May 16, 2022 – Monday
Psalm 84:5-6 NKJV
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it in pools.
Comment.
This is from Bible study, Monday evening a week ago. I wanted to write about it then but had already begun the verse of the day. Let me introduce this Psalm with Charles Spurgeon’s words. He wrote Psalm 84 was entitled to be called The Pearl of Psalms. If the twenty-third be the most popular, the one-hundred-and-third the most joyful, the one-hundred-and-nineteenth the most deeply experiential, the fifty-first the most plaintive, this is one of the most sweet of the Psalms of Peace.
So, this Psalm is The Pearl of Psalms and is one of the sweetest of the Psalms of Peace or so says Spurgeon without naming the other Psalms of Peace. I hope this introduction encourages you to read the entire 12 verses of this Psalm and then ask your own questions as you reflect on what it says, especially to your heart.
In verse five a man whose heart is set on pilgrimage is a man who finds his strength in God. He is making a pilgrimage to the House of God. Are you familiar with the saying that we, as Christians, are in this world, but not of this world as our true home is in the world to come, Heaven? This man is traveling to his once a year meeting at the House of God. Along the way he meets other believers who are making the same trek. They share greetings, songs of praise to God, songs of hope for the life to come. Sounds almost like church doesn’t it.
Then in verse six we find this man and others travel through the Valley of Baca and somehow, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it in pools. What the Valley of Baca is, today no one really knows. However, its meaning is clear, it is a dreary dry place of discomfort, but somehow it becomes as a spring with rain covering it in pools of water. Imagine how soccer players gather around the water cooler during a break in play or bridge workers gather around the cold ice water during a break on a hot summer day, or even office workers around the water cooler. These men, and often their families with them, rejoice with others even as they pass through the Valley of Baca. Their joy when they break for the night in sharing the cool of the evening, resting their feet and bodies, they drink the cool water as well and likely join in song praising God.
If you have ever been on a long hike with family and/or friends, you may have a sense of this, on how you share what you have seen and experienced on the hike so far. Plus, a sense of joy on sharing the hike with others who also want to be there as well. Not to mention sometimes there is the unexpected rain shower making the hike more pleasant. And then in the heat of the day, cooling breezes come along which may be felt as loving caresses from God.
I want to share one more verse before closing. Have you ever heard or sang the song, Better One Day in Your Courts than Thousands Elsewhere? It comes from verse verse 10a, For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand (elsewhere implied).
Bottom Line: Do you take joy in preparing for church? For Bible study? For joining others who share your faith? If not take a look at this Psalm and seek to understand how you can once again take joy in going to His house. He is the giver of Life.
Prayer: Almighty God, Thank you for the blessings of your Psalms and how some of them can become so special to us as well as redirecting how we might think of taking time for You and Your Son. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek