So many songs of our generation are laments about us needing God and that is not necessarily bad but what is better is putting God first, even far above our need for Him and just sing about Him!  Sometimes, I have heard from first time goers, that believers  sing of sadness, need, and begging God to do something; while they came in search of the God who they have heard “nothing is impossible for God”. Mmm.

Maybe we need to “soft pedal” our needs as songwriters and write more songs of thanksgiving, praise, honor, and glory for God who was, is and is the come the One and Only God who created us and gave us life with the bonus of eternal life and removal of our sins!  Put Jesus back at the center of our words of praise and take the “me and my needs” on the sidelines with praise!

The composer of Psalm 84 decided to do just that.  Many musicians, poets, and composers of prose lately have followed his lead as I am recalling many songs from just this passage alone flooding into my memories.  Hymns and choruses with styles from classic to rock have expressed who God is with the beauty of where He lives as our most holy and perfect God.  Yes, there is no one like our God!  Sing it, live it, embrace the God who gives life through His Son, Jesus!

“Yes, better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere” …we sing this with a smiles on our faces for we are beginning to imagine living where God lives forever!  And, now this chorus of praise will be stuck in our heads all day long—but that’s not a bad thing to ponder as we read our next psalm—all about God.

Psalm 84, The Message

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

^1-2 What a beautiful home, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
    I’ve always longed to live in a place like this,
Always dreamed of a room in your house,
    where I could sing for joy to God-alive!

^3-4 Birds find nooks and crannies in your house,
    sparrows and swallows make nests there.
They lay their eggs and raise their young,
    singing their songs in the place where we worship.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God!
    How blessed they are to live and sing there!

^5-7 And how blessed all those in whom you live,
    whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
    discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
    at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!

^8-9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, listen:
    O God of Jacob, open your ears—I’m praying!
Look at our shields, glistening in the sun,
    our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.

^10-12 One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
    beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.
I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God
    than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.
All sunshine and sovereign is God,
    generous in gifts and glory.
He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions.
    It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“The psalmist cried out for God with his entire being. He envied the birds that were permitted to nest in the temple courts, near the altar, as well as the priests and Levites who lived and worked in the sacred precincts. How easy it is for us to take for granted the privilege of worshiping the living God, a privilege purchased for us on the cross.”—Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe Study Bible

How lovely is Your dwelling place
Oh Lord Almighty
My soul longs and even faints for You
For here my heart is satisfied
Within’ Your presence
I sing beneath the shadow of Your wings

[Chorus]
Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere

V.2 One thing I ask, and I would seek
To see Your beauty
To find You in the place Your glory dwells
Your glory dwells

V.3 My heart and flesh cry out
For You, the Living God
Your Spirit’s water for my soul (My soul)
I’ve tasted and I’ve seen
Come once again to me
I will draw near to You
I will draw near to You
To You… Chorus
https://genius.com/Matt-redman-better-is-one-day-lyrics

“How Lovely is your Dwelling Place” indeed where Peace resides and we praise God with all that is within us, 24/7, forever!

“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!”

(Hymn written by Joseph Scriven, 1855)

Don’t read what I am not writing—We do not cease to tell God what we need. But don’t stop there a wallow in neediness! It is a good practice to express our needs to God who convicts, comforts, corrects, and compels us to walk with Him daily with listening ears! We must never forget what a holy privilege it is to “carry everything to God in prayer” then leave our “everything” to Him to help us through it. Immediately after expressing our needs, in faith, praise God with thanksgiving for what He will do and what He will teach us!  

Lord,

Thank you, Holy Spirit for getting the focus off me, yet again, and back to Almighty God who so loved us He saved us. Thank you, Jesus for paying my debt of sin now and forever. Thank you for going “to prepare a place for me in your “lovely dwelling place” where praises are continuous and joyful.  Thank you for the privilege as believers to come boldly into your throne room to offer ourselves to you as we give you praise.

In Jesus Name, Amen