How glorious is your dwelling place, O Blessed Architect of the universe!
My soul longs, yes, aches for the abode of the Beloved;
All that is within me sings for joy to the living Heart of Love!
Even as the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nesting place,
where its young are raised within your majestic creation,
You invite us to dwell within your Heart.
Blessed are they whose hearts are filled with love, who sing praises to You with grateful hearts!
Blessed are they who put their strength in You,
who choose to share the joy and sorrows of the world.
They do not give way to fear or doubt;
they are quickened by Divine Light and Power;
they dwell within the peace of the Most High.
They go from strength to strength and live with integrity.
O Eternal Lover, hear my prayer; give ear, O Divine Comforter!
Forgive what is unholy within me; free me from my illusions!
For a day within the Heart of Love is more to be desired than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a servant in your dwelling place,
than live in riches among those who know not Love.
For the Beloved is as radiant as the sun, as strong as a steel shield,
and invites each one to come to partake of the Banquet.
Who will accept the goodness of Love? Who will seek for spiritual treasure?
O Loving Creator of the universe, blessed are all who put their trust in You!
They bless the world.
Nan C. Merrill Psalms for Praying
Reflection:
I’ve been reflecting and writing about the Psalms on and off for about five years now. Some psalms have made the rotation a few times; Psalm 84 is one of those. What I love about sacred text is that it can feel steadfast and unchanging or it can seem as though it’s brand new and reshaping my soul again.
In August of 2021, the psalm spoke to me of being stuck in a terrible place yearning for God’s presence. I noted that the psalmist longs for the temple and being in the safety of God’s presence. She writes as someone who is not in the temple, but longs to be back in the temple. It is interesting to imagine this Psalm being prayed by the unnamed servant girl in 2 Kings 5. While many interpreters and preachers see this little girl as choosing to love her enemy, this may not be her reality given the trauma she has experienced as a young woman taken captive. Her prayers, as Psalm 84, are about longing to flee to be somewhere, anywhere else, but mostly to be in the presence of God. Given the news about Afghanistan (in 2021, the US armed forces pulled out and left many people, especially women vulnerable), it is hard not to also imagine these young women praying something like Psalm 84, and longing for protection from the Taliban that is unlikely to come.
A year ago, I wrote about how manipulative this Psalm can be when it is used as contemporary worship that praises church and country as the place where God dwells…. ugh Christian Nationalism in the USA seems worse now than it did a year ago. Also in the reflection, I praised silent meditation as a way to be in God’s presence. At the time I had begun another spiritual formation program and was enthusiastic about centering prayer practices. I found that even center prayer can be used as manipulation by forcing perfect adherence to a particular method. I had to stop practicing for a while so that I could let go of the rigidness of the method I was learning. I hope to someday be able to pick up the practice of silence again.
Now, I’m thinking about the practice of pilgrimage, of traveling to visit sacred places to be in God’s presence. Pilgrimage (and traveling in general) removes me from my comfort zone, familiar places, and the ways I connect with God most frequently to the unknown, where I’m meeting God again and anew. And while pilgrimage is refreshing for my faith, I can’t travel constantly, and even if I could, there would need to be breaks from novelty. While I believe that all of life is a pilgrimage towards God, this way of life requires ordinary spiritual practices for ordinary days during the in-between-travel seasons which tend to be full of out of the ordinary experiences.
For whatever reason, this psalm seems to come up when I’m having a hard time with traditional church and society in general. But instead of trying to fit into a structure or spiritual practice in a perfect way, I’m still learning to hold myself gently. Adherence to particular spiritual practices ebb and flow, and that’s okay. Being in God’s presence will look and feel different all the time. I pray that we are all able to accept the goodness of God’s love wherever we dwell and can find places where we can simply breathe.
Check out other psalm reflections in the links below or find more of my writing published in Presbyterian Outlook or listen to my experiments in podcasting on the Period Pastor Podcast. Follow me @periodpastor
I began writing Psalm reflections during Lent of 2020. Shortly after, we decided to close the church building, work from home, and worship via zoom. Many churches use the Revised Common Lectionary (RLC) that rotates scripture on a three-year cycle (A, B, and C). Starting in Advent 2019, the church decided to worship with the texts from Year D, which is still not circulated as are years A, B, and C. Year D was created with the goal of including scriptures that were left out or not used as frequently as others. While we were using Psalms in year D, most other lectionary followers were using Year A. In Advent of 2020 we rejoined those who use the lectionary in year B. Advent of 2021 year C. When we returned to in person worship, we took the psalm reflections out of the order of worship. I continued to write them for the blog. Advent of 2022 year A. I left church work in July of 2023 but continued the practice of writing psalm reflections. Advent of 2023 year B.
I use the Vanderbilt Divinity Library’s resource for lectionary readings to make text selections.
1st Sunday in Advent Psalm 25, 2nd Sunday in Advent instead of a Psalm the lectionary gives Luke 1:68-79, 3rd Sunday in Advent instead of a Psalm the lectionary gives Isaiah 12:2-6, 4th Sunday in Advent Luke 1:46b-55 or Psalm 80, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, 1st Sunday after Christmas, Psalm 148, New Year’s Day Psalm 8, 2nd Sunday after Christmas Psalm 147, Epiphany Psalm 72, 1st Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 29, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 36, 3rd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 19, 4th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 71, 5th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 138, 6th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 1, 7th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 37, Transfiguration Sunday (Sunday before Lent) Psalm 99
Lent: Ash Wednesday Psalm 51, 1st Sunday in Lent Psalm 91, 2nd Sunday in Lent Psalm 27, 3rd Sunday in Lent Psalm 63, 4th Sunday in Lent Psalm 32, 5th Sunday in Lent Psalm 126, 6th Sunday in Lent (Palm or Passion Sunday) Psalm 118 or 31
Easter: Easter Psalm 118 or Psalm 114, 2nd Sunday of Easter Psalm 118 or Psalm 150, 3rd Sunday of Easter Psalm 30, 4th Sunday of Easter Psalm 23 or 114, 5th Sunday of Easter Psalm 148, 6th Sunday of Easter Psalm 67 or 109, Ascension Psalm 47 or Psalm 93, 7th Sunday of Easter Psalm 97 or Psalm 2, Day of Pentecost Psalm 104
Season After Pentecost (Ordinary Time): 1st Sunday after Pentecost (Trinity Sunday) Psalm 8, 2nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 or Psalm 22, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 77 or Psalm 16, 4th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 30 or Psalm 66, 5th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 82 or Psalm 25, 6th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 52 or Psalm 15, 7th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 85 or Psalm 138, 8th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 107 or Psalm 49, 9th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 50 or Psalm 33, 10th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 80 or Psalm 82, 11th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 71or Psalm 103, 12th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 81 or Psalm 112, 13th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 139 or Psalm 1, 14th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 14 or Psalm 51, 15th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 79 or Psalm 113, 16th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 91 or Psalm 146, 17th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 137 or Psalm 37, 18th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 66 or Psalm 111, 19th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 119 or Psalm 121, 20th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 65 or Psalm 84, 21st Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 119 or Psalm 32, 22nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 145 or Psalm 98 or Psalm 17, 23rdSunday after Pentecost Psalm 98, 24th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 46.
Sources and notes:
“Of all the psalms that celebrate Zion and its temple as God’s dwelling place, the eighty-fourth has been the favorite. Its joy in the place where God dwells and the comparisons and experiences used to illustrate that joy make it a highly expressive poem. It has been particularly open to reinterpretation through the ages. The exuberant anticipation of coming to God’s presence and the references to traveling (vv. 5-7) and to entering God’s house (v. 10) suggest that the psalm was used in processions by pilgrims to Jerusalem. The prayer that the king be accepted (vv. 8-9) is evidence that the royal figure was part of the procession and the ceremonies of its approach to the courts of the temple.” Mays p. 274
“Pilgrimage to God’s place is a profound symbol of the centering and direction of all life (Levenson, Sinai and Zion, pp. 176-178).” Mays p. 275
“Pilgrimage to God’s place is a ritual of entry into God’s ordering of reality and the conditions of human life.” Mays p. 275
“Every visit to a temple or church or meeting of believers is in a profound sense a pilgrimage.” Mays p. 275
“Many interpreters assume that Psalm 84 offers a “happy image.” Could this psalm, like Psalm 42-43, express instead a taunting memory of past experience of temple worship that is not now available to the psalmist? …. The words of Psalm 84 give us mixed signals in this regard.” W p. 324
“Birds as a metaphor for the psalmist occur several times in the Psalter. [ex. Psalm 11:1, Psalm 55:6, Psalm 102:6-7] In each case birds symbolize the vulnerability, defenselessness, and suffering of the psalmist. These are not “happy” images.” W pp. 324-325
“The canonical arrangement of the Psalms, from a preponderance of laments to hymns of praise and thanksgiving, suggests “a dynamic of happiness that finds a way through misery rather than around it.” W p. 326
“The repeated use of the epithet “LORD of Hosts” for God in vv. 1,3,8,12 (see Pss 24,46,48,59,80,84,89) reinforced by “my King” in v. 3d, suggest the image of God as Divine Warrior who leads Israel’s army and the heavenly armies (see 1Kgs 22:19). Taking this together with the bird imagery that implies the psalmist’s homelessness and suffering, one can imagine that psalmist in a situation of war, separated from the safety and protection of God’s presence in the temple and desperately longing for it. This probably setting invites as inter text the story of the unnamed Israelite serving girl in 2 Kings 5. As “a young girl captive” (v. 2), this little girl is truly homeless, plucked fro her family in the land of Israel to sere the wife of the commander of the Syrian (Aramean) army, Naaman. Syria was a constant threat to Israel in the ninth century BCE. The little girl’s “marginality as a child captive in enemy territory represents the weakness of the northern kingdom of Israel, which was unable to protect her and no doubt many others liker her in time of war.” Unfortunately, many interpreters romanticize this little girl by focusing on her wish in 2 Kings 5:3: “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria,” which they take as evidence of her compassionate choice to love rather than hate her enemy. Like Rahab in Joshua 2, she becomes a paradigm for healing in the midst of war and death. This expectation of her is perhaps more than her tiny shoulders can bear and does not accord with the stories of many children traumatized by war today or in the ancient world.” W pp. 326-327
“As a little slave girl prays Psalm 84 in her captivity she fills it with the pathos of her situation far from home.” W p. 328
“The carefully arranged and thoughtfully chosen words of Ps 84 do more than simply describe a place. They transport the psalmist and her audience to Zion, to the divine court, the temple, enveloped in the presence of God. The words of the psalm orient devotees in time and space, appealing to religious traditions and spaces to help negotiate power. It is clear from the psalm that the place described is not the place form which the psalmist longs to be. The mixed metaphors of Psalm 84 are a subtle commentary on the psalmist’s situation. She dreams of idyllic Zion but the shadow side of her situation is an ugly reality. Her psalm is a subversive condemnation of her situation. The words of the psalm provide a cognitive “map” for those who want little more than to flee.” W p. 328 excerpt from Amy Beth Jones
“Again, core testimony intends to remind God of who God is and prompt God to action. Her longing for God is painful and deep.” W p. 328-329
From my reflection on this psalm from August of 2021: The psalmist longs for the temple and being in the safety of God’s presence. She writes as someone who is not in the temple, but longs to be back in the temple. It is interesting to imagine this Psalm being prayed by the unnamed servant girl in 2 Kings 5 (see notes above). While many interpreters and preachers (myself included, see Unexpected Mercy) see this little girl as choosing to love her enemy, this may not be her reality given the trauma she has experienced as a young woman taken captive. Her prayers, as Psalm 84, are about longing to flee to be somewhere, anywhere else, but mostly to be in the presence of God. Given the news about Afghanistan (I’m writing this in August 2021), it is hard not to also imagine the young women praying something like Psalm 84, and longing for protection from the Taliban that is unlikely to come.
My reflection of psalm 84 in 2024: I was in my late teens when the 1997 worship song “Better is One Day” by Matt Rodman was at the hight of its popularity. It still gets stuck in my head when I read Psalm 84. The song itself is repetitive and more than that, it was used in nearly all of the youth programing and contemporary worship I attended in high school and college. The messaging that would go along with this was song often “prayed” during a long instrumental introduction or at some instrumental break was about how much better it is to be in worship than anywhere else, with the usual examples of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll as places to avoid. I’ve heard more than one bro -y worship leader brag about his spirituality saying something like worship and other church sponsored events are the only events he attends, that’s how much time he wants to spend in God’s presence. Sometimes pro church messaging is well meaning, but it can be manipulative.
Worship spaces, camp and conference centers, and christian music festivals are certainly places where people feel God’s presence, but the more life experience I have the more I can find God in every place, even in “non christian” spaces. Christians do not have exclusive access to God. High control religious groups and so white christian nationalists will claim that they are the only true believers or true church or claim to have special access that grants their salvation (and therefore everyone else is wrong and will be punished for being wrong). It is a dangerous claim. We can see how dangerous this claim is in the current climate of American politics. It seems as if the more “godly” a christian candidate claims to be the more likely they are to have policies that hurt women, queer folks, and minorities. I hardly recognize the Jesus they claim supports their speeches and actions.
All this christian noise has made silent contemplation so appealing. I would rather be in God’s silent presence than listening to the garbage that is passing for christianity in America.
But even silence is difficult. I would rather be in God’s presence than chasing the thousands of afflictive thoughts and obsessive commentary running through my mind. The spiraling stories I tell myself on repeat are judgmental and unhelpful as I remind myself I’m alone, unlovable and not good enough. My ego distracts me from my true (and good) self with an endless to-do list. The mind is designed to think and so that’s what it does. The practice of silent contemplation is really a practice of letting go of those thoughts and creating space in which God’s presence can be experienced. Occasionally I glimpse the loving God who dwells within my inmost heart. It is that presence that I wish to dwell with more than anything else my mind creates.
I begin silent practices with a few deep breaths and a short prayer consenting to the awareness of God’s presence and action within me. Usually, its a very short prayer, but if I was going to base a prayer for that practice on psalm 84 (taking phrases from Nan Merrill) it might go something like this:
O Eternal Lover, hear my prayer; give ear, O Divine Comforter!
Forgive what is unholy within me; free me from my illusions!
Help me to let go of doubt and fear and accept the goodness of Love.
Guide me into an awareness of your presence in my heart.
How glorious is your dwelling place, O Blessed Architect of the universe!
My soul longs, yes, aches for the abode of the Beloved;
All that is within me sings for joy to the living Heart of Love!
Blessed are all who put their trust in You! They bless the world.
Alter, Robert. 2007. The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary New York: W. W. Norton & Company
WBC Allen, Leslie C. 1983. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 101-150. Vol. 21. Waco, TX: Word Books, Publisher.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1974. Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. 8th ed. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Press.
Bourgeault, C. (2006). Chanting the psalms: A practical guide Audio Book. New Seeds.
Brueggemann, Walter. 2007. Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit. 2nd ed. Eugene, OR: Cascade.
Brueggemann, Walter. 2014. From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. Edited by Brent A. Strawn. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
Brueggemann, Walter. Davis Hanskins, Editor. 2022. Our Hearts Wait: Worshiping Through Praise and Lament in the Psalms Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville KY.
Brueggemann, Walter. (2002). Spirituality of the psalms. Augsburg Pub. House.
Brueggemann, Walter. (1984). The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary. Minneapolis: Augsburg.
Chilson, Richard, ed. You Shall Not Want: A Spiritual Journey Based on the Psalms. Ave Maria Press, 2009.
Chittister, Joan. (2011). Songs of the heart: reflections on the psalms. John Garratt Publishing.
Cudjoe-Wilkes, G., Wilkes, A. J., & Moss, O. (2022). Psalms for black lives: Reflections for the work of Liberation. Upper Room Books.
WBC Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1-50–Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 19. Waco, TX: Word Books.
Creach, Jerome Frederick Davis. 1998. Psalms: Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
DAFLER, J. (2021). PSOBRIETY: A journey of recovery through the psalms. Louisville, KY: WESTMINSTER JOHN KNOX.
W de Claisse-Walford, Nancy L. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 4-5. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 22. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2020.
Green, Barbara. 1997. Like a Tree Planted: An Exploration of Psalms and Parables Through Metaphor. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
W Hopkins, Denise Dombkowski. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 2-3. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 21. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2016.
NIB Keck, Leander E. 2015. The New Interpreters Bible Commentary. Vol. 3. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Lewis, C. S. (2017). Reflections on the Psalms. Harper One, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.
Mays, James Luther. 1994. Psalms. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.
McCann, J. C. (1993). A theological introduction to the book of Psalms: The Psalms as Torah. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
McCann, J. C., & Howell, J. C. 2001. Preaching the Psalms. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Merrill, N. C. (2020). Psalms for praying an invitation to wholeness (10th Anniversary Edition ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Miller, Patrick D. 1986. Interpreting the Psalms. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press.
Morgan, Michael. 2010. The Psalter for Christian Worship Revised Edition. Westminster John Knox Press.
Schlimm, Matthew Richard. 2018. 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know. Nashville, TN: Abington Press.
Spong, M. (Ed.). (2020). The words of her mouth: Psalms for the struggle. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press.
WBC Tate, Marvin E. 1990. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 51-100. Edited by David Allan. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker. Vol. 20. Waco, TX: Word.
Weems, Ann. 1995. Psalm of Lament. Westminster John Knox Pres
OTL Weiser, Artur. 1998. Old Testament Library: Psalms. Translated by Herbert Hartwell. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Manchester University Press.
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