a place to belong

So many people have used these words as lyrics for songs they've written.

They have such sweep, such lyrical lilt.

In the temple in Jerusalem, some people could & did literally live in the temple, worshiping God day & night. They ate their meals there & slept on benches & the floor.

But the passages from this psalm don't just express joy at being in the Father's house.

The psalmist also expresses some of what he has seen & come to know about the personhood of God.

When you get a chance, read the whole psalm.

Psalm 84

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

  O LORD of Heaven's Armies.

2 I long, yes, I faint with longing

  to enter the courts of the LORD.

With my whole being, body and soul,

  I will shout joyfully to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,

  and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young

at a place near your altar,

  O LORD of Heaven's Armies, my King and my God!

4 What joy for those who can live in your house,

  always singing your praises. 

10 A single day in your courts

  is better than a thousand anywhere else!

I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God

  than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.

11 For the LORD God is our sun and our shield.

  He gives us grace and glory.

The LORD will withhold no good thing

  from those who do what is right.

12 O LORD of Heaven's Armies,

  what joy for those who trust in you.