Monday’s Morning Prayer from the Divine Office had Psalm 84 again. I like to call that “The Sparrow’s Psalm.” I have it written under my picture on the main page.
If you remember my previous blog post about Psalm 84, I mentioned that David might have written Psalm 84 while living in the wilderness when King Saul was hunting him. David says he is “yearning for the courts of the Lord.” (Psalm 84:2) Then he speaks about the sparrows and swallows making their nests near God’s altar. They are lucky little birds: “They are happy who dwell in Your house, forever singing your praise.” (Psalm 84:3) I also said how much I can identify with David’s longing during this time of the year when the sunlight prevents me from going to church.
While I prayed this Psalm on Monday morning, I noticed something that had never caught my eye before:
“They are happy who dwell in Your house, forever singing Your praise.” (vs 4)
“They are happy, whose strength is in You.” (vs 5)
“Lord God of Hosts, happy the man (or Sparrow!) who trusts in You.” (vs 12)
I had never noticed there were three sets of “happy” until right then. These three verses all need to be sung together for the Psalm to have its full meaning. I think David’s song expressed much more than his longing for God’s house. His soul was being tried in the crucible of suffering. With God’s help he had learned how to not only survive it, but how to thrive and grow BECAUSE of it.
Maybe I can understand a bit of this part of the song, too. My tune might not be quite the same as David’s, but that’s because I’m a little Sparrow, not a king. I’ll share more of my thoughts on Psalm 84 in future posts. There is wisdom in this Psalm that can help us. I know it has helped me.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort which we ourselves receive from God.” (II Corinthians 1:3-4)
The Nocturnal Sparrow 