How Amiable are Thy Tabernacles: An Exposition of the 84th Psalm
Psalm 84 can be thought of as comfort food for the soul. In times of stress, there is often the desire to eat. One thinks of the comfort of warm milk and cookies. This might remind some of us of our mothers who would serve them just before bedtime. It projects a feeling of security. This is medicine before the terrors and uncertainty of the night. Perhaps you have your own comfort food. But the foods we eat can be bad for our health, especially in excess. The very remedy for our stress becomes the cause of stress itself. This may very well be true with earthly comfort foods, but not from the bread which comes from heaven.
The 84th Psalm begins with the words: “How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of Hosts! This is the way that the old English of the King James Version puts it. The word “amiable” is not in common use today, so many modern versions use words like “pleasant,” “lovely,” or “inviting.” So why would I wish to use “amiable” then? Amiable does indeed overlap these other words in meaning, but it conveys a slightly different mood. The word is related to the Latin “amicus” which is translated “friendly.” It is also related for the Latin word for “love.” So we can think of the amiable tabernacles of the LORD as being a warm, inviting, and comfortable place.
The King James also uses the old word “tabernacle.” It is often translated as “dwelling places.” But “tabernacles” is more precise as it reminds us of the first Tabernacle in the wilderness which God commanded Moses to build for Him. It was a tent which could be moved from place to place. It was not a fixed location like a house or a temple. The Tabernacle was a place where the LORD who is everywhere present chose that His presence would be especially present with the Children of Israel. In 2 Samuel 7, the LORD reminds David that He walked with His people in the Wilderness, a dry, hostile, and uninviting place. There were enemies all around. But the LORD was present in the midst of His people to encourage and comfort them.
The text now addresses God as the “LORD of Hosts.” Again, the word “host” means something different than we now associate it. We think of a host as someone who invites guests to his house, provides for them there, and gives them comfort. Although this meaning would fit well here, there is a lot more to the LORD of Hosts than this. The term actually means the “LORD of Armies.” When an army is used in this sense, it provides protection for all who come within its jurisdiction. Other nation’s armies lead to fear and insecurity, but not “our army.” Yahweh is the captain of this army. He gave comfort and encouragement to Joshua who faced the walled city of Jericho during the conquest of Canaan. The LORD of Hosts walked with Joshua and Israel through the Jordan Valley.
Word pictures are used to describe the LORD’s sanctuary. It is a place where the sparrows build their nest, even at the altar. Sparrows are small, vulnerable birds who need a safe place to make their nest. They often find this security near human habitations. Although there aren’t many who would invite sparrows into their houses, we often permit them to raise their young in the eaves of the roof outside the house. Or we might even build them a special bird house whose opening is big enough for them but too small for their enemies. This is symbolic of God’s care for His people. We can feel secure to raise our families in the shadow of His wings.
Now let us revisit the word “tabernacles.” We should expect the singular “tabernacle” to be used as the one place where the presence of the LORD resided, such as it did in the Temple in Jerusalem. The sons of Korah which was a priestly guild of musicians probably served there. But they don’t use the word Temple, but tabernacles. Perhaps the plural is what is called “a plural of majesty.” But perhaps it is better thought of as many dwelling places rather than one. Not all of Israel resided in Jerusalem. For them to go there as was commanded by the LORD required a pilgrimage. This journey to Jerusalem could be quite dangerous. The psalmist mentions one of them, the Baca Valley which was a dry desolate place. This very valley has been central in the Arab-Israeli conflict for decades. It remains a very dangerous place. But the psalmist tells us that for God’s people that He turns these places into springs of water. The presence of the LORD is not just in Jerusalem, but even in our dangers. He is not in a far off place. He walks with us in our troubles. His presence is with us. In the Christian faith, the Presence of God is in us by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is also with us when only two are three are gathered in His name. But the Holy Spirit is with us individually, even when we feel most alone. So the tabernacle of the LORD exists wherever His presence is and felt. God has many dwelling places. This is not to deny the special presence of the LORD in a place. For the Israelite, this was a Temple in Jerusalem. For the Christian, it is God’s throne in heaven. We are pilgrims on a journey to this special place. We look forward to the day when Jesus returns for us and we find our ultimate rest and security in the Kingdom, a place where it would be better to be the doorkeeper of than to dwell where the wicked do. In this life, the wicked seem to prosper, and there is temptation to cast our tent there at least in part. We want God, but we want mammon also. We must consider the final destination for the redeemed as compared to the lost.
The psalmist considers those who can be in this special place of God, blessed. There can be no more desirable place. When he felt separated from this place for whatever reason, his heart longed to return there. No obstacle was too great. No opposition from enemies deterred his determination. This should be our desire as well. God does use us on the journey to water the desert places, not for us, but for others. People need to know where true nourishment comes from. Jesus describes himself as “The Bread of Life.” He describes Himself as the Living Water. He is God, the Son. He made a special pilgrimage from his dwelling place in heaven with the Father and the Spirit. He left His special place in heaven to walk with the pilgrims on the journey. John tells us that “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” While He was with us, he desired to return from which He came. But He did not wish to return alone. He wanted to make it possible for others to join the Holy Trinity in this special place of presence. He was so willing to do so, that He died for our sins on a cross. But this did not hinder His return to the Father. He rose from the dead on the third day, then after forty days ascended back to heaven. Some day He shall return for us. The same Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” The word “way” is the same word for “road.” He is our pilgrimage to Jerusalem, or pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. He beckons us to follow.
Hebrews tells us that a Sabbath rest remains for the People of God and that we are to labor to enter it. Labor is hard. There has to be adequate compensation for our labors. That is why employers have to pay their employees. If they can be paid for not working, they would rather do that. Even so, there must be a compensation, and there is for following Jesus. But we must believe that God is and that He is abel and willing to keep His promises. This is called “faith.” It is this faith that saves us. We must also value our coming into the glorious presence of God above all else. It must be our goal when we awaken as well as our goal when we go to sleep. It must be our goal in prosperous times as well as in times of poverty. Jesus must be our all in all. We have this privilege of pilgrimage solely by the grace of God though Jesus Christ. We don’t deserve it, but it has been offered anyhow. Let us rejoice in this grace.
We will never find true comfort and security in this life. There might be short periods from troubles in this life, a temporary sleep from trouble. But we will awaken in this life to new ones. Unless we remain to the return of the Lord, we will all die on the journey. But this shall not hinder us as Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 4. So let us joyfully wait as Father Abraham did. Abraham had many troubles in this life. But he also experienced many blessings, both spiritual and carnal. But he was on a pilgrimage to a better city, the one whose builder and maker is God himself. Everything man builds will eventually corrupt and decay. What we make with our hands may persist for a while, but what God has Himself built is forever. He is our eternal security. This is why he ends by addressing the “LORD God of Hosts.” From beginning to end, He is with us. We shall persevere.
We encounter this heavenly army on the first Christmas night when they sang at the Savior’s birth. They did not cry “War on Earth” but “Peace on Earth.” With this in mind, the LORD is looking for hosts on this earth to turn the spiritually dry places into springs of hope. We are Christian soldiers marching as to war. But God tells us to wage peace and not war. Our war is not against people but Satan and his minions. God has equipped us with special spiritual weapons for his fight. These are the words or the Gospel of Peace. People are stuck in the Valley of Baca through which we travel. We might use the saying “stuck in a rut.” They have lost all hope of rescue and meaning in this life. Well they should if they are looking for scientists and politicians to solve or problems. But there is hope. This is the Gospel we proclaim. We must invite them to join us on the journey. We must not be belligerent to them but amiable. Our local churches should be places of invitation. What are we doing for those who are lost. Let us live lives that are inviting. They must see the hope and joy that we have so they might ask for the reason of this hope. They see us in the same miserable valley of life that they are in. Wars and pestilence affect us as well as them. It rains on the just and unjust. They must see something different in us. If we are grumbling in the Wilderness with the world, who would want to join us on this difficult journey? So let us check our attitude. Are we as excited about coming to the New Jerusalem? Are we lie the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus, who saw this glory beyond the cross of His suffering. Hebrews calls this reunion as the “joy that was set before Him.” There is joy beyond the cross that Jesus asks us to carry as we follow Him. Let the world see that.
