{"id":526,"date":"2012-03-11T09:10:26","date_gmt":"2012-03-11T16:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.teach4god.com\/OTS\/?p=526"},"modified":"2014-04-02T05:36:38","modified_gmt":"2014-04-02T12:36:38","slug":"psalm-84","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teach4god.com\/OTS\/2012\/03\/11\/psalm-84\/","title":{"rendered":"Psalm 84"},"content":{"rendered":"

Psalm 84<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The origins of this psalm are unknown. What is known is that it was written\u00a0before the captivity because the author is in the Temple (verses 1-4, 10) and there is a king on the throne (verse 9). Again it is written\u00a0by a Korahite<\/a> (as mentioned in Psalm 44<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>). However, the Syriac version of this Psalm points to David as its author. It is also quite similar to <\/span>Psalm 63<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, which is known to have been penned\u00a0by David. If David did write this Psalm, it could have been written\u00a0when he was exiled\u00a0from Jerusalem by his son Absalom and it was his longing to return to Jerusalem to partake in the worship in the Temple. It is played on the <\/span>Gittith<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This psalm of blessings can be divided into three parts of four verses each with a pause at the end of the first two stanzas.<\/p>\n

Verses 1-4-The first blessing is for those who live in the Temple. The Korahites\u00a0were the gatekeepers of the Temple. They would have resided in the Temple. The phrasing implies that even though they lived there, it would never be enough. They would always desire\u00a0more opportunity to praise God in His Temple. The sparrows were known for building their nests around this area and would be found in the Temple too. If the sparrows built around God\u2019s altar, it seems more appropriate for believers to do so.<\/p>\n

Selah<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0-The\u00a0writer wants us to pause and consider the truth of this and the previous verses. Is it your desire\u00a0to be in His presence all day long? Jesus tells us it is possible in <\/span>John 4.23-24<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Matthew 28.18-20<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>. Do you live life as a worship to Him (<\/span>Romans 12.1-2<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Verses 5-8-The second blessing is for those who come to the Temple. It is not merely enough to go to the Temple (or attend church), it is necessary to trust in God in order to\u00a0have strength. It is here that we are reminded of the truth given by Jesus in Matthew 16.24-27<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>. If we seek Him, all else is cared for by Him.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Valley of Baca\u00a0is translated as Gehenna in the Targum, which is a ravine just outside of Jerusalem (Valley of Hinom-1<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Valley of Hinom-2<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>). It is a desolate place and is referred to by Jesus as equal to Hell (<\/span>Mark 9.42-48<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Selah<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>-The\u00a0writer wants us to pause and consider the truth of this and the previous verses. Is it your desire\u00a0to be\u00a0in His presence all day long to gain strength and blessings because you decided to be with Him? We are to do this even though life might be hard.<\/span><\/p>\n

Verses 9-12-The third blessing is for those who trust in the Lord of the Temple. God is the protector, the shield to those who seek Him. When we seek Him, our longings are filled\u00a0(verses 1-2 are fulfilled in verses 10-12).<\/p>\n

Would you rather be in church than outside playing sports, watching sports, or making money? If so, you can understand the longings of the writer.<\/p>\n

The psalm ends the way it began: O Lord of Hosts. YHWH.<\/p>\n

Before you leave, listen to “Better is One Day<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>” by Kutless.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Or, “Better is One Day in Your Courts<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>” by Chris Tomlin.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Would you rather be in church than outside playing sports, watching sports, or making money? If so, you can understand the longings of the writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,114],"tags":[118,167,51,152,176,85],"class_list":["post-526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-daily-studies","category-psalms","tag-john","tag-mark","tag-matthew","tag-music","tag-pictures","tag-romans","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teach4god.com\/OTS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teach4god.com\/OTS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teach4god.com\/OTS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teach4god.com\/OTS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teach4god.com\/OTS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/teach4god.com\/OTS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1941,"href":"https:\/\/teach4god.com\/OTS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526\/revisions\/1941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teach4god.com\/OTS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teach4god.com\/OTS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teach4god.com\/OTS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}