 |
| The doors of one of the older churches in my town--always a reminder to me of the "Doorkeeper's Psalm." |
If “going to church” has become stale for you or someone you care about, this psalm offers a glimpse into true worship of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I am thankful for the opportunity to worship with my church family, but know some there are spiritually or mentally “elsewhere.” Oh, that we all shared the attitude of Psalm 84’s authors, who opened with simplicity and deep devotion: “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!”
Psalm 84 is a bouquet
arranged with the most delightful flowers in the garden. Like blooms picked at
the peak of color and perfume, it emanates loveliness. Charles Spurgeon, author
of the mammoth “Treasury of David” psalms commentary, called Psalm 84 one of
the choicest and sweetest of the psalms. One possible reason: it expresses a
believer’s longing to be as close to God as possible.
UP-CLOSE AUTHORS
The psalm was written by the
“Sons of Korah,” a branch of the Levite tribe that helped maintain the temple
as doorkeepers and janitors. Other Levite branches performed the sacrifices and
provided music. The Korahites’ role was defined in First Chronicles 26, a
chapter people may find boring for all its names and instructions. You may have
even heard some wit claim that 1 Chronicles 26:18 is the “golfer’s verse.” The
King James version renders it, “At Parbar, westward, four at the causeway, and
two at Parbar.” No, it’s not about golf. “Parbar” is an uncommon Hebrew word
referring to the temple’s western colonnade. The word apparently puzzled King-James-era
translators, who just used the Hebrew transliteration (spelled out in English
letters). More recent translations render it: “As for the court to the west,
there were four at the road and two at the court itself.” This verse reminds us
that God took care of all the details for security at Israel’s house of
worship, even assigning men to watch the doors.
Its tone of “yearning” may
make Psalm 84 sound like other pilgrim songs, like the “ascent psalms”
(120-134) sung en route to Jerusalem. But verse 10 suggests it comes instead
from the worshiping hearts of Korahite temple workers: “I would rather be a
doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
BLESSING #1: THOSE WHO REST IN GOD
Three verses begin “Blessed
are.” The first addresses those who rest in God, as symbolized by birds that
nested in the open arches of the temple:Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. (v. 4)
“Your house” refers, of course, to the temple and its system of sacrifices dating to the giving of the law after the Exodus. Every Jew knew that those God-inscribed tablets were stored in the temple, under great security behind heavy curtains, in a sacred box called “The Ark of the Covenant.” Today, we know that God doesn’t dwell in man-made buildings (Acts 7:47-50), but we’re to show reverence for the buildings where we gather to worship. Part of that reverence is having an open heart, knowing that God is approachable, even by the so-called “insignificant.” That’s what the section on birds teaches.
*Sparrows.
In Bible times, sparrows were considered nearly worthless, sold two for a
farthing (the smallest, least valuable copper coin). But Jesus said no sparrow
falls to the ground without God noticing. If God pays attention to common
birds, so much more is true of us: “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus said, “you are
worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).
*Swallows. These
birds were symbols of restlessness. They flit all over the sky, all day long,
until time comes to build a nest and settle down. How appropriate is the
now-famous observation of
BLESSING #2: PILGRIMS
As the temple’s doorkeepers,
the Korahites saw many pilgrims who had drawn on God’s strength and protection
for the arduous and dangerous journey to Jerusalem by foot, donkey or wagon:
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on
pilgrimage” (v. 5). Verse 6 might baffle
those who can’t locate it on Bible maps: “As they pass through the
The psalmist isn’t referring
to an actual geographical location, but to any of us going through this “vale
of tears” in our spiritual lives. Life “down here” is not all bliss. We live in
a fallen world. Heartbreaks will come. We’ll feel slashed by the harsh storms
of adversity. But our true pilgrimage is not to some earthly destination, but to
Heaven, to the home of God (Hebrews 12:22). We’ll be strengthened as we
continue the journey, step by step, by faith.
This is the Christian walk: living with focus, and encouraging others
along the way, until we appear before God!
BLESSING #3: THOSE WHO TRUST GOD
This blessing comes at the
psalm’s conclusion: “O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you” (v.
12). Earlier parts of this psalm seemed to portray someone relishing the
presence of God within the temple environment. This verse reminds us that we
can enjoy the presence of God anywhere,
by faith. The closing verses remind us that God’s attributes are of far greater
comfort and hope than anything on earth.For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. (v. 11a)
God, who created the sun, is our “sun” for daily illumination and warmth in life’s dark and cold times. As our “shield,” God is what he declared Himself to be when making a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15:1: “I am your shield, your very great reward.” No matter what happened in the future, God would be there to protect Abraham.
Then, in a verse many have cherished and memorized, Psalm 84 declares God’s goodness to His children:
No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. (v. 11b)
These words are echoed in Paul’s letter to the Romans, in which he affirmed God’s love and purpose even in life’s difficult times:
And we know that in all things God works fore the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Author Ruth Meyers, in The Satisfied Heart (Waterbrook, 1999, p. 155) remarked of this passage: “He won’t hold back a single blessing from us if we relate to Him as Lord of our life—of our thinking and choosing, of our feelings, our actions, our relationships.”
This sense of “oneness” with
God was what the Korahites sought and cherished. But in Old Testament days,
being “right” with God depended on constant sacrifices for sins. That ended
when Jesus came and died for all our
sins. God sees us as “blameless” through His Son. What the Korahites sought, we
now can have. No matter how grand or how simple the building of our worshipping
community, when God’s people gather with humble hearts, then it can be a place of true, holy loveliness.
Next: Psalm 90
No comments:
Post a Comment