Psalm 84 – Better is One Day in Your Courts

Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young–

a place near you altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.

(Psalm 84:3-4)

The effusive praise of God is condensed and made sweeter by this imagery. The swallow finds the tiniest niche in the joinery of the temple, perhaps a shelf before the Holy of Holies or a forgotten corner of the courts. She will build her nest in which her most valued things—still yet to come—will live and have their being. She is unconcerned with comfort or position, she only wants to be in proximity to the place of her creator.

The psalmist extends this same willingness to praise from the lowest place, just to be near to Him. In this familiar refrain, he cries out that he would mind the door of the house of God just to be in the house:

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. (v10)

Life in Christ requires the choice, to dwell ever closer to the Holy God or wallow in muck and mire. He leaves the choice to us.

 

Grace and peace to you..

image by kvjrkrao