With The Lord
(Psalm 84)
Introduction: Tonight, we’re going to be looking at Psalm 84. And we begin with a brief word about the inscription over this psalm.
This inscription says, “To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.”
“Gittith” refers to a Gittite (pertaining to Gath) harp.
The IVP Bible Background Commentary says…
The superscriptions of Psalms 42; 44-49; 84-85; and 87-88 contain the phrase “sons of Korah.” The Korahites are first listed in Numbers 26:58 among the chief Levitical families. In the description of the temple bureaucracy in 1 Chronicles 24-26 the Korahites are listed as “gatekeepers” (1 Chronicles 26:1). Their association with praising the Lord in 2 Chronicles 20:19 may also be the basis for their mention in the Psalms and as a part of cultic psalmody.
According to some, the author of the 42nd psalm is probably the same person who wrote Psalm 84 because of the similarities of the two psalms.
The Keil and Delitzsch Commentary states…
All the complaints and hopes that he expresses sound very much like those of David during the time of Absalom. David’s yearning after the house of God in Psalms 23; 26; 55; 63, finds its echo here: the conduct and outlines of the enemies are also just the same; even the sojourn in the country east of Jordan agrees with David’s settlement at that time at Mahanaim in the mountains of Gilead. The Korahite, however, as is to be assumed in connection with a lyric poem, speaks out of the depth of his own soul, and not … “as from the soul of David.” He merely shares David’s vexation, just as he then in 84:10 prays for the anointed one.
The heart of this psalmist is describing some of the factors of being in communion and in relationship “with the Lord.” He indicates that…
I. With The Lord, There Is A Blessed Place Of Worshipping
(vs. 1-4)
A. Notice The Delight Of This Place vs. 1 & 4
1. The Psalmist Mentions His Regard For The House Of God
(Psalms 84:1) How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
The word “amiable” means loved or beloved. It also has the idea of lovely or beautiful.
Wiersbe said…
In his opening statement, the psalmist said two things: “The temple is beautiful” and “The temple is beloved by all who love the Lord.”
Charles Spurgeon said…
He does not tell us how lovely they were, because he could not. His expressions show us that his feelings were inexpressible. Lovely to the memory, to the mind, to the heart, to the eye, to the whole soul, are the assemblies of the saints. Earth contains no sight so refreshing to us as the gathering of believers for worship. Those are sorry saints who see nothing amiable in the services of the Lord’s house.
2. The Psalmist Mentions His Remaining At The House Of God
(Psalms 84:4) Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
dwell – [Hebrew 3427. yashab, yaw-shab’]; a primary root word meaning properly to sit down (in quiet); by implication it means to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry.
This is the person who has gotten established in church – they will be still praising thee. Selah.
B. Notice The Desire For This Place vs. 2
1. The Psalmist Had A Vehement (Passionate) Desire For The Place Of Worship
(Psalms 84:2) My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
longeth – [Hebrew 3700. kacaph, kaw-saf’]; a primary root word meaning properly to become pale, i.e. (by implication) to pine after.
(Like being homesick)
fainteth – [Hebrew 3615. kalah, kaw-law’] a primary root word meaning to end, to cease, be finished, perish, to consume.
(Like being lovesick)
2. The Psalmist Had A Vocal Desire For The Place Of Worship
(Psalms 84:2) My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
Both in the inner man (the heart) and the outer man (the flesh), there was a crying out for God.
Albert Barnes said…
[My heart and my flesh] My whole nature; my body and my soul; all my desires and aspirations – all the longings of my heart are there. The body – the flesh – cries out for rest; the heart – the soul – for communion with God. Our whole nature demands the benefits which spring from the worship of God. Body and soul were made for his service, and the necessities of neither can be satisfied without religion.
[Crieth out] The word used here – raanan – means properly to give forth a tremulous sound; then, to give forth the voice in vibrations, or in a tremulous manner; and thence it may mean either to utter cries of joy, or to utter a loud wail. Its common application is to joy (Psalms 98:4; 132:16; 65:8); and it might be rendered here, “Sing unto the Lord,” or “Rejoice unto the Lord.” The connection, however, seems to demand that it be understood as the cry of earnest longing or desire.
C. Notice The Description Of This Place vs. 3
(Psalms 84:3) 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.
1. This Is Described As A Nesting Place
Adam Clarke wrote…
It is very unlikely that sparrows and swallows, or birds of any kind, should be permitted to build their nests, and hatch their young, in or about altars which were kept in a state of the greatest purity; and where perpetual fires were kept up for the purpose of sacrifice, burning incense, etc. … As a comparison seems to be here intended, the following may best express the meaning: “Even as the sparrow finds out (seeks) a house, and the swallow her nest in which she may hatch her young; so I, thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.”
Just as the psalmist finds a place to feel at home at the altar.
The swallow feels the freedom to place her young in this nest; even so, the Psalmist feels a freedom at the altar of the Lord.
swallow – [Hebrew 1866. derowr, der-ore’]; the same as H1865, applied to a bird; the swift, a kind of swallow.
1865. derowr, der-ore’; from an unused root (meaning to move rapidly); freedom; hence spontaneity of outflow.
2. This Is Described As A Nurturing Place
Spurgeon said…
We rejoice not only in our personal religious opportunities, but in the great blessing of taking our children with us to the sanctuary. The church of God is a house for us and a nest for our little ones.
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words says of the word “lay” (OT:7896)…
Generally speaking, this word is a term of physical action, typically expressing movement from one place to another.
Barnes said…
The wordplay here is not used in the sense in which we now apply it when we speak of “laying” eggs. It means to place them; to make a home for them.
II. With The Lord, There Is A Burdensome Place Of Weeping
(vs. 5-8)
A. He Mentions The Sorrow Of Such Burdens vs. 6
1. Notice The Passage Through The Weeping
(Psalms 84:6) Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
The word “Baca,” which means weeping, is used only this one time.
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words says of the word “passing” (OT:5674) that…
The verb refers primarily to spatial movement, to “moving over, through, or away from.” This basic meaning can be used of “going over or through” a particular location to get to the other side.
2. Notice The Prospect Of The Well
One person’s passage through sorrow can become a source of refreshing for someone else. And when there is no refreshing from the low places (the well), there is refreshing from the high places as “the rain also filleth the pools.” So either from human people or from heavenly providence, God will provide refreshing in tough times.
Because one meaning of this word “rain” is teacher or teaching, Adam Clarke suggested that the phrase “the rain filleth the pools” means, “ ‘Yea, the instructor is covered or clothed with blessings.’ While the followers of God are passing through the wilderness of this world, God opens for them fountains in the wilderness, and springs in the dry places. They drink of the well-spring of salvation; they are not destitute of their pastors. God takes care to give his followers teachers after his own heart that shall feed them with knowledge.”
B. He Mentions The Strength For Such Burdens vs. 5 & 7
1. There Is Strength In Rejoicing
(Psalms 84:5) Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
Blessed – means happiness.
The word “strength” indicates strength in various applications (force, security, majesty, praise).
Albert Barnes commented that the phrase “in whose heart are the ways of them,” is an allusion “to the ways or paths by which the people commonly went up to the place of public worship; and the idea may be well expressed in the language of Watts: ‘I love her gates, I love the road.’”
2. There Is Strength In Resources
(Psalms 84:7) They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
The word “strength” used twice in verse 7 is different than the word in verse 5. Here it means a force, whether of men, means or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength. Then the phrase “from strength to strength,” according to the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, means “from one degree of strength to another.” Similarly, Adam Clarke said that the phrase means, “They proceed from one degree of grace to another, gaining divine virtue through all the steps.” The JFB Commentary also mentioned that the phrase “every one of them appeareth in Zion before God” means, “after all their conflicts and sufferings are past.” God will keep giving us more strength
C. He Mentions The Supplication For Such Burdens vs. 8
(Psalms 84:8) O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
1. He Calls For The Power Of God
O LORD God – O Jehovah (the self-sufficient One) Elohim (the supreme One)
LORD – Hebrew 3068. Yehovah, yeh-ho-vaw'; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.
God – Hebrew 430. 'elohiym, el-o-heem'; plur. of H433; gods in the ordinary sense; but spec. used (in the plur. thus, esp. with the art.) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.
The psalmist is calling upon the One from whom strength comes! He is calling upon the all powerful God.
2. He Contemplates The Prayer He Has Given
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament says of this word “selah” that it is…
A term of unknown meaning, probably of musical significance. … Many are the conjectures as to its meaning, but nothing certain is known. … The primary meaning of the words seems to be “cast up.” (One of the derivative words has the idea of building a road or highway higher than the adjacent terrain.)
Perhaps the idea is to pause when the song or psalm comes to an intersection of thought, and be raised up (or cast up) taking a higher road of contemplation.
Strong’s Concordance offers this definition…
selah – Hebrew 5542. celah, seh'-law; from H5541; suspension (of music), i.e. pause:--Selah.
III. With The Lord, There Is A Better Place Of Walking
(vs. 9-12)
A. With The Lord, There Is A Safety vs. 9 & 11
(Psalms 84:9) Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
(Psalms 84:11) 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.
1. He Is Our Protective Covering
Twice the psalmist refers to God as a “shield.” The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament says of the word “shield” (OT:4042 – magen)…
The noun refers to an object which provides covering and protection to the body during warfare. Of the six Hebrew words rendered in KJV as “shield” or “buckler” only magen, sinna, and possibly shelet refer to what may properly be called shields. It is obvious that magen and sinna refer to different types of shields, but English versions have not consistently maintained the distinction, rendering both words indiscriminately as “shield” or “buckler.” Magen refers to the smaller and more common type of round shield carried by light infantry and officers. Sinna is the rectangular shield which covered the whole front of the body. In view of the fact that God is always the one who protects his people, it is no surprise that he is so often called the shield (magen) of Israel.
2. He Is Our Perpetual Companion
The larger, “full-body” shield might be used on occasion. But the smaller shield would always be with the soldier as a constant companion. Sometimes, God becomes that large shield in a time of crisis. But we know that He is always with us the day to day battles and skirmishes that we face in our spiritual experience.
B. With The Lord, There Is A Superiority vs. 10
(Psalms 84:10) 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.
1. Beholding A Day Is Better With Him