How lovely is your dwelling place,
Psalm 84:1-12
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed.
10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!
The Psalmist speaks of an extreme longing to be in the presence of God. Undoubtedly, in the context of this Psalm, he is referring to being in the midst of times of worship in the Temple during one of Israel’s festivals. In verse ten, he proffers that a day in the courts of the Temple is better than a thousand days elsewhere (with presumably days of material blessing but not in the presence of God).
How could the Psalmist say these things? How is it that there is such a longing for something that is only characterized as being in the presence of God’s house? Someone who has never been there cannot understand the beauty expressed by the Psalmist. I know and hold that same hunger. There is nothing so fulfilling and satisfying as being in the presence of God during a time of corporate worship that allows for freedom of expression. The Psalmist says, “my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.” This is an expression of a full and overflowing heart filled with the joy of the Lord, overflowing with gratitude and amazement at his grace. It is not possible to remain quiet. One must burst forth in song. It is almost involuntary.
I have not been to Jerusalem or a Jewish festival in Jerusalem, but I have been in the courts of the Lord. I have found myself so full I had to express myself. I do frequent the restored tabernacle of David, the church. I also live in the temple of the Lord, also known as the church.
One of the things I believe most believers long for during these days of COVID is the gathering of the saints in the courts of the Lord to freely overflow in worship to our God. The day will come that I will once again stand in the courts of the Lord with brothers and sisters and freely rejoice in praise and song and tell of his wonderful works. I will rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. I will rejoice with tears of joy. We will be delivered from this temporal curse of COVID and be free to move about and associate with others without the need for caution. We will be delivered from this enemy and God will be glorified through what he has done during this difficult time.
The Psalmist seems a little jealous of the birds who have made nests in the nooks and crannies of the Temple and are able to always be close to the Lord. Then he speaks of the Priests who dwell in the house of the Lord. I detect a little jealousy here, too. I want to live in the presence of the Lord all the time. This is one of the often unrecognized advantages we of the New Covenant have over David and the Old Testament saints. We are able to dwell in the presence of the Lord at all times. We do get to live in the Temple and daily imbibe of his presence by the Holy Spirit. We can open our hearts and our mouths and sing his praise anywhere anytime because now we are not to worship in a certain mountain, but springs of living water well up from within and we worship in Spirit and truth.
Yes, we can find some fulfillment of the longing on our own with Jesus in private. But, there is another dimension to worship when a group of saints come together and abandon themselves to worship in concert. Jesus promises a unique presence when a few of us get together in his name that is different from his presence when we are alone. I am sure that at least part of the reason is that we are a body and individual members do not function well when they are disconnected from the rest of the body.
If you are hungering for this presence and worship, be patient, we will experience it again. If you don’t know what this article is about, then ask God to allow you to experience his special presence that comes with free, unabashed worship with other saints. This is something you cannot understand without having experienced it. Experience is necessary. God delights in meeting with us and blessing us in this way.
My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. For a day in his courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trust in you.
