The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God

To the Chief Musician. (A)On[a] an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

84 How (B)lovely [b]is Your tabernacle,
O Lord of hosts!
(C)My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in Your (D)house;
They will still be praising You. Selah

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley (E)of [c]Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with [d]pools.
They go (F)from strength to strength;
[e]Each one (G)appears before God in Zion.

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
(H)O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your [f]anointed.

10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather [g]be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is (I)a sun and (J)shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
(K)No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.

12 O Lord of hosts,
(L)Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 84:1 Heb. Al Gittith
  2. Psalm 84:1 are Your dwellings
  3. Psalm 84:6 Lit. Weeping
  4. Psalm 84:6 Or blessings
  5. Psalm 84:7 LXX, Syr., Vg. The God of gods shall be seen
  6. Psalm 84:9 Commissioned one, Heb. messiah
  7. Psalm 84:10 stand at the threshold

Joy in the Fellowship of God

A Psalm of David (A)when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

63 O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
(B)My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see (C)Your power and Your glory.

(D)Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will (E)lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with [a]marrow and [b]fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

When (F)I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall [c]fall by the sword;
They shall be [d]a portion for jackals.

11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
(G)Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 63:5 Lit. fat
  2. Psalm 63:5 Abundance
  3. Psalm 63:10 Lit. pour him out by the hand of the sword
  4. Psalm 63:10 Prey

Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

64 Hear my voice, O God, in my [a]meditation;
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,
Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
(A)And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

They encourage themselves in an evil matter;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
(B)They say, “Who will see them?”
They devise iniquities:
“We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”
Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly they shall be wounded.
So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;
(C)All who see them shall flee away.
All men shall fear,
And shall (D)declare the work of God;
For they shall wisely consider His doing.

10 (E)The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him.
And all the upright in heart shall glory.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 64:1 complaint

A Reign of Righteousness

32 Behold, (A)a king will reign in righteousness,
And princes will rule with justice.
A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,
And (B)a [a]cover from the tempest,
As rivers of water in a dry place,
As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
(C)The eyes of those who see will not be dim,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
Also the heart of the [b]rash will (D)understand knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.

The foolish person will no longer be called [c]generous,
Nor the miser said to be bountiful;
For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work (E)iniquity:
To practice ungodliness,
To utter error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry unsatisfied,
And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;
He devises wicked plans
To destroy the poor with (F)lying words,
Even when the needy speaks justice.
But a [d]generous man devises generous things,
And by generosity he shall stand.

Consequences of Complacency

Rise up, you women (G)who are at ease,
Hear my voice;
You complacent daughters,
Give ear to my speech.
10 In a year and some days
You will be troubled, you complacent women;
For the vintage will fail,
The gathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent ones;
Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare,
And gird sackcloth on your waists.

12 People shall mourn upon their breasts
For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 (H)On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers,
Yes, on all the happy homes in (I)the joyous city;
14 (J)Because the palaces will be forsaken,
The bustling city will be deserted.
The forts and towers will become lairs forever,
A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks—
15 Until (K)the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
And (L)the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.

The Peace of God’s Reign

16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 (M)The work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation,
In secure dwellings, and in quiet (N)resting places,
19 (O)Though hail comes down (P)on the forest,
And the city is brought low in humiliation.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 32:2 shelter
  2. Isaiah 32:4 hasty
  3. Isaiah 32:5 noble
  4. Isaiah 32:8 noble

Wicked Rulers and Prophets

And I said:

“Hear now, O heads of Jacob,
And you (A)rulers of the house of Israel:
(B)Is it not for you to know justice?
You who hate good and love evil;
Who strip the skin from [a]My people,
And the flesh from their bones;
Who also (C)eat the flesh of My people,
Flay their skin from them,
Break their bones,
And chop them in pieces
Like meat for the pot,
(D)Like flesh in the caldron.”

Then (E)they will cry to the Lord,
But He will not hear them;
He will even hide His face from them at that time,
Because they have been evil in their deeds.

Thus says the Lord (F)concerning the prophets
Who make my people stray;
Who chant [b]“Peace”
[c]While they (G)chew with their teeth,
But who prepare war against him
(H)Who puts nothing into their mouths:
“Therefore(I) you shall have night without [d]vision,
And you shall have darkness without divination;
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
And the day shall be dark for (J)them.
So the seers shall be ashamed,
And the diviners abashed;
Indeed they shall all cover their lips;
(K)For there is no answer from God.”

But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord,
And of justice and might,
(L)To declare to Jacob his transgression
And to Israel his sin.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Micah 3:2 Lit. them
  2. Micah 3:5 All is well
  3. Micah 3:5 For those who feed them
  4. Micah 3:6 Prophetic revelation

Continuing Power in the Church

12 And (A)through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. (B)And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. 13 Yet (C)none of the rest dared join them, (D)but the people esteemed them highly. 14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, (E)that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing (F)sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

Imprisoned Apostles Freed

17 (G)Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with [a]indignation, 18 (H)and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. 19 But at night (I)an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people (J)all the words of this life.”

21 And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. (K)But the high priest and those with him came and called the [b]council together, with all the [c]elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

Apostles on Trial Again

22 But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, 23 saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing [d]outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” 24 Now when [e]the high priest, (L)the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. 25 So one came and told them, [f]saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”

26 Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, (M)for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, 28 saying, (N)“Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, (O)and intend to bring this Man’s (P)blood on us!”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Acts 5:17 jealousy
  2. Acts 5:21 Sanhedrin
  3. Acts 5:21 council of elders or senate
  4. Acts 5:23 NU, M omit outside
  5. Acts 5:24 NU omits the high priest
  6. Acts 5:25 NU, M omit saying

Jesus Gives True Rest(A)

25 (B)At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that (C)You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent (D)and have revealed them to babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 27 (E)All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. (F)Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 28 Come to (G)Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you (H)and learn from Me, for I am [a]gentle and (I)lowly in heart, (J)and you will find rest for your souls. 30 (K)For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 11:29 meek

Bible Gateway Recommends