O, TO BE A SWALLOW
Psalm 84 – A Psalm of the Sons of Korah
My Soul Longs for the Courts of the LORD - To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. (Probably a musical or liturgical term) A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
PSALM 84 VERSE 1: “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! Verse 2: My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.”
Here the psalmist draws a conclusion that comes from his experience and knowledge of the Lord. Only knowledge and life experience can result in feeling and emotion that are sound, otherwise it is misplaced. Incorrect conclusions are derived from inferior knowledge and understanding. Note carefully the title for this Psalm, “My Soul Longs for the Courts of the LORD.” This is a deep desire that controls his being and motivates all he does, and all that his faith rests in.
What is the dwelling place of the Lord? People these days would be inclined to say, “It is in heaven.” However, it is much more than that. The psalmist knew it as the Tabernacle for the Temple may not have yet been constructed. God’s presence was in the Holy of Holies. If a Christian answers that question, then he knows that God dwells in heaven, but the Lord lives also in the individual life of a believer. It was Jesus who said, Revelation 3 v 20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.” 1John 4:13 “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us because He has given us of His Spirit.” John 15:4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”
Verse 2 says the writer’s soul longs for, even faints for the courts of the Lord. What does that mean? He wished to be in the very courts of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle had Courts and the first was the outer court where the people could come through the gate but were not permitted to go any further. Only the priests could go into the inner court. The outer court was where the brazen altar was and the brazen laver for the priests to wash their hands. The Sons of Korah were priests so they could enter the inner court.
The inner court had the Table of Showbread, the Incense Altar and the Golden Lampstand. Beyond that was a curtain, and the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat, and the two Cherubim. The priests ministered in the inner court, but only the High Priest could go into The Holiest Place behind the curtain just once a year. This psalmist just loved being in that inner court for ministry and fellowship. It is so rich in teaching and we did that some years ago in the furnishings of the Tabernacle bible study. There is not the time now to go into what each of those items meant.
The fact we must not miss is this – the writer was not content being just in the outer court. He said “courts” and he loved to be close, and in a holy place with His Lord. It meant fellowship, communion, reflection, nearness, soul-searching and expression such as in his psalms. One hymn has a line, “There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God,” and it is in that place where the psalmist was found, and so must we also be found there. In the churches probably the majority of people have entered the outer court but have little interest venturing any further. That is a great disappointment to the Saviour and a devastating loss of blessing for the individual.
All need to be in that inner court to feed on the wholesomeness of the Bread of Life, and enter into understanding and clarity with the Light of the World and offer up praise and worship with the sweet incense from a redeemed heart to the One who presented Himself as an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
“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.” Barnes
The psalmist was on fire for God and loved to come into His presence with singing and joy, into the very presence of God. The Christian does not need the Tabernacle to be in the very presence of the Lord now, for God is close; God is near.
VERSE 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.”
Within the Tabernacle precincts the sparrow and the swallow were able to find places close to the altar/s to make their nests. What the writer says is that something quite inconspicuous as these birds could enjoy the refuge and the harmony of the Tabernacle, so also does he, and he is of greater value than sparrows, a fact the Lord also mentioned in Matthew 10 v 31 “Therefore do not fear. You are of more value than many sparrows.” God cares for the birds of the air and provides for them, so how much more then will He provide for His own? The psalmist knew this care when in the courts of the Lord in His presence. The birds represent those from all over the world who can find salvation and safety in the courts of the Lord. We are all members of the household of faith who have entered in through the gate into the court where we have recognised the sacrificial altar of Christ that has made us whole, and the laver where we have been washed clean.
VERSE 4: “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, ever singing your praise! Selah”
This applied very much to the Korahites for they were the singers. Indeed, one is inside, or one is outside. Those on the inside have come by faith for there is no other way. The house of God in the Old Testament was the Tabernacle, more particularly the Temple, but in the New Testament no such terms exist for the assembling of God’s people. Those on the inside love to be there and will, for example, dismiss other desires so that they can be with the Lord and His people, say on Sundays. They can sing the praises with an honest heart not with a cloud between their sin and their God. We are all prone to worldliness and incorrect motives and to any kind of sin, but that must be dealt with. Those whose hearts are right come before the Lord in singing His praises in His presence.
VERSE 5: “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
VERSE 6: As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.
VERSE 7: They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.”
These three verses are connected with the righteous, the ones who love to dwell in the courts of the Lord in a heart fellowship with Him. We are not universalists. We do not believe all the promises of God apply to all humankind. It is a travesty to claim promises not meant for people other than Christians. I have heard at funerals the expression, “Waiting for the glorious hope of the resurrection,” or “Now, so and so is at peace,” or “gone to his reward,” as in a happy sense, when all the time we knew the person had no time for God and no regard for Christian things. A minister may not want to say, “So and so sadly, is in hell,” but he must not give false statements when it is known the person was anti-Christian and had no time for God. Don’t tell me the person may have repented on his death bed, which could have been true, but we must keep to what we know is fact.
The three verses we have in this psalm, 5-7, apply only to those who know what it is to be living and delighting in the courts of the Lord, and to be desiring that fellowship in great eagerness. I don’t think those promises apply to slack Christians or ones who put the Lord well down the list.
In VERSE 5 a statement is made about why a man or woman is blessed. Blessing is because (1) A person’s strength is in the Lord; (2) A person’s heart is/are the highways to Zion. We will look at both those two. The Pulpit Commentary says this about the first – “The psalmist seems to mean that mere dwelling in the house of God is not enough for blessedness. Trust in God - having God for one's Strength - is also requisite.” People put strength in all sorts of things; their own ability; their friends; their intelligence, but there is only one true resource for strength. That is the Lord. Lean not to your own understanding. Trust in God. “The arm of flesh will fail you, You dare not trust your own.” Psalm 28 v 7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped, therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him.” Verse 5 also has a suggestion that a person’s dependence is in God as well as God being his powerful ally. Therefore seek the Lord with all your heart and with all your being.
The highways of Zion are the ways of righteousness and peace, and take the imagery from the pilgrims journeying to Zion.
In VERSE 6 we are going on a journey and we are going to pass through the Baca Valley. Where is this Baca Valley? Straight away we meet a problem before we start and that is in translation. I will quote from Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges because it is well explained – “The word Baca is derived from the root which means to weep, but it nowhere means weeping, for which words of a different form are used. Here, as in 2 Samuel 5 v 23, it probably denotes some kind of balsam-tree, so called from the ‘tears’ of gum which it exudes. The vale of Baca, or the balsam-trees, was some vale which, like the vale of Elah or the terebinth (1 Samuel 17 v 2), and the vale of acacias, took its name from the trees which grew there. Balsam-trees are said to love dry situations, growing plentifully for example in the arid valley of Mecca; and this is clearly the point of the reference. The vale of Baca was some waterless and barren valley through which pilgrims passed on their way to Jerusalem; but faith turns it into a place of springs, finding refreshment under the most untoward circumstances, while God refreshes them with showers of blessing from above, as the autumnal rains clothe the dry plains with grass and flowers.” Isn’t it wonderful that when in the dry valleys of this world that we have to pass through, and experience the bitterness of balsam gum, we have a God who will provide for us springs of joy and pools of His delight. Showers of blessing come from the Lord for His precious, redeemed people.
VERSE 7 is the imagery again of the pilgrims going to Zion and in God’s strength they will not grow weary or faint on the way. Isaiah picked up on this - Isaiah 40 v 31 “but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Remember, when we faint on the journey, when trials are too hard for us, there is One who lifts us up from the quagmire, but gives us springs of water through His word and His promises. How beautiful is the end of that verse – “each one appears before God in Zion.” In the pilgrimage, the people travelled to Zion yearly and that is where the Psalms of Ascent come from 120-134). They all went to Jerusalem in groups but the wording here is, “each one appears before God”. We may be a small group here, and the Christians in Cairns are a bigger group but the Lord known each one. God is God of the individual, not of the masses. Each sheep He knows and tends; each hurting soul He binds up; each wayward one He recovers; each one He provides for with springs of water and pools of delight.
VERSE 8: “O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah”
The verse is a request to God to hear the prayer of the psalmist even though a specific prayer is not listed. There may have been one he did not list but as a general request, it is correct. “O, God, hear our prayer here today!” The writer addressed God as, “God of Jacob” and do you think this has any significance? Well, it does, for it was Jacob who wrestled all night in prayer with God until he obtained the blessing. The writer is requesting that same answer to prayer and reminded God of Jacob.
It is interesting how God is addressed in prayer. Just a few examples:
Jacob ? “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD”
Solomon 1Kings 8 v 26 ? “Now therefore, O God of Israel,”
Asaph ? “O God of hosts”
In many Psalms ? “God of my/our salvation” and “God of my righteousness”
Isaiah ? “O God of Israel, Saviour!” “God of Israel” is quite common
Daniel ? “God of my fathers”
The term, “God of Hosts” is a name of God associated with His power and Commander of the armies of heaven. Our God is powerful, hears our prayers, and summons all heavens hosts to assist us.
VERSE 9: Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of Your anointed!
There is a change from “my” of verse 8 to “our” of verse 9 and between those two there is “selah” that means a musical interlude or break and/or a time to pause. These psalms were all sung you must remember, and the psalmist sang the first 8 verses, then the chorus sang verse 9 which is why “our” is used. It seems the prayer is for God to look at the defence of His people and that is why “our shield” is used. In other words they acknowledge that God is their protection, their saving defence. What does it mean to “look on the face of Your anointed?” Face is plural. It means the request is for God to look on the collective face of His people, seeing them as one. He is their God and they are His people. This applies to these pilgrims of course making their way to Jerusalem, not to the mass of humanity that largely dismisses the Lord.
We are making our way to the heavenly Zion and we can also sing/pray for God’s protection on us as He looks on our corporate face (one face for all of us.)
VERSE 10: For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
This verse used to be better known in the Authorised Version when it was a memory verse – “For a day in your 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.” The psalmist uses a comparison saying it is his choice to spend one day in God’s presence than to spend 1000 days delighting himself in pleasures. What do I choose to do on Sundays? By being here I am missing bowls competitions or going away for weekends. Where does my priority lie? Do I delight more in being here, or in going to the beach each weekend or fishing or playing bowls? Can we all relate to that or do we have mixed priorities?
Then the writer makes another comparison. It is between a doorkeeper in the Tabernacle or temple and having great fun mixing with wicked people in their pursuits of self-gratification and satisfying their desires. Actually this position of gatekeeper was a lowly one - it was generally considered as a mean and contemptible office, and belonged to the common Levites, “keepers of the thresholds of the tent” who stand on the threshold. A humble lowly position for God is better than glamour, position and notoriety in the world.
VERSE 11: “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favour and honour. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
This verse is all about the LORD God. He is a sun, meaning in Him is light, the light that brightens up our way. As the sun is in the sky daily, then God is reliable, always there for us. The sun provides warmth, just as God does to cheer us up. The warmth of a hen bird is what keeps the chicks alive under her wings during the night. The presence and warmth of God comfort us in this world’s night of sin.
God is our shield. He is our protection from the onslaught of the demonic hosts. The Lord keeps me in all my ways. I believe we would be amazed if we knew to what extent the angels minister to us. There must be a spiritual war going on all the time where we are involved and the angels hold back the forces of darkness.
Then we are told that He confers favour and honour on us. No one else does that like the Lord. The great Giver has favoured us for salvation and fellowship and bestows undeserved honour on us. No good thing does He withhold from us, and that has nothing to do with materialism, but everything to do with spiritual blessings. He has gifted us with all good. Find God’s gifts for you in His word.
VERSE 12: O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!
This is the conclusion. Christians must not speak with head knowledge but with the experience of the pilgrim way. Only then can they know the truth that those who trust God are blessed. The more established in the Lord a person is, the more that truth is evident to him and her.
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
