Ps. 84.5 (the state of the pilgrim)

How blest are those / whose strength / is in you
with pilgrim-ways / in their hearts. 

This verse begins the central aspect of the psalm. In order to begin to grasp this we need to back up and see how the psalmist has constructed the psalm in order to prepare us for this verse. In short, he has constructed two ‘poles’ or differing ‘states of being’. On the one hand we have the ‘state of exile’ from the Temple: it results in “crying out” and “wasting”. I’m describing this as a ‘state’ because in those lines the distance is described in a type of absolute or permanent sense. This ‘state’ is then contrasted with the opposite state—that of the ‘birds’ who build nests and those who dwell continuously in the Temple. Here, we move into the ‘middle state’: the ‘pilgrim state’. These are the people who are moving from the ‘state of exile’ toward the ‘state of dwelling’. This ‘state’ is one of movement-toward; it can’t be described in ‘snap-shot’ but only in the movement. 

With this we now need to make the important thematic point—this psalm is a pilgrim psalm and likely one that would have been recited by pilgrims during their journey to the Temple in order to participate in one of the major feasts. What this insight provides us is that the ‘third-state’, the pilgrim state, is the focus of the psalm; the first ‘two-states’ were, in sense, foils to it and served to highlight its centrality, developing its texture. They pointed to ‘where he was coming from’ and ‘where he is going’. Both poles inform the pilgrim state. 

Pilgrim and blessedness. With that in mind it can come as a type of surprise then when the psalmist uses the exact same language to describe the pilgrim and the Temple-dwellers: “How blest are those who …” This parallel has deep meditative significance. With everything we have said thus far it would seem as if the Temple precincts are the only arena of blessedness; in other words, that everything other-than-the-Temple is anathema. This sense comes from the ‘polarity’ we discussed above. However, as we have also seen, that ‘polarity’ is first, an aesthetic one: the sense of absolute devotion to the beauty of the Temple creates the portrayal of duality. Second, that polarity was in service of the pilgrim state—in other words, the exclusive beauty of the Temple was, we now see, in service to the beauty (or, blessedness) of the pilgrim state. The duality of the Temple exists only, in a sense, in the abstract. Once the pilgrim state is glimpsed (which is the whole point) the Temple takes on a very different meaning and the horizon of its influence is much (much) further than its walls. In fact, the blessedness of the Temple extends all the way to envelop not simply another area, but an entire ‘state of being’—the pilgrim state. It is as if the Temple has a gravitational pull toward itself, pulling into it all those who are journeying toward it. Within that pull, the state of blessedness exists. It is, in other words, as if the pilgrim were already a Temple-dweller, a type of already-but-not-yet existence; again, however, we must emphasize that this ‘state’ is a ‘state-in-movement-toward’. It can’t be seen in snap-shot. The entire point of this ‘state’ is that it is being drawn-toward the object of its affection, desiring union with the Temple. It is like Peter walking on water (or, a shepherd calling his sheep…). More deeply still: this type of ‘communicative-blessedness’ is a type of sacramental reality. The festival toward which these pilgrims are moving is, in a very real way, communicating, already, its concrete blessedness. Again, we must emphasize the objective, sacred nature of the Temple (even ‘birds’ are objects of admiration). This objective, sacred nature of Temple beauty is something that can infuse pilgrims on their way toward the Temple. This of course complicates both our notions of time (the festival is, in a way, already being enacted) and space (the Temple’s sacredness is overflowing its boundary). This, however, is exactly what a sacrament does (and, what a sacrament is for, as a means of ‘pilgrim strength’).