The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Psalm 84:5,
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you [Lord], who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.”
The Jewish calendar the Lord had given to Israel had 3 events each year when all the men were to assemble at Jerusalem. As the sojourners traveled there it is thought that a number of the songs we have in our book of Psalms were sung by the throngs headed to Jerusalem. This psalm, Psalm 85 is one that brings to my mind the pilgrimage they made and what must have been on their minds as they traveled to Jerusalem at the Lord’s command.
The psalmist says, “Blessed are those… who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.” My perspective is this psalm is all about the wonderful hope we have awaiting us, the resurrection. Just as the pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem, to the Lord’s dwelling, if we view our lives here in this life as a pilgrimage to our inheritance into the kingdom of God, we will be blessed. The psalmist remarks at how lovely the dwelling place of the Lord is; a reminder to me of the wonder and enchantment we will experience in the Lord’s presence, where he dwells.
Where the Lord dwells is such beauty, such delight, such pleasure, such enchantment that the psalmist says his soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord. Even his flesh cries out for “the living God.” Those who live there – that would be us in the resurrection – are blessed in such a way that they ever praise God.
The psalmist speaks not only of his wonder and fascination of the destination of the pilgrimage, but also the pilgrimage itself, the journey. The sojourners make the valley they pass through a place of springs and travel from “strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion.” Such is how our lives here should be lived as we make our way into the Lord’s presence.
“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere”. The psalmist declares that the Lord does not withhold any good thing from those whose “walk is blameless”. That walk is our journey homeward to where the Lord dwells! I am looking forward with great anticipation to the day when we will arrive there together!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
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