Songs of the Temple

PSALM 84:1-4—“How amiable,” or how lovely “are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!” The extent to which the Psalmist respected and reverenced the house of the Lord—his tabernacle—is indicated by the beautiful words of Psalm 27:4 —“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.”

The use of the term “tabernacles” in the plural may be a reference, first to the tabernacle in the wilderness, erected according to God’s design under the direction of Moses; and second, to the tabernacle erected by David on the occasion of the return of the ark from the hands of Israel’s enemies. As we saw in a previous study, both the tabernacle and the temple of that ancient time were considered the house of the Lord, and were typical of the greater temple that is being built during the Gospel age—that glorious, spiritual temple which will become the center of worship for all mankind.

The Psalmist declared that his soul—his being—longed, yea, even fainted, for the “courts of the Lord.” This is a general statement evidently intended to include all that holy ground within the typical temple walls, or within the great white curtains that surrounded the tabernacle. The main lesson of the Psalm is for spiritual Israel of the Gospel age—those who have set their affections on things above, having separated themselves from the things of the world.

One of the evidences that we are of this class is the fact that we long for the things of the Spirit. Paul uses a slightly different illustration when he speaks of being “at home in the body,” and, by contrast, of being “present with the Lord.” (II Cor. 5:6-8) If we are contented with the flesh, and with the things of the world with which we are surrounded, then our souls will not be longing for the “courts of the Lord,” that is, to be “present with the Lord.”

Our Common Version translates verse three in a way to suggest that sparrows and swallows make their nests in the courts of the Lord, and round about his altars. But this apparently is quite the wrong thought and is not supported by the original text. The real thought is that just as the sparrows and the swallows find a home for themselves, so the Lord’s people who long to be present with him, to dwell in his house, have the longing of their souls satisfied. Leeser’s translation of the text reads: “Even as the sparrow hath found a house and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young:—[so] (have I found) thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.”

The Lord’s altars, in the type, were in his house, and for one to dwell in his house implied the offering of sacrifice on these altars. So it is in the antitype. The way into the most holy is the way of sacrifice even unto death. Thus, to be present with the Lord now by faith, and to enter into his actual presence beyond the veil, is more than an emotional experience; for it means the denial of self and taking up our cross and following the Master, being symbolically crucified with him.

PSALM 95:1-7—Singing unto the Lord, and making a “joyful noise” to the rock, or foundation, of our salvation, should be a normal expression of the heart attitude of every true Christian. While the Lord’s people should always deport themselves with proper dignity and reverence, this does not imply chronic sadness. One doesn’t need to be “long-faced” in order to be reverent before the Lord.

Joy and rejoicing is the normal state of all God’s intelligent creatures. God wants his people to be happy. Even Jesus—although because of the world’s sin, a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” possessed a heritage of joy to bequeath to his followers. While we cannot think of Jesus as being hilarious, yet the traditional pictures of him probably portray a great deal more sadness in his countenance than was actually there.

The greatest cause of the Christian’s joy is his knowledge of the Heavenly Father, and the most appropriate way of expressing that joy is in singing praise to him, not by the chanting of dirges, but by making a “joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.” Our “joyful noise” should be in the nature of thanksgiving, expressed by “psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.”—Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16

Jesus said that we should worship the Lord in “spirit and in truth,” and this is also suggested in the Psalm. (John 4:3,24) After bidding us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, the Psalmist continues, “For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.” In other words, we are to worship and praise God because of our knowledge of the glorious attributes of his character, not because we feel compelled to render blind obedience to an unknown deity.

“In his hand are the deep places of the earth,” continues the Psalmist, “the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.” Our adoration and praise of God is based on our knowledge of his omnipotence. To thus know him depends upon an understanding of the divine plan for human redemption and salvation, which, in turn, reveals the divine purpose in the permission of evil. If we did not understand that God has permitted evil for a wise purpose it would often be difficult to believe that he is love and at the same time have confidence that he is all powerful, able to control all the affairs of the entire universe.

Let us “bow down,” and let us “kneel before the Lord our maker,” writes the Psalmist. The position of the body when offering prayer is important only in the sense that it indicates the attitude of one’s heart. The act of bowing down, or kneeling, has throughout the centuries been indicative of humiliation, of humbling one’s self before another. But it would be quite possible for a slave, for example, under compulsion, to bow down before his master in a bodily sense, yet not do so in his heart.

So it is important for a Christian, in approaching the throne of heavenly grace, to do so in humility of heart. Where it is at all possible, the prostration of the body in keeping with the sentiments of the heart not only helps to put one in the proper attitude of prayer, but is undoubtedly very pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

“For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” (Verse 7) The best comment ever written to enlarge upon the thought here suggested is the Twenty-third Psalm. We are the sheep of his “hand.” There may be a connection between this and the statement of verse four that “in his hand are the deep places of the earth,” and that “the strength of the hills is his also.” The deep ravines and high hills in the mountainous sections of Palestine were potentially dangerous for sheep, hence, the illustration is that since the Lord is our Shepherd and we are in his hands, no evil can befall us; for those things which might prove disastrous are all under his control. Surely, as the sheep of his pasture, we have every reason to come before him with praise and to “make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.”

QUESTIONS

What are the “courts of the Lord,” and how may spiritual Israelites dwell therein?

Suggest a text in the New Testament which expresses a thought similar to that of longing to dwell in the courts of the Lord.

What was symbolized by the altars which were located in the tabernacle and later in the temple?

Is sadness of countenance an indication of special nearness to the Lord?

Why should the Lord’s people be happy?

What is signified by bowing down before the Lord?

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