Psalm 84 — My King and My God
Introduction: This Psalm is designated by an inscription to be accompanied by an instrument for a song of worship by the sons of Korah, and ten other Psalms have similar inscriptions. After King David was secure in Jerusalem he brought the ark of God to a tent he pitched in Zion, and he appointed the sons of Korah for their service before the LORD. There is no clear record of when each of the eleven Psalms designated for the sons of Korah was written. Solomon did not erect the temple building until after his father David had died, so some of the content of those eleven Psalms may have first applied to the tent at Zion, and they continue to have special meaning even today about desiring to be in the presence of the LORD who is the living God.
NOTE: All Bible passages are from the 1769 King James Version.
A — David Appointed the Sons of Korah for Service in the House of the Lord
1 Chronicles 6 “31 And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest. 32 And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.”
Comments: The sons of Korah began their service before the LORD in the city of David after King David had placed the ark of God in the tent he had prepared for it. Since David reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-three years, there would have been a significant length of that time for worship at the “house of the LORD” where the “ark had rest.” After Solomon became king, there was an additional eleven years before the ark of God was moved from Zion to the newly constructed temple in Jerusalem. Solomon reigned as king for twenty nine more years after the temple was completed, but he set up in Jerusalem places of worship for false gods in deference to his many wives. Soon after his son Rehoboam succeeded him, ten tribes separated to be a northern kingdom as the judgment brought about by the LORD.
B — Praise for the Lord of Hosts Who Is the Living God
Psalm 84 “1 How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! 2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.”
Comments: The tent King David pitched in Zion for the ark of God became the center for worship and praise for those who knew and trusted in the Spirit of the Living God until the temple built by Solomon was completed. The psalmist wrote that the place of the LORD of hosts had the quality of a warmth of pleasant affection, with an inherent peacefulness about it. The psalmist’s thoughts about the tent and the courts of the LORD caused emotions to a point of feeling faint, while at the same time crying aloud with joyful longing to be in the presence of the living God!
C — Blessed with Strength Are All Who Have the Ways of the Lord in Their Heart
Psalm 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. 4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. 5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. 6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.”
Comments: The sparrows and the swallows were not disturbed as they nested near the altars, and this was a sign of tranquility observed at the house of the LORD of hosts. The psalmist also used the phrase “my King, and my God” as he expressed the special blessing of peace given those who serve at the house of the LORD, recognizing God as the everlasting king. After a pause, he said the man whose strength is in God is also blessed through having the ways of God in his heart. Everyone who goes to Zion as strength is provided for their journey, will appear before the presence of God.
D — An Appeal to the Lord God to Hear the Prayer
Psalm 84 “8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. 9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. 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.”
Comments: There is a direct appeal to the LORD God of hosts to hear and to answer the prayer. There is a pause at this point in the prayer — an element that many of our own prayers might lack, as we forget we are praying to the LORD of hosts, the living God! It is essential to praise the LORD as our shield as He looks upon the face of the one He has anointed. Those who are humble before the LORD will be uplifted, and a day in the most common position in the courts of God’s Kingdom is better than a thousand days unredeemed in comfortable settings in this present world.
E — The Lord God Gives Grace and Glory to Those Who Are Upright in Him
Psalm 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. 12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.”
Comments: The LORD God is a sun providing everlasting light of life, and a shield of protection: the LORD is the source for grace and glory for those who by faith daily walk in the ways of the LORD. The “good” things as measured by the world are temporal, and have no comparison with the eternal good things that will be given to those who are blessed as they trust in the LORD of hosts. After centuries of men ruling as kings in Israel was ending in captivity, a prophet of God wrote about the only true and living God who is an everlasting king. Jeremiah 10 “10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king.” After many more centuries the promised Messiah came. Matthew 16 “16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
Reflections in Prayer
I want to praise you, the Living God, continually with a song in my heart contemplating the time when I will be forever in your presence. I enjoy the peaceful word picture where pleasant sounds and domestic activities of birds of your creation are around altars of worship to the LORD of hosts, who is my King and my God! I believe you have prepared for me as part of all of your chosen children, a place to dwell away from the cares of this world. May I more often pause in my prayers, realizing the tremendous blessing I have received in strength to follow the ways of your gift of the righteousness of Christ. I want to be content with the provisions I have from you in this life, and to avoid any attraction toward the “tents of the wicked.” LORD, you are my sun and shield, and I am blessed to have placed my trust in the true and living God. Amen, and amen.
Published 14 December 2018