A Psalm of David: – David composed this Psalm that they might recite it as they brought the ark to the Most Holy House. And this was after he had offered a burnt-offering on Mount Moriah, and the place had been revealed to him, and he knew that there would be (built) the House of the Lord, as it is written in the Books of Chronicles (I. 22:1). And he says:

The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; The world and they that dwell therein: – And although the earth is the Lord's, this mountain is called the mountain of the Lord and His Holy Place (specifically), because it is His Holy Place in truth, for it is a habitation (in the earth) corresponding to the Throne of Glory (in heaven). And the expression הארץ (the. earth) includes the whole of the earth, as (Gen. 1:1) “the heavens and the earth”; and the expression תבל (world) is equivalent to the inhabited parts; therefore, in connexion with earth, he uses the phrase its fulness, and with world (he uses) and those that dwell therein.

For He hath founded it upon (the) seas, And established it upon (the) floods: – The earth He has established upon seas and floods for the sake of the creatures upon it; but this mountain He has not founded for all creatures, not even for all the sons of men, but for the clean of hand and pure of heart; and it is the seed of Jacob who seek the Lord, and were bidden to be clean of hand and pure of heart. And so they were often, as in the days of Joshua and in the days of the elders who outlived him, even as it says (Josh. 24:31), “and Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua”; and so, in the days of the judges all the days of the judges; and in the days of Samuel it says (1 Sam. 7:2), “All the house of Israel was drawn together after the Lord”; and in the days of David and Solomon; and so in the days of the rest of the kings who were good. And there has not been one such as this among other people to serve the Name unitedly. Therefore he says that none shall ascend this holy hill of the Lord except the seekers after the Lord, and they are the house of Jacob. And in the Haggadic interpretation (Shoher Tob, with some verbal change): “the earth is the Lord's and its fulness – this is the land of Israel: for He hath founded it upon (the) seas and established it upon the floods (rivers), because it rests upon seven seas and four rivers, and these are the seven seas: the Great Sea, the Sea of Sibhkay, the Sea of Tiberias, the Salt Sea, the Sea of Chulta, the Sea of Chulitha, the Sea of Sheryithi, and the Sea of Hispamia; and these are the four rivers: the Jordan, the Yarmukh, the Keramyon, and the Pigah.” And the interpretation of upon (the) seas and upon (the) floods is “next to” seas and rivers, as (in the text) (Num. 2:20), “and next to him (i.e. Ephraim), the tribe of Manasseh.” And (it is said) that there is no habitable spot in the world (more than) eighteen days' (journey) distant from the sea, and this is for the provision of moisture for the creatures; and likewise the rivers are for the use (provision) of the creatures; and this is according to what is said (Is. 45:18), “He formed it to be inhabited” because He established it so that created beings might live in it. And the reason (for so doing) was because it had not been created so from the beginning, but rather (at first) to be entirely under water; for the waters encompassed it on every side as the air encompassed the waters on every side, and the fire encompasses the air on every side. And behold the earth was under the waters, in accordance with the nature He imposes on them; and He did not make it so at first, in order to demonstrate that all is in His hand and that He varies (their) natures at His pleasure. And God commanded that its first division should be uncovered, so that the creatures might live in it; and (so) He says (Gen. 1:9) “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered unto one place and let the dry land appear.”

Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? – Because it is not fitting that every man should ascend it, seeing that it is a place of holiness and repentance.

The clean of hand and pure of heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, And hath not sworn deceitfully: – Notice that he indicates in this verse three dispositions in man, action, thought, and speech; and in the three of them the man will be perfect who shall be clean in his actions, pure in his heart, and trustworthy in his speech. (The marginal reading) is נפשׁי (written) with yodh (= my soul), and is the utterance of God, as (in the verses) (Exod. 20:7; Deut. 5:11), “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain”; and נפשׁו (His soul, essence, being) is (equivalent to) His Name. And so it says (in the verse) (Amos. 6:8), “The Lord God hath sworn by Himself (בנפשׁו).” And the word as written, נפשׁו, i.e. with waw, means his soul, viz. the swearer's; a man shall not lift up unto vanity nor swear deceitfully, but in truth and righteousness. And such swearing is a mitzvah to the fearers of the Name, as is said (in the text) (Deut. 6:13), “And shalt swear by His Name”; and another verse says (ibid. 10:20), “The Lord thy God shalt thou fear, Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou cleave, and by His Name shalt thou swear.” When these attributes (i.e. service, fear, adhesion) are thine, then by His Name shalt thou swear. And so it says (Jer. 4:2), “And thou shalt swear ‘As the Lord liveth,’ in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness.”

Such an one shall receive a blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation: – Shall receive (ישׂא), i.e. shall take (יקח), as (Ruth 1:4), “And they took (וישׂאו) them wives.” A blessing on the analogy of (2 Kings 5:15), “Take now a blessing (present) from thy servant.” Or (the) interpretation may be, One shall take to him (a blessing), as (Gen. 43:34), “Messes from before him were taken to them” They who go up into the House of the Lord shall receive a blessing from the Lord, because He will give them His blessing and righteousness, and save them from all trouble, and this is from the God of his salvation.

This is the generation of them that seek Him: – Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord and in His Holy Place, because he is clean of hand and pure of heart? This is the generation of the seekers of the Lord, and they are Israel. And this happened in the days of Solomon, who built the House. And the Kethib דרשו (him that seeks Him) corresponds to דּוֹר (generation), which is a collective term, singular; and the Keri דֹּרְשָׁיו (them that seek Him) corresponds to the individuals, who are many.

That seek Thy face, (even) Jacob: – The singer speaks as to God. These are they who seek Thy face in the Holy House, Jacob, and they are Israel; for all the seed of Jacob are called by the name Jacob, as (Jer. 30:10) “And thou fear not, O my servant Jacob” with other instances besides; And there is no need to supply seed of as the interpreters have done. And the word Selah I have interpreted in the third Psalm, and there is no need to interpret it in every place where it occurs.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates! – In the Haggadic interpretation (Shoher Tob; Babli, Shabbath 30a; Moed Katon 9a; Sanhedrin 107 b, and in other places): “it is clear that the gates were fastened together when Solomon sought to bring in the ark into the house of the Holy of Holies.” According to the literal interpretation he seems to speak metaphorically, as (in Ps. xcvi. 2:12), “Let the sea roar and the fulness thereof; let the field exult and all that is in it.” And so he says, Lift tip your heads, O ye gates!

And be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; that the King of Glory may come in: – For great glory shall ye receive on the day when the King of Glory comes into you. And because the Glory rested on the ark, between the two cherubim, he calls it by the name of the Lord, the King of Glory. And so (2 Sam. 6:2), “Whereupon is called the Name, even the name of the Lord of Hosts that sitteth upon the cherubim.” And so it (the ark) is called (in Josh. 3:11) “The Lord of all the earth”; and so it is said of it (Num. 10:35) “Rise up, O Lord” (and ibid. 36) “Return, O Lord” And so he says of it (in Ps. 47:6) “God is gone up with a shout” And he says everlasting doors because hitherto the ark travelled from place to place. It came from the desert to Gilgal, and from Gilgal to Shiloh, and from Shiloh to the land of the Philistines, and from the land of the Philistines to Bethshemesh, and from Bethshemesh to Kirjath Je'arim, and from Kirjath Je'arim to the house of Obed Edom, and from the house of Obed to the City of David. And now they brought it into a place where it might remain for ever, and therefore he says everlasting doors. And so he says (in the verse) (i Kings 8:13), “A place for thee to dwell in for ever” And Sha'ar (gate) is the name for the threshold with the doorpost as it is; and pethach (door, lit. opening) is the name for that which is left from the gate, from the doors and outwards. And so it is called pethach, because it is open continually.

Who is the King of Glory? – as if the gates were asking, Who is the King of Glory? And the reply:

The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle: – And he uses these adjectives because the ark used to go out with them in battle, and they were victorious over their enemies by its aid.

Lift up your head, O ye gates: – The repetition is according to the idiom of the language; he repeats the thought with a change of terms. And the learned Rabbi Abraham ben Ezra wrote that this second verse hints to the return of the Glory at the coming of the Redeemer. And he expounds

Yea, lift up, ye everlasting doors – (supplying) your heads, for your heads, which he has mentioned, is to be understood again (lit. stands in the place of two), according to the idiom of the language,

that the King of Glory may come in. –

Who is the King of Glory? – And in this verse he does notmention mighty in battle, and the reason is, according to our interpretation, because after the ark had once rested in the House of Eternity, it should not go out again to battle; therefore the reply is according to the change of meaning.

The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory. Selah: – because He appeared in His glory in the House of Eternity. And so Solomon says (in the verse) (1 Kings 8:12; 2 Chron. 6:1): “The Lord hath said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.” And he says Lord of Hosts, because all the hosts of Israel were coming into this House and offered sacrifice only in it. And according to the interpretation of the learned Rabbi Abraham ben Ezra, (the Psalmist) mentions mighty in battle in the first instance because, while the Glory dwelt among Israel, they should dwell in peace and have no war and not fear an enemy, because the Glory would fight for His holy ones. And he does not mention mighty in battle in the second instance because of (the passage) (Isaiah 2:4; Mic. 4:3) “and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,” and the land shall rest from all war. And the reason for Lord of Hosts is because the men of the generation shall be as the angels of the Name (i.e. God), for the Lord is called so because of the host of heaven.