"Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." Psalm 84:4-7. This text I have pondered over through the years, but just recently I believe the Lord has given precious light and inspiration as to its wonderful meaning.
First I would like to compare this from the King James Version with two other versions. First let us notice what the interlinear Hebrew text has to say, "Blessed are they who dwell in Your house; they will always praise You. Selah. Blessed is the man, strength to him is in You. The highways are in their hearts. Passing through the valley of weeping, they will make it a fountain. The early rain covers even with blessings. They go from strength to strength, appearing before God in Zion." Then let us notice how the Greek Septuagint translation renders this: "Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will praise thee evermore. Pause. Blessed is the man whose help is of thee, O Lord; in his heart he has purposed to go up the valley of weeping, to the place which he has appointed, for there the law-giver will grant blessings. They shall go from strength to strength: the God of gods shall be seen in Sion."
This is a precious text of the holy scriptures which is inspired of God. The whole Psalm is sublime and filled with spiritual benefit. All three of these versions pretty well agree in their expressions with the exception of verses 5 and 6. The word "Baca" in the Hebrew means weeping. The words "of them" are added words by the translators so they are not in the original text. The Hebrew says, "The highways are in their hearts." What highways? This is what we want to get hold of. The Septuagint expresses it as a purpose in the heart of the man whose help is of God to go up the valley of weeping to an appointed place where the lawgiver, that is, the Lord God, will grant His blessings. The word "pools" in our text is translated from the Hebrew word which means blessings. Going from strength to strength denotes spiritual progress and advancement and the wonderful experience of appearing before God in the manner, spirit and condition of heart that God will accept and bless.
I believe that we can sum up the message of this scripture in this way: Blessed is that man whose strength is in the Lord, who has it deep in his heart to take the inroads and highways that will lead him to that place of utter resignation and consecration to the will of God, even if it takes him through trial and suffering and humiliation. Enduring the weeping, the self-denial, the cross, the shame, the ridicule and the displeasure of the world, we can press our way in humility, obedience and submission to God through the valley of weeping unto that attitude of heart that God is well pleased with. This is what Zion and the Church of the Lord is all about. It is more than just talk or professing holiness. It is real decision and unwavering purpose of heart to be submissive to God regardless of what it might cost us in the way of what we think or desire.
This requires light and vision on our part-light and vision of what God is pleased with. We see Christ in the example that He set before us of being submissive to the cross that He was called of the Father to bear. God works with us in that manner, bringing us to the cross and the suffering from which He will bring out the blessings and the great reward for our faith. We see it in Abraham, Moses, David and all the beloved saints. Blessed is the man whoever and wherever he is who is willing with a strong purpose to endure the trials and times of weeping with the pleasure of the Lord in mind. This word "blessed" here in the Hebrew is an exclamation: "How happy!"
Let us purpose in our hearts to go up the valley of weeping unto the place that God is desiring to get us to. Let us submit ourselves unto Him, resist the devil and all of his opposing powers, and draw nigh to God. Satan will flee and God will draw nigh to us. We will be seen of Him in Zion and He will be seen of us. But if we draw back and refuse to walk with Him through the valley of weeping we will miss out on the blessings that He has for us.
