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
Football fans in Liverpool, England have a custom of singing, “You Will Never Walk Alone” before each home game as they rejoice at being at their home stadium. In this beautiful Psalm 84, the psalmist has that same joy but far more meaningfully. He is overjoyed at the privilege of dwelling in the house of the Lord and singing praises to him. See the extent to which he absolutely MUST be in the Lord’s house! He longs, faints, his total being is so filled with joy that song bursts forth like a spring. He cannot help himself. He cannot stay away.
Sadly, the last nearly two years of pandemic have created a void that would make the psalmist weep. How forlorn and empty is the Lord’s dwelling place! Our souls have become accustomed to singing alone in front of a screen. I pray your soul longs, yes faints for the courts of the Lord once again. I pray that we can lay our offerings at the altar of the house of the Lord once again. I long to hear the harmony of the multitude singing praise to our Great God for the great things he has done. Until then, we have the Holy Spirit with us so that…
You can never walk alone.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church