John Calvin Commentary Psalms 24:6

"This is the generation of them that seek after him, That seek thy face, [even] Jacob. Selah" — Psalms 24:6 (ASV)

This is the generation. I have just now observed that by the demonstrative pronoun this, the Psalmist erases from the catalogue of God’s servants all counterfeit Israelites. These individuals, trusting only in their circumcision and the sacrifices of beasts, have no concern about offering themselves to God, and yet, at the same time, they rashly thrust themselves into the church.

Such persons may pretend to delight in God’s service by often coming to His temple, but they have no other design than to withdraw themselves from Him as far as they can. Now, since it was very common for them to claim that they all belonged to the holy seed, the Psalmist has limited the name of holy generation to the true observers of the law. This is as if he had said, All who have sprung from Abraham according to the flesh are not, on that account, his legitimate children.

It is, no doubt, truly said in many other places (as we shall see in Psalm 27) that those sought the face of God who, to testify their godliness, exercised themselves in the ceremonies before the ark of the covenant. This was true, however, only if they were brought there by a pure and holy disposition.

But while hypocrites, like true saints, seek God externally in a certain way, they nevertheless shun Him through their evasions and false pretenses. David here declares that God is not truly sought unless a zealous cultivation of holiness and righteousness comes first. To give this statement greater emphasis, he repeats it, using the second person and addressing his words to God.

It is as if he summoned hypocrites before God’s judgment-seat—those who think nothing of falsely using God’s name before the world. He thus teaches us that whatever they may say in their empty talk among men, God’s judgment will be a very different matter.

For confirmation of the same doctrine, he adds the word 'Jacob,' using it to refer to those who were descended from Jacob. It is as if he had said that although circumcision distinguishes all the seed of Jacob according to the flesh from the Gentiles, yet we can only distinguish the chosen people by their fear and reverence for God. As Christ said, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! (John 1:47).