Praising Scripture - Dec 24

Annual Bible Reading Plan:

ZEC.3-4
ROM.8

2024 31-Day Praising Day 24:

Praise for God’s Dwelling Place (Psalm 84:1-12)
(Memory verses 1-4)
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!
10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Reflection:
This timeless psalm, often called “the sweetest,” was written by the descendants of Korah—a group who once rebelled against God. Their very name bears witness to God’s grace. After enduring shame, suffering, and God’s discipline, they learned to respond to God with renewed and positive devotion.
Even in times of wandering and passing through the “Valley of Baca” (a place of tears), their hearts remained set on the “highways to Zion.” They cherished God’s presence and His dwelling place. With humility, they compared themselves to sparrows and swallows—small and insignificant—yet amazed that such a holy and great God allowed them to find refuge at His sacred altar.
Their love for God’s house was so deep that they declared:
“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
May this psalm awaken in us the same longing for God’s presence and the sweetness of dwelling in His house. Let us cry out with the psalmist:
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.”