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Today’s reading: Psalm 84, John 2:19-21
When I began reading today’s psalm, an image crossed my mind: I could vividly remember the first time (back in 2006) when my momma agreed to come with us to our Church. She had already made her Profession of Faith while becoming very ill from cancer. As soon as she entered the temple and sat down, uncontainable tears began to roll down her cheeks! My late momma was always known to be a strong woman, how was it that she could not hold back those tears? Those tears expressed the awe and the joy she experienced from the Presence of her God, the God that loved her so that gave His only begotten Son to grant her eternal life!
For me attending Church every week is also a dwelling place I always long for, since that first day I surrendered my life to Jesus kneeling at the altar, back in 1984; and I can still cry out from the bottom of my heart like the psalmist did:
“How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul (my life, my inner self) longs for and greatly desires the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.” (84:1-2)
Even
though we know as Christians that He does not only dwell in a church or temple,
but in us (1 Corinthians 3:16-18), it is there, in the place of gathering and
fellowship, that I continually want to be, at His altar where:
“The bird
has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young—Even
Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God. 4
Blessed and greatly favored are those who
dwell in Your house and Your presence; They will be singing Your praises all the day long. Selah.”
This “nest” is a place of:
-Security, solace and provision.
-A place where we can lay your loved ones on God’s
altar.
-A place of willing sacrifice, through prayer and
worship. (Romans 12:1-2)
As the psalmist describes in the following verses,
people are in such a need to seek The Living God at this dwelling place, they
set out in a long pilgrimage to get there, (Holy City of Zion) no matter the
distance and/or the circumstances they might face, for they find their strength
and courage in Him:
“Blessed and greatly favored is the man whose strength is in You, in ]whose heart are the highways to Zion. 6 Passing through the Valley of Weeping (Baca), they make it a place of springs; The early rain also covers it with blessings. 7 They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power]; Each of them appears before God in Zion.” (84:5-7)
- Baca is a: “noun derived from a verb which
signifies to ‘weep’. This
present world is to us this valley of weeping; in our passage through it we are
refreshed by the streams of divine grace, flowing down from the great fountain
of consolation” (Horne)
We too as Christians are “pilgrims and strangers on the earth”,
“temporary residents” whose true home is in heaven:
“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and
strangers [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges [those dishonorable
desires] that wage war against the soul.” (1 Peter 2:11) (Hebrews 11:13)
We will have to face so many trials in this world, but if we continue to
seek Him with all our heart:
“Yet in all these things we are more
than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him
who loved us [so much that He died for us].” (Romans 8:37)
The psalmist in the following verse (84:10),
continues to express how he longs for the house of the Lord and how important
and more valuable than anything else this is, as well as spending his time
serving in His house, even as a door keeper!. Whatever this world offers is
nothing, compared to the privilege of dwelling and serving in His House!
“For the Lord God is a sun and
shield; The Lord bestows grace and favor
and honor; No
good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (84:11)
Spurgeon explains that the Lord is: “A sun for happy days and a shield for dangerous ones.
A sun above, a shield around. A light to show the way and a shield to ward off
its perils… Grace is God’s first gift, and glory is His last gift. “Glory never
comes without grace coming first, but grace never comes without glory coming
last; the two are bound together, and ‘what God hath joined together, let not
man put asunder.’ (Romans 5:1-2).
Yes, the Lord will give grace (future tense). We have now received it through the
sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ!
“For
out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all
received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor
upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift].” (John 1:16)
Finally, let us give praise to our God along with the psalmist with this last verse:
“O Lord of hosts, how
blessed and greatly favored is the man who trusts in You
[believing in You, relying on You, and committing himself to You with confident
hope and expectation].” (84:12)
May this also be our prayer and our longing!
Blessings,
Mari