The Bird Also Found A House …

In the podcast this past week, we talked about how it is of greater value to stand at the threshold of the house of the Lord than to live in the tents of the wicked. While this is such a powerful visual, the entire passage I quoted in this podcast, Psalms 84, speaks to the greatness of dwelling in the house of the Lord. Look at the first few verses:

Psalms 84:1 How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 The bird also 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 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.

This psalm is not written by David, but the sons of Korah. In it, the author seems to be speaking to the difference of a world without YHWH as our God and world with Him as our God.

Our hearts yearn for Him, even before we know what they are yearning for. Birds find their house and swallows their nest, and in those places they are happy, but for us, there is no true happiness until we find our God. And then, and only then, we are blessed as we will dwell with Him forever.

I am amazed at how much I am getting from this one psalm, and perhaps it is speaking to me because I need to be reading it right now. I’m not sure what God is trying to tell me, but my ears are open and ready to hear Him.

Standing at the Threshold

Psalms 84 has come to my attention more than once lately, and I am finding a real richness in one verse in particular. In verse ten we are reminded how much better it is to be in the presence of the Lord than anything else out there.

Psalms 84:1 How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 The bird also 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 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah. 5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion! 6 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings. 7 They go from strength to strength, Every one of them 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, And look upon the face of Your anointed. 10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!