Deeper Commentary
Psa 84:1
How lovely are Your dwellings, Yahweh of Armies!-
This appears to be a psalm of David whilst in exile either from Saul
or Absalom, longing to be back in the sanctuary. But it has likely been
reused and reapplied under inspiration to the exiles.
Psa 84:2
My soul longs and even faints for the courts of Yahweh. My heart
and my flesh cry out for the living God-
David's desire for the sanctuary has been rewritten with reference to
the "courts" of the temple, which didn't exist in his time. "The living
God" can be 'the God of the living ones', perhaps a reference to the glory
of the cherubim seen over the ark. Yet in the wilderness Psalms, David
often says that he lives under the shadow of those cherubic wings, as if
even without seeing the ark and whilst far from the sanctuary, he felt as
if he lived beneath God's glory, under the shadow of the cherubic wings,
over the blood of atonement on the cover of the ark. But despite that
awareness, he still longs for the physical, external symbols of faith, and
so longs to be at the sanctuary again. It was this failure to learn his
lesson that led to his obsession with building a physical temple, which
God responded to negatively, initially. And it became a stumbling block
for later generations because of the emphasis upon the physical symbols of
religion, rather than the essence. Yet in this cry and yearning
for God, we see the spirit of every believer- wanting a greater spiritual
experience than we currently have. And this yearning is so necessary, for
only those who have it will be fulfilled in the Kingdom.
Psa 84:3
Yes, the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for
herself where she may have her young, near Your altars, Yahweh of Armies, my
King, and my God-
The plural altars may refer to the two altars; of burnt
offering, and the golden altar of incense. David recalls how wild birds flew into the sanctuary and even nested
there. And he in his exile is jealous of them. He often likens himself to
a bird, which is being hunted. Often David likens his enemies' plans to catch him as snares, gins etc.
set for birds (e.g. Ps. 84:3; 102:6; 124;7; 140:5)- all the language of
hunting birds. He had probably done plenty of this as a youngster caring
for the sheep, and the influence of those formative years remained.
Psa 84:4
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are always praising
You. Selah-
David seems to assume that those who lived in the temple precincts
were blessed because they were always praising God. But he is overlooking
the principle so often expressed in his wilderness Psalms- that he could
continually praise God wherever he was. It seems that like us, he learned
the lesson at the time and in theory, but failed to apply it in later
life, such was his human hankering after the external symbols of religion.
Psa 84:5
Blessed are those whose strength is in You; who have set their
hearts on a pilgrimage-
"In whose hearts are the highways (to Zion)". The LXX has "goings
up", an idea always associated with 'going up' to Zion and 'coming down'
from it after attending a feast. This idea would have been appropriate for
the exiles; all whose heart was set on the way back to Zion would be
blessed. But most preferred to remain in Babylon. The reference is
to the idea so common in Isaiah of a highway prepared from Babylon to
Zion, so we could render with Rashi: "Who thinks in his heart the paving
of his ways, to straighten his way". Or, "In whose hearts are the highways
(to Zion)". The pilgrimage or journey to Zion from Babylon was and is
above all in our hearts, in our thinking.
The LXX puts verses 5 and 6 together: "in his heart he has purposed to go up the valley of weeping, to the place which he has appointed". This is the image of a man knowing that the valley of tears is ahead, but setting his heart to pass through it, in God's strength.
Psa 84:6
Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of
springs. Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings-
This valley of Baca (AV) was some "waterless and barren valley
through which pilgrims passed on their way to Jerusalem". But it was
transformed by the autumn rains, bursting forth into life. The same
language is used for what could have happened to the exiles if they
followed David's path of restoration. For Is. 35:6; 41:18 use the same
ideas concerning the restoration, whereby dry valleys would come alive
with water and new growth. LXX "For there the lawgiver shall give blessings". In Ps.
23 David likens his exile to passing through the valley of the shadow of
death, and yet confidently hopes for restoration.
The word for "Baca" really means as in 2 Sam 5:23 a kind of balsam tree, alluding to the ‘tears’ of gum which it exudes. The vale of Baca or balsam trees is surely where the phrase "Vale of tears" comes from this. Our pilgrimage to Zion is a Vale of tears but also of joy, just as Paul in Philippians expresses both joy and sorrow at the same time. The valley of Baca becomes the valley of Berachah (or blessing) in 2 Chron. 20:26. There is only a very slight difference in Hebrew between these words for 'weeping' and 'blessing'. The transformation is so easy for God. And yet through the weeping comes the blessing. But the rain of the Spirit dies give oases on the journey. There is sudden beauty and glory at times, just as the desert springs to life for a while after rain.
Psa 84:7
They go from strength to strength-
This again is language appropriate to the returning exiles, who would
"renew their strength" (Is. 40:31). Those who set their heart
on the journey through the valley of tears (:5) will find themselves in an
upward spiral of spiritual strength, getting stronger and stronger as they
advance. This is clearly a pilgrimage psalm, used as the pilgrims drew
closer to appearing before God in Zion. And specifically it was intended
to be used by the exiles on the way from Babylon to Zion. But seeing the
exiles spurned that possibility of a glorious second exodus, it all
applies to us in our journey to Zion. Our strength and firmness of purpose
increases. We tread the path with a sense of triumph as we see the
glorious end in sight. As the outward man perishes, the inward man is
renewed day by day, from the strength to strength. So often we encounter
this incremental, "from strength to strength" transformation: "We, with an
unveiled face and reflecting the glory of the Lord, are all transformed
into his likeness from glory to glory by the Lord the Spirit" (2 Cor.
3:18), "grace upon grace" (Jn. 1:16).
Each one of them appears before God in Zion-
Appearing before God is the language of attending a feast, and it was
also David's desire in Ps. 42:2. And yet the wilderness Psalms claim that
he felt just as close to God as ever before, even though he could not keep
the feasts whilst on the run. But he seems to be jealous of those who
could. The power of religion and the desire to perform religious ritual is
seen very strongly in David, and as with us, the pole of religiosity
struggles against that of personal spirituality.
Literally, “He shall appear to God in Zion". Appearing before God may refer to every male needing to appear before God at the feasts in Zion. It was probably part of a pilgrimage song. Our equivalent is in the breaking of bread. But ultimately this in turn points forward to judgment day when every man shall appear before God and stand revealed and naked before Him.
LXX and some translations of the Hebrew: "the God of gods shall be seen in Sion". This is the idea repeated at the end of Rev. 21,22- that God Himself shall be seen in Jerusalem. No wonder the path to that meeting must be through the valley of tears (see on :5). And yet the text can also be read as "each one of them appears before God in Zion". The ambiguity is because we appear before God and He appears before us. The ambiguity expresses the mutual, face to face meeting between God and every of His children. Hence in :9 we have the invitation to look upon our face. This is the final end of the valley of tears.
Psa 84:8
Yahweh, God of Armies, hear my prayer; listen, God of Jacob. Selah-
The reference to "Armies" may suggest an understanding that God's
Angels would guide David back to the sanctuary; "God of Jacob" is likewise
an Angelic phrase (Gen. 48:16).
Psa 84:9
Behold, God our shield, look at the face of Your anointed-
It was David who was the anointed of God, and so this Psalm likely
originated whilst he was anointed but not crowned, on the run from Saul,
in exile therefore from the sanctuary. The reference to God as shield is
another reminder to himself that he was of the true seed of Abraham (Gen.
15:1). But we can also see in this a reference to the high priest,
who is called the anointed priest (Lev. 4:3,5,16; 6:22). God is asked to
look at the face of this annointed ["Christ"], High Priestly figure- and
on that basis accept us.
Psa 84:10
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather
be a doorkeeper in the tent of my God-
This reflects the feelings of the righteous remnant in Babylon-
e.g. the thought that just one day in God's temple is better than a
thousand days in Babylon's "tents of wickedness" (Ps. 84:10). Doorkeepers
in the house of their God was exactly what the sons of Korah were (1
Chron. 9:19; 26:1,12-19); perhaps this Psalm was appropriated by them
whilst in Babylon. Dwelling in the tents of wickedness would be therefore
a disassociation from their ancestor Korah (Num. 16:26).
2 Pet. 3:8 surely alludes here in saying that with God, a day is as a thousand years and a thousand as a day. The 1:1000 ratio is again used, the idea being with God a day with Him is like, or as Ps. 84:10 explains, is better than, 1000 days of life in the pleasures of the world.
'Being a doorkeeper' could also be understood as "to sit habitually on the threshold and by the doorpost". Just possibly the idea is that just being able to look into the Kingdom of God would be better than living in the world. "I had rather stand / lie at the threshold" has similarities with Uriah doing this at David's threshold. If David wrote this during his exile from Absalom, he would have had the visual image of Uriah that night. And felt that this was him. Such a line of thought certainly has psychological credibility.
Than to dwell in the tents of
wickedness-
Perhaps the reference is the same as in Ps. 120:5, where David
laments that he must dwell among the tents of Kedar, when he would far
rather be in the sanctuary. Kedar was the second son of Ishmael (Gen.
25:13), one of the wild roaming tribes whose hand was against every man
(Gen. 16:13). Perhaps there was a time when fleeing from Saul when David
had to live amongst them, and he longs to be back in Zion. Or perhaps he
simply means that he has to live among hostile and barbarous people, who
are characterized as the wild Kedar and Meshech.
Whatever the primary reference of this Psalm, it is a reworking of David's feelings when persecuted by Saul and likewise on the run from him. For circumstances repeat in our lives, and it would be natural for David to reconsider Psalms written at the time of one exile and apply them to another, just as these Psalms were also used for others in their times of exile. "Wickedness" is the word used about Saul's persecution in 1 Sam. 24:13. Perhaps he felt that whilst working as a musician in Saul's palace he was living in tents of wickedness.
Psa 84:11
For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield-
Sun worship was prevalent at the time, so the psalmist is
insisting that for us, the sun is only Yahweh. He is the equivalent for us
of all the world's most popular idols. It is another reminder to himself that he was of the true seed of Abraham
(Gen. 15:1).
Yahweh will give grace and
glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly-
We wonder at David's possible arrogance in assuming that he or any man
can walk blamelessly. Only the Lord Jesus fits this. And yet this is the
phrase used in God's command to Abraham and his seed (Gen. 17:1). It was
only possible for Abraham to do so by his faith in imputed righteousness,
by grace through faith. But it's questionable as to whether David at this
point realized that; he had to learn it through reflection upon the wonder
of how God had counted him righteous after the sin with Bathsheba.
Grace leads to glory; it precedes it. This is Paul's point too (Rom.
8:29,30).
Psa 84:12
Yahweh of Armies, blessed is the man who trusts in You-
Ps. 2:12 has David saying the same. Despite all the longing for being
physically present in the temple, David concludes that the greatest
blessing is not that, but rather having a heart which trusts in Yahweh and
His armies of Angels for restoration in the end. And this was the lesson
for the exiles, and for us too.
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