Temple Worship and a Possible Reference to a Prayer Circle in Psalm 24

Several scholars have identified Psalm 24 as a temple liturgical hymn. Sigmund Mowinckel, for example, believes that Psalm 24 contains leges sacrae, or “laws of the sanctuary,” those “special rules and special demands as to the qualifications of those to be admitted” into the temple. Speaking specifically of Psalm 24, Hans-Joachim Kraus states that we “must reckon with the presence in the Psalms of concepts connected with the sanctuary of the Ark.” Additionally, scholars have considered how God’s presence in the temple is demonstrated in Psalm 24. Leopold Sabourin has discussed Psalm 24 and “God’s theophany in sanctuary,” and Kraus avers that “the liturgy of Psalm 24 celebrates Yahweh Sebaoth, the God of Israel, who is entering the sanctuary. . . . He is accompanied and surrounded by the ‘righteous’ by the ‘true Israel.’