Roads traveled and dwelling place

The psalmist declares his love for the ordinances of God, and the happiness of those that enjoy them, ver. 1-7. A devout prayer, and expression of faith in him, ver. 8-12. It is generally supposed, David wrote this, when he was driven out of the land by Absalom. To the chief musician upon Gittith, A psalm for the sons of Korah. The psalmist declares his love for the ordinances of God, and the happiness of those that enjoy them, ver. 1-7. A devout prayer, and expression of faith in him, ver. 8-12. It is generally supposed, David wrote this, when he was driven out of the land by Absalom. To the chief musician upon Gittith, A psalm for the sons of Korah.

Today I want to focus on the roads we travel and the places we dwell. First lets thing about roads we wander or travel...

GPS systems are great, when they work the way they should but I have heard stories where they direct you down a cliff or something like that...... Not a system that should be thought of as fool proof, full proof or even 100 percent correct all the time

My dads theory about driving was this, if you think you are lost, keep driving straight on the same road, until you see a sign or something that looks familiar. Though is method usually frustrated my mom, it usually worked for him, unless he hit a dead end. Then that brought a whole new set of problems!

I think he thought he was playing it safe my staying on the same road, not risking turning one way or the other. Afraid for what might happen if he turned right or left, because after all if he was going straight all he would need to do of just turn around and go back where he started from.


Sometime I think traveling would be easier if we could just travel like Dorothy, Toto, Tin Man, Lion and the scarecrow. Just follow the yellow brick road, a cheery sort of tune Just follow follow the yellow brick road, though we know it had a happy ending, there were lots of bumps in the road.


Sometimes I think as Christians we are surprized when there are bumps in our road in our Christian journey. We need to remember that God is with us in all stages of our walk. Difficul times easy times, times of sorrow times of joy. John Wesley wrote in regards to verse 5 Whose strength - Who trusteth in thee as his only strength. Thy ways - Blessed are they whose hearts are set upon Zion and their journey is thither. Thither is defined as To or toward that place; in that direction


When are hearts are set upon God then our journey is not in vain. Even during our hardest and most painful journies it is so much easier to cope when we remember that we are not alone.That God is with us always.


A line from one of my favorite hymns His eye is on the sparrow, Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come? Why should my heart feel lonely? And long for heaven and home When Jesus is my portion A constant friend is He His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches over meHis eye is on the sparrowand I know He over watches meHis eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me


What a comforting image, but do we call it to mind often. When life gets to be life we sometimes only see the negative the heartbreak, even when things are tough and my heart feels as if it is about to break... I think what would my life be like if I didn't have God as my constant.

Lets change up for a bit and talk about dwelling places.

We are born from a womb a comfortable and loving safe small place, then we are born. As a baby we are comforted by being swaddled, many folks when scared they take up a position that looks like the fetal position all tight and secure.

Birds built nests they are safe dwelling places

how does the image of the Church the place where we worship a nest, what does that mean for us.

Walter Brueggemann says, if we read the psalm closely, we'll understand "that the celebration of the Temple our worship services regularly points beyond itself to the reality of God, who is the real source of life and the real focus of trust." That's the key, isn't it?



Keeping God at the heart of everything: I think of the concept of "sanctuary" as safe haven for those fleeing worldly powers, something that was perhaps better understood before our own time, and in places far away. In the movie "Romero," there is a heartbreaking scene where a church is destroyed, and another scene where the Archbishop, Oscar Romero, is shot dead while saying Mass.



The awful things--murders, disappearances, suppression--that happened in El Salvador were somehow depicted even more compellingly when they occurred on "sacred ground."Why is the sanctuary of a temple or a church "sacred ground"? Some would say, with the psalmist, that it's God's "dwelling place," the place where God lives.



Brueggemann observes that the temple as dwelling place wasn't God's permanent home but just the "place of God's sojourning," a lovely phrase. While they wandered in the wilderness, the Israelites had the ark with them, a mobile experience of God's presence. But God was also up on that mountain with Moses, and God is with us, up on the mountaintops of our lives, and down on the low places as well. The psalmist remembers the hard part of the journey, in the dry and barren valley of Baca, a place, Cndler Theological Professor Joel LeMon suggests, that draws its name from the Hebrew word that means "to weep": it represents, therefore, the kind of "valley of tears" that all of us experience at one time or another. But the psalmist reminds us, LeMon writes, that "Yahweh provides and sustains. Springs bubble up....



T he transformation shows that Yahweh's reach extends beyond the temple confines...(v. 5)." As we have said, no place or structure or the whole earth itself can contain God, but we humans need a focus point, a base camp, a reminder, a haven, all in the name, and care, of God. The temple (or church) may be "only an access point to the reality of God," as Brueggemann says, but God is always and everywhere with us.

Our very lives, then, are sacred ground, holy ground. Thus, we too can "go from strength to strength" (v. 7), for wherever we are, we are indeed "at home with God."Birdsong as counterpoint to our songs of praiseSo are the sparrow and the swallow, of course: the psalmist sings of their good fortune in finding a home in the sacred precincts of the temple. Perhaps there is irony in this location: Joel LeMon writes, "With a striking juxtaposition of images, he recalls delicate swallows finding shelter for their chicks near the altars of Yahweh, where the very fire of God consumes sacrifices. Even these tiny creatures receive Yahweh's protection and blessing."



We recall the repeated image of tiny sparrows in the Bible, one of the smallest and most vulnerable of God's creatures. With the swallows, and humans as well, they join in a song of praise to God. LeMon suggests that we "understand the benediction on 'those dwelling in Yahweh's house' to include both human and avian worshipers (v. 4), for at the temple continuous birdsongs play counterpoint to the pilgrims' hymns." What a beautiful image, for a temple long ago, and the sacred spaces of our lives, too. Brueggemann takes "the nesting of birds as a metaphor for the 'nesting' of worshipers who sing the happy songs of praise. The metaphor bespeaks serenity, innocence, and trusting delight. The object of such happy nesting, however, is not the commodious life of the worshiper, but it is 'my King and my God....'" In any case, the image of "nest" suggests a place of safety, nurture, and home.Prayers of longing for God's presence
Scholars provide several other interesting insights into the text: Brueggemann reminds us that the term "God of gods" in verse 7b is not only "a formula for majesty," but recalls an ancient time of polytheism, during which this God ruled over all other gods. Brueggemann also observes that this prayer doesn't ask for the usual list of petitions and requests; it simply expresses the deep "yearning for communion and presence, which are ends in themselves....what appears to be a poem about a place is a doxology about a person," that is, God. When you examine your own prayer life and the worship life of your congregation, do you find prayers of praise, and prayers of longing just to be in the presence of God, to be with God? Joel LeMon draws our attention to the way that priorities are clarified here: it's better to be low in status and close to God than high in status but far from God. He seems to be saying that no matter how powerful and privileged and well-placed we may seem in this world, the sparrows are much better off than we are.What does the church building represent to you? Is it your home, or God's home, or both? What does it mean to gather in prayer, as the assembly of Israel did so long ago, and petition and praise the God who cannot be contained even in the whole universe itself? Why do we do that? Many people found their way to churches and other holy places across our nation (indeed, around the world) in the days following September 11, and pastors felt a particular responsibility to provide a place of prayer for people shaken by world-shattering events. Why are churches seen as places of sanctuary, where people can find safety? Why are the "ground rules" different there?

More from His Eye is on the sparrow

(I) I sing because I'm happy I sing because I'm free His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me (He watches me) His eye is on the sparrowI know, He watches meHe watches meHe watches meI knowHe watches me.


Blessed are those who dwell in Thy house” In the House of the Lord Amen and amen