If I’m truly honest with myself, I wish I had the same longing to be in the presence of God and worship him as joyfully as did the writer of this psalm, whose soul longed for, even fainted with longing to be in God’s presence (2). Just anticipating being where God was inspired his joy. To him Yahweh’s dwelling place (the temple in Jerusalem) was “lovely” (1). This songwriter knew God to be “LORD (Yahweh) of hosts” (i.e. God of angelic armies) (1), “the living God” (2), “my King and my God” (3), “God in Zion” (i.e., Jerusalem) (7), “God of Jacob” (8), and his “sun & shield” (11). For those who live in God’s presence, there’s a blessing (4). They are the truly “happy” folk, as well as “those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion” (5) and “the one who trusts in you” (12). This is what the psalm is advocating – trusting in the God of armies no matter what “valley” one goes through (6) or how weak one feels along the way (7). Highways to God’s presence is in the heart of the person who worships God & trust God no matter how dry & arid or threatening & painful his circumstances. (Some commentators say that “Baca” means tears.) The psalmist knew there was no better place he would rather be than in God’s presence (10). He knew God was above him as the sun providing light & warmth along the way as well as in front of him as a shield protecting him. On top of that “Yahweh bestows favor & honor,” giving dignity to his existence (11a). God is not stingy in his gifts either (11b).
The devotional comments to this Psalm in the ESV Devotional Psalter are rich: “In his book The Saint’s Knowledge of Christ’s Love, the Puritan preacher John Bunyan writes, ‘I have often seen that the afflicted are always the best sort of Christians.’ He goes on to explain that what we see as good providences (health, success, ease) frequently have minimal spiritual value, while what we see as bad providences (pain, trial, darkness) are often our deepest sources of spiritual nourishment and growth.” And “When God is your supreme value, your ultimate good [as in this Psalm] – when you would rather have a lowly place with God than a comfortable place without him (v. 10) – then no matter what pain washes into your life, your deepest joy cannot be threatened. You are safe. Nothing can touch you. Even the valleys of life become places of fruitfulness.” Surely this is great encouragement to us in our experience of the valley of the Coronavirus.
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