How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place
How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place
How lovely is Thy dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts, to me!
The tabernacles of Thy grace
How pleasant, Lord, they be!
My thirsty soul longs ardently,
Yea, faints Thy courts to see;
My very heart and flesh cry out,
O living God, for Thee.
Behold, the sparrows findeth out
A house wherein to rest;
The swallow also for herself
Provided hath a nest;
Even Thine own altars, where she safe
Her young ones forth may bring,
O Thou almighty Lord of hosts,
Who art my God and King.
Blest are they in Thy house that dwell,
They ever give Thee praise.
Blest is the man whose strength Thou art,
In whose heart are Thy ways.
THIS HYMN is a very close rendering of Psalm 84, which focuses on the temple in Jerusalem. Some scholars believe the psalm was written by an exiled Levite who may have been prevented from reaching the temple when Jerusalem was under siege by the Assyrian army. In any case, the writer longs to be in the temple again.
The birds add a beautiful touch to the psalm and hymn. Ancient sources indicate that sparrows and swallows did build nests in temples. Perhaps the psalmist envied the freedom of being able to fly to the temple. Certainly he wished that he, too, could find a home there. Yet the verse also calls to mind some New Testament allusions—especially “Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it” (Matthew 10:29). God cares enough for sparrows to give them a home in His presence; He does the same for us.
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies. . . . Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
Psalm 84:1, 3
From the book
