1 Jehovah's is the earth, and what fills it,
The world and the dwellers therein.
2 For He--upon the seas He founded it,
And upon the floods established it.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of Jehovah,
And who may stand in His holy place?
4 The clean-handed and pure-hearted,
Who lifts not his desire to vanity,
And swears not to falsehood.
5 He shall receive blessing from Jehovah
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of them that seek Him,
That seek Thy face; [this is] Jacob. Selah.
7 Lift up, O gates, your heads,
Yea, lift up yourselves, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in.
8 Who then is the King of glory?
Jehovah, strong and a Champion,
Jehovah, a Champion in battle.
9 Lift up, O gates, your heads,
Yea, lift them up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is He, then, the King of glory?
Jehovah of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah.
Ewald's widely accepted view that this psalm is a composite of two
fragments rests on a somewhat exaggerated estimate of the differences
in tone and structure of the parts. These are obvious, but do not
demand the hypothesis of compilation; and the original author has as
good a right to be credited with the uniting thought as the supposed
editor has. The usually alleged occasion of the psalm fits its tone so
well and gives such appropriateness to some of its phrases that
stronger reasons than are forthcoming are required to negative it. The
account in 2 Sam. vi. tells of exuberant enthusiasm and joy, of which
some echo sounds in the psalm. It is a processional hymn, celebrating
Jehovah's entrance to His house; and that one event, apprehended on
its two sides, informs the whole. Hence the two halves have the same
interchange of question and answer, and the two questions correspond,
the one inquiring the character of the men who dare dwell with God,
the other the name of the God who dwells with men. The procession is
climbing the steep to the gates of the ancient Jebusite fortress,
recently won by David. As it climbs, the song proclaims Jehovah as the
universal Lord, basing the truth of His special dwelling in Zion upon
that of His world-wide rule. The question, so fitting the lips of the
climbers, is asked, possibly in solo, and the answer describing the
qualifications of true worshippers, and possibly choral (vv. 3-6), is
followed by a long-drawn musical interlude. Now the barred gates are
reached. A voice summons them to open. The guards within, or possibly
the gates themselves, endowed by the poet with consciousness and
speech, ask who thus demands entrance. The answer is a triumphant
shout from the procession. But the question is repeated, as if to
allow of the still fuller reiteration of Jehovah's name, which shakes
the grey walls; and then, with clang of trumpets and clash of cymbals,
the ancient portals creak open, and Jehovah "enters into His rest, He
and the ark of His strength."
Jehovah's dwelling on Zion did not mean His desertion of the rest of
the world, nor did His choice of Israel imply His abdication of rule
over, or withdrawal of blessings from, the nations. The light which
glorified the bare hilltop, where the Ark rested, was reflected thence
over all the world. "The glory" was there concentrated, not confined.
This psalm guards against all superstitious misconceptions, and
protests against national narrowness, in exactly the same way as Exod.
xix. 5 bases Israel's selection from among all peoples on the fact
that "all the earth is Mine."
"Who may ascend?" was a picturesquely appropriate question for singers
toning upwards, and "who may stand?" for those who hoped presently to
enter the sacred presence. The Ark which they bore had brought
disaster to Dagon's temple, so that the Philistine lords had asked in
terror, "Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?" and at
Beth-shemesh its presence had been so fatal that David had abandoned
the design of bringing it up and said, "How shall the ark of the Lord
come to me?" The answer, which lays down the qualifications of true
dwellers in Jehovah's house, may be compared with the similar outlines
of ideal character in Psalm xv. and Isa. xxxiii. 14. The one
requirement is purity. Here that requirement is deduced from the
majesty of Jehovah, as set forth in vv. 1, 2, and from the designation
of His dwelling as "holy." This is the postulate of the whole Psalter.
In it the approach to Jehovah is purely spiritual, even while the
outward access is used as a symbol; and the conditions are of the same
nature as the approach. The general truth implied is that the
character of the God determines the character of the worshippers.
Worship is supreme admiration, culminating in imitation. Its law is
always "They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that
trusteth in them." A god of war will have warriors, and a god of lust
sensualists, for his devotees. The worshippers in Jehovah's holy place
must be holy. The details of the answer are but the echoes of a
conscience enlightened by the perception of His character. In ver. 4
it may be noted that of the four aspects of purity enumerated the two
central refer to the inward life (_pure heart; lifts not his desire
unto vanity_), and these are embedded, as it were, in the outward life
of deeds and words. Purity of act is expressed by "clean
hands"--neither red with blood, nor foul with grubbing in dunghills
for gold and other so-called good. Purity of speech is condensed into
the one virtue of truthfulness (_swears not to a falsehood_). But the
outward will only be right if the inward disposition is pure, and that
inward purity will only be realised when desires are carefully curbed
and directed. As is the desire, so is the man. Therefore the prime
requisite for a pure heart is the withdrawal of affection, esteem, and
longing from the solid-seeming illusions of sense. "Vanity" has,
indeed, the special meaning of _idols_, but the notion of earthly good
apart from God is more relevant here.
In ver. 5 the possessor of such purity is represented as receiving "a
blessing, even righteousness," from God, which is by many taken to mean
beneficence on the part of God, "inasmuch as, according to the Hebrew
religious view of the world, all good is regarded as reward from God's
retributive righteousness, and consequently as that of man's own
righteousness or right conduct" (Hupfeld). The expression is thus
equivalent to "salvation" in the next clause. But, while the word has
this meaning in some places, it does not seem necessary to adopt it
here, where the ordinary meaning is quite appropriate. Such a man as is
described in ver. 4 will have God's blessing on his efforts after
purity, and a Divine gift will furnish him with that which he strives
after. The hope is not lit by the full sunshine of New Testament truth,
but it approximates thereto. It dimly anticipates "Blessed are they that
hunger and thirst after righteousness"; and it feels after the great
thought that the highest righteousness is not to be won, but to be
accepted, even while it only asserts that man's effort after must
precede his possession of righteousness. We can give the words a deeper
meaning, and see in them the dawn of the later teaching that
righteousness must be "received" from "the God of salvation."
Ver. 6 seems to carry the adumbration of truth not yet disclosed a step
further. A great planet is trembling into visibility, and is divined
before it is seen. The emphasis in ver. 6 is on "seek," and the
implication is that the men who seek find. If we seek God's face, we
shall receive purity. There the psalm touches the foundation. The Divine
heart so earnestly desires to give righteousness that to seek is to
find. In that region a wish brings an answer, and no outstretched hand
remains empty. Things of less worth have to be toiled and fought for;
but the most precious of all is a gift, to be had for the asking. That
thought did not stand clearly before the Old Testament worshippers, but
struggles towards expression in many a psalm, as it could not but do
whenever a devout heart pondered the problems of conduct. We have
abundant warnings against the anachronism of thrusting New Testament
doctrine into the Psalms, but it is no less one-sided to ignore
anticipations which could not but spring up where there was earnest
wrestling with the thoughts of sin and of the need for purity.
Are we to adopt the supplement, "O God of," before the abrupt "Jacob"?
The clause is harsh in any construction. The preceding "thy" seems to
require the addition, as God is not directly addressed elsewhere in
the psalm. On the other hand, the declaration that such seekers are
the true people of God is a worthy close of the whole description, and
the reference to the "face" of God verbally recalls Peniel and that
wonderful incident when Jacob became Israel. The seeker after God will
have that scene repeated, and be able to say, "I have seen God." The
abrupt introduction of "Jacob" is made more emphatic by the musical
interlude which closes the first part.
There is a pause, while the procession ascends the hill of the Lord,
revolving the stringent qualifications for entrance. It stands before
the barred gates, while possibly part of the choir is within. The
advancing singers summon the doors to open and receive the incoming
Jehovah. Their portals are too low for Him to enter, and therefore
they are called upon to lift their lintels. They are grey with age,
and round them cluster long memories; therefore they are addressed as
"gates of ancient time." The question from within expresses ignorance
and hesitation, and dramatically represents the ancient gates as
sharing the relation of the former inhabitants to the God of Israel,
whose name they did not know, and whose authority they did not own. It
heightens the force of the triumphant shout proclaiming His mighty
name. He is Jehovah, the self-existent God, who has made a covenant
with Israel, and fights for His people, as these grey walls bear
witness. His warrior might had wrested them from their former
possessors, and the gates must open for their Conqueror. The repeated
question is pertinacious and animated: "Who then is He, the King of
glory?" as if recognition and surrender were reluctant. The answer is
sharp and authoritative, being at once briefer and fuller. It peals
forth the great name "Jehovah of hosts." There may be reference in the
name to God's command of the armies of Israel, thereby expressing the
religious character of their wars; but the "hosts" include the angels,
"His ministers who do His pleasure," and the stars, of which He brings
forth the hosts by number. In fact, the conception underlying the name
is that of the universe as an ordered whole, a disciplined army, a
cosmos obedient to His voice. It is the same conception which the
centurion had learned from his legion, where the utterance of one will
moved all the stern, shining ranks. That mighty name, like a charge of
explosives, bursts the gates of brass asunder, and the procession
sweeps through them amid yet another burst of triumphant music.