SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
5/8/2012 10:18:35 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Delighting in the Lord
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 84:1-4
Message of the verses: In today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm 84, and we will first look at several introductions from different Bible Commentators in order to help us understand what the author of this Psalm has to say and hopefully be able to apply what has been learned to our walk with the Lord.
“Title and Subject. To the Chief Musician upon Gittith. A Psalm for the sons of Korah. This Psalm well deserved to be committed to the noblest of the sons of song. No music could be too sweet for its theme, or too exquisite in sound to match the beauty of its language. Sweeter than the joy of the wine press, (for that is said to be the meaning of the word rendered upon Gittith), is the joy of the holy assemblies of the Lord’s house; not even the favored children of grace, who are like the sons of Korah, can have a richer subject for song than Zion’s sacred festivals. It matters little when this Psalm was written, or by whom; for our part it exhales to us a Davidic perfume, it smells of the mountain heather and the lone places of the wilderness, where King David must have often lodged during his many wars. This sacred ode is one of the choicest of the collection; it has a mild radiance about it, entitling it to be called The Pearl of Psalms. If the twenty-third be the most popular, the one hundred and third the most joyful, the one hundred and nineteenth the most deeply experimental, the fifty-first the most plaintive, this is one of the most sweet of the Psalms of peace. Pilgrimages to the tabernacle were a grand feature of Jewish life. In our country, pilgrimages to the shrine of Thomas of Canterbury, and our Lady of Walsingham, were so general as to affect the entire population, cause the formation of roads, the erection and maintenance of hostelries, and the creation of a special literature; this may help us to understand the influence of pilgrimage upon the ancient Israelites. Families journeyed together, making bands which grew at each halting place; they camped in sunny glades, sang in unison along the roads, toiled together over the hill and through the slough, and as they went along, stored up happy memories which would never be forgotten. One who was debarred the holy company of the pilgrims, and the devout worship of the congregation, would find in this Psalm fit expression for his mournful spirit.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)
“This psalm, like other psalms of scent (Pss. 120-134), expresses the joy of a pilgrim traveling up to Jerusalem, then up into the temple to celebrate one of the feasts. The pilgrim focuses his attention especially on the thought o being in the very presence of the Lord God. The NT believer-priest, in an even greater way, can come into the presence of the Lord (cf. Heb 4:16; 10:19,-22). (The John MacArthur Study Bible)
Heb. 4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Heb. 10:19-22 “19 ¶ Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
“The phrase ‘appears before God in Zion’ was penned by a Jewish man who could not go to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the three annual feasts (Ex. 23:17; 34:23). For forty years after their exodus from Egypt, the Jews were a wandering people, but even after they had moved into the Promised Lane, the three feasts reminded them that they were still pilgrims on this earth (1Chron. 29:15), as are God’s people today (1Peter 1:1; 2:11). A vagabond has no home; a fugitive is running from home; a stranger is away from home; a pilgrim is heading home. The psalmist’s inability to attend the feast did not rob him of the blessings of fellowship with the Lord. All who are true pilgrims can make the same three affirmations that he made.” (Warren Wiersbe)
My Delight Is in the Lord (vv. 1-4): “1 ¶ «For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.» How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! 2 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. 4 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”
In some ways I am reminded of Psalm 42:1-2 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?” Psalm 42 is also a psalm of Korah and maybe that is why Psalm 84:2 reminds me of Psalm 42:1-2.
We know that things a different for NT believers than they were for the OT believers, yet we worship the same God. In the OT the temple that was in Jerusalem was the place where God dwelled for when Moses had the tabernacle built while the children of Israel were living near Mt. Sinai we say that the glory of the Lord was in the holy of holies and then when Solomon built the temple of the Lord the ark was moved into the holy of holies that was in the temple. There was a curtain between the holy place and the holy of holies and when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins that curtain was torn into from the top to the bottom showing all believers that they now could have access with the Living God through the blood of Jesus Christ.
In the seventh chapter of Acts we here from Steven just before he was stoned to death by the Jews and Steven gives an historical account of Jewish history to those who would kill him. In verses 47-50 we read the following, “47 "But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. 48 "However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says: 49 ’HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET; WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?’ says the Lord, ’OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REPOSE? 50 ’WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL THESE THINGS?’” Steven is saying that God is too “big” to live in any one place for God is omnipresent, He is everywhere. God now lives in the hearts of the NT believers in the person of the Holy Spirit, for we are the temple of God.
The psalmist is saying how much he enjoys being in the temple of God and is even jealous of the birds who make their nests there and is also envious of the priests who have the privilege of ministering in the temple. We can just feel the love that the psalmist has for the Lord as we read verse two. We can be sure that the psalmist was in love with the Lord and wanted to be near Him, but he could not be near Him all of the time.
I want to quote from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary at this point because it helps me to understand more about worshiping the Lord in the day that I now live in. “Although God doesn’t live today in man-made buildings (See the verses above from Acts 7), we still show special reverence toward edifices dedicated to Him. We can worship God anytime and anywhere, but special places and stated rituals are important in structuring our worship experience. The important thing is that we have a heart that cries out for nourishing fellowship with the Lord (42:1-4; Matt. 5:6).”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I desire to have a heart that cries out for nourishing fellowship with the Lord.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, and to continue to learn contentment as I walk with the Lord each day.
5/8/2012 11:24:04 AM
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