Read
(For the music leader. A psalm by the clan of Korah.)
The Joy of Worship
1Lord God All-Powerful,
your temple is so lovely!
2Deep in my heart I long
for your temple,
and with all that I am
I sing joyful songs to you.
3Lord God All-Powerful,
my King and my God,
sparrows find a home
near your altars;
swallows build nests there
to raise their young.
4You bless everyone
who lives in your house,
and they sing your praises.
5You bless all who depend
on you for their strength
and all who deeply desire
to visit your temple.
6When they reach Dry Valley,
springs start flowing,
and the autumn rain fills it
with pools of water.
7Your people grow stronger,
and you, the God of gods,
will be seen in Zion.
8Lord God All-Powerful,
the God of Jacob,
please answer my prayer!
9You are the shield
that protects your people,
and I am your chosen one.
Won't you smile on me?
10One day in your temple
is better than a thousand
anywhere else.
I would rather serve
in your house,
than live in the homes
of the wicked.
11Our Lord and our God,
you are like the sun
and also like a shield.
You treat us with kindness
and with honor,
never denying any good thing
to those who live right.
12Lord God All-Powerful,
you bless everyone
who trusts you.
Reflect
This passage ends with the thought, “You bless everyone who trusts you,” and the cool thing is, when you go back and re-read everything that came before it, you realize you’ve just been shown exactly what it looks like to be someone who trusts God, and what it means to be blessed by him.
The people who trust God sing praises and depend on the Lord for their strength. They desire to visit his temple and continuously seek his presence. And what does it mean to be blessed by God? Well, how about going through dry valleys, and finding miraculous springs of water so that you will not die of thirst? Or still more incredible: knowing that the maker and master of the universe is acting as your shield and protector. And he treats you with kindness and honour. The most powerful being in existence smiles on us like the sun and holds us mere humans in highest esteem. The blessing I find most baffling: He loves us. And the one most comforting: He saved us.
Living in a first-world country during the twenty-first century, it’s easy to conflate “blessing” with “luxury” or “prosperity,” or relate it to only material things. This passage serves as a good reminder that we should trust God no matter our circumstances, and we know we are blessed whether we perceive it or not.
Respond
All-Powerful Father, You are so faithful, loving, gracious, and kind, and we are overwhelmingly blessed to call you Dad. Help us to depend on your for strength, trust you in every situation, and bring others to you, so they, too, can know what it is to be blessed. Amen.
Larissa Benfey
Larissa is a Toronto based actor and writer who has dabbled in everything from scripts to short stories, and is now setting her sights on novels. Having studied English and history at Tyndale University and Seminary, she loves a good story, but her favorite stories always have happy endings - which is part of why she loves the true story of the Gospel so much.