Bible Commentary

Psalms 84:1-7

Matthew Henry on Psalms 84:1-7

Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · Matthew Henry · CC0 1.0 Universal

The ordinances of God are the believer's solace in this evil world; in them he enjoys the presence of the living God: this causes him to regret his absence from them. They are to his soul as the nest to the bird.

Yet they are only an earnest of the happiness of heaven; but how can men desire to enter that holy habitation, who complain of Divine ordinances as wearisome? Those are truly happy, who go forth, and go on in the exercise of religion, in the strength of the grace of Jesus Christ, from whom all our sufficiency is.

The pilgrims to the heavenly city may have to pass through many a valley of weeping, and many a thirsty desert; but wells of salvation shall be opened for them, and consolations sent for their support.

Those that press forward in their Christian course, shall find God add grace to their graces. And those who grow in grace, shall be perfect in glory.

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commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 84:1-12EXPOSITION This psalm, attributed (see title) to the "sons of Korah," or the Korahite Levites (see 1 Chronicles 26:1; 2 Chronicles 20:19), describes the blessedness of their position as dwellers in the house of God, and…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 84:1-7The glory of worship. I. HELPS US TO REALIZE OUR NEARNESS TO GOD. (Psalms 84:1.) "How lovely are thy dwellings!" or "the house where thou dwellest." II. IT IS THE EXPRESSION OF THE DEEPEST LONGING OF THE HEART AND SOUL.…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 84:1A test of our spiritual state. We may not find Davidic associations with this psalm. It was composed by one of the musically gifted family known as the "sons of Korah;" and may be compared with Psalms 42:1-11; Psalms 44…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 84:1-12The soul's sweet home. This is one of the Korahite psalms, like Psalms 42:1-11; Psalms 43:1-5; and some eight others. The late Dean Plumptre, in his 'Biblical Studies,' pp. 163-166, gives reasons for concluding that the…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 84:1How amiable are thy tabernacles! or, "how lovely are thy dwellings!!" The plural is used, as in Psalms 43:3; Psalms 46:4 (also Korahite); and Psalms 132:7, either because the temple was made up of several compartments,…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 84:2My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord. These expressions do not imply that the writer is absent from the temple, but only that his delight in it is never satiated. My heart and my flesh; i.e. my…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 84:2God the Living One. The precise expression here used is only found besides in Psalms 42:2. "In the New Testament the name 'living God' is found in St. Matthew's and St. John's Gospels, in the speech of Paul and Barnabas…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 84:3Sanctuary birds. The sparrow and the swallow told of here are apt types of those servants of God who find in him what these birds found in the temple. The comparison of the soul of one of God's people to a bird is not u…Joseph S. Exell and contributors