Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 24

The Lord’s. —The majesty of Jehovah as Lord of the universe is a reason for the psalmist to insist on rectitude and sincerity in those who become His worshippers. St. Paul uses the same truth, referring to this passage (1 Corinthians 10:26), to show that all things are innocent and pure to the pure; so that a Christian (apart from a charitable regard for the weak) may eat whatever is sold in the market, without troubling himself to inquire whether it has been offered to idols or not.

Upon the seas.—For the idea of the earth resting on water, compare Psalms 136:6; Proverbs 8:25–29. In Genesis, the dry land emerges from the water, but is not said to be founded on it. In Job 26:7, the earth is said to be hung upon nothing. The idea of a water foundation for the earth naturally grew out of the phenomenon of springs, before it was scientifically explained.

For the elaboration of this answer, see Psalm 15 and Isaiah 33:15; 33:18. “The answer is remarkable, as expressing in language so clear that a child may understand it, the great doctrine that the only service, the only character which can be thought worthy of such a habitation, is that which conforms itself to the laws of truth, honesty, humility, justice, love. Three thousand years have passed, Jerusalem has fallen, the Jewish monarchy and priesthood and ritual and religion have perished; but the words of David still remain, with hardly an exception, the rule by which all wise and good men would measure the worth and value of men, the greatness and strength of nations” (Stanley, Canterbury Sermons).

His soul. —The Hebrew margin is my soul, a reading confirmed by the Alexandrian Codex of the Septuagint. The Rabbis defend it by saying soul here = name (Jeremiah 51:14), and to lift up to vanity = to take in vain.

Vanity. —Evidently, from the parallelism, in the sense of falsehood, as in Job 31:5.

Deceitfully. —Literally, to fraud, from a root meaning to trip up. The Septuagint and Vulgate add to his neighbour.

Righteousness. —This is the real blessing that comes from God. That virtue is her own reward is the moral statement of the truth. The highest religious statement must be looked for in Christ’s “Beatitudes.”