1The Psalmist longing for the temple worship, 4sheweth the blessedness of attending thereupon: 8he prayeth to be restored to it.
0To the 1chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.
1 On chief Musician see the first annotation at Psalm 4 in the title. See upon Gittith the second annotation at Psalm 8 in the title. See A Psalm for the sons of Korah the third annotation at Psalm 42 in the title.
1HOW amiableaare 2thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
a lovely
2 Or, thy dwellings, wherein Thou art served and worshipped, which the psalmist calls tabernacles in the plural, because the tabernacle was divided into sundry partitions or quarters. See Psalm 43 on verse 3.
2Myb soul longeth, 3yea, even fainteth for 4the courts of the LORD: 5my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
bPsalm 42:1; 63:1.
3 That is, I am even ready to faint and vanish away with great and continual longing, to be permitted to come to the house or tabernacle of the Lord. See the annotation Job 19:27.
4 Understand the courts which were about the tabernacle.
5 That is, my body and soul is full of longing, when I call to mind that God may show me the favor yet as to bring me again to appear among His people in the tabernacle to celebrate His solemn worship with the people of God.
3Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even 6thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
6 As if he said: Thy altars are the house and nest I long after; I have such a great mind unto them, and it is a most unworthy thing, that I am thus banished and removed from them all this time through the power and violence of mine enemies, when as the swallows are permitted to have their nests about them. Other, after thine altars, namely, my heart and my flesh cry out after, verse 2.
4Blessed are they that 7dwell in thy house: they will be 8still praising thee. 9Selah.
7 That is, daily visiting there, namely, the priests and Levites, and other godly people.
8 Or, from this point on.
9 See Psalm 3 on verse 2.
5Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; 10in whose heart are the ways of them.
10 That is, whose heart’s desire is to go the ways which lead unto the tabernacle, and which are much walked upon by the godly, or, who have the way of God's commandments before their eyes with pleasure.
6Who passing through 11the valley 12of Baca 13make it a well; the rain also 14filleth the pools.
11 Various expositors write that this was a very dry valley through which some of the Israelites, travelling to the tabernacle, were to pass. And understand hereby all manner of dry places which have no water.
12 Of this place, where there were many mulberry trees, see 2 Sam. 5:23. Some translators retain here the Hebrew word baca, and render it the valley of tears, as the Greek translators of the Septuagint do, or the valley of misery.
13 They consider the Lord for their Wellspring, whereby they are abundantly revived and comforted, and hereby they overcome the difficulty of this troublesome journey. Other, they put it, namely, that valley for a fountain, as if the psalmist would say, they do not ask for the barrenness and difficulty of this valley, but pass through it as cheerfully and contentedly as if it were full of pleasant fountains.
14 Hebr. in or with blessings, that is, richly, plentifully, or abundantly. In Ezek. 34:26 the plentiful rains are likewise called showers of blessing. And 2 Cor. 9:6 you read: and he which soweth bountifully, that is, liberally.
715They go from strength to strength, every one of them 16in Zion appeareth before God.
15 Or, from vigour to vigour, that is, so lively and vigorously, that the further they go, the more cheerful they grow, till at length they arrive to the house of God in Zion. Other, from company to company, that is, they go in several companies, one party before, the other after. See Psalm 42:4; Luke 2:44.
16 Namely, in the tabernacle, which was upon the hill of Zion, and where the ark of the covenant was, upon which God dwelled. Hence we may gather that David was the author or penman of this psalm when he was driven away by Absalom; for then the ark of the covenant was upon Zion’s hill, 2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 16, but when David fled before Saul, then the ark was at Kirjath-jearim, 1 Sam. 7:1.
8O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
917Behold, O God 18our shield, and look upon 19the face 20of thine anointed.
17 He wants to say: Look graciously upon us.
18 Who protectest and defendest us.
19 That is, the person or the sad condition.
20 Hebr. of thy messiah, namely, of king David, the type and father of Christ after the flesh, who is likewise called the messiah or the anointed of the Lord, 2 Sam. 23:1; so these words may be understood of king David when he was driven away by Absalom; though others perceive them otherwise and that David desires to have his prayer heard for Christ, the Messiah’s sake.
10For a day in thy 21courts is 22better than a thousand. I had rather be a 23doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell 24in the tents of wickedness.
21 See verse 2.
22 Namely, outside Thy courts, wherever it may be.
23 That is, to live in an poor and low condition, administrating the office of a porter of the temple.
24 That is, houses or places (how great and pleasant they ever may be) in which wickedness is practiced.
11For the LORD God is 25a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will 26he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
25 That is, He enlightens and cherishes His faithful servants, even as the sun revives and comforts men with her goodly splendor, after they have sat a long time in a sorrowful darkness. See Isa. 60:19; Rev. 21:23.
26 That is, He turns away all evil and mischief from His own people. See Gen. 15:1.
12O LORD of hosts, blessedcis the man that trusteth in thee.
cPsalm 2:12; 34:8.