October 10th
Psalm 84

WHEN GOD IS OUR DESTINATION

WHEN GOD IS OUR DESTINATION

1-2 What a beautiful home, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
    I’ve always longed to live in a place like this,
Always dreamed of a room in your house,
    where I could sing for joy to God-alive!

3-4 Birds find nooks and crannies in your house,
    sparrows and swallows make nests there.
They lay their eggs and raise their young,
    singing their songs in the place where we worship.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God!
    How blessed they are to live and sing there!   [MESSAGE]

When I was pastoring in Arelee, I led a Bible study on the Psalms.  When we came to Psalm 84 someone said, ‘there are Barn Swallows nests in our eaves.’  So we all trooped out to see and appreciate the birds who worshipped at our little country church!

Even the birds enjoy YHWH’s shelter – his protection and blessing.  Imagine the pilgrims hymns and birdsong mingling at worship!

FOR Israel, the New Year began in Fall following the harvest cycle and the beginning a new cycle of agriculture.  This was when God’s recreation of all things was celebrated.  And they linked this with God’s recreating love in the communities life through forgiveness and renewal.  At the New Year cycle, Israel prayed for refreshing rains for the land and for the outpouring of the Spirit on dry and barren hearts. 

Our psalmist conveys  a deep desire to visit the Temple in Jerusalem.  It was probably composed as a hymn to accompany a pilgrimage at the autumn Festival of Tabernacles.  The hymn describes the beauty of the Temple (v.1-4), and recounts the pilgrims difficult but rewarding journey culminating in an experience of God (v.5-7).  At Mt Zion, the longing for God’s presence finds fulfillment as the pilgrims pray to and extol YHWH, the King of Heaven (v.8-12).

The unidentified pilgrim who longs to be in God's presence could have prayed the prayer of Augustine "[My] heart is restless until it rests in you" (Confessions, 111).

‘Every visit to a temple or church or meeting of believers is in a profound sense a pilgrimage.  We go/walk (v.7), not just for practical or personal reasons; we go ‘theologically,’ …that is we go (in our different ways) to meet and praise God.’           [James Mays]

https://youtu.be/VwPzXMgofr0?si=2i5d4aiUKTpiAa3_ - How lovely, Lord