Commentary - Psalm 24:1-2

Bird's-eye view

This magnificent psalm of David begins not with a whisper, but with a thunderclap. It is a declaration of cosmic ownership. Before we can even ask the central question of the psalm, which is who may ascend the hill of the Lord, we must first be confronted with the foundational truth of who this Lord is. He is not a local deity, not a tribal god, not a celestial being who is assigned a particular territory. He is the sovereign owner of every molecule and every man. The basis for this universal claim is stated immediately: He is the Creator. He built the place. This psalm functions as a title deed to the universe, and it serves to put all human pretensions, whether from kings or commoners, into their proper, subordinate place. The entire world is God's temple, and the psalm will go on to describe the kind of person who is fit to worship within it.

The first two verses establish the premise for everything that follows. Because God owns the world, He has the absolute right to set the terms for how one may approach Him. This is not our house where we can track mud in. This is His holy mountain. The psalm is therefore a frontal assault on all forms of secularism, which seeks to carve out little pockets of reality where God is not acknowledged as owner. David, speaking by the Spirit, leaves no room for such nonsense. From the deepest sea trench to the highest mountain peak, from the ant to the emperor, it all belongs to Yahweh.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 24 is one of a trio of psalms (22, 23, 24) that have a clear Messianic and kingly focus. Psalm 22 is the psalm of the cross, the suffering King. Psalm 23 is the psalm of the shepherd, the caring King. And Psalm 24 is the psalm of the crown, the conquering and glorified King. It is often described as a processional hymn, perhaps sung by the Levitical choirs as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem and up to Mount Zion (2 Samuel 6). The structure is antiphonal, with a call and response. It begins with a universal declaration of God's sovereignty (vv. 1-2), then poses a question about who is worthy to enter His presence (v. 3), gives the moral and spiritual qualifications (vv. 4-6), and culminates in a dramatic call for the gates of the city to open for the King of Glory to enter (vv. 7-10). It is a psalm about access to God, which begins with acknowledging His total authority over everything.

Key Issues

The Landlord of the World

Before we get to any other business, we must settle the ownership question. In our day, men act as though they are autonomous, as though they are the landlords of their own lives, and that God, if He exists, is perhaps a tenant to whom they might sublet a small room on Sunday mornings. This psalm comes in and demolishes the entire ramshackle structure of human pride. It begins with the most audacious and all-encompassing property claim ever made. And because the claim is true, it has staggering implications for every aspect of our lives, from our politics to our pocketbooks.

David is not setting forth a debatable proposition here. He is not offering a theory. He is stating a brute fact, the foundational fact of all existence. This is the bedrock on which all other truths rest. If this first verse is not true, then nothing else in the Bible matters. But because it is true, everything else in the Bible matters immensely.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 The earth is Yahweh’s, as well as its fullness, The world, and those who dwell in it.

The claim is fourfold and comprehensive. First, the earth is Yahweh's. The planet itself, the physical globe with its dirt and rocks and oceans, belongs to Him. He holds the title deed. This is a direct contradiction to paganism, which saw the earth as the domain of various chaotic or chthonic deities, and to modern materialism, which sees the earth as a cosmic accident belonging to no one. Second, He owns its fullness. This is a crucial addition. It means everything that fills the earth. The iron ore in the mountains, the oil under the ground, the cattle on a thousand hills, the money in the bank, the books in the library, the code in the computer. There is not one atom or one idea that is not contained within "its fullness." This means there is no such thing as a secular realm. Economics, art, science, and politics are all sub-departments of God's property management. Third, He owns the world, which here likely means the inhabited world, the ordered system of human civilization. And fourth, just in case anyone missed the point, He owns those who dwell in it. Every single human being, from the believer singing in the pew to the atheist railing against his Maker, is God's property. This is why God has the right to command all men everywhere to repent. He is not making a suggestion to strangers; He is issuing a command to His creatures who are living on His land.

2 For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers.

The little word For is the logical linchpin of the entire psalm. Why does the earth belong to Yahweh? Because He made it. His ownership is not based on conquest or purchase; it is based on creation. He is the author, the architect, and the builder. The imagery here is profoundly theological. In the ancient mind, the seas and rivers often represented the forces of chaos, the unformed, the deep, the abyss. What David is saying is that God's creative power is so immense that He takes the very symbol of chaos and uses it as a foundation for His ordered world. He lays the foundations of civilization right on top of the abyss and it holds firm. This is not a statement of primitive science, as though the continents were floating on water. It is a sophisticated statement of theology, declaring that God's sovereign decree brings order, stability, and purpose out of what would otherwise be formless and void. He founded it and established it. These are words of permanence and stability. The world is not a rickety shack; it is a well-built house, and it stands because the Creator Himself sustains it. His creative act was not a one-time event; His power is continually engaged in upholding the world He has made.

Application

The implications of these two verses are revolutionary. First, they utterly destroy any sacred-secular distinction. If the earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, then there is no square inch of existence over which Jesus Christ, who is Yahweh incarnate, does not say, "Mine." Your business is His. Your family is His. Your government is His. Your art is His. The Christian life is not about retreating into a spiritual ghetto; it is about living faithfully as God's stewards in God's world, seeking to bring every corner of "its fullness" into conformity with His will.

Second, this gives us tremendous confidence. We are not aliens and strangers here, trying to carve out a little space for our faith in a hostile, alien world. We are children of the King, living in our Father's house. When we proclaim the gospel, we are not trespassing on the devil's territory. The devil is the squatter and the usurper. We are the authorized agents of the true Landlord, announcing His claims and calling all other tenants to pay the rent that is due Him, which is their worship and obedience.

Finally, this is the only proper foundation for worship. We cannot come to God with a list of our demands or on our own terms. We come as creatures to our Creator, as subjects to our King, as tenants to our Landlord. We come acknowledging His total and absolute rights over us. True worship begins with the glad and humble confession on our lips: "The earth is Yahweh's, and its fullness." When we get that right, we are then prepared to ask the next question: "Who may ascend the hill of Yahweh?"