Psalm 84:1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. "Selah"
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. "Selah"
9 Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
Devotional:
Nothing on earth is better than being close to God. And heaven is "heaven" because there we will be with the LORD forever.
In the mind of the Old Testament God-seekers, the LORD can be found on the temple hill. For us it's a bit different. But the psalmist's religious fervor is exemplary. He is a pious pilgrim who aches for God: "My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."
The end of our pilgrimage is the new Jerusalem. Our hearts cry out with longing to see the outline of the new city. But we have such a long way to go, and we can become so weary.
Our church buildings are not "houses of God." But church buildings are important to us because in them God and God's people come together. These encounters are crucial for every lover of God.
"I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked," says the writer. By "doorkeeper" he may mean some lowly position. His point is that he'd rather be very small in God's company than a big shot anywhere else.
Many people have bumper stickers that read, "I'd rather be sailing," or bowling, or whatever their favorite pastime is. The pilgrim's bumper sticker reads, "I'd rather be a doorkeeper." And sometimes we sing, "I'd rather have Jesus than silver and gold."
Only the overall picture of our lives will show whether we mean what we sing.
