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Psalms 84

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Longing for the House of God 1–4

1
To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! ​
2
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. ​
3
Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. ​
4
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

Blessedness of the Pilgrims 5–7

5
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. ​
6
Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. ​
7
They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. ​

A Prayer for Favor and Trust 8–12

8
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. ​
9
Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. ​
10
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. ​
11
For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. ​
12
O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 84

Verse 1

How amiable are thy tabernacles — 'Amiable' is yedid, beloved. The psalm is 'for the sons of Korah', the Korahites who were 'keepers of the gates of the tabernacle' (1 Chr 9:19). 'Gittith' stands in only two other titles, Ps 8 and Ps 81. 'LORD of hosts' (tsaba, armies) returns in vv.3, 8 and 12.

Verse 2

longeth, yea, even fainteth — 'Longeth' is kasaph, to pine; 'fainteth' is kalah, to be spent, the verb of 'My soul fainteth for thy salvation' (Ps 119:81). 'Crieth out' is ranan, the ringing cry that more often speaks of joy. 'The living God' is the phrase of Ps 42:2, also a psalm of the sons of Korah.

Verse 3

the sparrow hath found an house — Tsippor, the sparrow, and deror, the swallow, are small birds; their house and nest are at 'thine altars'. The sentence ends by naming the LORD of hosts 'my King, and my God', the address of Ps 5:2. Compare 'the birds of the air have nests' (Matt 8:20).

Verse 5

whose strength is in thee — The second of three beatitudes in the psalm (vv.4, 5, 12), each ashre, 'blessed'. The 'ways' are mesillot, built-up highways, the word of 'make straight in the desert a highway for our God' (Isa 40:3). They lie 'in whose heart': the road to Zion is already set there.

Verse 6

the valley of Baca — The name comes from bakah, to weep; a different baca is the 'mulberry trees' of 2 Sam 5:23. Those who pass through 'make it a well' (maayan, a spring). 'The rain' is moreh, the early rain (Joel 2:23), and 'pools' is berakot, the plural of the word for 'blessing'.

Verse 7

from strength to strength — 'Strength' is chayil, force, and the road adds it at every stage. 'Appeareth before God' is the pilgrim's verb from the Law: 'Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose' (Deut 16:16). The journey ends in Zion.

Verse 8

hear my prayer — With this verse the psalm turns from the pilgrims to petition. 'Prayer' is tefillah, the word of 'mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people' (Isa 56:7). 'Selah' stands here and at v.4, the only two in the psalm. 'God of Jacob' names the covenant God of the patriarch.

Verse 9

the face of thine anointed — Mashiach, 'anointed', is the word behind 'Messias' (John 1:41), used of the LORD's anointed king. Ps 132:10 prays likewise, 'For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.' God is 'our shield' (magen), as in 'I am thy shield' (Gen 15:1) and again in v.11.

Verse 10

a doorkeeper — Saphaph, to wait at the threshold, a verb found only here. The Korahites of the title kept 'the gates of the tabernacle' (1 Chr 9:19). One 'day in thy courts' outweighs 'a thousand'; the poet would stand at the door of 'the house of my God' rather than dwell in 'the tents of wickedness'.

Verse 11

a sun and shield — Shemesh, sun, joined to magen, shield, the word of v.9. 'Grace and glory' are chen and kavod. 'Walk uprightly' is tamim, whole, blameless, the word of 'walk before me, and be thou perfect' (Gen 17:1). To such 'no good thing will he withhold', as 'they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing' (Ps 34:10).

Verse 12

blessed is the man that trusteth in thee — The third beatitude (ashre; vv.4, 5, 12), and the one that names trust (batach). Jeremiah uses the same words: 'Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD' (Jer 17:7). The psalm closes on 'LORD of hosts', the name it opened with in v.1.