Psalm
84, Page 707, BCP
Quam
dilecta!
1 How
dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts!
My
soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
2 The
sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young;
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young;
by the
side of your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
my King and my God.
3 Happy
are they who dwell in your house!
they
will always be praising you.
4 Happy
are the people whose strength is in you!
whose
hearts are set on the pilgrims' way.
5 Those
who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs,
for
the early rains have covered it with pools of water.
6 They
will climb from height to height,
and
the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.
7 LORD God
of hosts, hear my prayer;
hearken,
O God of Jacob.
8 Behold
our defender, O God;
and
look upon the face of your Anointed.
9 For
one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room,
and to
stand at the threshold of the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
10
For the LORD God is both sun and shield;
he
will give grace and glory;
11
No good thing will the LORD withhold
from
those who walk with integrity.
12
O LORD of hosts,
happy
are they who put their trust in you!
This psalm,
attributed to the “sons of Korah” rather than David, is understood as a pilgrim
psalm, sung as travelers approached the Temple. The mood is one of joy and
exaltation, anticipating being in the place that was understood in the Temple
cult to be the actual dwelling of the Lord, as we are reminded in verse 1. And
yet, Walter Zorn notes that the rhythm pattern used is that of a lament, even
though this psalm is uniformly joyful. One solution to this strange combination
might be that this is a psalm written when the writer could not actually go to
the Temple, and so is remembering being able to worship there with longing. The
author longs for God, just as we all long to be in the presence of someone we
truly love.
The psalter version
used in our Book of Common Prayer is NOT the NRSV version, but an
updated version of the translation of Myles Coverdale from 1535 (Hatchett,
551-2), which is why the demarcation of verses sometimes differs from other
translations, including the NRSV in this case. This is less than optimal in the
case of the first verse of this psalm, in my opinion, because the first words
are rendered here “How dear…” when the more common understanding is “How
lovely…” The primary meaning of the Latin title is “loved, beloved, dear” with
a secondary meaning of “chosen, special” etc. according to the online Latin
study tool http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?la=la&l=dilecta.
Likewise, in verse 6,
“desolate valley” is usually translated as “valley of Baca” which probably was
not a literal place but means “valley of weeping,” reminding us that in order
to get to a place of praise we also must undergo trials and suffering.
Verses 7-10 in our
psalter (8-11 in NRSV) are a prayer for “God’s anointed.” Originally referring
to the king or for a priest, as Christians, we can read this as referring to
Jesus. Verse 9 is a beautiful summation of worship: as we allow ourselves to
sink into worship as a means to enter God’s presence, time stands still.
Further, the “sons of Korah” who are ascribed as the authors of this psalm also
were sometimes describes as “doorkeepers.” Referring to God as “the sun” is
unusual, since many pagan religions worshiped the sun, and hence that
terminology was usually avoided. The psalm ends with a benediction in verse 12,
a statement which is at the same time a request for blessing.
Links for more information:
Walter D. Zorn, The College Press NIV Commentary: Psalms,
vol. 2
Marion J. Hatchett, Commentary on the American Prayer Book
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