Psalms 84:1–4

The soul here knows, too, that this God is One who draws near to men. In the memory of the past and in the sweet vision of the future, He lives among them. Yet there is distance now, and the one who speaks longs, yes, faints with desire, to cross it and be with Him. His heart and his very flesh cry out for the living God: it is a longing so intense that the body feels and thrills with it.

Is there any difference between the state of a believer who longs and thirsts for the courts of the Lord, and one who longs and thirsts for the Lord Himself? Most certainly there is. Both states are good, and they may be very closely connected, but they are distinct... In the one case, blessing is desired; in the other, it is God Himself. Blessing would surely be the result in the second case, even more abundantly than in the first, but it is not the object. In the one state, the believer thinks of self; in the other, of God only.

Have we not had enough of this world, which is so contrary to the sweetness of the presence of the Lord Jesus? For it is not only for the dwelling place that the heart cries out, but for the living God Himself, whom we know to be fully revealed in His beloved Son.

Israel's fathers had understood what this title meant. It marked out their God, the Lord Jehovah, as completely different from the idols of the nations. Those idols had no life... He too was the desire of the saint in earlier days, as the psalmist puts it, "My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God"... Nothing short of being in the presence of the true God, who is the living God, could satisfy his desire. Idols could not satisfy him.

One would say this is a simple, even a poor thing to say about God. The smallest truth you can affirm about Him is that He is "living." But this only shows how poor we are, that we need to remind ourselves He is this... How good it is to know this in a world where evil often looks like it is winning! He is silent and still. We cry, "How long?" but He does not stir. How good it is then to steady our souls with the assurance, "Yet God lives!"

The Psalm is dedicated to the sons of Korah, who stand out as a notable example of the sovereign mercy of God. They were the descendants of men who broke into open revolt against Moses and fire came out from the Lord and consumed them, Numbers 16:35. But in Numbers 26:11 we read, "But the sons of Korah did not die." So we may take this Psalm as a joyful celebration of the grace of God. Instead of cutting them off in judgment, He brought them near to Himself and gave them a place of favour in His own dwelling.

But this was always and perfectly true of Christ only. The world, and even Israel as God's sanctuary, was a dry and thirsty land to Him. Yet His first care was always His Father's glory... This world never gave Him one drop of water to quench His thirst, or one green blade to refresh His eye. Yet He did not complain. He trusted in the Lord and waited for Him. He drank at the fountain; yet, as man, He thirsted for God — the living God — as no one else ever did.

This is the breathing of a saint in Old Testament times. He could only see Christ from far off. For him the glory of God was tied to an earthly tabernacle, not to the heaven now open to faith. And we, who have received so much greater a revelation — do our hearts long just as much for the Father's house, for the place of His presence?

It is a fact well known in history that small birds lived undisturbed inside the temple grounds. How fitting a testimony to the Maker of all, who dwelt there! The spirit of the psalmist carries him there now, as if he were one of those unhindered dwellers in the LORD's courts. The sparrow and the swallow become figures. Through them he would have us know what answers the longings of heart he has been expressing. He himself is the sparrow that has found a house. The sparrow is a social bird, and when it is found alone on the housetop it is the very image of desolation. But now it has all that the heart can desire in nearness to its Maker.

I take those two birds to be symbols exactly of what our poor hearts are naturally. The sparrow is a worthless bird; it is valueless because it is so plentiful. "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?" says the blessed Lord. The swallow is a type of ceaseless activity and unrest; but both sparrow and swallow have found a home. Where? "Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God."

The swallow is, according to the meaning of the word, the bird of freedom. Its bold, dashing flight and migratory habits naturally speak of this. But its affections can hold this free-roaming bird. The "place where she may lay her young" claims her completely. And the nest here is in a place where no swallow could put hers. Faith finds its satisfaction and rest in the LORD's altars. These do not shut faith out, but give it a welcome and a home.

"Your altars" would have in view both the altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense. The first suggests acceptance, and the second access… Linked with this we have the expression "my King and my God." The first means we recognise the rights of God — we are subject to His will. In the second, He becomes the Object of our worship.

If we are to enjoy forever a scene where our hearts find joy multiplied as many times as we find others to share it with us, then at least we shall forever realise where that joy comes from. It is the result of that unequalled sorrow, when one solitary Man bore the accumulated sins of generations… On this foundation we shall build forever, and here our hearts will rest in adoration forever. The sparrow will find a house.

God's providence has prepared a place of rest for every creature. So by faith he says: Well then, since You have prepared a nest even for the swallow and the sparrow, You have also prepared one for me. And he adds, "Your altars, O LORD of hosts!" There is the nest or place of rest that he sought… And, in fact, worship is the rest of the soul.

One thing about these greatly privileged birds strikes us strongly as we think: they did not know the One from whom all this kindness flowed… He thought of everything they needed, but there was no fellowship between them and the Great Giver. From this, O my soul, you may learn a useful lesson. Never be satisfied with only visiting such places, or with having certain privileges there. Rise in spirit, and seek, and find, and enjoy direct communion with the living God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessed are those who dwell in Your house — not those who visit, or pass through. And it is impossible to dwell there without praising Him continually.

What else could come out of knowingly dwelling in the house of God but continual praise? The word "still" means "continually." So if we do enjoy the privilege of dwelling there, we must express it in praise. We know from the New Testament that the house of God is the place where God is approached, and also the place through which God is displayed. Yet we should always remember this: only as we know the blessedness of approach to God will we be fit to display Him as we should.

Their constant occupation is what confirms their blessedness: "they will still be praising You." Praise is simply happiness overflowing in a soul that knows where this happiness comes from. Kept up without a break, it is joy without a break — a perpetual overflow of it. Such will heaven be. Here on earth we find the beginning of it.

In verse 4 you get the first of the three occurrences of the word "Blessed." The little word "Selah" divides them from one another. The first is in verse 4, the second in verse 5, and the third in verse 12. They occur in what we may call a descending scale. Happy, says the Psalmist, are those who have found in the presence of the Lord a place of rest and dwelling. They are so blessed that they will be still praising You. They will praise and praise and go on praising. Find the Christian whose heart rests in the blessedness of the presence of God, and you will find one whose heart is filled with praise that springs from the knowledge of Himself.

Psalm 84 looks at the blessedness of going up to the courts of the Lord. Yet in its picture of the road there, it points to the path of tears which His people have had to walk towards their blessings. So it has full moral force, and it teaches Christians as much as Jews. Once brought into the house, such is the blessing. They will have nothing to do but praise. This is the first great theme of blessing. It is blessing, perfect and complete in its nature. It is at the end.

The Psalmist is speaking of these singers when he says that those who dwell in God's house "will be still praising" Him. Their occupation was praising the Lord "day and night" (1 Chronicles 9:33). It was a shadow of the endless employment of the redeemed in heaven (Revelation 5). It is a blessed service — if it may be called service — and the Church has the privilege of anticipating it on earth while it waits for the return of our blessed Lord.

Pure happiness therefore is found in the permanence of dwelling in the house of God. It will be so for the godly of Israel in the thousand-year kingdom on earth. It is so for believers even now. And it will be so in the future, when they are forever in the Father's house in glory! They will not only praise the Lord: "they will be still praising You." There will be no end to the praise of redeemed souls.