Psalm 84 lesson by Dr. Bob Utley

Dr. Bob Utley explores Psalm 84, highlighting the longing for God's presence symbolized by the temple and its spiritual significance.

Key Takeaways

Psalm 84 symbolizes the longing for God's presence through the temple imagery.
The Sons of Korah played a key role in temple worship and the psalm's musical heritage.
The psalm connects emotionally and theologically with other psalms like Psalm 42.
God is understood as a living, ever-present dwelling place beyond the temple.
Trusting God as a source of strength is essential for spiritual blessing.

What the video covers

Psalm 84 expresses a deep longing for God's presence, symbolized by the temple in the Old Testament.
The psalm is linked to the Sons of Korah, a Levitical family involved in temple music and worship.
The title and musical instructions in the psalm have varied interpretations, including references to a tune from Gath or a 'wine press' song.
Psalm 84 shares thematic similarities with Psalm 42, emphasizing heartfelt yearning for God.
The term 'Lord of hosts' reflects a post-exilic military and angelic context.
The psalmist's desire to dwell in God's courts reflects both joy and deep emotional yearning.
The temple's significance to the Jewish people is central, though the psalm also points to God as a dwelling place beyond a physical location.
The psalm may allude to historical contexts such as the wilderness wandering and exile periods.
The teaching highlights the spiritual strength gained through pilgrimage and trust in God.
Ultimately, the psalm affirms that trusting God as one's strength is the foundation of blessedness.

Chapters

What is the main theme of Psalm 84 according to Dr. Bob Utley?

The main theme is the deep longing of a person's heart for God, symbolized by their yearning for the temple, which represented God's presence in the Old Testament.

Who were the Sons of Korah mentioned in the psalm?

The Sons of Korah were a family of Levitical singers appointed by David to perform musical functions in the temple, and many psalms, including Psalm 84, are attributed to them.

How does Psalm 84 relate to Psalm 42?

Psalm 84 shares a strong emotional and thematic connection with Psalm 42, both expressing a heartfelt longing and panting for God as the source of life and strength.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Today we're going to be looking at Psalm 84. It's a song we're not all familiar with. It deals with a very specific subject. It's the kind of subject that, if you want to, you could lock it into history and say it never applies to us. It's the longing of a person's heart for God as typified in their longing for the temple. For in the Old Testament, the temple was the symbol of the presence of God.

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and say it never applies to us it's it's the longing of a person's heart for god as typified in their longing for the temple for in the old testament the temple was the symbol of the presence of god

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Going back to the wilderness wandering period, I also think that there's something of this wilderness wandering period alluded to several times in this psalm, and I'll make mention of that where I can. I think that this psalm has a lot in common with Psalm 42, one of my very favorites: "As the deer pants after the water brook, so does my heart pant after thee, O Lord my God and my Redeemer." This is written by the same group of folks,

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a lot in common with psalm 42 one of my very favorite as the deer pants after the water brook so does my heart pant after thee oh lord my god and my redeemer this is written by the same group of folks

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and therefore I think it's going to have some affinity—that longing for God. The titles to the psalms, as you know, are not ancient. Well, but this way, they're ancient. They're just not as ancient as the text.

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uh they're not inspired but they are jewish traditions uh that sometimes point us to uh helpful conclusions that the jews themselves reached about these wonderful songs of praise this particular psalm says to the choir direct for the choir director

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They are not inspired, but they are Jewish traditions that sometimes point us to helpful conclusions that the Jews themselves reached about these wonderful songs of praise. This particular psalm says, "To the choir director, for the choir director."

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name was k-o-h-a-t-h cohath and it's his family now it either means that he was the director at the time that this psalm was written because the word on here can mean so many things it just has a variety of meanings you

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Now, the choir director, as you know, was a group of Levites that David most particularly appointed to do certain musical functions in the temple. This is directed to a particular family of those Levitical singers. It says Korah, and the man's original name was K-O-H-A-T-H, Cohath, and it's his family. Now, it either means that he was the director at the time that this psalm was written because the word "on" here can mean so many things. It just has a variety of meanings. You

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this is really cause a lot of problem in hebrew it could be the word wine press many people there believe that it's a song of the wine press as you know during the days of harvest the jews were happy in festival and

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might want to see it's used in Psalm 8, Psalm 12, Psalm 46, Psalm 53, Psalm 81, 84, 88. It seems to mean, according to, so "for the choir director, to keep, to sing, to orchestrate according to," and then we have another word, Gideth. Now,

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philistine cities therefore it may mean words that david wrote while he was in gath a tune that he learned while he was in gath maybe even an instrument from gath we're not sure but we just have to leave it at that i

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this is really cause a lot of problems in Hebrew. It could be the word "wine press." Many people there believe that it's a song of the wine press. As you know, during the days of harvest, the Jews were happy in festival and sang and danced, and maybe it's a particular tune like in our hymnal. There are many different tunes named. This may be a tune of the winepress. It's also quite possible that it's etymologically from the town Gath, originally one of the five

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now i'm not sure what that means if i read that by itself but this is in a hebrew parallelism and the very next phrase says for thy courts of the lord so it's obvious it's referring to the temple courts

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Philistine cities. Therefore, it may mean words that David wrote while he was in Gath, a tune that he learned while he was in Gath, maybe even an instrument from Gath. We're not sure, but we just have to leave it at that. I

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about here but we can't be sure i was noticing in psalm 90 verse 1 something beautiful to me is it says that god is our dwelling place to me that's a much better theology than god just lives in the temple

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would say it's probably a tune. Now let's begin the psalm then. How lovely! Now, the word "lovely" can mean "beloved," and I think "beloved" is a more beautiful way of putting it. How beloved are thy dwelling places!

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identified the sight and the place with the presence of god and of course oh lord of hosts now this is a term it's characteristic of post-exilic writings it means uh both are and the word saboth can mean several things it can mean

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Now, I'm not sure what that means if I read that by itself, but this is in a Hebrew parallelism, and the very next phrase says, "For thy courts of the Lord," so it's obvious it's referring to the temple courts,

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of the lord these are strong terms let me uh i brought my wonderful little help here called the bible in 26 translations let me give you a few the different ways that they translate these various two strong hebrew words

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and this would be the courts, if in the time of David, of the tabernacle, excuse me, but it seems much more likely that it's possibly the temple of Solomon and all the side courts being talked

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translations how emotional these words are that's why many say that this psalm is connected to psalm 42 and while i'm thinking about that there are several pairs of these psalms that are related to these sons of korah psalm 42-49 was written for them or by

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about here, but we can't be sure. I was noticing in Psalm 90, verse 1, something beautiful to me. It says that God is our dwelling place. To me, that's a much better theology than God just lives in the temple.

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and so i think there is a wonderful connection of this person long for the courts of the lord now the question has been why couldn't he come anytime he wanted to at least three times a year if he lived

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To us, being in the Lord is more significant than being in a place, but you have to remember the significance of this ancient temple and the site where it was located to the Jewish people, and therefore they kind of

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banished some say because there's a probable reference to the king that the king had been forced away and he had gone with the king and therefore they longed to be back at the lord's house we can't be sure of

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identified the site and the place with the presence of God. And of course, "O Lord of hosts," now this is a term that's characteristic of post-exilic writings. It means both "Lord," and the word "Sabaoth" can mean several things. It can mean

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doesn't mean that i'm away from the lord amen i mean this is a the longing of a worshiper that wants to be with the lord but the tragedy is he only thought he could meet him really in one place

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the head of the angelic council. It can mean the captain of the army of heaven. It's usually used in a military sense, and I think that's the idea in most contexts. So you can't always tell. My soul long even yearns for the courts

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can be a try of joy we're not sure here and maybe he's a crying out in pain from being away from the lord but it's a loud cry of deep emotions uh for the to the living god now i love

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of the Lord. These are strong terms. Let me, I brought my wonderful little help here called the Bible in 26 translations. Let me give you a few of the different ways that they translate these various two strong Hebrew words:

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it goes back to exodus 3 14 the i am that i am i am the ever living only living god from the hebrew verb to be and i think that's the idea that god wants to communicate and verse

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"My soul longeth, yea, even languished, languisheth for thee." "My soul longs and yearns." "My soul longeth and panteth for the courts of the Lord." "I pant and faint with longing for the courts of the Lord." Well, you can see by those different

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in the old uh watch you know romeo and juliet then the girl gives the boy a scarf oh and he puts it close to his heart well something like that of this and it's the idea of a bird you say well

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translations how emotional these words are. That's why many say that this psalm is connected to Psalm 42. And while I'm thinking about that, there are several pairs of these psalms that are related to these sons of Korah. Psalm 42-49 was written for them or by

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live there in god's presence and this psalmist is saying oh that i were a little bird that i could come and and live in the temple dwell with god uh that same kind of thing is said in psalms 23

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them or to them. Can't be sure. Psalms 84 and 85 and Psalms 87 and 88. And so you see there, there's a connection not only with this idea of longing for God but for the very people it was written for or to.

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wanted it but on the other side this little bird this little helpless bird this little bird with no resources it's often the bible a metaphor for man man helpless man in need man estranged from god and yet longing

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And so I think there is a wonderful connection of this person longing for the courts of the Lord. Now the question has been, why couldn't he come anytime he wanted to, at least three times a year if he lived

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representing this man and he's helpless and in need a trembling little bird but he can come and live in god's house oh i think there's something beautiful there i would say that's the way to make this psalm relevant for today

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far away? Well, some have speculated. It's only going to be speculation, but it's a Levite that wrote this. That's speculation but probable, and that for some reason he was away from God's house. Some say he was sick. Some say he was

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god-shaped hole in their life and we can put anything and everything in that hole but until we find god will not have peace there's something of this man longing panting desiring god to find meaning and purpose in his

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banished. Some say because there's a probable reference to the king, that the king had been forced away and he had gone with the king, and therefore they longed to be back at the Lord's house. We can't be sure of

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a man and his needs are going to be met man and his family man and his intimacy something like that uh even thine altars o lord of hosts now this does not mean that the the priests never clean the bird nest

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that, but for some reason he was away from the temple, and in some ways he felt like he was estranged from God because of that. Oh my, I'm so glad that I'm in the new covenant, and when I'm not in church,

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sacrifice it's a metaphor i can get they can get as close to god as they want to and the man says i want to get close to god and to abide there like them something like that even my king and my

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doesn't mean that I'm away from the Lord. Amen. I mean, this is the longing of a worshiper that wants to be with the Lord, but the tragedy is he only thought he could meet Him really in one place.

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oh i think i think the things that we call god and that god calls himself and here a man is praying god reveals himself through his acts and through the titles that he calls himself and that men call him

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And then he continues, "My heart and my flesh sing for joy." Well, that's a little bit too interpretive. The literal Hebrew here is "cry aloud." It can be a cry of mourning, a cry of tragedy and sadness,

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god now how blessed are those who dwell in thy house and here we he's locking it back down the word uh blessed is it the same as in in psalm 1 1 how happy is the man a blessed is the man

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can be a cry of joy. We're not sure here, and maybe he's crying out in pain from being away from the Lord, but it's a loud cry of deep emotions for the living God. Now I love

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it was a symbol of the presence of god and it comes from the hebrew word to dwell oh the jews had a wonderful thought that god dwells with men it's amazing that god would want to dwell with men with sinful men

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this living God. There seems to be a really good parallel to this in Psalm 42:2, which I think again shows the link between these two. The living God, I think, is really what the word Yahweh means.

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see psalms 23 6 they are ever praising thee who are ever praising thee well you almost get the little birds are praising thee with their voices and yet men who serve you may be levitical or come to you worshipers

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It goes back to Exodus 3:14, the "I am that I am," I am the ever-living, only living God from the Hebrew verb to be, and I think that's the idea that God wants to communicate. And verse

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or musical interlude now you know what that means we have no idea it's obviously a musical term for the choir master uh something a long musical a place for the liturgy to come in or go out a place for this or that to

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three is a beautiful thing, and this is where people have disagreed. Have you ever loved somebody and you just like to—they're away from you and you just like to be close to something that was close to them? I remember back

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how blessed is the man whose strength is in thee now this word strength is interesting sometimes it can mean height and we're going to see a play on that in verse 6. in whose hearts are the highway to zion now

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in the old, watch, you know, Romeo and Juliet, then the girl gives the boy a scarf. Oh, and he puts it close to his heart. Well, something like that of this, and it's the idea of a bird. You say, well,

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these men who want to live with god now listen to these different translations i'm um in whose hearts are thy ways here's another one in in whose hearts are the highways to zion uh festival processions are in their

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how does that fit? Well, there's a little bird, not sure exactly what kind of little bird, but little birds can fly right into the temple and be right close to the altar, even can even make their nest in the temple. They can even

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zion is in italics they're interpreting the word highways meaning that a jew longs to be at the temple and he is required to come to at least three major festivals a year uh if he can and if he's a male over 21 anywhere

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live there in God's presence, and this psalmist is saying, "Oh, that I were a little bird, that I could come and live in the temple, dwell with God." That same kind of thing is said in Psalm 23:

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follows that can be true and many believe that it it relates this pilgrimage back to the temple with the wilderness wandering period i can see that in the text but it's a real possibility that it's just talking about the ways of god

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6. "I can stay and live in the house of the Lord forever." It's the ideal of wanting to even live in the temple, and I think that's a beautiful thing. Birds have free access. This man didn't have free access. He

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hebrew word but it means weeping um it can mean the idea of um a certain tree there's a certain tree called the weeping tree have you ever parked your car under a tree that leaks sap or leaks pollen or whatever well you know why

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wanted it, but on the other side, this little bird, this little helpless bird, this little bird with no resources.

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that when the pilgrims got to this valley of weeping they knew they were close to the temple now that's a possibility a specific literary site most commentators who believe in the pilgrimage concept believe it's the the trials and problems used in a

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metaphorical sense uh that a person who takes a pilgrimage suffers uh the loss of revenue the physical discomfort the danger from robbers uh all of those kind of things they would say is symbolized here but notice they make it to the spring

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now the word spring here is the idea of joy if it's a metaphor it's the idea for a desert people that god provides rain meets the needs of the pilgrim the pilgrim has a hard time but god's going to be with him and there's

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something of spiritual exercise and spiritual strengthening that occurs in a faith pilgrimage that has to depend on god and he will come through is the implication here some would say that verses six and seven are a reference back to how god provided

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water in the wilderness wandering period and that's alluded to here now i want to back that up by the next little phrase in verse six uh the early rain also cover it with blessing now if you know king james it has the

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word pools the the rain gathers in pools now the early reign if you if you don't change really the consonants you can interpret this as the law giver the law giver covers it with blessings i.e god was with his people and blessed

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them again an allusion to the wilderness wandering period so the word early reigns can mean lawgiver and if it is it's not a reference to reigning but a reference to the wilderness wandering where the lawgiver god the one who came down on mount sinai and

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gave the people their covenant also provided water and rain through the desert for those 40 years and and which it is i'm not real sure i don't think you can tell from the words uh this this word lawgiver is found both

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in the septuagint the greek translation of the old testament from around 250 bc and the latin vulgate by jerome and so you can see it's a strong uh tradition here they go forth from strength to threat strength now here again

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the word strength means height some translations even have ramport uh bull work i think that's what the uh forgot what translation i was looking at that has that uh it's the idea that we're on a pilgrimage and we move

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from one ridge to another ridge as we move from one mountain range to another mountain range one problem to another problem that's possible if you see this as a pilgrim but you could take it as strength that in coming to the lord and knowing

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his ways we move from faith to faith we grow in strength through every problem we face and longing to know god and walking in his ways we become more like him so again you can take it either way and

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it makes sense verse 7 they go from strength to strength every one of them appears before god in zion now here i think is an evidence for this idea of a journey some say no it's only the journey of the wilderness wandering

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they are going to finally come to the promised land others say no it's the idea of a pilgrim coming several times a year at least once in a lifetime and i think there's a real possibility of that now the last paragraph begins in

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verse 8. oh lord yahweh covenant name for god from the hebrew verb to be the god of host uh sabbath uh um captain of the gods armies the god is a military person therefore he can protect and provide i

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think that's hear my prayer give ear o god of jacob and of course god of jacob is the idea of israel the nation of israel that these people are in the line of the covenant uh patriarchs they are benefactors of

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the covenant with abraham isaac and jacob they are god's people and because they're god's people and because they have a covenant god should hear them and that's the idea here hear my prayer give ear o god of jacob

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behold our shield o god now this word for shield some say it's it's a metaphor for the king now that's possible because in the next little line it says thine anointed now usually in the old testament there are

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three groups that are anointed the king of israel is anointed we see that in what samuel did to both saul and david and on and on with solomon uh prophets are anointed and priests are anointed so some say this

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refers to the high priest look upon the face of thine anointed be in the temple worshiping others say this is a reference to the king that god would bless the king as something has happened to the king the king has had to

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leave town the king is a sick the king is away at battle something i think the word shield because of psalm 18 and other places is really another title for god and it's the word for the large shield

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you can get behind the shield and be protected it's the word of god is our protector god is our military strength uh i think that's the idea so i would see this as a another title for god not not the king

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look upon the face of thine anointed now here the word anointed is the same word we get the word messiah from when john calvin was thinking about writing a christology he built his outline on the three old testament anointed offices

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jesus as prophet jesus as king jesus as high priest and i think that's beautiful here i think it is a reference to the king someway god be with the king the king as a representative of the whole nation

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and then it says for a day in thy courts is better than a thousand and you have to add something there some say outside my new americans i think anywhere is a better word uh and this is a play on the word

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thousand we see the same kind of play in psalm 90 verse four the word thousands used often in the bible it's kind of a an overstatement of something what he's saying is i'd rather be here with god than

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anywhere out there in luxury or materialism or as our pleasure i'd rather be with god here one day than a thousand days out there and you can see this this uh overstatement huh oriental hyperbole here and i think it's a beautiful thing god i

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want to be with you it's the longing of this psalm i need god that's the cry of this psalmist more than anything i need god then to dwell in the tents of wickedness now here's a beautiful metaphor of

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the wilderness wandering period again they dwelt in tents and so they don't have a lot of adjectives in the ancient hebrew language so the tent of the righteous i mean i dwell with the righteous the ten of the

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wicked mean i dwell with the wicked and that's the ideal here for the lord god is a sun and a shield now the word targum changes the word sun targum that's an aramaic commentary uh and translation of the old testament

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changes the word sun because it's a roundness of the sun to er to the shields that were put on the fortress so it changes it to bull work and i think that's possible you might want to see isaiah 54

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12 where the same word is used for bull work ornamentation and that may be true here some would say no the ideal of sun and shield is a metaphors for what god provides the the things of heat warmth weather and

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the things of military need i think you can go either way with that we're just not certain the lord gives grace and glory oh that's what he gives to people who seek him right seek the lord while he

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may be found seek first the kingdom of god that's the saying god is your shield and your buckler and your redeemer and your and your high and mighty tower and he provides all that you need symbolized here in the word grace and

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glory no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly those who keep his covenant and forever in the old testament it it says keep the covenant but of course the tragedy is that fallen man can't keep the covenant

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and we have to have a new covenant where god gives us a new heart we're out of a new heart we'll keep the covenant and i think that's we need to see that this is the old testament expression

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god loves those who do the best they can who walk in his ways who try to obey him and that's the ideal here oh lord of hosts how blessed is the man who trust in thee and i think psalm 40 verse 4 here has a

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beautiful parallel here again is we there are three blessings one potential and two pronounced in this psalm might be a good way to teach it how is a man blessed well he's blessed when he dwells in the house the lord he's

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blessed when god is the man's strength and he's blessed when he trusts in thee and that's the bottom line for all religious people if god can't be trusted if god is capricious or if if god is not all-powerful if god if god

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is not loving we have no hope but if god's word is sure if god's character is is complete if he is the same yesterday today and to ev forever and he has truly revealed himself in his book and ultimately in his son then the

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promises and the words of encouragement and the words of exhortation can be life's guide and we can die secure that our god is able to deliver us able to give us above what we think or ask able to keep us from falling when we

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stand before him yes we trust in the lord there is no other hope he is our refuge and strength in times of trouble come to him he's better than buildings better than programs better than resources that men provide

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trust in him blessed is the man who trust in him i've enjoyed being with you i hope you long for the lord as this psalmist does and you can find him any moment your heart will turn to him

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anywhere your life will turn to him i've enjoyed being with you god bless you have a good day

Topics:Psalm 84Dr. Bob UtleySons of KorahOld Testament templelonging for Godbiblical psalmsJewish worshippilgrimagespiritual strengthbiblical commentary

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