Paraphrase Upon the Books of the Psalms, Book 1 · Psalm 24
The Twenty Fourth Psalm.
A Psalm of David.
Paraphrase. The Twenty fourth Psalm, composed by David on occasion of bringing the Arke into Sion, is a declaration of Gods dominion over this world, his providential presence in every part of it, but his special presence in the place assigned for his worship, the Arke of the Covenant; which is therefore joyfully to be received into Sion, and entertain'd by all Israel, being moreover a signal emblem of Christs ascension into heaven.
1. The earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof, the world and they that dwell therein.
2. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the flouds.
This whole lower or be of ours (and not only the heaven, where he is said to dwell) is the Lords, by all right of creation, and providence, and preservation; and so are all the sorts of creatures, and every particular, with which he hath replenisht it; the Universe, and all the inhabitants thereof, produced at first, continued since, and every minute preserved by him: for were it not so, this globe whereon we dwell would suddenly be overwhelmed and covered with waters. For thus the order of nature would direct; and thus we finde in the beginning of the creation, that next under the aire were the waters, encompassing the whole surface of the earth, Gen. 1.7. till God reformed this course, made such cavities in the earth, as should receive the water into them, and such banks, as should bound and keep it in, and such a law, as should bridle this vast Ocean, that it should not break forth, Gen. 1.9. and so now by his providence the water is beneath the earth, and yet the earth stands firme on that fluid body, as upon the most solid foundation: which is a mighty worke of wise disposal and contrivance, for the preservation of mankinde; and though once, for the sins of the old world, these waters were appointed to break out, and so overwhelmed the whole earth, yet God hath firmely promised that they shall never doe so again.
3. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? and who shall stand in his holy place?
But though all the whole Universe be his, and he effectually present in every the smallest corner thereof, yet in a more peculiar manner will he exhibite himself in Mount Sion, at the placing the Arke of the Covenant in, it (that image of heaven it selfe, the special place of his residence) built on purpose for the adoring and worshipping, and performing service to him. And (as to heaven, so) to this, every one promiscuously is not meet to be admitted, nor can expect to partake of his blessing auspicious presence there;
4. He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not†taken his life to a falsity. lift up hisa. soule unto vanity, nor sworne deceitfully.
But only such as keep close to the commands of God, that preserve their minds, as well as their bodies, their inward thoughts and consents, as well as their external actions, from all forbidden unlawful objects; that never make use of perjurious deceitfull means for the inriching themselves, or depriving others, but serve and worship God uprightly.
5. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, andb. ‖or, mercyrighteousnesse from the God of his salvation.
…uch, and none but such, shall be accepted, and …ewarded by God, at their approach to his Sanctuary, when they pray unto him, and when they most want and depend upon his mercy. Though God (in Christ) be a Saviour to all sincere worshippers, and servants of his, none, 'tis sure, but such, shall have part in this salvation.
6. This is the generation of them that seek him,*of Jacob, or, the sons of Jacob that seek thy face. that seek thy face,c. O Jacob. Selah.
These indeed are the men that may properly be said to pray to, and worship God; these are the true Israelites, that are meet to appear before the God of Israel, whose peculiar presence is exhibited in the Arke of his Covenant, or that associate themselves and joyne with thee, O Jacob, in the worship of the one true God.
7. d.Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting dores, and the King of glory shall come in.
For the admission of this Arke of the Lord to a place where it may long continue, the gates of the Fort of Sion are now to be set wide open, those strong invincible gates, as for the cheerful hospitable reception and entertainment of that great King, whose Palace it is.
8. Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battel.
And if any aske, what King this is; the answer is ready, That powerfull omnipotent Lord, that hath wrought all Davids victories for him.
9. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting dores, and the King of glory shall come in.
10. Who is‖this the King foreign the King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.
And let this be a solemnity to all Israel, as for the most glorious and welcome news, the placing the Arke of Gods Covenant in the Royall city, and so securing to us the presence of God himselfe, the God of all victory in warre, to whom we may daily assemble and make our addresses, with confidence to be accepted and heard, and so be for ever happy, and joyfull in his presence. (This primarily belonging to the bringing the Arke into Sion, doth also literally belong to the ascension of Christ our Saviour into the highest heavens: and so the antient Fathers frequently apply it.)
Annotations on Psalm XXIV.
V. 4. Lift up his soule] That foreign foreignto take, to lift up, (which is used in very many senses, according to the matter to which it belongs) doth sometimes signifie to swear by, there is no question. Thus 'tis in the third Commandment, and generally, when it is the taking Gods name: for Gods name being God himself, the taking of that is the swearing by God; see note on Psal. xvi.c. And though applied to foreign foreignthe soule, it frequently in the Psalmist signifies somewhat else, lifting it up in devotion, as it were a sacrifice to God; yet the consequents here belonging evidently to perjury, and among the forms of swearing, that by the soule or life being one, (foreign Am. vi. 8. God hath sworn by his life or soule) therefore it is here most probable to be taken in that sense, especially having foreign foreignin vain] joyned with it: which again makes it more parallel to that in the third Commandment, where by foreign (saith our Saviour Mat. v.) perjury is denoted. The onelyonly remaining difficulty is, how the foreign foreignis to be rendred, my soule, or his own soule. The points direct to render it, my soule; and so the Interlinear reads animam meam, my soule, or life, as if it were foreign, making God the speaker of this verse, and then it is, Gods life, or soule. But the text writing ו not י, and the context according with it, the punctation must in reason give place; and accordingly all the antient interpreters appear to have read it foreign his soule, by that meaning his own soule, or the soule of the swearer. And thus it may probably be. And yet it is as probable also, that the Lord being formerly more than once mentioned in this Psalm, the [foreign his soule, or life] may be the life of God, by whom oaths are wont to be conceived, and are then an acknowledgement of Gods vindicative power, which if it be invoked foreign to a vain, i. e. a false thing, is a huge degree of profaneness; and so may here fitly be set to signifie those, that are not meet to be admitted into Gods holy place, where he is to be honoured and worshipt.
V. 5. Righteousnesse] That foreign foreignrighteousnesse is oft taken for mercy, is frequently observed, (see note on Mat. 1. g. and Mat. vi. a.) and so 'tis most probably to be taken here, being explicative of foreign foreignblessing] going before, as foreign and foreign (the two words for blessing) benefaction and benediction, are frequently used for works of mercy: and thus the LXXII. read it here, foreign, (and the Latine, Arabick, and Aethiopick in like manner) mercy from God his Saviour.
V. 6. O Jacob] What foreign foreignJacob is set to signifie here, is uncertain. The LXXII. leaving out the affix of the former word foreign thy face, and reading it onelyonly foreign the face,] for foreign Jacob] read foreign of the God of Jacob; and so the Latine, and Arabick, and Aethiopick: but the Syriack, thy face, O God of Jacob, as our english doth, making an unusual Ellipsis, which they supply with [O God of.] But it may be more probable, that Jacob is here set (as oft it is) for the children or posterity of Jacob; as Israel the other name of Jacob, is, we know, very frequently used for the men or children of Israel, the Israelites: so the Jewish Arab here, of the family or posterity of Jacob: and then two rendrings the words will be capable of. For Jacob, i. e. the children of Jacob, will be a fit appellation for those that are diligent seekers of God, truly pious men, and so may be joyned with them by apposition, or as the substantive, to which that participle is to be annext in construction, though it be placed before it: so the Jewish Arab, which seek the light of thy countenance, of the family, &c. And to this the Chaldee may seem to have lookt, who, without any paraphrase, to illustrate it, or supply any Ellipsis, set it just as the Hebrew doe; onelyonly in stead of [thy face] they read foreign the sight of his face. To this sense the learned Castellio reads it, thus expressely; Jacobaeorum qui sunt ejus praesentiae cupidi, the Jacobaeans or Israelites which are desirous of his presence, which love, and earnestly desire and frequent the assemblies where God hath promised to exhibite himself to those that worthily approach him. But there is also a second possible & not improbable rendring, to be fetcht from the importance of the phrase [seeking the face, foreign] which is no more than joyning themselves to another. So Prov. vii. 15. Therefore came I out to meet thee diligently, to seek thy face, &c. 'Tis the speech of the whore to the lover, and signifies no more then to get into his society, to joyne her selfe to him. Now the sons of Jacob being the only people that had the knowledge of God, and that were owned by him, and that should have liberty to enter into the Temple, the holy hill, the representation of heaven, and this priviledge being communicable to Proselytes, that should come, and seek, and joyne themselves to them, and the Prophets oft foretelling, that thus the Nations should flow in to them, (which was most eminently fulfilled in the Gentiles receiving the faith, and so becoming the spiritual seed of Abraham, and Jacob, the true Israelites;) therefore this may very fitly be the rendring of the words, [that seek thy face, O Jacob,] that come in, and are proselytes to Israel, joyne themselves to them, in the worship and lauding of God, and undertaking of his obedience: the seeking of Jacobs face, in this sense, being all one with being proselytes to their Jewish Religion, as the foreign coming to God, Heb. xi. 6. (the periphrasis of a proselyte to Christ) is all one with foreign seeking him diligently, in the latter part of that verse. This interpretation will be yet more commodious, if we suppose (see note d.) this Psalm sung by way of antiphona, one chorus answering to'ther. For then they to whom the answer is given, may fitly be meant by the other, in that phrase [thy face, O Jacob;] as those that represented the whole people, and praised God in their name.
V. 7. Lift up your heads] Where the Hebrew hath foreign lift up O gates your heads, the Lxxii. read foreign, which may be construed, Ye Princes lift up your gates: so the Latine render it, attollite portas principes vestras, and so the Arabick and Aethiopick, and so Apollinarius, foreign, Ye Rulers lift up your gates. But that rendring can have no accord with the Hebrew, which joynes the affixe foreign yours to foreign heads, foreignnot with foreign gates. Tis therefore more probable, that the LXXII. set foreign, your Princes, to render foreign your heads, so inverting the Syntaxis, your heads, or Princes lift up the gates, for, ye gates lift up your heads. But this is a misrendring of theirs, and the Chaldee and Syriack read, ye gates lift up your heads: what that is, may next be considered. The gates are specified by the Chaldee to be foreign the gates of the house of the Sanctuary, foreigni. e. of Sion, whither the Arke was to enter, and to be placed there. The Arke, we know, is called foreign the glory, 1 Sam. iv. 22. The glory is departed from Israel, for the Arke of God is taken. And God having promised to be present there, he is, as in other, so peculiarly in that respect, here called foreign foreignthe King of glory, and he to come in, when the Arke enters.foreign Now there be some hanging gates, the letting down of which is the shutting of them, and the lifting them up the opening of them. Such are those which we call Portcullis, of use for fortified places, such as Sion was, the strong hold of Sion, 2 Sam. v. 7. and so the gates of Sion lifting up their heads, is their being opened, for the Arke to come into it. And this, we know, was done with solemnity, 2 Sam. vi. 12. with gladnesse, saith the text: and this Psalm was either made for that solemnity, or else for the commemorating of it. That these gates in the next words are called foreign foreigneternal gates, the reason may be taken from the durablenesse of the matter whereof they were made, as strong holds have iron-gates, or the like. In this place it is not amiss to adde of this Psalm, that being designed for so solemn an occasion, as that of the bringing the Arke into Sion, or the commemorating thereof, it was probably sung by way of Antiphona, or response, foreignor alternation. Thus it seems to be practiced at the Encaenia, or dedication of the wall, Nehem. xii. the solemnity whereof was performed by drawing up the whole train of Attendants into two companies, or Processions. Then saith Nehemiah v. 31. I appointed foreign two great companies, or chori foreign and processions, saith the interlinear; we render it, from the vulgar, laudantium, of them that gave thanks; whereof one went on the right hand, and v. 38. the other company of them that gave thanks, went over against them: So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of the Lord, v. 40. This same usage, on solemn occasions, to divide into two chores, (though without respect to alternations) appeareth also more antiently, (before this of bringing the Arke to Sion) from the performances on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, Deut. xxvii. 12. where the quires were after this manner divided: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin, to blesse the people on the one; and Reuben, Gad, Dan, Asher, Zabulon, and Napthali, on the other, to curse; six on one side, and six on to'ther. And being thus found so long before and so long after this time, 'tis the less to be doubted, but it was practised now, at the bringing of the Arke to Sion. To which purpose 'tis farther to be observed from Psal. Lxviii. (written for the removal of the Arke, and beginning with the solemn forme, Let God arise, &c. prescribed in the law for that occasion, Num. x. 36.) that the manner of this Procession is thus described, v. 24. They see thy goings, O God, the goings of my God and King in the Sanctuary. The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; amongst them were the Damsels playing upon the timbrels. One foreign company, or chorus of vocall Musick went before the Arke, the other of Instrumental of all kinds followed it. Whereon it follows, Bless ye the Lord in the congregations (in the plural, these two companies.) And then it cannot be improbable that, as Neh. xii. 40. [So stood the two companies in the house of the Lord,] so here, at the entry of the Arke into Sion, these two chori should be drawn up at the gates on each side of it; and so stand, and the first be supposed to begin with the three first verses of this Psalm, The earth is the Lords, &c. Who shall ascend, &c. to which the other answered in the three following, He that hath clean hands, &c. Then the first resuming their turne, in the seventh verse, Lift up your heads, &c. the other answered in part of the eighth, Who is the King of glory? then the former answering, The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battel; The other resumes again, Lift up your heads, &c. And then the first asking the question, Who is, &c. the second concludes, The Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory.