Psalm 84.
This much loved psalm, dear to the Christian heart and rightly so, for its language is as suited to the believers of the present dispensation of grace, as to the coming one of power and glory, expresses the feelings of Israelites whose hearts have been touched and consciences exercised so that they are one by one returning to Zion, the temple site at Jerusalem. The Lord, at the time for which Psalm 84 is written; will have come to the earth to set up His kingdom; will have brought to an end the brief but fear-full persecution of His earthly people. Jerusalem is once more the center, and thither the godly will betake themselves.
So long given up to desolation and to the wicked, the city of God’s choice will again be His earthly dwelling place. (See Isaiah 40:9-119O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 10Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. 11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:9‑11); Jeremiah 50:4, 54In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. 5They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. (Jeremiah 50:4‑5); Zephaniah 3:14-2014Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. 16In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. 17The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. 18I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. 19Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. 20At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:14‑20)).
The believer thinks of the blessedness of drawing near to God, come down in grace, and longs, even faints for His courts; heart and flesh—spirit and soul—cry out for the living God. Surely every saint of God should heartily echo the language of verses 1 and 2. And is not the presence of the Lord among His saints—His tabernacle—to be known to faith today? Wherever two or three are gathered tether unto His Name, there is He in the midst of them (Matthew 18:2020For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)). What condescension! What grace! Can any other place or manner of gathering but this, satisfy one who truly loves Him and desires His glory?
Verse 3 brings before our minds the least of His creatures, —the despised sparrow and the restless swallow both secure and at rest, —precious tokens of the fullness of His grace to man. Blessed indeed are they that will dwell in His house. It is the redeemed of Israel that are here in view, as in Psalm 23:6,6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Psalm 23:6) but the Christian’s thoughts are rightly directed to the heavenly home. (John 14:2, 32In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2‑3); Revelation 5; 1 Peter 1:3-53Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3‑5)).
To be with Christ will draw out constant praise (verse 4). How could it be otherwise? The heart fills with joy at the thought of being with Him, like Him, with all the redeemed, —all debtors to grace unfathomable.
Verses 5 to 7 speak of the way to the scene of glory, the path of blessing. It is through suffering and trial, through the valley of tears, but those whose strength is in the Lord, make it a wellspring; they go from strength to strength; each one will appear before God in Zion. The road may be rough, but it cannot be long; the end is near, and prayer should characterize us (verse 8) that we may have the Lord before us all the way. He will surely the strength and the deliverance as needed.
Verse 11, “grace and glory”—unmerited favor, and the delights of a scene where sin is banished, and the Rejected One is the Honored One—these are bestowed freely by our God.
“No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Mark those words well. We cannot expect to enjoy His bountiful provision here and hereafter, unless we seek constantly to answer to His Word in our ways.
Verse 13 is the meditation of the heart upon the happy portion of the redeemed. Blessed, indeed, are they who trust in the Lord!
ML 04/19/1931