1.
How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
Title. A Psalm. Hebrew. mismor. See App-65 .
for the sons of Korah = of, &c. The seventh of nine so ascribed. See note on Psalms 42 , and App-63 .
How . . . ! Figure of speech. Ecphdnlsis. App-6 .
amiable = beloved.
tabernacles = habitations. Hebrew. mishkan ( App-40 ). Perhaps referring to the Mosaic (at Gibeon), and the Davidic (on Zion).
LORD of hosts. Hebrew. Jehovah Sabaioth. App-4 . See note on 1 Samuel 1:3 .
2.
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
My soul longeth = I, even I myself, long. Hebrew. nephesh ( App-13 ), for emphasis. courts. Corresponding with "altars" (Psalms 84:3 ). See the Structure.
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
GOD. Hebrew El. App-4 .
3.
Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
Yea, the sparrow, &c. These two lines are placed within a parenthesis.
sparrow: or bird.
nest. Not in the altars. See note below.
Even Thine altars. Figure of speech Ellipsis. App-6 . Supply it by repeating the verb "found" from preceding clause = "[Even so have I found] Thine altars", &c. Nothing has "dropped out" from the text.
altars: i.e. the two altars; the brazen altar of burnt offering, and the golden altar of incense. Birds could not build their nests in these! These have no reference to the times of the Maccabees, but to Exodus 27:1 , and Exodus 30:1 . Compare Numbers 3:31 .
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 .
4.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
Blessed. Compare verses: Psalms 84:5 , Psalms 84:12 . See App-63 . Figure of speech Benedictio. App-6 .
still praising. Compare 1 Chronicles 9:33 .
Selah. Connecting the dwellers in, and the approaches to, the House of Jehovah, with the common blessedness of all true worshippers. See App-66 .
5.
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
man: i.e. any one; not priest or Levite merely. Hebrew. 'adam.
are the ways of them. Supply Figure of speech Ellipsis , "in whose heart are [Thy] highways" [leading thereunto].
6.
Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
of Baca = of weeping. All the ancient versions so render it.
make it. Septuagint reads "He maketh it".
a well = a place of springs.
rain = the early rain.
7.
They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
Every one of them in Zion appeareth before God = he appeareth before God in Zion. Note the singular, "he appeareth": i.e. "the man" of Psalms 84:5 . The valley of Baca thus becomes the valley of Berachah (or blessing), 2 Chronicles 20:26 .
8.
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
God of Jacob. Not Israel, but the God (Elohim) Who met Jacob when he had nothing and deserved nothing (but wrath), and promised him everything: thus becoming "the God of all grace".
Selah. Connecting the request for audience with the words of the prayer, and dividing the Psalm, structurally, into its two parts.
9.
Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
shield: i.e. God's provision in Messiah. He is our Shield (Genesis 15:1 ). Faith's shield (Ephesians 6:16 ). This shield includes: (1) Favour (Psalms 5:12 ); (2) Salvation (Psalms 18:35 ); (3) Truth (Psalms 91:4 ). And "Favour" includes Life (Psalms 30:5 ); Mercy (Isaiah 60:10 ); Preservation (Psalms 86:2 ); Security (Psalms 41:11 ); Remembrance and Salvation (Psalms 106:4 ). Compare Psalms 115:9-11 .
Thine Anointed = Thy Messiah. Not on us.
10.
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
than a thousand. Supply Ellipsis by adding "[elsewhere]".
be a doorkeeper = to stand at the threshold.
tents = habitations.
wickedness = lawlessness.
11.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
is a sun. Figure of speech Metaphor. The only occurrence, in the Psalms, of this metaphor. It is used of Messiah, Malachi 4:2
grace and glory. Not the former without the latter (Romans 8:29 , Romans 8:30 ). The former is the flower, the latter the fruit.
No good thing, &c. Figure of speech Tapeinosis = every good thing, beyond all mention, will He give.
12.
O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
trusteth = places his confidence. Hebrew. batah. App-69 .
To the chief Musician. App-64 .