April 24 — Longing for the Presence of God
Scripture Reading (KJV)
Psalms 43-45, 49, 84-85, 87
SCRIPTURE:
¹ Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.
² For thou [art] the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
³ O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
⁴ Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.
⁵ Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, [who is] the health of my countenance, and my God.
¹ To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, [what] work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
² [How] thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; [how] thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.
³ For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
⁴ Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
⁵ Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
⁶ For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
⁷ But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.
⁸ In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.
⁹ But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.
¹⁰ Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
¹¹ Thou hast given us like sheep [appointed] for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.
¹² Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase [thy wealth] by their price.
¹³ Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.
¹⁴ Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.
¹⁵ My confusion [is] continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,
¹⁶ For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.
¹⁷ All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
¹⁸ Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;
¹⁹ Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
²⁰ If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
²¹ Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
²² Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
²³ Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast [us] not off for ever.
²⁴ Wherefore hidest thou thy face, [and] forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
²⁵ For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
²⁶ Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.
¹ To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue [is] the pen of a ready writer.
² Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
³ Gird thy sword upon [thy] thigh, O [most] mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.
⁴ And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness [and] righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
⁵ Thine arrows [are] sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; [whereby] the people fall under thee.
⁶ Thy throne, O God, [is] for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom [is] a right sceptre.
⁷ Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
⁸ All thy garments [smell] of myrrh, and aloes, [and] cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.
⁹ Kings’ daughters [were] among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
¹⁰ Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house;
¹¹ So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he [is] thy Lord; and worship thou him.
¹² And the daughter of Tyre [shall be there] with a gift; [even] the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.
¹³ The king’s daughter [is] all glorious within: her clothing [is] of wrought gold.
¹⁴ She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.
¹⁵ With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace.
¹⁶ Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
¹⁷ I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
¹ To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Hear this, all [ye] people; give ear, all [ye] inhabitants of the world:
² Both low and high, rich and poor, together.
³ My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart [shall be] of understanding.
⁴ I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
⁵ Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, [when] the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
⁶ They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
⁷ None [of them] can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
⁸ (For the redemption of their soul [is] precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)
⁹ That he should still live for ever, [and] not see corruption.
¹⁰ For he seeth [that] wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their inward thought [is, that] their houses [shall continue] for ever, [and] their dwelling places to all generations; they call [their] lands after their own names.
¹² Nevertheless man [being] in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts [that] perish.
¹³ This their way [is] their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
¹⁴ Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
¹⁵ But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
¹⁶ Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
¹⁷ For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.
¹⁸ Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and [men] will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.
¹⁹ He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
²⁰ Man [that is] in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts [that] perish.
¹ To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable [are] thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
² My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
³ Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, [even] thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
⁴ Blessed [are] they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
⁵ Blessed [is] the man whose strength [is] in thee; in whose heart [are] the ways [of them].
⁶ [Who] passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
⁷ They go from strength to strength, [every one of them] in Zion appeareth before God.
⁸ O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
⁹ Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
¹⁰ For a day in thy courts [is] better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹ For the LORD God [is] a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
¹² O LORD of hosts, blessed [is] the man that trusteth in thee.
¹ To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
² Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.
³ Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned [thyself] from the fierceness of thine anger.
⁴ Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
⁵ Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
⁶ Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
⁷ Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.
⁸ I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.
⁹ Surely his salvation [is] nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.
¹⁰ Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed [each other].
¹¹ Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
¹² Yea, the LORD shall give [that which is] good; and our land shall yield her increase.
¹³ Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set [us] in the way of his steps.
¹ A Psalm [or] Song for the sons of Korah. His foundation [is] in the holy mountains.
² The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
³ Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
⁴ I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this [man] was born there.
⁵ And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
⁶ The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, [that] this [man] was born there. Selah.
⁷ As well the singers as the players on instruments [shall be there]: all my springs [are] in thee.
DEVOTIONAL:
These psalms move between longing, royal hope, wisdom about wealth, love for God's house, and confidence in His restoring favor.
They teach Israel to prize God's presence above comfort, to understand that earthly riches cannot redeem a soul, and to hope in the king God appoints for the good of His people.
The royal themes and longing for God's courts come to their fullness in Jesus, the true King and the one in whom we are brought near to the living God.
In daily life, In daily life, believers should refuse to measure life by wealth or status, cultivate longing for God's presence, and seek the beauty of His kingdom more than the glitter of temporary gain.
In U.S. civic life, the Scripture sets forward the virtue of contentment, guides our prayers toward hearts distracted by wealth, weariness, or spiritual dullness and all who need renewed delight in God, and calls Christians to show up with worshipful desire, freedom from greed, and joyful confidence that God Himself is our portion.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What do these psalms teach about the difference between earthly wealth and lasting redemption?
How does longing for God's presence reshape the way we view ordinary life?
How do the royal hopes in these songs point us toward Christ?
PRAYER:
ADORATION:
Living God, one day in Your courts is better than all the treasures of this world.
CONFESSION:
Forgive me for dull affections, for envying earthly security, and for wanting comfort more than Your presence.
THANKSGIVING:
Thank You for drawing Your people near and for giving us songs that awaken holy longing.
SUPPLICATION – GENERAL:
Deepen my delight in You and free me from the false promises of wealth and status.
SUPPLICATION – U.S. / CIVIC:
Form Christians in our nation to practice contentment, and remember in mercy hearts distracted by wealth, weariness, or spiritual dullness and all who need renewed delight in God.
SCRIPTURE:
¹⁰ For a day in thy courts [is] better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.