Psalm 24 is a hymn of ascent, that is, about the path of a person who desires to enter the space of God. Yet it is not only about a temple made of stone, but about the inner sanctuary of the heart, says Fr. Piotr Kwiatek, a Capuchin, doctor of psychology, and initiator of psalm therapy, in the Heschel Center (KUL) commentary on Psalm 24 sung in churches on the Solemnity of All Saints.
Fr. Kwiatek notes that the psalmist “David sings of the earth belonging to the Lord, of clean hands and a pure heart, of a generation that seeks His face. It is a boundary psalm: between matter and spirit, earth and heaven, possessing and giving.”
Psalm 24 touches on the theme of authenticity. “Is my heart consistent with my hands?” the Capuchin asks. “The modern human being, lost in a flood of stimuli, desires, and fears, needs this map today more than ever. The psalm becomes a mirror: it asks what fills our hands, hearts, and dreams.”
Between possession and gift
Psalm 24 is a song about belonging and identity. According to the rabbis, its opening words—“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it”—should be recalled before every meal as a confession that “nothing is truly ours, everything is a gift.” Fr. Kwiatek writes that “awareness of this fact changes our perspective on life. When I know that the world does not belong to me but to God, I cease to be an owner and become a steward—a guest in a house that is not mine, but in which I may dwell with gratitude. These words strike at the very heart of our illusion of control.”
According to the psalm, human spiritual maturity does not focus on ruling over the world. “In a world that constantly urges us to acquire, dominate, and accumulate, the psalm reminds us that we are guests in a reality that surpasses us,” the commentator notes. “Recognizing God as the source of the gift frees us from the fear of losing.”
We find a similar truth in Christian tradition when we speak of “merit within merit.” “Our good deeds are the fruit of human effort, but their source remains God’s grace. A person cooperates with this grace, making it visible in the world. From such awareness arise gratitude and responsibility for the earth, which is a gift, and for everything entrusted to us,” writes Fr. Piotr Kwiatek.
Clean hands and heart
As the initiator of psalm therapy emphasizes, Psalm 24 speaks “of a person whose actions are consistent with his or her inner life. In the Bible, purity does not mean moral sterility but the absence of inner division. A pure heart is a true heart, free from deceit, not driven by fear or vanity.”
Jesus referred to the theme of purity in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). “It is an echo of the psalm, sounding like a reminder that the path to transcendence leads through honesty in everyday choices. Rabbi Malbim adds that a pure heart is one that fears only God, not people. Fear of judgment, dependence on others’ opinions—these are contemporary ‘vanities’ that rob us of freedom. A person who stands before God with the truth about himself truly stands.”
Community in diversity
“In the place where those who seek God meet, many paths become one,” writes Fr. Kwiatek. “David wrote this psalm while preparing a place for the Ark of the Covenant, the sign of God’s presence among the people. Contemporary humans, so often lonely in a crowd, need a similar space today: a community in which individual searching does not disappear but matures. A community in which the ‘I’ does not vanish in the ‘we,’ but finds its fullness.”
From the vastness of the cosmos to the intimacy of the heart
As the commentator notes, Psalm 24 “leads from the immensity of the cosmos to the intimacy of the heart, and then to a community that journeys together.” The psalm “shows that the fullness of life is born from three sources: recognizing God’s ownership of the world, purity of intention, and a community based on seeking.”
Jesus as the Mountain of the Lord
The Capuchin emphasizes that “in the biblical tradition, the Mountain of the Lord was the place of revelation, the point at which earth touched heaven. It was there that a person entered the space of God’s presence, experiencing truth and judgment, as on Zion.” Meanwhile, in the New Testament the meaning of this symbolism is different. As Fr. Kwiatek writes, “it is no longer about a stone peak but about a person. Jesus Christ becomes the new, living Mountain of the Lord—the place where God meets the human face to face.” He adds: “It is not the human being who climbs toward God, but God who descends to the human. Christ himself becomes the path by which one may enter the presence of the Father.” The psalm becomes an invitation “to fullness and to a life that does not flee the world but permeates it with the light of God’s presence.”
Piotr Kwiatek OFMCap – doctor of psychology, priest and friar of the Kraków Province of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. He completed a three-year Gestalt therapy program in Philadelphia (USA). He also underwent training at the Albert Ellis Institute in New York in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). He teaches courses on positive interventions at SWPS University - studies recommended by the founder of the positive psychology movement, Prof. Martin E.P. Seligman. He is the author of the book series Positive Psychology and Faith as well as Psalm Therapy and the Psalms Workbook. Creator of the free “Dobroteka 2.0” app supporting well-being. More at: www.piotrkwiatek.com
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Heschel Center, Catholic University of Lublin (KUL)
We publish the full text of the commentary
Existential commentary on the psalm
from the liturgy of the day for Saturday 01.XI.2025 (Psalm 24)
Fr. Piotr Kwiatek OFMCap
Commentary on Psalm 24
The inner path to the fullness of life
Psalm 24 is a hymn of ascent, that is, about the path of a person who desires to enter the space of God. Yet it is not only about a temple made of stone, but about the inner sanctuary of the heart. David sings of the earth belonging to the Lord, of clean hands and a pure heart, of a generation that seeks His face. It is a boundary psalm: between matter and spirit, earth and heaven, possessing and giving.
Spiritually, it sounds like a call from the depths: “Who may stand before God?” Psychologically, like a question about authenticity: who am I when no one is looking? Is my heart consistent with my hands? According to rabbinic tradition (Radak, Ibn Ezra), David wrote this psalm on the day he purchased the land for the future Temple—the place from which Adam was to be formed. This is not only a story about stones and soil, but about a return to humanity’s original purity.
The modern human being, lost in a flood of stimuli, desires, and fears, needs this map today more than ever. The psalm becomes a mirror: it asks what fills our hands, hearts, and dreams.
Between possession and gift
Psalm 24 is a song about belonging and identity. It begins with the words: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” The rabbis recommended recalling them before each meal as a confession that nothing is truly ours, that everything is a gift. Awareness of this fact changes one’s perspective on life. When I know that the world does not belong to me but to God, I cease to be an owner and become a steward—a guest in a house that is not mine, but in which I may dwell with gratitude. These words strike at the very heart of our illusion of control. They teach that spiritual maturity does not consist in ruling over the world but in accepting that it is a gift. In a world that constantly urges us to acquire, dominate, and accumulate, the psalm reminds us that we are guests in a reality that surpasses us.
Rabbi Levi explains the apparent tension between two verses: “The earth is the Lord’s” (Ps 24:1) and “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth He has given to the children of men” (Ps 115:16). According to him: “Before the blessing, everything belongs to God; after the blessing— to the human being” (Feuer, 1985, Vol. 1, p. 296). This simple yet profound wisdom teaches that acknowledging God as the source of the gift frees us from the fear of loss. It is the blessing that makes possessing safe, because possession ceases to be a form of control and becomes a grateful acceptance.
A similar truth is proclaimed in Christian tradition when speaking of “merit within merit”: our good deeds are the fruit of human effort, but their source remains God’s grace. A person cooperates with this grace, making it visible in the world. From such awareness arise gratitude and responsibility for the earth, which is a gift, and for everything entrusted to us.
Clean hands and heart
After the hymn about belonging, the psalm asks: “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?” This is no longer a theological theme but an existential one. It is not about ritual but about the truth of life. The Hebrew naki kapajim—“clean hands”—refers to hands that grasp, create, act. They are a symbol of deeds. The heart is a symbol of intention. The psalm therefore speaks of a person whose actions are consistent with his or her inner life. In the Bible, purity does not mean moral sterility but the absence of inner division. A pure heart is a true heart, free from deceit, not driven by fear or vanity.
David, preparing the place for the Temple, taught us how to prepare within ourselves the space for holiness. Jesus later repeated the same: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). This is an echo of the psalm, sounding like a reminder that the path to transcendence leads through honesty in everyday choices. Rabbi Malbim adds that a pure heart is one that fears only God, not people. Fear of judgment, dependence on others’ opinions—these are contemporary “vanities” that rob us of freedom. A person who stands before God with the truth about himself truly stands.
Community in diversity
“This is the generation of those who seek Him”—the psalm moves from singular to plural. From the individual to the community. Hirsch notes that this grammatical shift is not accidental: in the place where those who seek God meet, many paths become one. David wrote this psalm while preparing a place for the Ark of the Covenant, the sign of God’s presence among the people. The modern human being, so often lonely in a crowd, needs a similar space today: a community in which individual searching does not disappear but matures. A community in which the “I” does not vanish in the “we,” but finds its fullness.
Reflection questions
What in my life do I treat as possession, and what am I able to receive as a gift? How does this affect my sense of freedom and peace?
Where in my actions do I feel a discrepancy between what I do and who I want to be? How can I restore inner unity?
Do my spiritual searches lead me to community, or are they rather an escape into solitude? What do I fear in encountering another person?
Spiritual-therapeutic exercises
The practice of blessing: before each meal, pause for a moment. Touch the food, feel its smell and texture. Think about the journey it took to reach your table. Whisper a short “thank you” in your heart, acknowledging that it is a gift, not a possession.
Daily practice of “hands and heart”: before sleep, ask yourself whether your actions today were aligned with the values you carry in your heart. Write down one situation in which you kept clean hands and one in which you need forgiveness.
Mindfulness of God’s presence: for a few minutes breathe calmly, imagining that the inhale is the reception of God’s presence and the exhale is the release of fear.
Summary
Psalm 24 leads from the vastness of the cosmos to the intimacy of the heart, and then to a community that journeys together. It shows that the fullness of life is born from three sources: acknowledging God’s ownership of the world, purity of intention, and a community based on seeking. Theologically, it invites us into the temple; psychologically, into the inner sanctuary of the heart—into the liturgy of daily life. The hope it carries is dynamic: blessing is not a rare gift, but a stream that flows continually.
In the biblical tradition, the Mountain of the Lord was a place of revelation, the point at which earth touched heaven. There a person entered the space of God’s presence, experiencing truth and judgment, as on Zion. In the New Testament, however, the meaning of this symbolism is transformed: it is no longer about a stone peak but about a person. Jesus Christ becomes the new, living Mountain of the Lord—the place where God meets the human being face to face. This encounter does not occur in the space of ritual, but in the space of the heart. In Him the fullness of the psalm’s desire is revealed: “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?”—here is the answer. It is not the human being who climbs toward God, but God who descends toward the human. Christ Himself becomes the path by which one may enter the presence of the Father.
David’s song takes on flesh in the words and life of the Messiah—God who does not wait on the summit, but comes forth to meet the pilgrim. It is an invitation to fullness and to a life that does not flee from the world but permeates it with the light of God’s presence.
Bibliography
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Feuer, R. A. C. (1985). Tehillim / Psalms: A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and Rabbinic sources (Vol. 2). Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
Hirsch, S. R. (2000). The Psalms: Translation and Commentary. New York: Feldheim Publishers.
Ibn Ezra, A. (2012). Commentary on Psalms (trans. H. N. Strickman). New York: Academic Studies Press.
Kwiatek, P. (2022). Psalmoterapia. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Serafin.
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Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. New York: Free Press.