Psalms 24:6 - Exposition

This is the generation of them that seek him . Men with this character impressed upon them are the "generation," the stamp of men, whom God will recognize and accept as his worshippers, true seekers after him. That seek thy face, O Jacob. The LXX . have, ζητούντων τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ θεοῦ ἰακώβ , whence some suppose אלהי to have fallen out of the Hebrew text. This, no doubt, is possible, and removes all difficulty. But it is better to loose a Gordian knot than to cut it. We may keep the present text, and obtain a satisfactory sense, by regarding "Jacob" as grammatically in apposition with "generation,'' and translating, "This is the generation of them that seek him—that seek thy face—even Jacob." All they are not Israel who are of Israel ( Romans 9:6 ). The true Jacob consisted of those Israelites who answered to the character described in Psalms 24:4 . Selah . A break, or pause, here occurred, while the procession of Levites advanced to the very gates of the sanctuary. Then the strain was resumed—the choir being divided into two parts, which sang antiphonally.