Psalms 84:5-7

Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

-Second part of the First strophe. The rich consolation in God which belongs to believers, like David, even in trouble.

Verse 5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart (are) the ways (of them). Two conditions of blessedness:

(1) To have one's strength in God, and God as one's strength; to make no creaturely good, such as power, riches, cleverness, honours, our dependence.

(2) To have in one's heart God's sure ways-literally, 'in whose heart (are) embanked ways,' 'made roads,' 'streets;' i:e., the safe and secured ways of the Lord [ mªcilowt (H4546), from caalal (H5549), to raise; the raised causeways]. Though such a one is not permitted in body to go on the highways leading up to the city and temple of Jerusalem, yet he hath in his heart the highways leading to the spiritual temple - i:e., to secret communion with God. Compare Ezekiel 11:16.

Man's natural heart is a pathless wilderness; the Holy Spirit opens out in it the highways to God of repentance and faith. Compare Psalms 50:23, Hebrew, 'to him that prepareth a way will I show the salvation of God' (Proverbs 16:17; Isaiah 40:3). As Psalms 84:12, "blessed is the man that trusteth in thee," answers to Psalms 84:5, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee," so Psalms 84:11, "them that walk uprightly" (i:e., in the uprightness of faith, Habakkuk 2:4) corresponds to 'in whose heart are (God's sure) highways.'

Verse 6. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well. "The valley of Baca" - i:e., the vale of tears. A valley is an emblem of a sunken condition, such as was David's when suddenly cast down from the height of prosperity by the rebellion of his son Absalom. The old translators generally translate [ Baakaa' (H1056), as if it were baakaah (H1058)], 'the valley of weeping.' The Hebrew form, however, usually means a mulberry tree (2 Samuel 5:23-10 and margin, here). Celsus, in his "Sacred Botany," takes it a balsam shrub. The berry when pressed yields a juice like a tear-drop, whence it derives its name: the Latin bacca, a berry, may be akin to Baca. Still 'the valley of tree' will mean 'the valley of the tear-tree' or 'shrub.' But the probable sense is 'the valley of weeping' [the Hebrew letter 'aleph (') standing instead of the Hebrew letter he

(h) at the end]. Some think that the Baca grows only in dry places, and that the valley of Baca means a dry and parched valley; but there is no proof that this Baca tree grows only in dry places. The antithesis, however, to "make it a well," implies that the valley of Baca is regarded as a dry place spiritually. The only waters in it are the water of tears and weeping. Psalms 23:4 is the original passage: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," etc. (cf. Psalms 126:5). Burkhardt (2:, p. 977) mentions a Wady-Beka, or valley of weeping. David passed through such a valley of tears when, in his flight from Absalom, "he went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered; and he went barefoot, and all the people that was with him ... went up, weeping as they went up" (2 Samuel 15:30). As the valley of weeping of weeping symbolizes dejection, so a "well" symbolizes ever-flowing salvation and comfort (cf. John 4:14; also Isaiah 12:3).

The rain also filleth the pools - rather, as the Hebrew, 'the early (or autumnal) rain [ mowreh (H4175)] covereth it [ya`Teh] with blessings' [ bªraakowt (H1293)], which the English version confounds with [ bªreekowt (H1295)], pools, whose waters are increased with the blessing of rains. Some of the Rabbis, however, favour the English version, 'not only the wells, but even the pools are full of waters.' Jerome translates, 'the Teacher (as the Hebrew is translated, Isaiah 30:20) shall cover it with blessings;' similarly the Septuagint, 'the Legislator will give blessings.' Hengstenberg makes 'the Teacher' to be David, who not only had his strength in the Lord, and the ways of faith in his own heart, but also taught them to others (Psalms 62:8). But Joel 2:23 justifies the translation, 'the early rain;' the parallelism favours it.

Verse 7. They go from strength to strength - from one degree of strength to another. Not as margin, 'from company to company.'

Every one of them in Zion appeareth before God - after all their conflicts and sufferings are past (Revelation 7:14). Meanwhile, David sighs for restored access to the earthly tabernacle (Psalms 43:3), wherein the worshippers "appeared" or presented themselves, especially at the three great annual feasts, before God (Deuteronomy 16:16). Zechariah 14:16 represents the millennial appearing before God of Israel and the nations in the flesh.