Psalm 24:9 Komentář

This psalm is concerning the kingdom of Jesus Christ, I. His providential kingdom, by which he rules the world (Psa 24:1, Psa 24:2). II. The kingdom of his grace, by which he rules in his church. 1. Concerning the subjects of that kingdom; their character (Psa 24:4, Psa 24:6), their charter (Psa 24:5). 2. Concerning the King of that kingdom; and a summons to all to give him admission (Psa 24:7-10). It is supposed that the psalm was penned upon occasion of David's bringing up the ark to the place prepared for it, and that the intention of it was to lead the people above the pomp of external ceremonies to a holy life and faith in Christ, of whom the ark was a type. A psalm of David.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 24 A Psalm of David. This psalm is thought by some of the Jewish writers (d) to have been wrote when the ark was brought from the house of Obededom to the city of David, and put into the place prepared for it by him, Sa2 6:17; to which reference is supposed to be had in Psa 24:7; or after that David had built an altar in the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, and had knowledge of the hill Moriah, as the place where the sanctuary was to be built; called the hill of the Lord, and his holy place, Psa 24:3; however, it was certainly written by David, under the inspiration of the spirit of God; and is a prophecy of Christ, and of the Gospel church, and describes the members of it. (d) Aben Ezra & Kimchi.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. See Gill on Psa 24:7. This is repeated on account of the backwardness and negligence of churches, and particular believers, to open and let Christ in; as may be seen in the case of the church in Sol 5:2; as well as the more to set forth the greatness and glory of Christ, about to make his entrance, and to command a proper awe and reverence of him: some think respect is had to the twofold coming of Christ; first into the second temple, and next at the last judgment; though rather the certainty of his coming, in a spiritual manner, to his church and people, is here designed. Psalms 24:10

But after he had destroyed his enemies through his passion, the Lord, who is mighty in battle and strong, … goes, bearing victory and trophies, with the body that arose from the dead.… Certain powers say, “Who is this that is coming from Edom, with scarlet garments from Bosra, so beautiful?” And those escorting him say to those stationed at the gates of heaven, “Lift up your gates, and the King of glory will come in.”

"Take away your gates, you princes." Let us go hence straightway into heaven. Again, let the Prophet's trumpet cry aloud, "Take away too, you princes of the air, the gates, which you have in the minds of men who 'worship the host of heaven.'" [2 Kings 17:16] "And be lifted up, you everlasting gates." And be lifted up, you doors of everlasting righteousness, of love, and chastity, through which the soul loves the One True God, and goes not a-whoring with the many that are called gods. "And the King of glory shall come in" [Psalm 24:9]. "And the King of glory shall come in," that He may at the right hand of the Father intercede for us.

"Lift up." This is the third part of the Psalm: in which he foretells how it was to come about that God would be worshipped in the whole world, as the literal sense explains. God is said to dwell in man through faith: Eph. 3: "That Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts": and through charity: 1 Jn. 4: "He who abides in charity abides in God, and God in him." Likewise, he is said to enter who begins to be where he was not before. God therefore enters into us when we begin to have faith in him. Once the whole world did not have faith in God: and this happened because of a twofold impediment: namely, because of the decrees of rulers, and because of ancient custom. The first happened because individual cities proposed to themselves laws of idolatry, and established particular gods: and this worship was, as it were, deeply rooted; the demons also fostered this. Likewise the angels were worshipped, whom they called the host of heaven: and these impediments were the gates or doors that, being shut, prevent entry into the house. He does three things. First he foretells what is to come. Second, he poses a question. Third, he gives the answer. He says therefore: "You rulers," that is, O evil men, or O demons, "lift up your gates," that is, raise up the impediments which you place so that men may not approach God. Jerome has "raise up"; as if to say, remove them, etc. Ps. 9: "You exalt me from the gates of death, that I may declare all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion." "And you, eternal gates," that is, the eternal and ancient impediment: "be lifted up," that is, be removed: Ps. 75: "You shine wonderfully from the everlasting mountains"; as if to say: you ancient impediments, remove yourselves from the hearts of men: and then he who is the "king of glory shall enter" into the world through faith and charity and worship. Or it can be said that there are twofold gates: some that are evil, which close the way to life; others that are good, by which the way of life is opened. Ps. 117: "Open the ways of life," that is, of justice, etc. The evil gates are sins; the good ones are virtues. He says therefore: O rulers, lift up your gates, that is, open them, and remove sins: and acquire the "eternal" gates, that is, the eternal gifts from the eternal God: "be lifted up," in your hearts, and the king of glory shall enter. He speaks prophetically, because from the beginning not all believed at once, but they doubted; as if to say: whom do we want to believe, and whom do we want to obey? The God of the Jews? Ex. 5: "I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go." And therefore he shows this when he says, "Who is this king of glory?" And he answers: "The Lord, strong and mighty." A king appears glorious for three reasons. Because first he acquires great things by strength; hence he says "strong": Prov. 12: "The hand of the valiant shall rule": Job 9: "If strength is sought, he is most mighty." Second, because of his power; and he shows this when he says "the Lord, mighty," because he is most powerful to rule: Job 36: "God does not cast away the mighty": Dan. 7: "His power is an everlasting power," etc. Third, because he is a good warrior; hence he says "the Lord, mighty in battle," by which he conquered death and the Devil in all things: Rev. 5: "The lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered." Or "strong" in his own nature, "mighty" in jurisdiction over his own, and "mighty" against adversaries. Now what he says a second time, "Lift up," etc., can be called a repetition: and this so that the hearers may not delay in learning who this mighty one is. Or the first is addressed to the rulers, that is, to the demons; but what he says here is addressed to the good angels, who also by their own dignity, though not by their own effort, were previously worshipped by men who venerated them: 2 Kgs. 17: "They worshipped all the host of heaven": as if to say, remove the impediments on account of which men worship you. And therefore here he says, "The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory." In the Gloss, however, there is another exposition. Christ descended to hell and ascended into heaven: and here he foretells both of these. And first he admonishes the infernal powers to open up; hence he says, "Lift up," etc. O infernal rulers, open your gates: "and be lifted up," etc. "And the king of glory shall enter." But when the demons asked, "Who is this king of glory?" he answers: he who was "strong and mighty in battle" against you. Second he admonishes the citizens above us to open the gates of Paradise. Hence Christ, responding as if with the voice of a herald and acting in that role, directing his voice toward heaven, says: O heavenly rulers, "lift up," that is, open, "your gates," etc. "And he shall enter," etc. And to those asking, he says, "The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory." Now it should be known, as Dionysius says, that this is not to be understood as though the angels were ignorant of the mystery of the incarnation; but in wonder they said, "Who is this king of glory?" because the glory of Christ surpasses all knowledge. For sometimes Christ himself teaches about himself through Scripture, as it says in Is. 63: "I who speak justice," etc. But here not he himself, but others concerning him, namely the angels, respond, "The Lord of hosts," etc.; because some angels receive illumination immediately from God, as it says in Is. 6: "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and it was full," etc. Others receive it from those angels, such as the middle and lowest orders: and to these the answer is given here by other angels.

God's supreme sovereignty requires a befitting holiness of life and heart in His worshippers; a sentiment sublimely illustrated by describing His entrance into the sanctuary, by the symbol of His worship--the ark, as requiring the most profound homage to the glory of His Majesty. (Psa 24:1-10) fulness--everything. world--the habitable globe, with they that dwell--forming a parallel expression to the first clause.