Seder 126: Psalm 24---God as Creator, Holy One, and King

 Psalm 24 is a psalm associated with the first day of the week (the first day of creation) in Jewish tradition.  It begins by praising God as Creator.  God owns and rules all things because he created everything.  He brought order out of chaos, crafting a beautifully-designed universe (vv 1-2).

Because God is our Creator and Ruler, coming into his presence is not to be taken lightly.  Pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the festivals were mindful of this, and verses 3-6 of Psalm 24, like Psalm 15, may be part of a liturgy for pilgrims arriving in Jerusalem.  For those who seek God, the goal is to live lives of integrity, where both deeds and thoughts are pure.  We should have "clean hands and a pure heart" (v 4).  

Psalm 24:7-10 pictures God the King triumphantly entering Jerusalem or the Temple.  This passage calls for the gates (of Jerusalem or of the Temple) to "lift up their heads" so that the King of Glory may enter.  Since gates do not have heads, verse 7 seems to be speaking figuratively.  (Or it could be calling for the people within the gates to lift up their heads.)  

Commentators (e.g., Tremper Longman) propose that these verses are from another liturgy, where perhaps the armies of Israel are returning from a victory.  Priests leading the way and bearing the ark of the covenant ask priests inside the gates to open them.  The liturgy praises God for giving his people the victory.  

The midrash on the Psalms associates verses 7-10 with the inauguration of Solomon's Temple.  When the ark is being brought to the new Temple, the gates initially refuse to open because Solomon has given himself too much credit for the building of the Temple (based on 1 Kings 8:13).  But when Solomon prays the words in 2 Chron 6:41-42, the gates open for the ark.  

Verse 7 refers to the gates as "ancient doors," suggesting another interpretation where the gates are the gates of either heaven or hell.  Christian tradition has long associated this passage with Jesus' ascension.  For example, Justin Martyr in chapter 36 of Dialogue with Trypho pictures Jesus arriving at the gates of heaven.  Since he bears the marks of crucifixion, the heavenly beings guarding the gates do not initially recognize him and ask who he is.  The Holy Spirit responds that this is the King of Glory, the Lord mighty in battle.  Justin, in other words, interprets this passage prosopologically, seeing more than one member of the Godhead speaking.