Psalm 84
לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ עַֽל הַגִּתִּ֑ית לִבְנֵי קֹ֥רַח מִזְמֽוֹר
BSB
Better Is One Day in Your Courts
(John 1:14–18)
For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
1How lovely is Your dwelling place,
O LORD of Hosts!
2My soul longs, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she places her young near Your altars,
O LORD of Hosts, my King and my God.
4How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ever praising You.
Selah
5Blessed are those whose strength is in You,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
even the autumn rain covers it with pools.
7They go from strength to strength,
until each appears before God in Zion.
8O LORD God of Hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob.
Selah
9Take notice of our shield, O God,
and look with favor on the face of Your anointed.
10For better is one day in Your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11For the LORD God is a sun and a shield;
the LORD gives grace and glory;
He withholds no good thing
from those who walk with integrity.
12O LORD of Hosts,
how blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Introduction
Psalms 84
Though David's name be not in the title of this psalm, yet we have reason to think he was the penman of it, because it breathes so much of his excellent spirit and is so much like the sixty-third psalm which was penned by him; it is supposed that David penned this psalm when he was forced by Absalom's rebellion to quit his city, which he lamented his absence from, not so much because it was the royal city as because it was the holy city, witness this psalm, which contains the pious breathings of a gracious soul after God and communion with him. Though it be not entitled, yet it may fitly be looked upon as a psalm or song for the sabbath day, the day of our solemn assemblies. The psalmist here with great devotion expresses his affection, I. To the ordinances of God; his value for them (Psa 84:1), his desire towards them (Psa 84:2, Psa 84:3), his conviction of the happiness of those that did enjoy them (Psa 84:4-7), and his placing his own happiness so very much in the enjoyment of them (Psa 84:10). II. To the God of the ordinances; his desire towards him (Psa 84:8, Psa 84:9), his faith in him (Psa 84:11), and his conviction of the happiness of those that put their confidence in him (Psa 84:12). In singing this psalm we should have the same devout affections working towards God that David had, and then the singing of it will be very pleasant.
To the chief musician upon Gittith. A psalm for the sons of Korah.
Cross-references: Ps 84:1 · Ps 84:2 · Ps 84:3 · Ps 84:4 · Ps 84:10 · Ps 84:8 · Ps 84:9 · Ps 84:11 · Ps 84:12