Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 84:10
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.
10. For a day &c.] The connexion of thought is obscure. For apparently introduces a reason for the foregoing prayer. A ‘good day,’ i.e. a day of festivity and rejoicing, was regarded as a propitious occasion for preferring requests (1Sa 25:8). A day spent in Jehovah’s courts was better than a thousand others, and therefore the most opportune occasion for this prayer. Some commentators connect this verse with Psa 84:1-7, taking Psa 84:8-9 as parenthetical, and regard it as giving the reason for the desire to enter the Temple which is the dominant idea of the Psalm. But neither of these explanations is quite satisfactory, and the difficulty disappears if we render, Surely a day &c. After offering the prayer of Psa 84:9 the Psalmist returns to the thought which inspires his song, the blessedness of approach to God in His house.
‘ One day’ (P.B.V.) comes from the LXX through the Vulg.
I had rather be a doorkeeper ] Lit., be at the threshold. Delitzsch thinks that this is an allusion to the office of the Korahites as “keepers of the thresholds of the tent” (1Ch 9:19). If so, the reference must be to some subordinate position, and not to the distinguished office of “keeper of the threshold” (2Ki 22:4; 2Ki 25:18); for the sense clearly is, ‘I had rather perform the humblest service at the temple of Him who tolerates no evil (Psa 5:4) than be entertained as a guest where wickedness makes its home.’ But the meaning may simply be, I had rather stand, or, lie, at the threshold, wait humbly at the gate as a suppliant. Cp. LXX, , Vulg. abiectus esse.
The tents of wickedness probably refers to the heathen neighbours of whose scoffing this Psalmist had had such a bitter experience (Psa 42:3; Psa 42:10). Cp. Psa 120:5.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand – Better – happier – more profitable – more to be desired – than a thousand days spent elsewhere. That is, I should find more happiness – more true joy – in one day spent in the house of God, in his worship, in the exercises of true religion – more that will be satisfactory to the soul, and that will be dwelt on with pleasure in the memory when life is coming to a close – than I could in a thousand days spent in any other manner. This was much for a man like David – or a man who had been encompassed with all the splendor of royalty – to say; it is much for any man to say. And yet it could be said with truth by him; it can be said with equal truth by others; and when we come to the end of life – to the time when we shall review the past, and ask where we have found most true happiness, most that was satisfactory to the soul, most that we shall delight then to dwell on and to remember, most that we should be glad to have repeated and perpetuated, most that would be free from the remembrance of disappointment, chagrin, and care – it will not be the banqueting hall – the scenes of gaiety – the honors, the praises, the flatteries of people – or even the delights of literature and of the social circle – but it will be the happy times which we shall have spent in communion with God – the times when in the closet we poured out our hearts to Him – when we bowed before him at the family altar, when we approached him in the sanctuary. The sweetest remembrances of life will be the sabbath and the exercises of religion.
I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God – Margin, I would choose rather to sit at the threshold. The verb used here is derived from a noun signifying sill or threshold, and it would seem to mean here to stand on the threshold; to be at the door or the entrance, even without the privilege of entering the house: I would prefer that humble place to a residence within the abodes of the wicked. The verb here used occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures. The exact idea is not, as would seem from our translation, to keep the door, as in the capacity of a sexton or servant, but that of occupying the sill – the threshold – the privilege of standing there, and looking in, even if he was not permitted to enter. It would be an honor and a privilege to be anywhere about the place of public worship, rather than to be the occupant of a dwelling-place of sin.
Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness – The word tents here is equivalent to dwellings. It is used because it was so common in early periods to dwell in tents; and hence, the word was employed to denote a dwelling in general. The emphasis here is very much on the word in: – he would prefer standing at the door of the house of worship to dwelling within the abodes of the wicked – that is, to being admitted to intimacy with those who occupy such dwellings – however splendid, rich, and gorgeous, those abodes might be.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 84:10
For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand.
Time spent in worship is time best spent
I. There is no time like it for the development of the highest thoughts. Mind quickens mind. The greater the mind with which we are in conscious contact, the more power it has to rouse the intellect and set the wheels of thought a-going. Conscious contact with Gods mind is the strongest impulse to thought, and to thought of the highest kind. Thought upon Him, His attributes, operations, laws, claims, etc. Hence no engagement like that of genuine worship can evoke and develop the wonderful powers of human thought. It is by thought alone that a man rises.
II. There is no time like it for the excitation of the sublimest emotions. As our physical life is in the flowing blood, so our happiness is in the current of our emotions.
1. Gratitude is an element of happiness. The mind full of thankfulness is the mind full of joy. In true worship gratitude rises to the highest point.
2. Adoration is an element of happiness. When the mind is wrapped even in the admiration of physical or artistic beauty, it is happy; but when raised to an adoration of the highest moral beauty, its happiness is ecstatic. In true worship this is the case, the whole soul, so to speak, seems to float on the calm and sunny sea of infinite love.
III. There is no time like it for the promotion of soul growth. Our well-being consists in the healthy growth of all the wonderful germs of thought and feeling and faculty which are embedded in our spiritual natures. As there were in the earth when first it came from the hands of Almighty God the germs of all the vegetable and sentient life that have appeared during the untold ages that have gone, so in the human soul all the germs of power, greatness, and blessedness that a man will ever become are slumbering as embryonic germs in his soul. His paradise consists in their development. Now, genuine worship is the means, the only means, that can bring these powers out. It is only as the earth turns its face to the sun that its seeds of life are quickened, and it is only as the soul turns itself into conscious contact with God that its unbounded potentialities are quickened into vitality and brought into growth. (Homilist.)
Delight in public ordinances
The true servants of God may esteem a day in His courts better than a thousand–
I. On account of the distinguishing honour with which it is attended.
II. On account of the sublime pleasure which is there experienced.
III. On account of the high advantage that results from it. The service of the sanctuary tends to–
1. Improve the heart.
2. Regulate the conduct.
3. Afford comfort in affliction.
4. Prepare us for heaven. (D. Dickson.)
The Divine reckoning of time
The great need of the world is a vision of the vast unities of truth. Little thoughts make little lives. Vast inner apprehensions of truth are necessary to create a greater outer life. Now, it is clear that the psalmist in our text desires to lead us no little way beneath the surface of things. We have here first a measurement of time made in the light of the kingdom of God. It is the measurement of the sanctuary of the courts of the Lord–what we should now call the kingdom of God. In as far as we realize within our lives the power of this kingdom, we enter into the experience which the psalmist expresses in our text. Now, following the psalmists suggestion, a little consideration will show that time is anything or nothing according to the intensity of our life. On the one hand you can conceive of a mans life becoming more and more vacant of thought and feeling and deed until time is scarcely existent for him. Such life is a living death, and death knows no dominion of time. On the other hand, you can conceive of a life so intense that vaster and vaster extents of life are crowded into a single moment until length measurements of months and days and years are almost annihilated by depth, and time is on the verge of appearing as eternity. The fact that between these two extremes there are greatly varying measurements of time affects our earthly life at every point. There are two or three simple facts concerning time related to our present subject which from their very simplicity may evade our attention. The first is, that our ordinary measurements of time are purely conventional, being taken from without us, and not from within our own lives. Another thing worth remembering is that time, whether inside or outside of us, is always measured by intensity, and can never be reduced to mere extension. Try as you will, you can only measure time by some expression of force, energy, power, movement. The next thing to be noted is, that the vast variations of intensities even in external things make any fixed measurement of time impossible. When we are told, for example, that certain rays of light are caused by some thousands of millions of vibrations in a second of time, thought has no possible way of reconciling the ordinary idea of a second with such an infinity of movement. The difficulty arises from the fact that the sunlight does not set its time by the revolutions of the earth, as we do, but by its own transcendent energies. Our thought is baffled because we try to measure the energies of one thing by the time of another. One day in the sunlight is better than a thousand. Yet all these external energies are as nothing compared with those that are possible for the human spirit. Here we stand in the very territories of the infinite. One great thought in a human heart has more intensity and mighty force of movement in it than all the forces of the external world put together. In human life, then, time has a completely new meaning, a meaning closely akin to eternity. But in human life also deep stretches beneath deep, and in mans grandest possibility, in the place where he feels the presence of God and consciously unites himself with the Infinite, time reaches its highest intensities. Here lifetimes are often lived in moments. One day in such a life and in such experiences is better than a thousand. What, then, shall we say to this? There are cases where men, seeking to live as long as possible, spare themselves the heat and the burden of the day, and reach their four score years and ten by contributing nothing of the blood of their heart to the healing of the world. There are others that burn with fiery zeal for God and His kingdom, with a great passion of love for men and of devotion to the cause of righteousness. To them length of days has been promised, yet the fires consume their life, and in the bloom of youth or the pride of manhood they are laid in the grave. This is, of course, not a universal rule, but appears often enough to demand our attention. It is just at this point that the psalmist intervenes, saying, Be careful how you measure. This is not a question of the revolution of the earth, but of the history of a soul. Here the measurements of the days and years vary infinitely. You have written four score years upon the tomb of the man that spent his years like a living death. Tell the sculptor to chisel out the falsehood without delay. Time is movement and energy, and he has been an idler. Even this slow revolving earth has outstripped him. Write clearly above his grave so that all may read it, Time was within his reach for eighty circling courses of the earth around the sun. But he never grasped it, and he died an infant of days, an ephemeral creature without a life and without a history. And turning to the other tomb where lamentation is written for the brevity of a consecrated life, he would say, Poor, blind calculators, to measure such a life by rising and setting suns, by changing moons, and by returns of summer and winter. In this life cycles of time gathered into single moments. For every day write down a thousand, and let the epitaph be, Died in fulness of days, according to the promise, With long life will I satisfy him. This measurement of time gives us also a new measurement of happiness. The Christian is sometimes scoffingly told by the sceptic that he, also, like everybody else, is simply seeking a maximum of pleasure, and working for a summum bonum of happiness. There is a plausibility in this accusation that makes it sometimes difficult to meet and refute. The first step towards meeting it is to make a great admission. Namely this, that the goal of the Christian life is unquestionably the point of highest and intensest happiness, and that such happiness is undoubtedly one of the glowing aims of the Christian life. It must further be allowed that, if anything called Virtue brought with it a maximum of misery and something called Vice entailed a maximum of happiness, the principles of Christianity would lead to the courting of vice and not of virtue. This apparent contradiction arises from the absurdity of the supposition that we have made concerning virtue and vice. To be flung into real and essential misery is an indication that the life is out of joint, that the unity of the spirit is shattered and lost, and its harmonies destroyed. To be really and essentially happy is an indication that the life has attained its highest powers and its noblest harmonies. By whatever game you may call these, the Christian life is a strenuous movement towards the latter, and must therefore have the maximum of happiness for its goal, and therefore in part for its aim. But when the scorner proceeds to say that all pleasure is essentially of the same nature, and that the difference is not one of morality but of taste, he puts himself at our mercy to be smitten hip and thigh. The human spirit must measure its happiness as it measures its time, not by length, but by depth. By this measurement the meaning of happiness, like that of its sources, varies to infinity. It may either be an ephemeral thing on the surface of the life, or it may sing its eternal song in the infinite depths of the human spirit. It may be simply the expression of a passing harmony of quivering nerves, or it may be the expression of the eternal harmonies of the Godlike moral forces that make man Divine. (John Thomas, M. A.)
On the threshold
Literally, I would rather lie on the threshold, rather fill the lowest place and execute the meanest office in Gods house, than be the greatest and happiest of those found elsewhere. We sometimes say, I have only a little religion, but I would not part with it for all the world; and that is substantially what David says here. The meanest living member of the Church of God is greater than the most honourable outside.
1. The least of saints is superior to the worlds greatest men. The doorkeeper represents the least glorious and least powerful member of the spiritual congregation; but even he is more influential than the richest and greatest of the children of ungodliness. The ultimate power in the universe is the power of righteous mind, the power of righteous character; and he who possesses these in the most modest degree is mysteriously noble and efficient.
2. The least of saints is superior to the worlds happiest men. The position of the doorkeeper on the threshold is the least desirable of all positions in the spiritual kingdom. He has the faintest glimpse of the temple glories, hears the least of its music, tastes little of its delicacies; yet the psalmist in effect says, I would rather be the saddest of the saints than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. And we feel that his judgment was just. Communion with God, however faint, faith in the promises, however feeble, a sense of infinite truth and love, however dull, and a glimpse of heaven, however dim, give us a satisfaction beyond all gratifications of time and sense.
3. The briefest life of goodness is better than the longest life of worldliness: One day in Thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. A life of worldliness and sin properly speaking is not life at all. When Lizio, an Italian, was told of the death of his dissipated son, he replied, It is no news to me; he never was alive. A life destitute of the spiritual element is not truly life. To live is to feel the spirit in contact with God, to be filled with His light, to be thrilled with His joy, to be warmed by His love, to be satisfied with His likeness. This is life, and the youngest believer in Christ knows more of the quality and fulness of existence than does the voluptuous patriarch. (W. L. Watkinson.)
The good mans love for the house of God
The good man loves the house of God–
1. Because it is a constant testimony for God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
2. Because it is a refuge to him from the inhospitable and uncongenial influences by which he is surrounded in the world.
3. Because it is a school in which he becomes more fully instructed in the truth as it is in Jesus.
4. Because it is the home where he enjoys the communion of saints.
5. Because there he enjoys fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
6. Because it identifies him more and more with the paradise of God above. (W. Brock.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 10. A day in thy courts is better than a thousand.] Not only better than one thousand in captivity, as the Chaldee states, but any where else. For in God’s courts we meet with God the King, and are sure to have what petitions we offer unto him through his Christ.
I had rather be a doorkeeper] O what a strong desire does this express for the ordinances of God! Who now prefers the worship of God to genteel, gay, honourable, and noble company, to mirthful feasts, public entertainments, the stage, the oratorio, or the ball! Reader, wouldst thou rather be in thy closet, wrestling in prayer, or reading the Scriptures on thy knees, than be at any of the above places? How often hast thou sacrificed thy amusement, and carnal delight, and pleasures, for the benefit of a pious heart-searching sermon? Let conscience speak, and it will tell thee.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A thousand; understand elsewhere; which is necessary to complete the sense: or, in the tents of wickedness; which may be supplied out of the next clause. Such ellipses are usual in Scripture, as Psa 91:7, at thy side, i.e. left side; Pro 19:1, &c.
Door-keeper; which was generally held a mean and contemptible office, and belonged to the common Levites, 1Ch 9:19; 26:1, and therefore might seem very dishonourable for David.
Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness; than to live in the greatest glory, and plenty, and pleasure; which is ordinarily the lot of wicked men, as David observed before, Psa 17:14; 73:6,7, and elsewhere.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. I had . . .doorkeeperliterally, “I choose to sit on the threshold,”the meanest place.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand,…. “One day”; so the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions; and so the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret it; one day in the house of God, in the world to come, so Arama: though rather reference is had to the seventh day sabbath, then in being; and which with the psalmist was a delight, holy and honourable; and though now abolished, as to the time of it, with the rest of the ceremonial law, there is yet a day of public worship, called the Lord’s day, and the day of the Son of man; and one of these days spent in the courts of the Lord, in an attendance on the word and ordinances, in worshipping in the fear of God, in spirit and in truth; in divine service, assisted by the Spirit of God, doing everything in faith, from love, and with a view to the glory of God; a day thus spent in religious exercises “is better than a thousand”; that is, than a thousand days; not than a thousand days spent in like manner, but than a thousand other days, common day, of the week; or than a thousand in other places, especially in places of sin, and in the company of wicked men; one day in God’s house employed in spiritual exercises, and enjoying communion with him, is better than a thousand days in any of the houses of Satan, of sinful pleasure, or in the houses of sinful men; better as to peace of mind, solid pleasure, real profit, and true honour:
I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God; in the meanest post and place there; alluding to the Levites, who were some of them porters, and kept the doors of the Lord’s house, 1Ch 26:1 or to the beggars that lay at the gates of the temple for alms; see Ac 3:1 or to be fixed to the door post of it, alluding to the servant that was desirous of continuing in his master’s house, and serving him for ever; who was brought to the door post, and had his ears bored through with an awl, Ex 21:5. Such a willing servant was the psalmist; and this sense the Targum seems to incline to, which renders it,
“I have chose to cleave to the house of the sanctuary of God;”
or to be a waiter there, to watch daily at Wisdom’s gates, and to wait at the posts of her doors; such lie in the way of conversion, and of finding Christ; in the way of spiritual healing, as the man at the pool; and of spiritual instruction, and of spiritual strength, and an increase of it: or to be, or sit, upon the threshold; or to be “thresholding” i of it; that is, to frequent the house of God, to be often going over the threshold of it; this the psalmist took delight to do, even to be the threshold k itself, for men to tread upon as they go into the house of God:
than to dwell in the tents of wickedness; meaning not houses built by wicked men, or with money ill got; but where wicked men dwelt, and who were so bad as to be called wickedness itself; perhaps the psalmist might have in his mind the tents of Kedar, where he had sometimes been; see Ps 120:5, now to live in the meanest place in the house of God, to wait at the door as a porter, to lie there as a beggar, to sit upon the threshold, and much more to go often over it, or be that itself, was abundantly preferable than to dwell “an age” l in the house of princes and great men, being wicked; than to live in the most pompous manner, at ease and in plenty, enjoying all the good things of life that heart can wish for; one hour’s communion with God in his house is better than all this, and that for the reason following.
i “esse in limine”, Pagninus, Montanus; “ad limen esse”, Musculus; “desidere ad limen”, Tigurine version, Vatablus, so Ainsworth; “frequentare limen”, Junius Tremellius “commorari limen”, Piscator; “ad limen stare”, Gejerus, Michaelis. k Gusset. Ebr. Comment. p. 565. l “quam aetatem agere”, Piscator; “vel aetatem omnem agere”, Gejerus, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
10. For better is one day in thy courts than a thousand elsewhere. Unlike the greater part of mankind, who desire to live without knowing why, wishing simply that their life may be prolonged, David here testifies, not only that the end which he proposed to himself in living was to serve God, but that in addition to this, he set a higher value on one day which he could spend in the divine service, than upon a long time passed among the men of the world, from whose society true religion is banished. It being lawful for none but the priests to enter into the inner and innermost courts of the temple, David expressly declares, that provided he were permitted to have a place at the porch, he would be contented with this humble station; for the Hebrew word ספ, saph, signifies a door-post, or the threshold of a house. (470) The value which he set upon the sanctuary is presented in a very striking light by the comparison, that he would prefer having a place at the very doors of the temple, to his having full possession of the tents of wickedness, the plain import of which is, that he would rather be cast into a common and unhonoured place, provided he were among the people of God, than exalted to the highest rank of honor among unbelievers. A rare example of godliness indeed! Many are to be found who desire to occupy a place in the Church, but such is the sway which ambition has over the minds of men, that very few are content to continue among the number of the common and undistinguished class. Almost all are carried away with the frantic desire of rising to distinction, and can never think of being at ease until they have attained to some station of eminence.
(470) This explanation is adopted by Walford, who reads, “Jehovah giveth favor and honor.” “The common gloss on these words,” he observes, “is, that God first bestows grace on earth, and then glory in heaven. But this is an interpretation of the ear rather than of the understanding. The writer is evidently speaking of the present happy consequences of walking uprightly as he immediately says. The judgment of Calvin agrees with this statement.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(10) I had rather be a doorkeeper.Better, I had rather wait on the threshold, as not worthy (LXX. and Vulgate, be rejected in scorn) to enter the precincts. The idea of doorkeeper, however, though not necessarily involved in the Hebrew word, is suggested in a Korahite psalm, since the Korahites were keepers of the gates of the tabernacle, and keepers of the entry. Compare with this wish the words which a Greek poet puts into the mouth of his hero, who sweeps the threshold of Apollos temple:
A pleasant task, O Phoebus, I discharge,
Before thine house in reverence of thy seat
Of prophecy, an honoured task to me.
EURIPIDES, Ion, 128.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. For The conjunction connects that which precedes concerning the loveliness of God’s house, (Psa 84:1,) the blessings of those who dwell there, (Psa 84:4-7,) and the prayer of the anointed, (Psa 84:9,) with that which follows, and gives the reason for the psalmist’s pre-eminent choice of a suppliant’s place in the courts of God’s house.
I had rather I have chosen, etc. The preterit indicates a choice already made.
Doorkeeper This is not the idea. A “doorkeeper” in the East, holds an office of honour and trust, not of humility. See Est 6:2. “The most dignified native of Ceylon is the Maha Modeliar of the governor’s gate, to whom all others must make obeisance.” Roberts. The Hebrew simply reads, I have chosen rather to sit [or recline ] at the threshold, etc., that is, as a suppliant, a beggar. See Luk 16:20. So the Hindu saying, “I am in great trouble, I will go and lie down at the door of the temple.” Roberts.
House Not the temple of Solomon, which was now in ruins, but the new temple, now in process of erection, or the tabernacle, or place of worship. See on Psa 116:19.
Dwell in the tents of wickedness The description is that of free nomadic life with luxury, and the comparison lies between this, without God, and the privilege of a worshipper in the outer court, or a beggar lying at the door, of God’s house. See Heb 11:24-26
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 640
GODS ORDINANCES PRECIOUS
Psa 84:10. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
IN matters of doubtful disputation, it is of great advantage to have some established ground, to which reference may be made; and some adjudged case, on which arguments may be founded, without any farther appeal. In my text, the point at issue is, Which is preferable, the service of God, or the service of the world? On this subject there is a great diversity of opinion; some accounting the world the only true source of happiness, whilst others conceive that there is no happiness but in God. But we have in the very words before the text an adjudged case, which may well determine the point for ever. The Psalmist expressly declares, that a day in Gods courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. If a doubt arise whether he was competent to decide the matter, I answer, that, as a King, he knew all that attached to royalty and to the splendour of earthly courts; and, as a Saint, he knew what was to be found in the exercises of piety and devotion: and, consequently, he was a proper person to hold the scales, and to declare on which side true happiness preponderated. Besides, his particular situation at this time qualified him in a more than ordinary way to form a just judgment: for he was driven (it is supposed) by Absalom both from his throne and from the house of God: and consequently he could declare, from his own experience, which of the two losses was the heavier, and which was the greater subject of regret. Under these circumstances we read not one word of complaint respecting the loss of his kingdom: his mind was wholly occupied about the ordinances of God, of which he was deprived. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God [Note: ver. 1, 2.]. He envies the very birds the facility which they enjoyed of approaching the altars of the Lord, and more especially the priests who had constant opportunities of officiating there; as also the people, who could come, though with great difficulty, from the extremest parts of the land to worship there at the appointed feasts [Note: ver. 37.]. He then begs of God to restore him to the enjoyment of these lost privileges [Note: ver. 8, 9.]; and declares, that, in his judgment, one day spent in his courts was better than a thousand elsewhere; and that he would rather be a door-keeper in the House of God, than to dwell amidst the richest enjoyments that the tents of wickedness could afford him.
The case being so clearly determined by him, I will endeavour to point out,
I.
The grounds of his judgment
He preferred the lowest office imaginable in the House of the Lord, before the highest that was merely secular; for he deemed it,
1.
More honourable
[In earthly palaces, dwell men of like passions with ourselves: but in Mount Zion God himself dwells: there he holds his court: there he sits upon his throne; thither all his servants come to behold his glory, to worship at his footstool, and to receive the tokens of his gracious favour. There, though invisible, are assembled all the hosts of heaven; so that the humble worshipper, when coming thither, is justly said to have come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born that are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel [Note: Heb 12:22-24.].
Now, conceive of a poor man admitted only to the threshold of this holy place [Note: See the marginal translation.], and compare his state with that of the most distinguished favourite of an earthly monarch; and say, whether the honour conferred on him be not infinitely higher than any which earthly courtiers can possess? In truth, the matter admits not of comparison. Between a king on his throne and a beggar on the dunghill there is no disparity at all, when compared with that between a creature and his Creator; so that in this respect the Psalmist had just ground for his preference: for in proportion as God humbles himself, when he beholds the things which are on earth, is that man exalted, who becomes the object of his condescension and grace.]
2.
More delightful
[We will concede to the delights of sense all that the most sanguine mind can annex to them: but still they are carnal and temporary, and cloying and unsatisfying; and the man who possesses the greatest portion of them all, must acknowledge them to be justly designated, Vanity, and vexation of spirit. But very different is the character of those pleasures which the sinner partakes of in the presence of his God. Behold the publican standing, as it were, on the very threshold of Gods house, as unworthy to enter in: behold him smiting his breast, and, with floods of tears, crying, God be merciful to me, a sinner! To the eye of sense he appears a miserable object, that decides at once the point at issue in favour of the world: but to the eye of faith he is an object, whose state may well be envied by the greatest and happiest of carnal men: for He, who is the true and faithful Witness, has said, Blessed are the poor in spirit: blessed are they that mourn. On the mind of such a penitent the light of truth beams with increasing splendour: the peace of God flows down into his soul: a hope full of immortality springs up within him: and the joy of the Holy Ghost elevates his mind to heaven, and gives him a foretaste of angelic bliss. Follow this same person through all the services of the sanctuary: behold him pouring out his soul in prayer to God: hear him singing the praises of redeeming love: mark the emotions of his soul when Gods word is preached, and the blessings of redemption, as purchased by Christ and secured to him by an everlasting covenant, are unfolded to his view. What are any carnal delights in comparison of those which fill his soul? Verily, they are not worth a thought: they are only as the husks of swine, whilst he is feasting on angels food.]
3.
More profitable
[Temporal advancement a man may gain by attending on earthly courts: but how many miss their aim! and, after all, what does the most successful gain? what can he possess, more than food and raiment? Let the most favoured courtier in the universe say, whether that which he has so assiduously followed be not a delusive shadow, an unsubstantial vanity? But the humble worshipper is in no danger of disappointment; and every particle of what he gains is durable riches. What can be put in competition with a new heart, a right spirit, a divine nature, a transformation of soul into the very image of God, a meetness for heaven, and a title to an everlasting inheritance? Yet these are the certain portion of those who wait on God in his appointed ordinances: not one can fail, if only he seek these things in the way that God has ordained, namely, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and by an entire surrender of the soul to him. Take notice, I speak not here of those who may be supposed to occupy the highest seats in the Lords house, as prophets and Apostles: I speak of the door-keeper, the man upon the threshold, whose conscious unworthiness suffers him not so much as to lift up his eyes to his Redeemers throne: it is of him I say, that he has a better portion than the whole world can bestow; and that happy is the man that is in such a case; yea, happy is the man who has the Lord for his God.]
Having given what I conceive to be ample grounds for Davids judgment, I now come to mark,
II.
The wisdom of his decision
Certainly the whole world of the ungodly are at issue with him on this point. They have no taste for spiritual exercises or spiritual enjoyments. They observe, indeed, the outward forms of religion, for the sake of setting an example to others; but of felicity to be enjoyed in the worship of God they have no idea. If they see persons much interested about the worship of God, they are ready to account them superstitious, and scrupulous, and righteous overmuch; and all the delight which they perceive to be derived from that source they impute to vanity or enthusiasm. But, however the multitude may prefer the pleasures of sense, we have no hesitation in saying that Davids decision was wise,
1.
On his side are ranged all the Inspired Men from the foundation of the world
[There is not a shadow of difference among them in relation to this matter. One common testimony pervades the whole Scriptures. The things of time and sense are invariably represented as of no value, in comparison of the things which are invisible and eternal; and the possession of the whole world as of no account in exchange for the soul. Now, when there are so many witnesses, all unconnected with each other, and living at times and places so distant from each other, and all inspired by an unerring God, must we not conclude that their testimony is true, and that David, in according with them, was true also? The whole Inspired Volume must be set aside as an imposture and a delusion, if Davids preference was not such as wisdom dictated, and God approved.]
2.
On his side are even the ungodly, in their hours of more serious reflection
[Giddy as the world are, and ready to pour contempt on all serious religion, there is not one who does not sometimes say in his heart, Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. The consciences of men will sometimes speak; and they will acknowledge that they have never found that satisfaction in earthly things which they had once hoped to find: and that religion alone can bring solid peace into the soul. And here I will venture to appeal to every individual, whether on some particular occasions, perhaps on the death of a friend or in a time of sickness, or after some faithful discourse, he have not felt the vanity of this present world, and the need of securing a portion beyond the grave? and whether, on such occasions, he have not envied the state of those, whom, in his more thoughtless seasons, he has ridiculed? Yes, Herod revered John, because he knew him to be a just and holy man: and Felix trembled, because he could not controvert the statements of Paul: and scarcely is there an ungodly man to be found, who has not, on some occasion or other, justified in his mind, if not in his words, the sentiment avowed by David in our text.]
3.
On his side is every man, the very instant he enters into the eternal world
[Think you that there is a man in heaven that is not like-minded with David? or, that there is one in hell who would not assent to it as a truth which he could no longer doubt? Here, men are blinded by their love of earthly things; but in the eternal world they view things as they really are: nor is there one to he found either in heaven or in hell that would not prefer the state of Lazarus with all his privations to that of the Rich Man with all his indulgences. Whence was it that the Rich Man was so anxious to send a messenger to his five surviving brethren? was it not to undeceive them, and to make known to them the proper mode of estimating the things belonging to their peace? So, if it were permitted, would they who are daily and hourly going into the eternal world: gladly would they send to warn their surviving relatives; but that cannot be: and if we will not believe Moses and the prophets, we shall learn the truth when it is too late to avail ourselves of it. But all this may serve at least to shew us that the decision of David was truly wise.]
Learn, then, from hence,
1.
How to form a right estimate of your state
[You must not judge of yourselves by your actions only, but by the tendencies and habits of your minds. What is your taste? is it for communion with God in holy exercises? or is it for the vanities of this present world? God himself teaches us to judge of ourselves by this standard: They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; and they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit [Note: Rom 8:5.]. If your taste accord with that of David, it is well; you have so far an evidence that you are the Lords: but if it be the reverse of his, deceive not yourselves; ye are yet in your sins, children of the wicked one, and heirs of wrath.]
2.
How to make your profiting to appear
[Cultivate this high and heavenly disposition. Let the things of this world sink in your estimationsink, I had almost said, into absolute insignificance; and let communion with God be the delight of your soul. Let it be a small matter to you whether you have more or less of the honour that cometh of man; and seek the honour that cometh of God only: and let your conversation be more and more in heaven, from whence you look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, with whom you hope ere long to participate an eternity of bliss.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
How doth, or how ought, the reading of this verse make a truly awakened soul long for the everlasting sabbath of heaven; yea, even for Jesus, the very sabbath of the soul. Observe, Reader! the door of a house is the place of the porter, a menial servant; and there it was Jesus had his ear digged, as it may be read, Psa 40:6 , alluding to the custom of a servant in the house of Israel, that had his ears bored at the door of the house, when, out of love of his master, he would not go out free. Exo 21:5-6 . Oh! thou supreme Pattern of everything that is lovely and gracious; thou precious Jesus! didst thou take upon thee the form of a servant, that we might be free forever? Joh 8:36 ; Lord, may I love the doors of thine house, and there dwell forever!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 84:10 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.
Ver. 10. For a day in thy courts ] Every flower hath its sweetness; so hath every holy duty its comfort.
I had rather be a doorkeeper
In the tents of wickedness
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
than a thousand. Supply Ellipsis by adding “[elsewhere]”.
be a doorkeeper = to stand at the threshold.
tents = habitations.
wickedness = lawlessness.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
For: Psa 84:1, Psa 84:2, Psa 27:4, Psa 43:3, Psa 43:4, Psa 63:2, Luk 2:46, Rom 8:5, Rom 8:6, Phi 3:20
I had: etc. Heb. I would choose rather to sit at the threshold, Jam 2:3
to dwell: Psa 17:14, Psa 17:15, Psa 26:8-10, Psa 141:4, Psa 141:5
Reciprocal: Gen 13:4 – Unto Exo 27:9 – the court Exo 38:9 – the court Deu 18:6 – and come with 2Sa 15:25 – he will bring 2Ki 12:9 – door 2Ki 22:4 – the keepers 1Ch 9:19 – gates 1Ch 15:23 – General 1Ch 16:42 – musical instruments 1Ch 29:3 – I have set 2Ch 9:7 – General Neh 11:19 – that kept Psa 42:2 – when Psa 73:28 – But Psa 118:24 – we will Psa 122:1 – was glad Psa 122:9 – the house Psa 137:5 – I forget Psa 137:6 – if I prefer Pro 8:34 – watching Son 2:4 – brought Isa 38:22 – What Isa 58:13 – call Jer 35:4 – the keeper Jer 52:24 – door Eze 40:6 – threshold Mar 9:5 – it is Luk 2:37 – which Luk 15:19 – make Luk 18:30 – manifold more Heb 11:25 – Choosing
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
DELIGHT IN GODS HOUSE
A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand.
Psa 84:10
The psalm is probably one of those used by the pilgrims on their way to the Holy City on some festival occasion. Men had not learned the truth that God is a Spirit, and could be worshipped in spirit. Jerusalem was the place where men ought to worship, and those who lived at a distance were able to come up only at the great festivals. As the pilgrim arrives within sight of the sacred place he cries out in the language of the Psalmist, How amiable are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My heart and my flesh sing for joy unto the living God. Then as he enters the sacred precincts he feels envious of those who spend their whole lives in the temple service, and cries, Happy are they that dwell in Thy house! They can be always praising Thee. Living far away he can only occasionally enjoy the privileges of worship which are theirs every day.
I. How far does this spirit exist to-day?The empty seats in our churches if but a shower of rain falls an hour before service time, would seem to indicate that the means of grace are not prized as they should be. There is a danger that the multiplication of our privileges leads to neglect.
II. While it is true that God is everywhere, and can be worshipped in any place, there is a special sense in which, to us, He is present in the church, and if we neglect the assembling of ourselves together we shall lose the blessing that comes from the communion of saints.If we enter the house of God in the spirit of prayer, with hearts open to receive the Divine blessing, He will not send us empty away. Jesus promised that where two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be in the midst of them. If we realise, even in a small degree, what the presence of Jesus means, we shall not be willing to allow a trifle to keep us away from His sanctuary.
Illustrations
(1) The house of God is an ante-room of heaven, or, in other words, a bit of heaven on this side of heaven! God loves His house intensely, and if we do not love it, it is because we do not love God! The Bible gives more space to the erection of the tabernacle and the temple than to the creation of the world!
(2) The Scottish Covenanters would not be absent from worship, although their presence meant not only that they had to brave a winter storm as they met under the open sky, but often they were threatened with imprisonment or death as breakers of the law. Dr. Theodore Cuyler once declared that disagreeable Sundays sifted the churches as honestly as Gideons band of ten thousand soldiers was sifted by the lapping of the water. Those, he said, who really want to go to Gods house on a wet or wintry Sunday, usually get there.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Psa 84:10. A day in thy courts is better than a thousand Namely, elsewhere; which is necessary to complete the sense; or, in the tents of wickedness; which may be supplied out of the next clause. Such ellipses are usual in Scripture. One day spent in meditation and devotion affordeth a pleasure, far, far superior to that which an age of worldly prosperity could give. Happier is the least and lowest of the servants of Jesus than the greatest and most exalted potentate who knoweth him not. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God Which was generally considered as a mean and contemptible office, and belonged to the common Levites, 1Ch 9:19; and 1Ch 26:1, and therefore might seem very dishonourable for David; than to dwell in the tents of wickedness Than to live in the greatest glory, and plenty, and pleasure; which is often the lot of the wicked, Psa 17:14; Psa 73:6-7. He is no proper judge of blessedness who hesitates a moment to prefer the condition of a penitent in the porch to that of a sinner on the throne. If this be the case upon earth, how much more in heaven! O come that one glorious day, whose sun shall never go down, nor any cloud obscure the lustre of his beams; that day, when the temple of God shall be opened in heaven, and we shall be admitted to serve him for ever therein! Horne.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
84:10 For {h} 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.
(h) He would rather live one day in God’s Church than a thousand in the world.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
He valued standing and serving in the temple because there he could experience intimacy with God. He could occupy himself with Yahweh and His worship intensively. That is all people usually did in the temple. Consequently, wickedness was less prevalent there than anywhere else. God’s beneficent influence is sun-like, providing light and warmth on those below. He also protects those close to Him. He gives unmerited favor and divine enablement (grace) as well as honor (glory). He sends only good things to the lives of those who walk harmoniously with His will. Therefore the person who trusts Him experiences His blessing.
"The essence of godliness is in submissiveness to the Great King, who will grant his blessings to those who find their refuge in him . . ." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 546.]
This psalm expresses the joy that comes through intimacy with God. In Israel, this took place in proximity to Yahweh’s localized presence in the temple. Today, it takes place as the believer trusts and obeys God as He has revealed His will in Scripture. There are degrees of intimacy. This psalm visualizes getting closer to God by approaching the temple. Some believers choose to live close to God, and others prefer to live further away from Him. Of course, unbelievers have no personal relationship with Him.