What it means to live in the sheltering hospitality of God.

Monday

Psalm 84.1-2 “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”

Homesickness is that deep longing for the people and the places we love. As someone said, “Those away from home love and long for it; those who stay there criticise it.” But to the human heart, God is the true home, and there is in us a deep longing, an inner ache for God that gives edge to our prayers and devotions. “Thou has made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”

Tuesday

Psalm 84.2 “Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.”

There are reasons some of us are birdwatchers. Their life is often fragile, filled with risk, and, lived day to day. And yet. For Jesus birds were an everyday parable of the providence of God. Not a sparrow falls to the ground but the Creator God sees it. And the Psalmist has noticed every time he journeys to the Temple, there are birds. The swallow nest in the eaves, he sparrow at home near the altar – such is the hospitality of God. And if God welcomes the birds home, how much more…

Wednesday

 Psalm 84.3 “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.

‘Blessed’, means ‘to be congratulated’ or considered well off in life. This Psalm writer knows from experience that to give God his place and time in our lives is the sure way to blessing. More than that, to regularly praise God is to concentrate on blessing rather than misfortune, to be grateful instead of complaining. ‘Blessed’ is an important word because it changes the way we look at the world. That’s why Jesus spoke the Beatitudes – because to know our blessedness is to change our attitudes!

Thursday

Psalm 84. 5-7 “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.”

Life is a journey for all of us. Much of it seems straightforward. But there are steep braes, tight corners, barren places and even dangers to be faced. Like those long ago pilgrims to Jerusalem, in the strength of God we do what we can to stay faithfully travelling towards God – we dig for water in Baka! But also like them, autumn rains come from God who provides when our own resources run dry. Following faithfully after Jesus is a journey, at times hard, other times a joy. Either way we go from strength to strength, and are blessed because our strength is in the Lord.

Friday

Psalm 84.8-9 “Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob. Look on our shield, O God; look with favour on your anointed one.”

It’s one of the most common petitions in the Psalms, “Hear my prayer.” And just to be sure, the more urgent plea, “Listen to me!” The One to whom he prays is Almighty, that means power. But also the God of Jacob, that means plan, purpose, and promise. Jacob is one of the names used for the people of God, all those whose trust and dependence is on God. Prayer, urgent, believing and persistent, is how we express our trust and our dependence on the God who gives hospitality to birds!

Saturday

Psalm 84.10 “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”

It’s about what we want from life, and how we judge what is good, and what is best. One day in worship in the presence of God is better than a thousand doing our own thing with no thought of God. Many a time those who are on the welcome rota either quote, or have quoted to them, about being a doorkeeper. To be at the entrance of God’s house, welcoming others in fellowship, prayer and worship is better than being at the very centre of things elsewhere, where God is either unwelcome or rendered anonymous and obscured in the busy grasping that often passes for a successful life.

Sunday

Psalm 84.11-12 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.

The sun gives light and life, and the Lord is like that. A shield protects from harm, and the Lord is like that too. But the condition is clear and demanding, ‘those whose walk is blameless’. This is about integrity, that honesty of heart and mind that is made obvious by our behaviour and character; for Christians, being conformed to Christ. Other Psalms ask the question about who is worthy to stand before God.  “He that  hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” (Psalm 24.4) Our Psalm finishes with another Beatitude: “Blessed is the one who trusts in you.” Praying ourselves inside this psalm helps us understand what it means to live in the sheltering hospitality of God.