The Way of Blessing

The Way of Blessing – Psalm 84

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.

Psalm 84:1-2

What is true happiness?

To know the favour of God, sure that He is with me.

Some things to understand

• Knowing God personally – My King, My God: no other religion has this aim. Only knowing Him is a sufficient foundation for life.

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.

Psalm 84:3-4

• Only then can we know who we are: insignificant birds, but they have found their home with You. “Are hearts are restless till they find their rest in You.”

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.

Psalm 84:5-7

• Even in trials there is peace – “the Valley of Baka” means the valley of tears. But God turns them into pools of refreshing water.

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 favour and honour;
no good thing does he withhold
    from those whose way of life is blameless.

¹² Lord Almighty,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Psalm 84:10-12 New International Version – UK (NIVUK) Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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