On the surface, the psalmist in Psalm 84 is longing to worship in the temple. But I think there is more here than that. It isn't possible to live life in the temple or in your local church. You still have to go to work so you can feed and clothe your family. You still need to be in the world as "salt and light."
My thought was - and I saw this in commentaries - that in addition to the obvious literal view, the psalmist is longing to live as a follower of God - one who is keeping His commands.
"I would rather
stand at the
threshold of the
house of my
God
Than dwell in the
tents of
wickedness."
So I suppose the question to ask isn't "which do you prefer, the house of God or the tents of the wicked?" but rather "where do you spend most of your time, seeking God, longing to be with Him or are you following wicked things?" It's easy to
say I want to follow God and "dwell in His house" but truth is found in how you live each day.
and don't let the "no good thing does He withhold" phrase steer you down the "health and wealth" gospel track. Your idea of "good thing" may not be the same as God's. The gifts of God include "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Follow that line of thought for a while. I can't do everything for you. :-)
1 comment:
I echo your thoughts of the fact that we can't always be in God's house, but what are we pursuing. Verse 4 states "Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee." When I read verse 5 (in The Message translation) it said "And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel." I see this as not "are we living in God's house" but "Does God live in us?" I want my life to become the road God travels, not my own travel.
I also saw the latter part of the Psalm about how God does not withhold any good thing. I had the same thought that though God doesn't withhold good from those who "live with integrity" that doesn't equate to everything being good in the life of a Christ-follower.
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