Psalm 84Psalm 84 is a Song of Zion hymn. Some classify it as a pilgrimage song.[1]
The superscription has To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of the Korahites. All Korahite psalms that glorify Jerusalem are post-exilic, but contain pre-exilic tradition.[2] I have yet to be persuaded that this psalm fits that historical setting. The poetic description of entering the largely open air setting of the Temple of Solomon does not allow me to travel that path path. A Psalm.
First, the psalm begins with acknowledging the joy the sight of the temple brings to the pilgrim. The worshiper has left the densely populated city behind and below, and has stepped into another world, a world intended, through its serene beauty, solemn rituals and Yahwistic teachings, to offer an alternative to the casual brutality of the business-as-usual world of daily living in the ancient world. The worshiper longs for the peace, beauty and righteous way of life represented by the temple devoted to Israel’s God. 1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! The poet immediately expresses personal piety. 2 My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. One can almost imagine the poet entering the temple area on a particular day and noticing with delight, as if for the first time, that birds also found a home around the altars in the courtyards of the temple. Birds become part of the temple worship, and the psalmist expresses his joy in the “at oneness” of it all. The poet finds a home in the altar of the Lord. He shows touching trustfulness. 4 Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. We see a form of holy envy of the priest who could sign praises to the Lord forever. Selah
Second, the poet offers encouragement to pilgrims. 5 Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. The Lord blesses the poet with the devout experience of the pilgrimage. 6 As they go through the valley of Baca, a place of tears or bitterness, they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. Dangers and afflictions existed along the way, but the power of God was active to bring joy in the midst of them. 7 They go from strength to strength; they will see the God of gods in Zion. No matter how difficult the task, they got stronger. When human strength breaks down, faith gives divine strength.
Third, the poet offers intercession for the king. 8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! This connection with the Patriarchs is important and worth pausing to consider that the divine presence that led the Patriarchs abides in the Lord of the heavenly armies. Selah 9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed. They pray for the one God has anointed, the king, without mentioning their own needs.
Fourth, as the poet moves from a prayer for the king to the joy of presence in the temple, we find a mysterious unity of soil, nation, and religious community. 10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere, showing the devotion of the people to the temple. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, showing further devotion to the temple, than live in the tents of wickedness, to some implying an Aramaic country. If one accepts the exilic dating, there is pain in being in a foreign land among gentiles. 11 For, in this festival experience, the Lord God is a sun and shield, a refuge, who bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. Such a sentiment suggests that the right-minded desires of the heart matter to God. 12 O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.
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