Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 84

Psalm 84: longing for the courts of the Lord, where even the sparrow finds a house

General context

The speaker exclaims how amiable the tabernacles of the Lord of hosts are, and says the soul longs and even faints for the courts of the Lord while heart and flesh cry out for the living God. The sparrow has found a house and the swallow a nest for her young at God's altars, whom the speaker calls my King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in God's house, still praising him; a Selah follows. Blessed is the man whose strength is in God, in whose heart are the ways; passing through the valley of Baca they make it a well, the rain fills the pools, they go from strength to strength, and every one appears before God in Zion. The speaker asks the Lord God of hosts to hear the prayer, calling him the God of Jacob, and another Selah falls. God is asked, as our shield, to look upon the face of thine anointed. A day in God's courts is better than a thousand, and the speaker would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. The Lord God is a sun and shield who gives grace and glory and withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly. The psalm ends: blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Cited passages: Psalms 84:1, Psalms 84:2, Psalms 84:3, Psalms 84:4, Psalms 84:5, Psalms 84:6, Psalms 84:7, Psalms 84:8, Psalms 84:9, Psalms 84:10, Psalms 84:11, Psalms 84:12

Psalms 84 (KJV)

¹How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!

²My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

³Yea, 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.

⁴Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

⁵Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

⁶Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

⁷They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

⁸O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.

⁹Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

¹⁰For 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.

¹¹For 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.

¹²O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

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Historical context

This source prints no superscription; the psalm begins with How amiable are thy tabernacles. The speaker is a single voice, my soul, my heart and my flesh, my prayer, who also says our shield in verse 9. The places named are the tabernacles, courts and house of the Lord, his altars, the valley of Baca and Zion, where every one appeareth before God; the psalm does not locate the valley or say who travels through it beyond those whose strength is in God. Thine anointed in verse 9 is not identified in the text. God is addressed by several names in one poem: Lord of hosts, the living God, my King, and my God, Lord God of hosts, God of Jacob, God our shield, and the Lord God as a sun and shield. Two Selah markers stand after verses 4 and 8. The psalm states a wish to be in the courts rather than a report of arriving there.

Cited passages: Psalms 84:2, Psalms 84:9, Psalms 84:6, Psalms 84:7, Psalms 84:3, Psalms 84:8, Psalms 84:11, Psalms 84:4

Literary context

Three sayings beginning Blessed structure the psalm: those who dwell in God's house, the man whose strength is in God, and the man who trusts. The desire is bodily, soul, heart and flesh, and its object is a place, the courts, the house, the altars. Small birds carry the image of belonging: a sparrow with a house and a swallow with a nest at the altars, set beside a speaker who would rather be a doorkeeper there. Comparison drives the middle: a day in the courts against a thousand, a doorkeeper's place against the tents of wickedness. The valley of Baca becomes a well, and the travellers go from strength to strength, so the journey is described as gaining rather than wearing down. God is called sun and shield in one line, light and protection together, and the psalm ends on trust rather than on arrival.

Cited passages: Psalms 84:4, Psalms 84:5, Psalms 84:12, Psalms 84:2, Psalms 84:3, Psalms 84:10, Psalms 84:6, Psalms 84:7, Psalms 84:11

Key moments

Fainting for the courts (Psalms 84:2). The speaker's soul, heart and flesh cry out for the living God.
The sparrow's house (Psalms 84:3). Birds nest at God's altars, whom the speaker calls my King and my God.
Blessed who dwell there (Psalms 84:4). The first of three blessings names those who dwell in God's house.
The valley of Baca made a well (Psalms 84:6). Those whose strength is in God pass through the valley and go from strength to strength.
A doorkeeper's choice (Psalms 84:10). The speaker prefers one day in the courts to a thousand elsewhere.
Sun and shield (Psalms 84:11). The Lord God gives grace and glory and withholds no good thing from the upright.

For reflection

The speaker points to a sparrow that has found a house at God's altars and would settle for being a doorkeeper there. What does that scale of wanting, a nest and a doorway, say about what the courts of the Lord mean in this psalm?