Psalm 24:9
“The King of Glory Enters”Psalm 24:7–10
Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain
Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain
Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain
Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain
Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain
- שְׂאוּse·'Ulift upH5375V-Qal-Imp-2mpVerb Qal Imperative 2nd Plural Masculine
- שְׁעָרִיםshe·'a·RimO gatesH8179N-mpNoun Plural Masculine Absolute
- רָאשֵׁיכֶםra·shei·Khemyour headsH7218N-mpc ¦ 2mpNoun Plural Masculine Construct with suffixרָאשֵׁיheadsכֶםyour
- וּשְׂאוּU·se·'uand lift upH5375Conj-w ¦ V-Qal-Imp-2mpVerb Qal Imperative 2nd Plural Masculineוּandשְׂאוּlift up
- פִּתְחֵיpit·CheiO doors ofH6607N-mpcNoun Plural Masculine Construct
- עוֹלָםo·LamantiquityH5769N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absolute
- וְיָבֹאVe·ya·vo'so he may comeH935Conj-w ¦ V-Qal-ConjImperf-3msVerb Qal Conjunction+Imperfect 3rd Singular Masculineוְsoיָבֹאhe may come
- מֶלֶךְMe·lekh[the] king ofH4428N-mscNoun Singular Masculine Construct
- הַכָּבוֹדha·ka·Vod[the] gloryH3519Art ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteהַ[the]כָּבוֹדglory
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Hebrew, not the KJV's wording. Why?
This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Hebrew word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Hebrew word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “the LORD” where the gloss reads “Yahweh”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.
Words in [ ] are added by the English.
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Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Psalm 24:7–10. He set out his notes in a two-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.
What is spoken once is spoken a second time in these verses; such repetitions are usual in songs, and have much beauty in them. Here is, 1. Entrance once and again demanded for the King of glory; the doors and gates are to be thrown open, thrown wide open, to give him admission, for behold he stands at the door and knocks, ready to come in. 2. Enquiry once and again made concerning this mighty prince, in whose name entrance is demanded: Who is this King of glory? As, when any knock at our door, it is common to ask, Who is there? 3. Satisfaction once and again given concerning the royal person that makes the demand: It is the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle, the Lord of hosts, Psalm 24:8, Psalm 24:10. Now,
I.This splendid entry here described it is probable refers to the solemn bringing in of the ark into the tent David pitched for it or the temple Solomon built for it; for, when David prepared materials for the building of it, it was proper for him to prepare a psalm for the dedication of it. The porters are called upon to open the doors, and they are called everlasting doors, because much more durable than the door of the tabernacle, which was but a curtain. They are taught to ask, Who is this King of glory? And those that bore the ark are taught to answer in the language before us, and very fitly, because the ark was a symbol or token of God's presence, Joshua 3:11. Or it may be taken as a poetical figure designed to represent the subject more affectingly. God, in his word and ordinances, is thus to be welcomed by us,
1.With great readiness: the doors and gates must be thrown open to him. Let the word of the Lord come into the innermost and uppermost place in our souls; and, if we had 600 necks, we should bow them all to the authority of it.
2.With all reverence, remembering how great a God he is with whom we have to do, in all our approaches to him.
II.Doubtless it points at Christ, of whom the ark, with the mercy-seat, was a type.
1.We may apply it to the ascension of Christ into heaven and the welcome given to him there. When he had finished his work on earth he ascended in the clouds of heaven, Daniel 7:13, Daniel 7:14. The gates of heaven must then be opened to him, those doors that may be truly called everlasting, which had been shut against us, to keep the way of the tree of life, Genesis 3:24. Our Redeemer found them shut, but, having by his blood made atonement for sin and gained a title to enter into the holy place (Hebrews 9:12), as one having authority, he demanded entrance, not for himself only, but for us; for, as the forerunner, he has for us entered and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. The keys not only of hell and death, but of heaven and life, must be put into his hand. His approach being very magnificent, the angels are brought in asking, Who is this King of glory? For angels keep the gates of the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:12. When the first-begotten was brought into the upper world the angels were to worship him (Hebrews 1:6); and accordingly, they here ask with wonder, "Who is he? - this that cometh with dyed garments from Bozrah? (Isaiah 63:1-3), for he appears in that world as a Lamb that had been slain." It is answered that he is strong and mighty, mighty in battle, to save his people and subdue his and their enemies.
2.We may apply it to Christ's entrance into the souls of men by his word and Spirit, that they may be his temples. Christ's presence in them is like that of the ark in the temple; it sanctifies them. Behold, he stands at the door and knocks, Revelation 3:20. It is required that the gates and doors of the heart be opened to him, not only as admission is given to a guest, but as possession is delivered to the rightful owner, after the title has been contested. This is the gospel call and demand, that we let Jesus Christ, the King of glory, come into our souls, and welcome him with hosannas, Blessed is he that cometh. That we may do this aright we are concerned to ask, Who is this King of glory? - to acquaint ourselves with him, whom we are to believe in, and to love above all. And the answer is ready: He is Jehovah, and will be Jehovah our righteousness, an all-sufficient Saviour to us, if we give him entrance and entertainment. He is strong and mighty, and the Lord of hosts; and therefore it is at our peril if we deny him entrance; for he is able to avenge the affront; he can force his way, and can break those in pieces with his iron rod that will not submit to his golden sceptre.
In singing this let our hearts cheerfully answer to this call, as it is in the first words of the next psalm, Unto thee, O Lord! do I lift up my soul.
Historical interpretation
Two Centuries of Reception
2 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
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.
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This verse
The call to the gates and everlasting doors comes a second time, so that the King’s entry is certain and the welcome is complete.
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates;”
The call of verse 7 (Psalm 24:7) comes again, word for word, which makes it more urgent.
“even lift them up, ye everlasting doors;”
“Even” presses the command home. The ancient doors must open fully.
“and the King of glory shall come in.”
His coming is as certain the second time as the first. In Christ this was fulfilled when he went up into heaven (Acts 1:9), and it looks ahead to his return (Revelation 1:7, Philippians 2:10–11).
Passage studyPsalm 24:7–10
The King of Glory Enters
Summary
Psalm 24 closes with a scene at the gates of a city. The gates and the everlasting doors are told to lift up their heads, because the King of glory is coming in. A voice asks, “Who is this King of glory?” and the answer comes twice: he is the LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle, and he is the LORD of hosts. The God who owns the whole earth comes to dwell among his people, and the oldest and strongest doors rise to receive him. In Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, this King has come, has gone up into heaven, and will come again.
Why are the gates told to lift up their heads?
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates” speaks to the gates of a city as though they could hear and obey. The verb nâsâʼ is the ordinary word to lift, bear or carry, and here it is a command. The heads of the gates are their upper parts, the top of the gateway, and the gates are told to rise to their full height so that one greater than anyone who has ever passed through them can come in. The word for gates, shaʻar, means an opening, a door or gate. In Israel the gate of a city was the seat of its strength and defence, and it was also where judges sat, news was given out and people met. To tell such gates to raise their heads is to tell all the city’s strength and authority to stand up and make way for its true King.
The second line says the same thing again with more force: “and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors”. The doors, pethach, are openings, doorways or entrances, and they are called ʻôwlâm, a word for time out of mind, reaching back into the past or on into the future, so that it can mean ancient as well as everlasting. These are doors that have stood as long as anyone can remember. Their age makes the scene greater, because the oldest and firmest entrances of the city rise for him. Then comes the reason for the whole command: “and the King of glory shall come in.” That line is a promise. He will come in, and he comes as the King whose right it is to enter.
The ark comes up to Jerusalem
The psalm fits the day David brought the ark of the covenant up to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6), and it was most likely sung as the ark came to the gates of the city, or in later years to the gates of the temple. The ark stood for God’s presence among his people, so its entry into the new capital was a moment of great weight for the whole nation. Kings in that age showed their power by their armies and by grand entries into their cities. Here the King who enters is the LORD himself, and every earthly king is far beneath him.
The setting also shows where these verses stand in Psalm 24. The psalm opens by declaring that the earth is the LORD’s, with all who live in it, because he founded it (Psalm 24:1–2). It then asks, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?” (Psalm 24:3), and answers that it is the one with clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:4–6). People must be made fit to go up to God. Then the psalm turns from people going up to the King coming in, and he enters by his own right as the Maker and Owner of the earth (Psalm 24:1). The holiness asked of those who come near (Psalm 24:3–6) tells us that the place he enters is holy and calls for reverence from those who welcome him. Another psalm uses the same picture of gates for the worshipper: “Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD” (Psalm 118:19–20).
What do the gates and everlasting doors stand for?
They are first of all real gates, the ancient, strong gates of Jerusalem or of the temple, the kind of structures a city trusted for its safety. Because they were the strongest and most lasting things a city had, they also stand for everything that might bar the way of the King of glory. That includes the strongholds and powers of this world, and it reaches the human heart, with its pride, sin, fear and unbelief. All of it is called to rise and open for him.
Who is this King of glory?
The King of glory is the LORD, the covenant God of Israel, and the psalm names him twice so that the answer is beyond question. The question itself belongs to the drama of the scene. A voice at the gates, perhaps a gatekeeper or a choir, asks who is coming, and the procession answers with his name.
The word for King, melek, comes from a root meaning to reign, and it means a king or ruler. The word for glory, kâbôwd, means glory, honour and splendour, and it can also mean wealth. Used of God, it speaks of his majesty and worth, and often of his presence made known among his people. The King of glory, then, is the King to whom all honour belongs and whose splendour comes with him into the place he enters.
The answer turns on his name. Where the KJV prints LORD in capitals, the Hebrew has Yᵉhôvâh, the personal name God made known to Israel, often written “Jehovah” in English and understood as “the self-Existent” or “the Eternal One”. By giving that name, the psalm ties the majestic King to the God who made his covenant with Israel, kept faith with them and acted for them throughout their history. The gods of the nations have no claim here. The One who comes through the gates is the God his people already know.
The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle
Verse 8 gives the first answer: “The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.” The word gibbôwr, “mighty”, is used of a powerful man, a warrior, a champion or a valiant man, and it comes twice in the verse. The LORD is mighty in himself, and he is mighty in battle, the champion who goes out for his people and wins. Israel had sung this at the Red Sea: “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name” (Exodus 15:3). His strength is the same strength that brings out the stars by number and calls them all by name (Isaiah 40:26), and another psalm says, “The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength” (Psalm 93:1). Earthly kings of the time proved themselves by war. The King of glory is the warrior above every warrior, and he rules over all.
What does “mighty in battle” mean for us now?
It means that the LORD defeats every power that sets itself against him and his people. In Israel’s history the battles were real ones, as when he fought for his people at the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14). The same God has won the greatest battle of all in Christ, who triumphed over sin, death and the devil at the cross. Paul says that, “having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). So the title reaches our own struggles, the injustice of the world and every spiritual attack. Our King is at work in the world, and he will bring in his kingdom in full, however dark things look.
The LORD of hosts
Verse 10 asks the question again and gives the fullest answer: “The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.” The word for hosts, tsâbâʼ, means an army or host, war or a campaign, service, and the host of heaven, and it forms this title. In Hebrew the title is Yᵉhôvâh Sabaoth. It names God as the commander of the armies of heaven, the angels and the stars, and of every power in heaven and on earth. The first answer showed him as a warrior. This one shows that every army there is belongs to him.
It is the name in which David went out against Goliath: “I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). It is the name the seraphim cried out when Isaiah saw the Lord on his throne: “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). In that vision the King of glory fills his temple (Isaiah 6:1–3), and Isaiah, seeing him, knows his own uncleanness (Isaiah 6:1–5). The same majesty is praised in Psalm 96:6: “Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”
So the psalm ends where it began. The God who owns the earth (Psalm 24:1) is the King whose presence calls for purity and whose power has no equal.
What does Selah mean?
Selah, in Hebrew çelâh, is most likely a musical or liturgical mark. It is usually taken as a pause, a break in the singing or a musical interlude, and it comes often in the Psalms. Placed after “he is the King of glory”, it gives the worshipper time to stop and let that truth sink in.
Why the call comes twice
Verses 7 and 9 are almost the same, and so are the questions of verses 8 and 10. The repetition makes the call more urgent and the King’s coming more certain. The second time the gates are addressed, the line runs “even lift them up, ye everlasting doors”, pressing the command home.
The answers grow as they are repeated. The first names the LORD as strong and mighty in battle. The second names him as the LORD of hosts and says outright, “he is the King of glory.” The whole scene builds to that last line, the high point of the psalm. People who stand before the gates of verse 3 need clean hands to go up. The King of glory enters because the earth and everything in it is his.
The King of glory is Jesus Christ
This psalm finds its fullest meaning in Jesus Christ. Paul calls him “the Lord of glory” whom the rulers of this world crucified (1 Corinthians 2:8), and James speaks of “our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1). He is “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1:3), the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), through whom all things were created and in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:16–17). The King who comes through the gates in this psalm is the Son.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the crowds hailed him as King (Matthew 21:1–11, John 12:13–15), a King of glory entered his city, though he came humbly on a donkey and that day was only a glimpse of his kingship. The greater fulfilment is his ascension. Having conquered sin and death, he went up into heaven (Acts 1:9–11), and the everlasting doors of heaven lifted up their heads for the victorious King. Paul writes, “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men” (Ephesians 4:8–10), and he says that God raised Christ and set him at his own right hand, far above every power (Ephesians 1:20–23).
By his death he has also opened the way into God’s presence for us. The veil is torn, and we may draw near with boldness by his blood (Hebrews 10:19–20). The holy hill that no one could climb in his own strength is open to all who come through him.
The psalm looks ahead to his return as well. He will come with the clouds, and every eye will see him (Revelation 1:7). John saw him riding out as the faithful and true warrior, truly mighty in battle (Revelation 19:11–16), with a name written on him, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16). Then every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9–11). God’s desire to dwell with his people, which began with the ark coming through the gates of Jerusalem, ends in the New Jerusalem, lit by the glory of God, where all who are written in the Lamb’s book of life enter (Revelation 21:23–27).
Opening the gates to the King
The King of glory who entered Jerusalem and ascended into heaven also comes to the hearts of his people. Christ says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). He wants a full welcome, and he comes to dwell, so that Paul can speak of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
So it is fitting for us to ask which gates in our own lives are still shut against him. They may be old habits, unconfessed sin, an unforgiving spirit, pride or a settled fear, and some of them have stood so long they feel everlasting. The command of this psalm still stands, and the King is strong and mighty. The earlier verses of the psalm ask for clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:3–4), and we answer that call by welcoming him with reverence and letting his holiness shape our thoughts, words and deeds.
This King is also the LORD of hosts, the commander of every power in heaven and earth. When you face your own battles, you can trust him with them, because he fights for his people and his victory is sure. We worship him with awe, and we rest in his strength.
Psalm 24:7
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates;”
The gates (shaʻar) are spoken to as if they could hear. Their heads are the upper part of the gateway, which is to rise high enough for the King.
“and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors;”
The same verb, nâsâʼ, is repeated for the doors (pethach, doorways or entrances). They are ʻôwlâm, ancient and lasting, the oldest and firmest entrances of the city.
“and the King of glory shall come in.”
The reason for the command and a sure promise. The King (melek) of glory (kâbôwd) enters his own city as the One the earth belongs to (Psalm 24:1–2).
Psalm 24:8
“Who is this King of glory?”
The question is asked here for the first time, as if by a voice at the gates, so that the King’s name can be proclaimed.
“The LORD strong and mighty,”
The King is Yᵉhôvâh, the covenant God of Israel. “Mighty” is gibbôwr, a champion or valiant warrior.
“the LORD mighty in battle.”
The same word again, now for war. He is the LORD who fought at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:3) and who triumphed over every power at the cross (Colossians 2:15).
Psalm 24:9 This verse
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates;”
The call of verse 7 (Psalm 24:7) comes again, word for word, which makes it more urgent.
“even lift them up, ye everlasting doors;”
“Even” presses the command home. The ancient doors must open fully.
“and the King of glory shall come in.”
His coming is as certain the second time as the first. In Christ this was fulfilled when he went up into heaven (Acts 1:9), and it looks ahead to his return (Revelation 1:7, Philippians 2:10–11).
Psalm 24:10
“Who is this King of glory?”
The question of verse 8 is repeated so that the fullest answer can be given.
“The LORD of hosts,”
Yᵉhôvâh Sabaoth, from tsâbâʼ, an army or host. He commands the hosts of heaven and every power on earth (1 Samuel 17:45).
“he is the King of glory.”
The closing affirmation of the psalm, the same truth the seraphim sang (Isaiah 6:3), and the title Christ bears as King of kings (Revelation 19:16) at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 1:20–21).
“Selah.”
çelâh, most likely a musical or liturgical pause, giving the worshipper time to take in what has just been said.
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