Psalms 84
Psalms 84:1-12 (NLT)
1 For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument. 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. Interlude
5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the LORD, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
7 They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.
8 O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Jacob. Interlude
9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield! Show favor to the one you have anointed.
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.
For all the challenges, catastrophes, enemies, and endless opportunities to be overcome, there is recognition of what is already secured in the presence of the Lord that will reduce any opposition to meaninglessness. Excitement and emotionally extreme responses to God’s glory are not just personality quirks that some do or don’t have. If there is no sound from the mouth reflecting an impression of access to His presence, there is a likelihood that the small things will seem significant. By this declaration of extreme joy and exhilaration in the courts of the Lord, this awareness is awakened and its powerful regeneration is renewed. The experience and opportunity of life is contingent on what is magnified and proclaimed. Defeat and victory follow the emotions of the heart formulated in praise.