Psalm 84 (Listen)
84:1 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!
Devotional:
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord of Armies. I long and yearn for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God. (Psalm 84:1-2)
One thing that many of us realized during the COVID-19 pandemic was how special and important the physical gathering of God’s people in worship was. While we can worship Him at all times and places and know God dwells in us, there is something special when we gather together as a community that is different from our private worship and that does not translate fully in an online experience. Let us remember the gift of gathering together, and may these gatherings remind us of our ultimate hope being gathered together in heaven.
Pray It: Father, being in your presence is better than anything else that I can experience on this earth. Help me to overcome obstacles that get in the way of drawing near to you so that I may experience this great joy as I await the day in which I will always dwell in your presence. Amen.
Share it: Share a verse or thought from this passage with someone today.