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Psalm 84 · a question people ask

"He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly" (84:11). Does that mean God gives every good thing I ask for?

In the text

The verse says whom it speaks of, "those who walk blamelessly" (84:11), with the words of Psalm 15's "He who walks blamelessly" (Psalm 15:2). It doesn't say which good things, or when. Another psalm says, "those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing" (Psalm 34:10), with the same Hebrew word for good thing, tov. The only other verse in the Psalms with this verb for withhold is said of the king (Psalm 21:1): "You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips" (Psalm 21:2). And this psalm itself says that the people whose strength is in the LORD pass "through the valley of Weeping" (84:5-6). These verses stand side by side in Scripture, and these notes don't choose how they fit together.

The verses

“For the LORD God is a sun and a shield. The LORD will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.”
Psalm 84:11 · World English Bible
“He who walks blamelessly and does what is right, and speaks truth in his heart;”
Psalm 15:2 · World English Bible
“The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.”
Psalm 34:10 · World English Bible
“For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. The king rejoices in your strength, LORD! How greatly he rejoices in your salvation! You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.”
Psalm 21:1-2 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 84

Psalm 84: How lovely are your dwellings

Psalm 84 is the only psalm that says Blessed (ashrei) three times: of those who dwell in God's house, of those on the way to Zion, and last of "the man who trusts in you" (84:12). And the sparrow's home (84:3) is bayit, the Hebrew word of God's house (84:4, 84:10), in a psalm that longs for the LORD's courts (84:2).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions