Psalms 84:1

PSALM 84

THE SUPREME PSALM OF THE SANCTUARY

The title here was given by Fleming James, as quoted by McCullough.[1] "The love of the psalmist for the temple here is not for its own sake, but for the sake of God's presence to be found there."[2]

The great lesson for Christians here is: "If the ancient temple of the Hebrews inspired such loving devotion and joy as that revealed here, how much more wonderful indeed should be the joy and spiritual exultation of those who actually are in the spiritual body of the Son of God."?

This psalm is a favorite with many people; and almost everyone recalls a memory verse from it.

Due to the evident fact that the temple services were being conducted in the era when this psalm was written, and to the strong possibility that Psalms 84:9 is a reference to the "king," the psalm was composed during the monarchy, which means that the temple mentioned here was that of Solomon. The psalm is stated to be for the "Sons of Korah" in the superscription, but the actual author of it is unknown.

The psalm naturally falls into three divisions of four verses each, set apart in the text itself by the word "Selah," following Psalms 84:4,8.

We do not believe that any `pilgrimage' whatever is mentioned in the psalm, that conception having been imported into the psalm and supported by the RSV's butchering it with several impossible alterations and additions to the sacred text.

Psalms 84:1-4

"How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Jehovah of Hosts!

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Jehovah;

My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living God.

Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house, where she may lay her young,

Even thine altars, O Jehovah of hosts,

My King, and my God.

Blessed are they that dwell in thy house:

They will be still praising thee.

(Selah)"

"Amiable" (Psalms 84:1). The marginal reading here is `lovely,' which appears preferable.

"My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living God" (Psalms 84:2). "Our hearts, O God, were made for thee; and never shall they rest until they rest in thee." These immortal words of Augustine always come to mind in the contemplation of the thought written here. There is a deep and unquenchable thirst in the hearts of all men for the knowledge of God, and nothing on earth can satisfy it except the worship and adoration of the Creator. Those who do not worship God do not have to wait until the Judgment Day to be lost; they are lost already. Apart from the love of God, no man has any sure anchor; but those who truly seek God and faithfully strive to serve him have laid hold upon the hope `in Christ,' "a hope both sure and stedfast and which enters into that which is within the veil" (Hebrews 6:19).

"The sparrow ... and the swallow" (Psalms 84:3). Small birds had built nests in the temple area, perhaps in crevices and small niches within the temple itself; but the mention of `altars' cannot be taken as a place where such nests were built. Daily fires upon the temple altars would surely have prevented that. The peace and security which these small creatures found in their temple location suggested to the psalmist the peace and security that he himself felt in coming there to worship.

The mention of the safe nesting place of these tiny birds recalls the plaintive words of Our Savior, who said, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head" (Luke 9:58).

"Blessed are they that dwell in thy house" (Psalms 84:4). This blessing of God's worshippers occurs in all three divisions of the psalm, in the last verse of Division No. 1, in the first verse of Division No. 2, and in the last verse of Division No. 3.

The intense longing of the psalmist for his presence in God's temple has been used by some as evidence that the psalmist was at the time of this hymn compelled to be absent from the temple, either by exile, illness, or some other hindrance. We cannot find any evidence whatever of such a thing in the psalm.

"The longing after God and the sanctuary, in the first part of this psalm, does not necessarily imply exile from its premises; because such longings for God may be felt when men are nearest to Him, and are, in fact, an element of that nearness."[3]