Psalms 84...My song..God bless Mattie

[Mattie Qualls]

Psalm 84

1	To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
2	My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
3	Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
4	Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
5	Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
6	Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7	They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
8	O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
9	Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
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.
11	For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
12	O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

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Baca, Valley of	(Psalms 84:6; RSV, "valley of weeping," marg., "or balsam trees"), probably a valley in some part of Palestine, or generally some one of the valleys through which pilgrims had to pass on their way to the sanctuary of Jehovah on Zion; or it may be figuratively "a valley of weeping."
Bird	Birds are divided in the Mosaic law into two classes, (1) the clean (Leviticus 1:14-17; 5:7-10; 14:4-7), which were offered in sacrifice; and (2) the unclean (Leviticus 11:13-20). When offered in sacrifice, they were not divided as other victims were (Genesis 15:10). They are mentioned also as an article of food (Deuteronomy 14:11). The art of snaring wild birds is referred to (Psalms 124:7; Proverbs 1:17; 7:23; Jeremiah 5:27). Singing birds are mentioned in Psalms 104:12; Eccl 12:4. Their timidity is alluded to (Hosea 11:11). The reference in Psalms 84:3 to the swallow and the sparrow may be only a comparison equivalent to, "What her house is to the sparrow, and her nest to the swallow, that thine altars are to my soul."
Door-keeper	This word is used in Psalms 84:10 (RSV marg., "stand at the threshold of," etc.), but there it signifies properly "sitting at the threshold in the house of God." The psalmist means that he would rather stand at the door of God's house and merely look in, than dwell in houses where iniquity prevailed.
Gittith	a stringed instrument of music. This word is found in the titles of Psalms 88184,81,84. In these places the LXX. render the word by "on the wine-fats." The Targum explains by "on the harp which David brought from Gath." It is the only stringed instrument named in the titles of the Psalms.
Mulberry	Heb. bakah, "to weep;" rendered "Baca" (RSV, "weeping") in Psalms 84:6. The plural form of the Hebrew bekaim is rendered "mulberry trees" in 2Sam 5:23,24and 1 Chronicles 14:14,15. The tree here alluded to was probably the aspen or trembling poplar. "We know with certainty that the black poplar, the aspen, and the Lombardy poplar grew in Palestine. The aspen, whose long leaf-stalks cause the leaves to tremble with every breath of wind, unites with the willow and the oak to overshadow the watercourses of the Lebanon, and with the oleander and the acacia to adorn the ravines of Southern Palestine" (Kitto). By "the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees" we are to understand a rustling among the trees like the marching of an army. This was the signal that the Lord himself would lead forth David's army to victory. (See SYCAMINE .)
Shield	used in defensive warfare, varying at different times and under different circumstances in size, form, and material (1 Samuel 17:7; 2Sam 1:21; 1 Kings 10:17; 1 Chronicles 12:8,24,34; Isaiah 22:6; Ezekiel 39:9; Nahum 2:3).
Sparrow	Mentioned among the offerings made by the very poor. Two sparrows were sold for a farthing (Matthew 10:29), and five for two farthings (Luke 12:6). The Hebrew word thus rendered is tsippor , which properly denotes the whole family of small birds which feed on grain (Leviticus 14:4; Psalms 84:3; 102:7). The Greek word of the New Testament is strouthion (Matthew 10:29-31), which is thus correctly rendered.
Swallow	Heb. sis (Isaiah 38:14; Jeremiah 8:7), the Arabic for the swift, which "is a regular migrant, returning in myriads every spring, and so suddenly that while one day not a swift can be seen in the country, on the next they have overspread the whole land, and fill the air with their shrill cry." The swift (cypselus) is ordinarily classed with the swallow, which it resembles in its flight, habits, and migration. Heb. deror, i.e., "the bird of freedom" (Psalms 84:3; Proverbs 26:2), properly rendered swallow, distinguished for its swiftness of flight, its love of freedom, and the impossibility of retaining it in captivity. In Isaiah 38:14 and Jeremiah 8:7 the word thus rendered ('augr) properly means "crane" (as in the RSV).
Tent	Heb. 'ohel (Genesis 9:21,27). This word is used also of a dwelling or habitation (1 Kings 8:66; Isaiah 16:5; Jeremiah 4:20), and of the temple (Ezekiel 41:1). When used of the tabernacle, as in 1 Kings 1:39, it denotes the covering of goat's hair which was placed over the mishcan. Heb. mishcan (Cant 1:8), used also of a dwelling (Job 18:21; Psalms 87:2), the grave (Isaiah 22:16; comp 14:18), the temple (Psalms 46:4; 84:2; 132:5), and of the tabernacle (Exodus 25:9; 26:1; 40:9; Numbers 1:50,53; 10:11). When distinguished from 'ohel, it denotes the twelve interior curtains which lay upon the framework of the tabernacle (q.v.). Heb. kubbah (Numbers 25:8), a dome-like tent devoted to the impure worship of Baal-peor. Heb. succah (2 Samuel 11:11), a tent or booth made of green boughs or branches (see Genesis 33:17; Leviticus 23:34,42; Psalms 18:11; Jonah 4:5; Isaiah 4:6; Nehemiah 8:15-17, where the word is variously rendered). Jubal was "the father of such as dwell in tents" (Genesis 4:20). The patriarchs were "dwellers in tents" (Genesis 9:21,27; 12:8; 13:12; 26:17); and during their wilderness wanderings all Israel dwelt in tents (Exodus 16:16; Deuteronomy 33:18; Joshua 7:24). Tents have always occupied a prominent place in Eastern life (1 Samuel 17:54; 2Kings 7:7; Psalms 120:5; Cant 1:5). Paul the apostle's occupation was that of a tent-maker (Acts 18:3); i.e., perhaps a maker of tent cloth. ***************************************************************************************************************************

Psalm 84

84:6	Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well, the rain also filleth the pools. This teaches us that the comfort obtained by a one may often prove serviceable to another; just as wells would be used by the company who came after. We read some book full of consolation, which is like Jonathan's rod, dropping with honey. Ah! we think our brother has been here before us, and digged this well for us as well as for himself. Many a "Night of Weeping," "Midnight Harmonies," an "Eternal Day," "A Crook in the Lot," a "Comfort for Mourners," has been a well digged by a pilgrim for himself, but has proved quite as useful to others. Specially we notice this in the Psalms, such as that beginning, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" Travellers have been delighted to see the footprint of man on a barren shore, and we love to see the waymarks of pilgrims while passing through the vale of tears. The pilgrims dig the well, but, strange enough, it fills from the top instead of the bottom. We use the means, but the blessing does not spring from the means. We dig a well, but heaven fills it with rain. The horse is prepared against the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord. The means are connected with the end, but they do not of themselves produce it. See here the rain fills the pools, so that the wells become useful as reservoirs for the water; labour is not lost, but yet it does not supersede divine help. Grace may well be compared to rain for its purity, for its refreshing and vivifying influence, for its coming alone from above, and for the sovereignty with which it is given or withheld. May our readers have showers of blessing, and may the wells they have digged be filled with water! Oh, what are means and ordinances without the smile of heaven! They are as clouds without rain, and pools without water. O God of love, open the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing!
84:7	They go from strength to strength. They go from strength to strength. There are various renderings of these words, but all of them contain the idea of progress. Our own good translation of the authorized version is enough for us this morning. "They go from strength to strength." That is, they grow stronger and stronger. Usually, if we are walking, we go from strength to weakness; we start fresh and in good order for our journey, but by-and-by the road is rough, and the sun is hot, we sit down by the wayside, and then again painfully pursue our weary way. But the Christian pilgrim having obtained fresh supplies of grace, is as vigorous after years of toilsome travel and struggle as when he first set out. He may not be quite so elate and buoyant, nor perhaps quite so hot and hasty in his zeal as he once was, but he is much stronger in all that constitutes real power, and travels, if more slowly, far more surely. Some gray-haired veterans have been as firm in their grasp of truth, and as zealous in diffusing it, as they were in their younger days; but, alas, it must be confessed it is often otherwise, for the love of many waxes cold and iniquity abounds, but this is their own sin and not the fault of the promise which still holds good: "The youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint." Fretful spirits sit down and trouble themselves about the future. "Alas!" say they, "we go from affliction to affliction." Very true, O thou of little faith, but then thou goest from strength to strength also. Thou shalt never find a bundle of affliction which has not bound up in the midst of it sufficient grace. God will give the strength of ripe manhood with the burden allotted to full-grown shoulders.
84:11	He will give grace and glory. Bounteous is Jehovah in His nature; to give is His delight. His gifts are beyond measure precious, and are as freely given as the light of the sun. He gives grace to His elect because He wills it, to His redeemed because of His covenant, to the called because of His promise, to believers because they seek it, to sinners because they need it. He gives grace abundantly, seasonably, constantly, readily, sovereignly; doubly enhancing the value of the boon by the manner of its bestowal. Grace in all its forms He freely renders to His people: comforting, preserving, sanctifying, directing, instructing, assisting grace, He generously pours into their souls without ceasing, and He always will do so, whatever may occur. Sickness may befall, but the Lord will give grace; poverty may happen to us, but grace will surely be afforded; death must cone but grace will light a candle at the darkest hour. Reader, how blessed it is as years roll round, and the leaves begin again to fall, to enjoy such an unfading promise as this, "The Lord will give grace." The little conjunction "and" in this verse is a diamond rivet binding the present with the future: grace and glory always go together. God has married them, and none can divorce them. The Lord will never deny a soul glory to whom He has freely given to live upon His grace; indeed, glory is nothing more than grace in its Sabbath dress, grace in full bloom, grace like autumn fruit, mellow and perfected. How soon we may have glory none can tell! It may be before this month of October has run out we shall see the Holy City; but be the interval longer or shorter, we shall be glorified ere long. Glory, the glory of heaven, the glory of eternity, the glory of Jesus, the glory of the Father, the Lord will surely give to His chosen. Oh, rare promise of a faithful God! Two golden links of one celestial chain: Who owneth grace shall surely glory gain. ********************************************************************************************

I've Come THrough This Valley....By SIster Mattie As Jesus gave it to me this morning..HE is faithful..and gives a song in the night....

Jesus called me aside one day...He called me by name...

I need you to come aside with me...It's time for a test...

I said Lord give me strength today...For only through you...

Can I come through this valley...I want to be more like you...

(CHORUS)Praise the Lord I come through this valley...one more time Jesus brought me through..

I felt his strength, I overcame and I saw victory....

I know I can't make it...Without Jesus living inside...

But I came through this valley...For Jesus carried me through....

I knew it was coming..For Jesus had forewarned....

I felt his spirit tugging...pulling me to my knees...

Though the devil was raging...Jesus carried me through...

repeat chorus

I tried to keep my eyes on him...As we walked through..

For I know my Jesus ...He is faithful and true...

I heard say...Look not to the left or the right...

And I came through this trial...with Jesus as my guide....

repeat chorus

Praise the Lord saints...we can do all things through Christ Jesus which strengthens us..I just came through a hard,

hard trial and I lost something very dear to me...but JEsus was and is and will be my comfort and strength,

my help and hope of glory..and he is healing me...even now...and we can come through this valley..if we let Jesus carry us

through....trust in him..hold our peace and let him fight our battles..Sinners and backsliders..praise the Lord..

Jesus is there for you and he wants to carry you through..

But one thing about JEsus he won't force anything..nor anybody to go against our will. He wants us to willingly surrender..sometimes in the midst of the trial I can be going through

some hard hard things and thats been lately..but when I literally lift my hands to Jesus and

begin to think on him...get my eyes and mind on him and not the storms on the left

or on the right or around about me...I find sweet victory through Jesus Christ..the almighty God..

There is peace in this world saints but only when we look to Jesus and hide ourselves

in him....In Psalms 84....this vally of baca...known as the valley of weeping reminds us

that only in allowing Jesus to break us, make us and lead and guide us to all truth

through the power of the holy Ghost ....can we find sweet victory...God Bless I pray this

message blesses you and that Jesus gives you a song in the night too. I thank the Lord for the gifts

and callings he placed in my life..but I had to be willing to accept his way, still do...and I have to say

Here Am I Lord....do with me what you will...let your perfect will be done in me..It's not what you and I do

saints that matters, but it's what we let Jesus do through us...that matters.. Nothing in this life is gonna go with us but what we do for Jesus.....In Jesus name..I pray

truth prevails in all our hearts and lives today..Have you read and obeyed Acts 2:38?....are we doing all we know to do? .In Jesus mighty name.. Mattie