14. Being with God!

A Meditation of Psalm 84

In Psalm 84, the poet expresses his/her delight in spending time with God in God’s temple.

The poet is someone who enjoys going to the temple, and enjoys feeling the presence of God. One day while s/he was in the temple, meditating, a sight caught his/her eyes: a little bird had made a nest right on the altar (vs.3). Such a sight might trigger different kinds of feelings in different people. Someone might even get annoyed at the bird for messing the holy place. However, the sight evoked a very dignified feeling in the poet’s mind. It ignited the imagination of the poet. S/he thinks that the bird is really blessed to have found a dwelling place at the altar. The poet sings:

Blessed are those who dwell in thy house
They are ever praising thee!

God is king in this psalm. God's temple is the palace from where God rules the world. God has hosts (military power) at His command (vs.1). The poet expresses his/her desire to be a gate-keeper at the palace of the Lord. The poet exclaims:

A day in thy courts is better than
A thousand outside!

A poem such as this can come only from someone who has really experienced the joy of being in the presence of God.

Because there is no place where God is not present, the universe itself should be considered the house of God. No one can be physically away from God for a moment. However, one can be with God or away from God mentally. If I am in friendship with God, I am in the house of God, but if God is a stranger to me, I am not in the house of God.

A building such as a temple or a church or a mosque is where we enjoy the presence of God. It is not possible for us to live in one of those places in a literal sense as the bird does in the poem. But it is possible to live in God’s house always by being in friendship with God, and by enjoying the presence of God all the time. 

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