Psalm 84: A day in the courts

This famous and beautifully poetic Psalm tells the story of a traveler who is far from the

sanctuary and longs for the Presence of God in Jerusalem. He describes the blessedness

of being in God’s House, and speaks of people making pilgrimage to His Temple, gaining

strength as they go.

(1) To the Chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How lovely

are your tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

• This is another Psalm for the Chief Musician, and is for or by the sons of Korah.

Korah was one of the leaders of a rebellion against Moses. Korah was of the tribe

of Levi and had convinced some members of the tribe of Reuben to join in his

complaint that Moses had taken too much on himself, and that the sacred duties

of the priesthood should be shared by others. We can assume that this was due to

his own selfish ambition. Korah might also have felt injured because he was

passed over for leadership in favor of someone lower in the birth order. This

might have been why he appealed to some men of Reuben; Reuben was firstborn

but was being passed over by Judah for the preeminent spot. Although Korah

was swallowed alive by the earth, the Lord did not destroy Korah’s entire family

line. (Numbers 16) The moral of the story, of course, is that God is free to

choose whomever He wishes for whatever reason He wishes. (As a “Hollywood”

side note, also killed in this rebellion was a Levite named Dathan, memorably

portrayed by Edward G. Robinson.)

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• The Psalmist proclaims the beauty of God’s tabernacles. The word means a tent,

but can refer to any dwelling place. In this context it probably refers to the

tabernacles of God, which are the holy place and the most holy place, or “Holy of

Holies.” We should recall that before the Temple was built, the temple services

were conducted in actual tabernacles or tents, richly appointed.

• The Holy Place (seen in blue) contained the Table of Showbread, the Menorah

and the Altar of Incense. The Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant

and no other light source.

• The Psalmist’s statement can certainly refer to the beauty of the Temple and the

holy furniture, but it may also refer in a wider sense to all the dwelling places of

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God; in other words, he is saying that everywhere that the God of Israel is

worshiped is beautiful.

• Where the religion of Israel held sway there was learning, culture and civilization;

where pagan religion held sway there was degradation and superstition. The Law

of Moses, as we know, safeguarded property, family relationships, and even

public health. By contrast, the rituals of the heathen nations involved

prostitution, bodily mutilation and worse. Ungodly practices were taught,

sanctioned, and even upheld as good in Egypt and in other places. Perhaps the

traveler had witnessed the rites of the Ammonites, the Moabites, or the

Phoenicians; all of these had practiced child sacrifice. It would be spiritually

suffocating to live in such an environment after one had lived in Jerusalem and

heard the worship music of David or seen the pageantry of Solomon.

(2) My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and

my flesh cry out for the living God. (3) Yes, the sparrow has found an

house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young,

even your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

• The Psalmist truly felt that his whole being was crying out to be in the worship of

God; more than that, he cried out for God Himself. If the worship of demons the

traveler had witnessed was ugly, it was only because those false gods were

themselves ugly and vile. Man becomes like what he worships. How different was

the God of Israel from His “competitors!” He was kind, gracious, and loving; not

given to vengeance, injustice, or unexplained cruelty. He was morally pure, not

drunken or sexually immoral like the gods of the Greeks.

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• Perhaps one of the surest ways to remain holy is to remain hungry for God as this

man was. Jesus taught that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness would

be filled. (Matt. 5:6) God also said He would pour water on those who are thirsty.

(Isa. 44:3) To long to worship God is a good thing; however, more than that, we

should always pray to remain hungry for more of God himself!

• Verse 3 is very poetic; we can imagine that the Psalmist had once seen a swallow

making her home in some crevice near the altars of God; he envied her residence

and wished he could be hidden away so near to God’s Throne!

(4) Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they will be still praising

you. Selah.

• In this verse he speaks of the blessedness of those (priests and Levites) who were

privileged to live and serve at the Temple area. The idea is that they will praise

God without cease. This is a great blessing; Jesus promised this to overcomers in

Rev. 3:12: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God,

and he shall go no more out…”

• The selah lets us reflect on the blessedness of God’s servants.

(5) Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the

ways, (6) Who, passing through the valley of Baca, make it a well; the rain

also fills the pools. (7) They go from strength to strength, every one of

them appears before God in Zion.

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• In verse 5 we see it is only the man who takes God as His strength who can be

happy, or blessed. Every other thing on which man relies is, ultimately, only a

false friend. People in our day have created many substitutes for God, and yet it

seems that people have seldom been unhappier; the recent decades have seen a

tremendous increase in drug abuse and escapism of every kind. In our drive to

forget the Almighty we have cut ourselves off from the only source of true

happiness and power for right living.

• What does it mean to say the ways are in his heart? This part of the Psalm speaks

about the holy pilgrimage to God’s Presence. There were highways on which

people would travel to Jerusalem, of course, but more important are the ways in

a man’s heart which lead him to God’s Presence. It is more important to know

the ways of the Kingdom than the ways to any physical place. Blessed is the man

who has the roads to holiness in his heart!

• The valley of Baca means valley of weeping. As we pass through difficult seasons

in our life’s journey, they are transformed by God’s presence into places of

blessing for us, although we may not see it at the time. Our deserts can become

pools of water!

• Ultimately, we grow in our faith and go from faith to faith and strength to

strength. The Psalmist gives the promise here that all will reach Zion, the City of

God. As they traveled to the earthly Zion, we shall arrive safely at the Heavenly

Jerusalem after passing through this earthly vale of tears.

(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 your anointed.

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• We do not know that the traveler was praying for, although it seems likely he was

seeking a safe trip into God’s presence. He invokes God’s personal Name and

also refers to Him as the God of Jacob. Referring to God as the God of Jacob

may be a reference to the weakness of man; recall that Jacob was Israel’s name

before God changed his name to Israel. Jacob was a very flawed man and such a

prayer would be a way to seek God’s mercy on our human weakness.

• Verse 9 is probably a prayer for the anointed (moshiach), meaning the king, and,

by extension, for the safety of the nation in the face of its enemies. God is

recognized as the ultimate source of safety, over and above the king.

(10) For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a

doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of

wickedness.

• It has been said that this means it is better even to stand at the threshold looking

into God’s house than to be anywhere else.

(11) For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and

glory; no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. (12)

O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in you.