THE leading thought in this psalm is that of " the tabernacles of the Lord of hosts." We see that, from the beginning, God thought of, and desired to have a tabernacle. Therefore God sheaved Moses a pattern of the tabernacle on the Mount. Moses says, in the song concerning the deliverance of Israel, and the miraculous passage of the Red Sea, "The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation; He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation" (Ex. 15:22The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. (Exodus 15:2)). But God's thoughts were, that He would make an habitation for Himself-to be with man. At the end of the ages, after the millennium, this desire of God's will be accomplished, as we see (Rev. 21:33And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (Revelation 21:3)), "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them."
The word "tabernacle" always implies the dwelling of God with man; thus David, after saying, " How amiable are Thy tabernacles," adds, " my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Yea the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young." This it was that occupied David's soul, this providence of God, who prepares a place of rest for every creature; and he says by faith, " Since Thou hast prepared a nest for the swallow and the Sparrow' Thou hast prepared one for me too," and he adds, "Thine altars, O Lord of hosts!" Here was the nest, or resting-place he sought. "Thine altars, O Lord of hosts!' and truly worship is the rest of the soul.
There is but one man who had no place of rest, as Jesus said, " The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head." And if we have now a nest, a resting place in God, it is because Jesus has been on this earth for us, and without rest.
Ver. 4. "Blessed are they that dwell in Thine house; they will still be praising Thee." Blessed are they (not who visit, or who pass through, but) who dwell in Thine house. And it is impossible to dwell there without ever praising Thee.
But in another sense, we are not always in the house; we leave it for service as the swallow leaves her nest in search of food for her young; but there are ways (ver. 5) leading to the house; these ways are often stony, thorny, and irritating to the flesh; but they are the ways, and he whose heart is in the house, will prefer the rough road that leads thither to the easy path which leads away from it. For instance, the way for the early Christians was hunger, peril, persecution and death, or the valley of Baca (ver. 6); that is everything sad, but they made it a well. It is thus that all difficulties are changed to him that is in the way; they become fountains. " The rain also filleth the pools." Not only are the ordinary means of help given to him that is in the way, but rain, or the direct help of God comes in, in the midst of the desert.
Verse. 7. " They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." There are in the Christian's path (as resting-places), trials, out of which flow fountains which lead him from strength to strength.
Verse 9. " Look upon the face of thine anointed." We may always, in all confidence, present to God His anointed, or Christ, and thus comfort ourselves as to what we are in ourselves.
Verse 10. " A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." Many children of God rest satisfied to be at the threshold; indeed many remain outside, while we are called to enter and dwell in the house. Yet, if our unbelief, or the lusts of our heart, which seek something besides God, hinder our entrance, we have at least " the door," for Christ is the door," and the door alone is better than all that is in the world.