no desire nor longing after vanity. See the same kind of expression Deut. 24 on verse 15; Jer. 22:27; 44:14, and compare Ezek. 24:25; Hosea 4:8. Other, who taketh not up my soul (that is, My, My Holy Name) in vain, that is, into his mouth. Thus these words would be God’s own, inserted here by David to add the more weight unto them.
9 Hebr. unto, in or with deceit, that is, to deceive, not considering in his heart what he swears by his mouth.
5He shall 10receive the blessing from the LORD, and 11righteousness from the God of 12his salvation.
10 Or, bear away, carry away.
11 That is, the fruit of righteousness, namely, temporal blessing and glory everlasting. See Isa. 48:18; Hosea 10:12; or, he shall receive from God, His Savior, the benefits, which He distributes righteously unto His children, not according to their deserts, but in accordance to His gracious and faithful promises, which He keeps and performs according to His righteousness. See Heb. 6:9, 10; 1 John 1:9.
12 That is, Who is his Savior or Redeemer.
6This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek 13thy face, O 14Jacob. 15Selah.
13 He addresses God, showing his assured confidence about the truth of this weighty matter, to convince and to shame the hypocrites, who imagined the contrary, as before the tribunal seat of God. Concerning these kind of speeches see 2 Chron. 7 on verse 14; 2 Chron. 11 on verse 6.
14 That is, those are the true children of Jacob, the true Israelites. Compare John 1:47; Rom. 9:6. Or, that is Jacob, that is, O thou true church, thou spiritual Israel. This is a matter (he implies) which ought to be well weighed by thee, as being of great importance in point of religion, turning himself thus from addressing God to the church of God.
15 See Psalm 3 on verse 2.
7Lift up your 16heads, O ye 17gates; and be ye lift up, ye 18everlasting doors; and the 19King of glory shall come in.
16 That is, the top beams.
17 Of the temple, which David had understood of God by Nathan the prophet that his son Solomon would build, in which the ark of the covenant (whereupon God showed His presence) was to be brought unto her place, and there God would take up His abode. Whereby was prefigured the coming of Christ into the flesh and unto His church, together with His ascension, about which David greatly rejoices at in the spirit, after that Nathan had given him such an excellent tiding of it that he knew not how to thank God sufficiently for it, 2 Samuel 7.
18 Hebr. gates of eternity, and likewise in the next verse; that is, gates which were to last and to stand a long time in their places, whereas the previous tabernacle was removed often from one place to another and had but little rest; but being applied to the church of God’s children, in whom God enters with His grace and Spirit and dwells in them (wherefore they are called the temple of God). This may suitably signify the everlastingness of the church of God, yea and heaven itself, forasmuch as Christ’s ascension into heaven is likewise shadowed out thereby. See of the word everlasting, Gen. 17 on verse 7, and further, 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Rev. 3:20.
19 God, Who is said to dwell between the cherubims upon the ark, 2 Sam. 6:2, whereby Christ is represented, the true King of glory.
8Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
9Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
10Who is this King of glory? The LORD of 20hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.
20 See 1 Kings 18 on verse 15. Some do understand that in this psalm, from the seventh verse to the end, there is only mention made of the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.