the world, and they that dwell therein. Psa 24:1
From the Biblical Illustrator:
The whole world belongs to God. He is the Creator of the earth, and therefore, its Proprietor; or, in other words, “the property vests in him.” It belongs to Him in a sense somewhat similar to our right of property in anything that is the production of our hands, or of our labor or skill. We claim that as our own. We feel that we have a right to use it, or to dispose of it, as we choose. No other person has a right to take it from us, or to dictate to us how we shall employ it. Thus, God, in the highest possible sense, has a right to the earth, and to all which it produces, as being all of it the creation of His hands, and the fruit of His culture and skill. He has a right to dispose of it as He pleases; by fire, or flood, or tempest; and He has an equal right to direct man in what way He shall employ that portion of the productions of the earth which may be entrusted to Him. All the right which any person has to any portion of the earth’s surface, or to what is treasured up in the earth, or to what it is made to produce, is subordinate to the claims of God, and all should be yielded up at His bidding, whether He comes and claims it to be employed in His service, or whether He comes and sweeps it away by fire or flood; by the locust, or by the palmer-worm.
(Robert Flint, D. D.)
"And the fulness thereof - All which it contains; everything which goes to “fill up” the world: animals, minerals, vegetables, people. All belong to God, and He has a right to claim them for His service, and to dispose of them as He pleases. This very language, so noble, so true, and so suitable to be made conspicuous in the eyes of human beings, I saw inscribed in a place where it seemed to be most appropriate, and most adapted to arrest and direct the thoughts of men - on the front of the Royal Exchange in London. It was well to remind the great merchants of the largest commercial city in the world of the truth which it contains; it does much to describe the character of the British nation that it should be inscribed in a place so conspicuous, and, as it were, on the wealth of that great capital. All their riches and investments, are only borrowed, while sojourning here as pilgrims. (Albert Barnes)
Psa_24:1-2 were sung by the whole festal crowd; Psa_24:3 by a soloist; Psa_24:4-5 by the choir; and Psa_24:6 by the entire congregation. What a sublime challenge on the part of the approaching host is contained in Psa_24:7, to be answered by a company from within the gates in Psa_24:8! To this again the vast shout of the multitude gives reply in Psa_24:9.
This magnificent ode reached its perfect accomplishment when the mighty Victor over hell and the grave arose on high and sat down at the Father’s right hand. Oh, let the gates of your heart open wide to admit Him!
(F.B. Meyer)
Scripture reference:
Eze 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
All souls are mine - Equally so; I am the Father of the spirits of all flesh, and shall deal impartially with the whole.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die - None shall die for another’s crimes, none shall be saved by another’s righteousness. Here is the general judgment relative to the righteousness and unrighteousness of men, and the influence of one man’s state on that of another; particularly in respect to their moral conduct. (Adam Clarke)