Psalm 84 (NIV)

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

A psalm.

¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,

  Lord Almighty!

² My soul yearns, even faints,

  for the courts of the Lord;

 my heart and my flesh cry out

  for the living God.

³ 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.

⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

  they are ever praising you.

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

  whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

  they make it a place of springs;

  the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

⁷ They go from strength to strength,

  till each appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;

  listen to me, God of Jacob.

⁹ Look on our shield, O God;

  look with favor on your anointed one.

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.

¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

  the Lord bestows favor and honor;

  no good thing does he withhold

  from those whose walk is blameless.

¹² Lord Almighty,

  blessed is the one who trusts in you.

This morning you’re invited to connect to the places of yearning in your life and make your way home to the living God.

• “My heart and flesh cry out for the Living God.”

• “Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself…”
• How are you experiencing longing for God’s presence in your own life, in the church, in your community, in the country, in the world?
• How has God been “home” for you?

• “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.”
• How have you connected to God through the journeys in your life?

• “⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka…

 ⁷ They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.”

• What’s your prayer and praise as you reflect on Psalm 84 this week?

We are at home in Christ Jesus, as the people of God:

“⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9–10 (NIV)

Next Steps: Each day this week, spend time praying and reading Psalm 84. Then, journal your reflections. Use the questions in the message outline above as prompts for your time alone with God.