For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Parallel Translations
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For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
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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.
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(84-11) For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand; I had rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Psalms 84:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 27:4 One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple.
- Psalms 26:8-10 Yahweh, I love the habitation of your house, the place where your glory dwells. Don’t gather my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men; in whose hands is wickedness, their right hand is full of bribes.
- Psalms 63:2 So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory.
- Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
- Psalms 84:1-2 How lovely are your dwellings, Yahweh of Armies! My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of Yahweh. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
- Romans 8:5-6 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace;
- Psalms 141:4-5 Don’t incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity. Don’t let me eat of their delicacies. Let the righteous strike me, it is kindness; let him reprove me, it is like oil on the head; don’t let my head refuse it; Yet my prayer is always against evil deeds.
- Psalms 17:14-15 from men by your hand, Yahweh, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill the belly of your cherished ones. Your sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children. As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.
- Psalms 43:3-4 Oh, send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill, to your tents. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy. I will praise you on the harp, God, my God.
- Luke 2:46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.
- James 2:3 and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing and say, “Sit here in a good place;” and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 10. For better is one day in thy courts…
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. 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.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He would wish to live but one day rather…
He would wish to live but one day rather in God’s Church, than a thousand among the worldlings.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 84:10 For a day in thy courts [is]…
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.
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I had rather be a doorkeeper] As the Korites were, to whom this psalm was committed; and for whose encouragement this might be spoken. A doorkeeper is first in, last out; so would David be in holy assemblies. Tardy hearers would be loth to beg this office out of his hand.
In the tents of wickedness] Tentoriis vexationis, Kimchi.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain A thousand; understand elsewhere; which is necessary to complete…
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.
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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.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For the Lord God is a sun and shield,....…
For the Lord God is a sun and shield,.... Christ is "the sun of righteousness", and it is in the house of God that he arises upon his people with healing in his wings, Mal 4:2 he is like the sun, the great light, the fountain of light, the light of the world, that dispels darkness, makes day, and gives light to all the celestial bodies, moon and stars, church and ministers; he is a "sun" to enlighten his people with the light of grace, to warm them with the beams of his love, to cheer and refresh their souls with the light of his countenance, and to make them fruitful and flourishing and he is a "shield" to protect them from all their enemies; he is the shield of faith, or which faith makes use of, against the temptations of Satan; he is the shield of salvation, and his salvation is a shield which shelters from divine justice, and secures from wrath to come:
the Lord will give grace and glory: he gives converting grace, the first grace, and all future supplies of it; he gives sanctifying grace, all sorts of it, faith, hope, love, and every other; he gives justifying, pardoning, adopting, and persevering grace, and all freely; he gives honour and glory among men, fellow creatures, and fellow Christians; and he gives eternal glory, the glory his Father gave him, the crown of glory, life, and righteousness: this is the gift of God through Christ; Christ gives a right unto it, meetness for it, and the thing itself; and in his house and ordinances, as he gives more grace to the humble that wait upon him, so he encourages and increases their hope of glory; and he that gives the one will certainly give the other; for these two are inseparably connected together, so that he that has the one shall enjoy the other:
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no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly; that walk by faith, and on in Christ, as they have received him; who have their conversation according to the Gospel of Christ, and walk in the uprightness and sincerity of their hearts; from such the Lord will not withhold any good thing he has purposed for them, promised to them, or laid up for them in covenant; no spiritual good thing appertaining to life and godliness, and no temporal blessing that is good for them; he will deny them no good thing they ask of him, not anything that is good for them; and he will not draw back any good things he has bestowed on them, his gifts are without repentance.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Than dwell - In the greatest glory and plenty.
Than dwell - In the greatest glory and plenty.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 10. A day in thy courts is better…
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.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 84:10. A day in thy courts is better…
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.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For a day in thy courts is better than…
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.
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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.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. For—The conjunction connects that which precedes concerning the…
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.
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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
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. For a day &c.] The connexion of thought…
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.
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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, παραριπτεῖσθαι, 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.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) I had rather be a doorkeeper.—Better, I had…
(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 Apollo’s temple:
“A pleasant task, O Phoebus, I discharge,
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Before thine house in reverence of thy seat
Of prophecy, an honoured task to me.”
EURIPIDES, Ion, 128.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For a day in thy courts is better than…
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand; i.e. than any number of days elsewhere. It is difficult to trace any connection between these concluding verses. They appear to consist of distinct thoughts, which arise in the writer"s mind, and are jotted down as they occur to him. One is a thought of loyalty, which finds vent in a prayer for the king (ver. 9). Another is a reflection of the main thought of the psalm, the incomparable blessedness of dwelling in God"s house. A third (vers. 11, 12) is the joy and glory of perpetual communion with God and trust in God. See the remarks of Professor Cheyne ("The Book of Psalms," p. 237). I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God; literally, at the threshold; but the meaning is well expressed by the Authorized Version. "Doorkeepers in the house of their God" was exactly what the Korahite Levites were. (1Ch_9:19 1Ch_26:1, 1Ch_26:12-19) Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. As their ancestor, Korah, had done. (Num_16:26)
Delight in God"s worship and service.
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"A day in thy courts," etc. Of all the hundred and fifty holy songs composing the Psalter, none breathes a more intense spirit of exalted devotion than this, or in language and imagery more poetical and musical. It shares this character with other psalms ascribed to "the sons of Korah." Their ancestor Korah perished miserably in his rebellion against Moses and Aaron, at the very door of the tabernacle (Numbers 16). Yet his descendants had the charge of guarding the temple gates, no mean office; (1Ch_9:17-19 1Ch_23:5 1Ch_26:1, 1Ch_26:12) and were likewise leaders of the temple music, Heman being one of them. (1Ch_6:33-37 1Ch_25:1, 1Ch_25:5) Although it often happens that the father"s sins are visited on the children, yet there is no unchangeable doom, no bar sinister on their escutcheon, no barrier against their renewed consecration and acceptance. The sentiment of the text isDelight in Gods worship and service. "A day," etc. Secondly, a single day so spent in worship, such as every devout Israelite partook, and service, the privilege of a Levite outweighs in true joy and solid worth all the time spent in mere worldly business or pleasure.
I THIS IS THE LANGUAGE OF A HEART WHICH DELIGHTS IN GOD. Not every one can say this. For a worldling it would be rank hypocrisy. In Malachi"s day there were those who said, "What a weariness!". (Mal_1:13) Are there not even real Christians for whom such a sentiment is an exaggeration; whose sense of duty exceeds their sense of privilege; to whom the sabbath brings the shadows of constraint rather than the lamp of joy? Their worship has a slightly penitential flavour rather than a rich fragrance of joy. They have not learned the secret of the son of Korah, (Psa_63:4) or of David. (Psa_63:1-3) Joyless service is neither profitable nor acceptable. These are heart-searching considerations. If we can venture to think of anything as bringing sadness to our heavenly Father"s heart, would it not be this that his children take small delight in drawing near to him? We live at too low a level, among the clouds, when we might be in the sunshine and pure air of the mountain top.
II THE SOURCES OF THIS DELIGHT ARE MANIFOLD.
1. The joy of praise, worship, adoration. Notice how inseparably praise and rejoicing are united in the Bible, especially in this Book of Psalms. "That God is what he is" (says John Howe) is the source of infinite joy to his children.
2. The joy of personal communion with God. He is "our God"; (Psa_48:14) "my God". (Psa_42:1, Psa_42:2, 6 Php_4:19)
3. The joy of fellowship with Gods people. (1Jn_1:3) Common prayer, harmonious praise, public worship, have blessings and promises distinctively their own. It was when all the hundred and twenty "continued with one accord in prayer and supplication," the blessing of Pentecost came. When "many were gathered praying," Peter was set free. (comp. Act_4:24, Act_4:31)
4. The joy of service. A Christian, whether a minister or private Church-member, can be more than "a doorkeeper a door opener; setting wide the gate of the city of refuge to the refugee from sin; opening the door of the kingdom to the young, and leading them through the gate Beautiful into the temple; helping fellow believers to enter with boldness "into the holiest". (Heb_10:19, Heb_10:20) All that the ancient psalmist found in the temple, we have, not in shadow, but reality the one sacrifice Heb_10:2, Heb_10:4, Heb_10:10, Heb_10:12); the Divine Priest; (Heb_8:1, Heb_8:2) the true holy of holies; (Heb_9:8-12, Heb_9:24) and in place of the ceremonial service of the Levites, to maintain which the free will offerings of the people were dedicated, the ministry of truth, the relief of need and suffering the wide world over, and the spread throughout the world of the gospel and kingdom of Christ. (1Pe_2:5) Which way does the balance incline? which has really our heart"s devotion and yields supreme delight God"s service or the world"s?
Strange preferences.
I THOSE HERE NAMED.
1. That a day spent in Gods courts is better than a thousand anywhere else. But such preference makes it certain that not any day in God"s courts can be meant; for too many days are spent there which might just as well be spent elsewhere. They bring no good to any one, but rather harm. For the worship on such days is but formal, hypocritical, has no heart in it. But the day the psalm tells of must be one in which the soul really communes with God, in which God is worshipped in spirit and in truth.
2. That the humblest service in the house of God is better than the most rich and luxurious life in the tents of wickedness. But here again the service meant must be the reverse of formal, perfunctory, grudging; for if the service were of such sort, one might almost as well be in the tents of wickedness. And that dwelling in those tents cannot mean an unwilling, a forced dwelling, like that told of in Psa_120:5. Many servants of God have had and still have so to dwell amongst wickedness; they are not happy in it, would not be where they are could they help it, but they cannot. Hence if they be "lights shining in the darkness," then they are rendering high service to God, and great shall be their reward. But the dwelling told of is one which is chosen and loved. But, the psalmist says, the meanest place in God"s house is better than that. "I had rather be a doorkeeper," etc.
II SUCH PREFERENCES ARE VERY STRANGE. For few sympathize with them; even good people might be slow to make such affirmation about a single day in God"s house being better than a thousand anywhere else. Most people think that those who make such choice are either madmen or fools. They are despised as enthusiasts, or hypocrites, or fanatics.
III NEVERTHELESS, SUCH PREFERENCES ARE REAL FACTS. He who wrote this psalm was but one of myriads more. He who does not put God first may have much good about him, as had the young ruler told of in the Gospels, but he cannot have eternal life.
IV AND THEY CAN BE ABUNDANTLY JUSTIFIED.
1. The first-named can the one day over the thousand. For what gives value to time? Not its duration, but its employment, what you do with it. Which do we deem most worth the comparatively short-lived empire of Greece, or the thousands of years of Chinese life if life it can be called? There may be one day in your life which you remember more than whole years beside, for it more influenced and blessed you than all the myriad other days which have gone by and are forgotten. It is the day filled with energies of the mind, heart, spirit; with memories of inspiring deeds; with influences which tell upon you and others. Cf. King Henry V"s address to his soldiers at Agincourt"He that outlives this day and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named," etc. But the day of real worship and communion with God is a day more filled with energies, memories, influences, than can any others be. How many of these others only drag down the soul! but a day with God!
2. And so the humblest service/or God is to be preferred. For such service is shared in by the noblest, unites us to God, breaks the chain of sin, prepares for heaven, robs care of its sting, etc. Therefore the psalmist"s choice is right; let it be ours! S.C.
The joy of doing little things for God.
"I had rather be a doorkeeper;" literally, "stand or lie on the threshold." A missionary tells us that in India the office of doorkeeper is truly respectable and confidential. Doorkeepers of temples are men of the greatest dignity and power; whereas the psalmist was thinking of the lowliest and most humble situation. "I would rather choose to sit at the threshold." This is the situation of the devotee and the beggar. "Excuse me, sir, I pray you; I had better lie at the threshold than do that," is a frequent mode of expression among Orientals. The psalmist prefers the situation and attitude of a beggar, at the threshold of the house of the Lord, to the most splendid dwellings of the wicked. From 1Ch_26:12-19 we learn that the sons of Korah, or Kore, were the porters of the gates of the Lord"s house. "To these ministers of the sanctuary none seem so blessed as they who dwell in God"s house, and are forever praising him. To these keepers of the temple gates one day in the sacred courts is better than a thousand spent elsewhere; and they would rather be doorkeepers in the house of God than sit and be served as chiefs in alien tents.
I LITTLE THINGS ARE AS TRULY "SERVICE" AS GREAT ONES. They are necessary in their places. They are fitted to those of moderate or small capacities. To God the little things of service are as acceptable as the great things. Find any earthly sphere, and take the little things of it away. What an upset of the whole would result! The doorkeeper at the gate was as important in his way as the priest at the altar. We can do our "little things" for God cheerfully, when we can fully realize that they are service just our service.
II LITTLE THINGS CAN EXPRESS CHARACTER AS TRULY AS GREAT ONES. A little pool can mirror the sun as truly as the widespreading lake. A dewdrop can refresh the earth, in its way, as truly as the thundershower in its. God is the reader of motives, and accepts the actor rather than the act. It often, indeed, takes more and nobler character to do a small deed well than to do a large one. There is much to help a priest to be noble; there is but little to help a mere doorkeeper, and he has to fall back upon principle. Let but a man rightly esteem doing anything for God, and he will be full of holy joy in being permitted to do some "little thing. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 10. For a day in thy courts is…
Ver. 10. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. Of course the psalmist means a thousand days spent elsewhere. Under the most favourable circumstances in which earth's pleasures can be enjoyed, they are not comparable by so much as one in a thousand to the delights of the service of God. To feel his love, to rejoice in the person of the anointed Saviour, to survey the promises and feel the power of the Holy Ghost in applying precious truth to the soul, is a joy which worldlings cannot understand, but which true believers are ravished with. Even a glimpse at the love of God is better than ages spent in the pleasures of sense.
I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. The lowest station in connection with the Lord's house is better than the highest position among the godless. Only to wait at his threshold and peep within, so as to see Jesus, is bliss. To bear burdens and open doors for the Lord is more honour than to reign among the wicked. Every man has his choice, and this is ours. God's worst is better than the devil's best. God's doorstep is a happier rest than downy couches within the pavilions of royal sinners, though we might lie there for a lifetime of luxury. Note how he calls the tabernacle
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the house of my God; there's where the sweetness lies: if Jehovah be our God, his house, his altars, his doorstep, all become precious to us. We know by experience that where Jesus is within, the outside of the house is better than the noblest chambers where the Son of God is not to be found.
Ver. 10. A day. The least good look that a man hath from God, and the least good word that a man hears from God, and the least love letter and love token that a man receives from God is exceedingly precious to that man that hath God for his portion. One day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. He doth not say, One year in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere, but One day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere; nor doth he say, One quarter of a year in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere, but One day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere; nor doth he say, One month is better than a thousand elsewhere, but One day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere, to shew that the very least of God is exceeding precious to a gracious soul that hath God for his portion. Thomas Brooks.
Ver. 10. Another sign of God's children is, to delight to be much in God's presence. Children are to be in the presence of their father; where the King is, there is the court; where the presence of God is, there is heaven. God is in a special manner present in his ordinances, they are the Ark of his presence. Now, if we are his children, we love to be much in holy duties. In the use of ordinances we draw near to God, we come into our Father's presence; in prayer we have secret conference with God; the soul while it is praying, is as it were parleying with God. In the word we hear God speaking from heaven to us; and how doth every child of God delight to hear his Father's voice! In the sacrament God kisseth his children with the kisses of his lips; he gives them a smile of his face, and a privy seal of his love: oh, it is good to draw near to God. It is sweet being in his presence: every true child of God saith, "A day in thy courts is better than a thousand!" Thomas Watson.
Ver. 10. I had rather be a doorkeeper, etc. Some read it, "I would rather be fixed to a post in the house of my God, than live at liberty in the tents of the wicked; "alluding to the law concerning servants, who if they would not go out free, were to have their ear bored to the door post, Ex 21:5-6. David loved his Master, and loved his work so well, that he desired to be tied to this service for ever, to be more free to it, but never to go out free from it, preferring bonds to duty far before the greatest liberty to sin. Such a superlative delight have holy hearts in holy duties; no satisfaction in their account is comparable to that in communion with God. Matthew Henry.
Ver. 10. I had rather be a doorkeeper. In the sense that Christ is a Door, David may well be content to be a Door Keeper, and though in God's house there be many mansions, yet seeing all of them are glorious, even the door keeper's place is not without its glory. But if you think the office to be mean, consider then whose officer he is, for even a door keeper is an officer in God's house, and God never displaceth his officers unless it be to advance them to a higher; whereas, in the courts of princes, the greatest officers are oftentimes displaced, turned off often with disgrace. Sir Richard Baker.
Ver. 10. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, etc. Happy are those persons, whom God will use as besoms to sweep out the dust from his temple; or who shall tug at an oar in the boat where Christ and his church are embarked. William Secker, in "The Nonsuch Professor."
Ver. 10. Doorkeeper. This is a Korhite psalm, and the descendants of Korah were, in fact, porters, and "keepers of the gates of the tabernacle, and keepers of the entry, "as well as being permitted to swell the chorus of the inspired singers of Israel. Bossuet, quoted by Neale and Littledale.
Ver. 10. Instead of, I had rather be a doorkeeper, the margin has, according to the Hebrew, "I would choose rather to sit at the threshold." Ainsworth's translation is: "I have chosen to sit at the threshold, in the house of my God; "and Dr. Boothroyd's is: "Abide, or sit, at the threshold." See 2Ki 12:9 22:4 25:18 1Ch 9:19 2Ch 23:4; Es 2:21 6:2. In all these passages the marginal reading is threshold. I think the word door keeper does not convey the proper meaning of the words, "to sit at the threshold; " because the preference of the Psalmist was evidently given to a very humble position; whereas that of a door keeper, in Eastern estimation, is truly respectable and confidential. The marginal reading, however, "to sit at the threshold, "at once strikes on an Eastern mind as a situation of deep humility. See the poor heathen devotee; he goes and sits near the threshold of his temple. Look at the beggar; he sits, or prostrates himself, at the threshold of the door or gate, till he shall have gained his suit. Joseph Roberts.
Ver. 10. House. Tents. Observe the force of the contrasted expressions. The house is the Lord's; the tents are of the wicked. The pleasures of sin are for a season only; the world passeth away, and the lusts thereof. Arthur Pridham.
Ver. 10. The tents. It is not any tents, or tents of any ordinary kind, that are understood, but rich, powerful, glorious, and splendid tents. Venema.
Ver. 10. Here is,
I. A comparison of Places. A day in thy courts, etc.
How much more a day in heaven! What, then, must an
eternity in heaven be!
II. A comparison of Persons. I would rather be a
doorkeeper, etc. Better be the least in the Church
than the greatest in the world. If "better reign in
hell than serve in heaven" was Satan's first thought
after he fell, it was the first thought only. G.R.
Ver. 10.
I. Days in God's courts. Days of hearing, of repenting,
of believing, of adoration, of communion, of revival,
etc.
II. Their preciousness. Better than a thousand days of
victory, of pleasure, of money making, of harvest, of
discussion, of travelling amid beauties of nature.
III. Reasons for this preciousness. They are more
pleasurable, more profitable now, and more
preparatory for the future and for heaven. The
employment, the society, the enjoyment, the result,
etc., are all better.
Psalms 84:11*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain For a day in Thy courts is better than…
Psa_84:10
For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand.
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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.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 84:10 The psalmist viewed being in God’s presence as…
84:10 The psalmist viewed being in God’s presence as much better than being anywhere else.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.