From the beginning of the psalm one can tell that Psalm 84 is a Song of Zion. In this type of psalm the psalmist praises the city of Jerusalem as the city that God has chosen to have his special presence. The psalmist describes the beauty of the city throughout the entire psalm.
The writer of the psalm is unidentified as well as the date of authorship. A.A. Anderson believes that the most likely setting of the psalm is the Feast of Tabernacles (601). During the Feast of Tabernacles praise would be given to the Lord and the Davidic king would be lifted up in prayer. Based on these two assumptions one could assume that this setting of the psalm is true.
The topic of the psalm is simple: the psalmist wants nothing more than to be in the courts of the Lord. The theme of the psalm is that God has hand picked a special place where are those who decide to follow him will spend eternity. The form the psalm takes is a multiplicity of sorts. In the first two verses the psalmist is expressing his feelings toward the house of the Lord. Then he talks about the creatures that have a place in the house. He says
From the beginning of the psalm one can tell that Psalm 84 is a Song of Zion. In this type of psalm the psalmist praises the city of Jerusalem as the city that God has chosen to have his special presence. The psalmist describes the beauty of the city throughout the entire psalm.
In the forth and final stanza (v. 10-12) the psalmist concludes by referring back to the house of the Lord. The psalmist states that one day in the courts of the Lord is better than a thousand elsewhere (v. 10). The psalmist refers to being a doorkeeper in the house of his God, which could possibly be the normal job of the psalmist. In the next verse the word shield is used once again. At this time the pilgrims saw God as a source of their protection. Along with being a shield, the psalmist refers to God as a sun (v. 11). God is the source of light and He brings life to all things. In God is where we find life and our protection. When referring to God as being a sun and shield presumes that everything that comes from God is good and positive. Due to God being a sun and shield He brings glory and honor to all whose walk is blameless. According to Derek Kidner, the Lord"tms glory and honor can be translated better as glory and grace (Kidner 307).
The second stanza (v. 4-7) presents two of the three beatitudes that are mentioned in this psalm. The first beatitude that is mentioned says that those who dwell in the house of the Lord are ever praising (v. 4). "It sums up the musings of the verses so far, on the happy lot of those who are not exiles" (Kidner 304). The second beatitude that is alluded to refers to those who have strength in the Lord. The key word in this beatitude is strength, "Blessed are those whose strength is in you"" (v. 5). The Hebrew word for equivalent to this word is hayil. The Hebrew word occurs 245 times throughout the Bible and three times in this particular psalm. "The word is frequently used in connection with the activity of God. Yahweh gives his faithful followers strength" (VanGemeren 116).
our verses, the third stanza has two verses and the final stanza concludes with two verses.
The house of the Lord is a place that all believers hope to spend eternity. The psalmist presents three beatitudes throughout this psalm that characterize those who will be in the house of the Lord. The psalmist says that those who dwell in the house of the Lord will be ever praising the Lord (v. 4), those who have strength in the Lord and who have set their hearts on pilgrimage will be blessed (v. 5) and finally those who trust in the Lord will be blessed (v. 12). Spending one day in the courts of the Lord will be better than spending a thousand else where (v. 10). The psalmist shows his true devotion to the Lord throughout this psalm. The psalmist portrays a perfect example of the yearning that one should have about dwelling in the house of the Lo
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