Every believer should have a deep longing for celebration in God’s presence. Due to COVID-19 protocol of social-distancing, we have experienced time away from God’s house like the psalmist. Psalm 84 is a prayer in which the psalmist longed to be in the house of God and especially to be in the presence of the living God.
The psalmist began by addressing God as “Lord of hosts,” acknowledging that He was sovereign over all powers in the universe. He emphatically expressed that God’s dwelling place (plural in KJV) was lovely – “How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts” (v.1)! Even though they were made by the hands of man, they belonged to God. The psalmist declared, “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord” (v.2a). He was saying that he had an intense longing for God. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). He was homesick and longed for the courts of the Lord so much so that he fainted. He wanted God more than anything else in his life. The psalmist went on to say “…my heart and my flesh cries out for the living God” (v.2b). With his whole being he cried out for the living God; he missed worshipping and communing with Him. Just as the hart depends upon water to quench his physical thirst, the believer depends upon God to quench his spiritual thirst for everlasting life. “Even the sparrow has found a home , and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God (v.3). Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You. Selah” (v.4).
If by instinct and nature, the sparrow and the swallow can find their way to dwell in the courts of God, what about us? The psalmist declared that those who dwell in the house of God are “blessed,” literally happy, and are always praising Him. Like the psalmist there in the presence of God, we can celebrate the living God away from outside distractions of the world. Give God glory!
2 replies on “A Deep Longing for Celebration in God’s Presence”
Glory to God in the highest for a personal longing to be in His presence. It is a privilege to celebrate your divine gifting of encouragement and share your spiritual journey.
Glory be to God for his never-ending love and mercy.