Psalm 84 explained: Longing to Be in God's House

Homesick for the temple (vv. 1-4)

The writer longs for the temple courts in Jerusalem so much that body and soul feel faint, and the deeper longing is for God himself. Even small birds nesting near the altar seem lucky, and so do the priests and temple workers who live and praise there every day.

The pilgrims' road (vv. 5-7)

These are people traveling to Jerusalem for the yearly festivals, drawing strength from God along the way. The valley in verse 6 cannot be identified, and its Hebrew name may mean weeping or refer to dry ground with balsam trees, but the picture is a hard stretch of road that seems to turn into springs as they pass.

A prayer for the king (vv. 8-9)

Translations differ on whether the shield in verse 9 is God or the king, but either way the prayer asks God to look kindly on his anointed one, Israel's king, who was anointed with oil when crowned. Christians later also read the anointed one as pointing to Jesus, since Christ means anointed.

Better than anywhere else (vv. 10-12)

One day near God is worth more than a thousand anywhere else, and standing at the temple door, the humblest post, beats living comfortably among wrongdoers. Calling God a sun and shield pictures him as the source of light and life and as protection for those who live honestly and trust him.

Key verse: Psalm 84:10

Something to think about

Is there a place or a presence where you feel so at home that one day there would be worth more than many days elsewhere, and what gives it that pull?