Psalm 84:5-10 “I’d Rather be a Gatekeeper!”

Text: 

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

6 As they go through the Valley of Baca

        they make it a place of springs;

    the early rain also covers it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength;

        each one appears before God in Zion.

8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

                              give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

9 Behold our shield, O God;

    look on the face of your anointed!

10 For a day in your courts is better

    than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Comments:

On Sunday, I wasn’t the scheduled preacher, but as we transitioned from singing our praise to the Lord to a posture of listening to the encouragement of the message, I read briefly from the Psalms and made a couple of simple devotional points that I would like to share here.

Our songs emphasized our desire to be in the presence of the Lord and our need for Christ to set us free from the chains that bind us—be they spiritual, emotional, or physical.

I read from Psalm 84 which gives voice to much the same sentiment. It was written by the “Sons of Korah” who are typically concerned with being in the presence of the Lord.

Verses 1-2 give voice to their desire to be in God’s presence. It really wasn’t about their being in the temple, but that in being in the temple they were in the presence of God. It was a place designated as a place of prayer for all the nations and was illustrated by the nesting birds in the temple compound (v. 3-4). However, this week I focused on v. 5-12 for a couple of reasons.

First, in v.6, the psalmist describes the transforming pilgrim attitude of those who seek the Lord, "As they go through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs." Literally, the “Valley of Baca” means “Valley of weeping,” but pilgrims of God, or disciples (as we describe them in the New Testament) dig wells and pray for rain in a way that benefits those who come behind them. Our speaker this week did this well—sharing from her own seasons of dryness and how the Lord delivered her from them. It is what we all should be doing. We all have a history and it is with the comfort that we have received from Christ that we can turn and comfort others—not as perfect people, but as those who are flawed, have been wounded, but also have received the comfort of Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. (2 Cor. 1:3-5)

Secondly, in Psalm 84:10 the Sons of Korah express that they wanted to be in the temple,

For a day in your courts is better

    than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

We often focus on comparing the one day and the thousand, for something is to be said about the quality of the day, not just the quantity. However, what jumped out to me this week was the phrase in v. 10 “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God.” What we need to remember is that the authors of this psalm had been assigned as doorkeepers (1 Chron. 26:1, 19).

What I am saying is that there is something about being where God wants you, doing the job that he has given you to do that is more significant than we realize. Doing it brings a sense of fulfillment and joy. Even the “outside” times of discomfort and labor as a part of God’s mission are far better than dwelling inside and at ease surrounded by those who are wicked. Our jobs are appointed by the Lord so let’s rejoice at an opportunity to perform our daily duties as worship to the Lord and as service to his people. This desire on the part of the Sons of Korah was not one of withdrawal from the world, but it was one of engagement in their assigned role. For them, all of life was sacred when lived unto the Lord. 

"To lift up the hands in prayer gives God glory, 

but a man with a dungfork in his hand, 

      a woman with a slop-pail, give him glory too. 

He is so great that all things give him glory if you mean they should. 

So then, my brethren, live." 

—Gerard Manley Hopkins

Let’s allow the Lord to use us whether in the Valley of weeping, or standing outside the door of his Temple, to bless those who might come behind us.