A Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) feeding on the ground. Photo taken with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 in Caldwell County, North Carolina, USA. Photo by Ken Thomas, March 3, 2008. Image released by creator to public domain.

Psalm 84

To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.
¹ How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
² My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
³ Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
⁴ Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Selah
⁵ Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
⁶ As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.
⁷ They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
⁸ O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
⁹ Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed.
¹⁰ For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly.
¹² O LORD of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.

The journey to the temple is made in expectation of encountering God within the space. The temple, the dwelling place of the LORD of hosts, may indeed be beautiful but the expectation of encountering the divine presence in the experience of worship is what the pilgrim longs for. The temple in Zion is the sacred destination at the end of the pilgrim’s journey and they desire nothing more than to dwell in the house of the LORD forever. This beloved[1] space occupies a special place in the heart and desires of the faithful one who journeys from their daily home to the place where their soul[2] finds its dwelling place. This meaningful space where the divine can encounter the faithful one is where life finds its joyous culmination.

In the pilgrim imagines what life would be like if the extraordinary moment of approaching the temple became the everyday experience of dwelling in the temple. The sparrow and swallow who make their nest within the building have found their home. The priests who work in the temple are ‘happy’[3]in the psalmist’s vision because the dwell in proximity to God. Yet, the psalmist also finds ‘happiness’ in their own trust in God and the pull of their heart back to God’s dwelling place in Zion. The psalmist’s joyous song of their impending homecoming to their spiritual home and expectant encounter with the LORD of hosts.

Throughout this psalm the LORD the God of Israel is referred to as the LORD of hosts, or the LORD of armies.[4] This militaristic imagery is now paired with the imagery of the military might of God’s anointed king when the psalmist declares “Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed.” God has provided protection for this pilgrim. Perhaps this scene is a military homecoming from conflict to rejoice at the temple of God. Yet, for Israel their military might is always contingent upon the divine protection of their God and the psalmist continues to appeal to God to see these meager forces of the king of Israel and to protect both God’s temple and God’s people.

One day in the presence of God is worth a thousand elsewhere and this expected time of worship where God is encountered gives meaning to every other time. Being a ‘doorkeeper’ would probably be a position of honor among the Korahites and while the exact meaning of the Hebrew here is uncertain, I find the suggestion of ‘standing on the threshold’ (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 652) poetically opposite to ‘dwelling in the tents’ of the wicked ones. The pilgrim would rather have the experience of not being fully allowed inside the house of God rather than the full inclusion in the tents of wickedness. The pilgrim psalmist is attempting to walk the path of wisdom that leads to the ‘happiness’ found in trusting in the LORD of hosts and encountering God in God’s house.

Psalm 84 refers to a sacramental understanding of reality in the temple of the LORD. It is a place where God promises to be present among the people. In the world of the psalmist the journey to the temple involves a pilgrimage that may only be made once annually, and so for this pilgrim they approach Jerusalem in joyous expectation. Many contemporary Christians whose churches believe in a sacramental reality where God approaches the gathered community in worship would occupy an incredibly privileged space to the psalmist, like the sparrow and swallows who dwell in the temple and the priests who minister there. Yet, I wonder if the relative ease of the journey to the threshold of the congregation has diminished the hopeful expectation of the faithful to encounter God’s presence within the space of worship. The ability to regularly worship may have dulled our joy at spending a day in this place that the psalmist claims is better than a thousand elsewhere.

[1] Hebrew yedidot translated by the NRSV as ‘lovely’ involves more than visual admiration. As J. Clinton McCann Jr. indicates: “the experience creates a bond between person and place that might be better expressed with the word “beloved.”” (NIB IV: 1013)

[2] Reminder that the Hebrew nephesh translated soul here is not the Greek conception of the ‘eternal soul’ differentiated from the physical body. The Hebrew idea of nephesh is better understood as the essence of life.

[3] Hebrew asre, an important word in wisdom literature. Can be translated ‘blessed’ or ‘happy.’

[4] Referring to God as the LORD of hosts is literally: ““YHWH of armies,” with the armies or hosts referring to angelic heavenly host, the heavenly hosts of sun, moon, and stars, or the hosts of Israel’s armies. The title suggests the great God of military might and victory, who is powerfully present in Zion.” (Brueggemann, 2014, p. 365)