Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

Psalm 84

Israel’s prayers give language for praise, grief, repentance, and trust. Poetry uses imagery and parallel lines; each psalm should be read as a whole rather than as a detached promise.

Historical context & book outline

1For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. How 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!

Read closely

  1. What repeated words, contrasts, or actions stand out in this chapter?
  2. How does this chapter fit the surrounding chapters and the book’s purpose?
  3. What did it communicate to its first hearers, before applying it to your life?