Home

My husband and I lived in Dubai in the Middle East for three years. From the time we got married, our goal was to eventually live closer to family. Dubai was about as far as we could be away from family. As our time in Dubai drew to an end, there were a couple of songs[1] we played over and over because they fit how we were feeling about going home to family. I’ll share a secret, I cried every time I listened to those songs then, and I still cried as I re-listened to them this morning.

I understand that home does not have the same meaning for everyone. I know that home for some is a place they want to escape, but in general, home is a place we think of as safe with people that love us, a place we belong. Psalm 84 speaks of home, but it is not like any earthly home. It is the home we were created for. It is the home where we truly belong.

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

2 My soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise! Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

6 As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength;

each one 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;

look on the face of your anointed!

10 For a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does he withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

12 O Lord of hosts,

blessed is the one who trusts in you! [2]

Although Psalm 84 is not included with the Psalms of Ascents, the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship in the temple may have been in the minds of the Sons of Korah when they wrote this psalm. The psalmists are anticipating being in God’s dwelling place, but as we study this psalm, we need to grasp that it was not about the place; it was about a person. The psalmists anticipated being in the presence of God. When they write, “How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts” they know that God’s dwelling place reflects God. God is lovely, and they wanted to be with Him.

Some of the more evident “God is…” truths we find in Psalm 84 are: lovely and Lord of hosts (vs 1; Lord of hosts means the God of the armies of heaven. It signifies God’s transcendence and sovereignty), living and the source of all life (vs 2), my King and my God (vs 3; my reveals God is personal), and sun and shield (vs 11, light physically and spiritually and protector). There are other “God is…” truths found within the verses, but just these few give us a glimpse of why the psalmists anticipated being in God’s presence.

“My soul longs, yes faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.” (vs 2). With their whole being, the psalmists long to be in the presence of God. When I looked up the Hebrew word for faints, it said it can mean “to be at its end” or “to be consumed”. We understand consumed, but “to be at its end” had me pondering. Long ago, when I played beach volleyball, I would put all my effort into the game. I ran, jumped, and dove. When I finished playing, I would collapse in the sand. I didn’t faint as in losing consciousness, but my energy was gone. It had all been poured out into the game. I was at my end. I think it is like this for the psalmists although not necessarily physically. Their souls, hearts, and flesh wanted nothing other than to be in God’s presence.

Note that in the latter part of verse 2, the psalmists say they “sing for joy.” The right response to who God is and being in His presence is praise (also in verse 4). The psalmists loved God’s house because they loved God. They didn’t sing praise to the altar or other aspects of the temple. They sang praise to the God whom they loved and whose presence they were in.

In verses 3 and 4, I read a few different views. One view is of actual sparrows and swallows who made their homes in the temple grounds. Likewise, “those” in verse 4 would refer to the priests who served at the temple. The other view is that sparrows and swallows are a picture of what God’s presence is like: It is home. It is a place of rest. It is where we are cared for. It is where we belong.

If we jump ahead to verse 10, the psalmists tell us that a day in God’s courts is better than a thousand elsewhere, and they would rather be doorkeepers in the house of their God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. Think of the best day of your life and imagine it as a thousand days all filled with whatever was best about that day. That’s two years and nine months, but all of that cannot begin to compare to one day in God’s presence. To emphasize the infinite value of being in God’s presence, the psalmists would take a humble, servant status [doorkeeper] just to be in God’s presence.

Are you getting a picture of how incredible it is for the psalmists to be in God’s presence? You and I do not have to journey to Jerusalem or even drive to church. We can spend time in God’s presence anywhere at any time, but how often do we treasure being in God’s presence by studying Scripture, praying, and praising God? Do we see those things as knowing God better and dwelling in His presence? I know too often there are things of this world that seem far more important or wonderful, but being in God’s presence is infinitely better.

Being in God’s presence is the heart of this psalm, but let’s consider a few more things. The psalmists use the word blessed three times (vs 4, 5, 12). The Hebrew ashre can also be translated as happy and can mean complete. God deserves all our praise, and yet, He chooses to bless us. We are blessed by living in God’s presence (vs 4), blessed as we rely on God’s strength and not our own (vs 5), and blessed as we live by faith (vs 12).

Verse 6 was interesting to me as I didn’t know where or what the Valley of Baca is. Again, there were two views. Baca in Hebrew is related to weeping, but also can be connected to a tree that grows in very dry places. Whether it is the Valley of Weeping or a dry valley, God provides in the valley with springs and rain. Those traveling through the valley are refreshed, so that they go from strength to strength because of God’s provision.

Verses 8 and 9 are a prayer for their king to be blessed by God. Both the earthly king and God are called a shield or protector (vs 9, 11). God chooses to work through men for His purposes, but as the psalms often do, verse 9 points us to Jesus, the true King. He is the one who gave His own life to save us. He is the one who reigns over all for all time.

“The Lord bestows favor and honor” (vs 11a). There is so much packed into these six words. First, favor also means grace. It is in the future tense, so we can think of it as grace and more grace or grace upon grace. God’s grace is lavished on us continually. It is by grace we have been saved – the beginning of new life for those in Christ. Honor can also be translated as glory. Eternal glory is our end. Although there is meaning in these two words, I can’t say that this is what the Sons of Korah specifically had in mind, but for those of us who are on this side of Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection, we can be thankful for grace and glory in this context. Regardless, God’s favor and honor are a gracious blessing to us. Not only does God bestow favor and honor, but “no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (vs 11b).

As I meditate on the truths of who God is and what God does in Psalm 84, I struggle with words to praise God. I get overwhelmed with God’s goodness, His magnificence. I wish I could keep these truths in the forefront of my mind so that with the psalmists I would always long for the presence of God, long to be “home” both each day now and eternally, so I would be driven to spend time in God’s presence every day throughout the day. I am thankful Jesus perfectly dwelt in God’s presence in my place, and that He made a way for me to come directly into God’s presence, to be home where I belong.

Reflection

1. What has been the best day of your life? Why? Do you believe that even one day in God’s presence is better than a thousand of even your best day?

2. What keeps you from spending time in God’s presence?

3. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, but spending time in God’s presence is more than that. It is time growing in knowing God more deeply, more intimately. It is time in His Word, prayer, and praise. It is keeping an open dialogue with God all day. It’s meditating on His Word. Where can you begin today to dwell in God’s presence? A good start may be praying for that longing.

4. “Psalm 84 (I’m Home)” by Shane and Shane and “Better Is One Day” by Matt Redman (there are other artists who sing this too) are ways to reinforce the truths of Psalm 84.

[1] Jenny Lewis. “Barking At the Moon.” Bolt Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2003 and Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles. “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.” Have A Nice Day, 2005. [2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 84:title–12.