Pastor Fredo Ramos: As we continue praying the Psalms, today we come to Psalm 84. How lovely is your dwelling place, o Lord of heaven's armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body, and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar.
Oh Lord of heaven's armies, my king and my God, what joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who has set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When they walk through the valley of weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessing. They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.
Oh, Lord God of heaven's armies, hear my prayer. Listen, oh, God of Jacob. Oh, God, look with favor upon the king, our shield. Show favor to the one you have anointed. A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else.
And I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. For the Lord God is our son and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will not will will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. Oh Lord of heaven's armies, what joy for those who trust in you.
By way of reflection, notice a few things. First, the psalmist has a tone of just love and adoration towards God's presence. He longs to dwell, how or how lovely he says is your dwelling place. Verse 10, a single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else. By way of reflection, secondly, also notice the title he gives to God, oh lord of heaven's armies.
And so he kind of, gives to God this, title of admiration and of strength and of power. You're the lord of heaven's armies. Like, you you oversee countless angels and beings who can bring victory just at the snap of your fingers. And even in the face and the title of that kind of like might and power, he longs to be with God. What a good reminder for us today that the one who can conquer all so quickly is the one who has a lovely dwelling place.
The one who actually longs for us to enter into his presence. An important theme through the Psalms is to notice where the Psalmist says, I long to be in your house or I long to see your face. These are phrases that help the reader and the one who is learning to pray the Psalms understand that the request there is that you would long to be in the presence of God, the loving presence of God. And so Jesus, hear you inviting us now to remember that our true ultimate joy is found in your presence. And in light of all that we have to do today, in light of all the people we need to see, the tasks we need to get done, the children we gotta take to school, the work stuff and work drama we gotta deal with, the issues at home that we still are facing.
In light of all of that, would you give us new eyes to see that your house is a lovely place to dwell? Would our whole being, both body and soul, slow down to be quiet and to be still in your presence today. And from that place, would we find your strength and would we find your joy for our life. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.