Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.
The latter half of this Psalm speaks of God’s blessings to an agrarian society, the blessings of nature. However, this verse brings out the ultimate source of blessings, which is a right relationship with our Creator. This claims to be a Psalm of David, but he only made preparations for building the temple, so we don’t know if he was writing prophetically or if he was simply referring to the tabernacle. In either case, the point is that true satisfaction comes only in relation to the One we worship. I think that David was very aware that he had been chosen by God, and he was deeply grateful. Paul indicates that every Christian is chosen by God, (Romans 8:28 and many more) and we too should certainly be grateful. He draws us near by His Spirit, and there is no greater privilege. We should be aware of the abundance of His blessings to us, but remember that the greatest one is our relationship with Him, being His child, redeemed from our sins by the blood of His Son, to live eternally with Him. We can say that, but words completely fail us to express how utterly magnificent it is. When we have that in focus, things of this world completely fade in significance. We can be tortured and starved to death, and still rejoice in our Lord. As the chorus, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus says, “The things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” That applies not only to the suffering we experience here, but also to riches, fame, and everything else those in the world seek after. It is when we accept the value system of eternity that we recognize what is really important. As a case in point, there is real discussion about mining a particular asteroid within the next 50 years. The catch is that it is made up of what we call “precious” metals, because they are in short supply and are thus expensive. If that asteroid is successfully mined, gold will be as plentiful, and as cheap, as aluminum. The thing to remember is that God created that asteroid, so everything this world values is equally trivial for Him. The sooner we get our values in line with God’s reality, the more peace, joy, and satisfaction we will have. That’s what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 6:33, about seeking first God’s kingdom and His righteousness.
Because of the blessing of my upbringing, material wealth has not had as big a pull on me as it seems to have for many, but I can’t say I’ve been immune. Likewise, fame and recognition still pull at me at times, but growing up encountering numbers of justly famous people, I have always been aware that everyone is human, period. Seeing those around me, I am aware of what a huge blessing that is. I can’t say I operate in God’s value system perfectly, and it would certainly be stupid to get proud of the degree that I do so, but I am grateful for every step the Lord takes in drawing me closer to Him. I want indeed to be totally filled and satisfied with the goodness of being in His house, His household.
Father, thank You for this reminder. I’ll be seeing someone today I haven’t seen in around 60 years, and I’m frankly a little uptight about it. May I relate to him as Your agent, in blessing and grace, so that he and his relatives who will be with him may be drawn to You and not feel rejected, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!
