Burunche’s Blog

The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God

To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

“How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You. Selah 

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (weeping), they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold
from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

This psalm is one of the loveliest in the compendium. Written by the sons of Korah, this psalm embodies a yearning for God and His righteousness plus a glorious affirmation of God’s blessings for those who serve Him. But who was Korah? Along with Dathan and Abiram, Korah led a rebellion of 250 Levites against Moses and Aaron and was destroyed in the process. But God has not held Korah’s sins against his descendants, and this division of Levites has continued to serve in the temple.

“How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”  Although Korah failed to respect the Lord, his descendants are so in love with Him that they can scarcely bear to be separated from the temple and from God’s Presence.  

“Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young—Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You. Selah (Pause and calmly think on that.)“  The psalmist is so in love with God that he views God’s temple as his only true home, a place of safety and rest, a place where he can continue to praise God.

“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (weeping), they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah” When a man or woman is drawing strength from God, they will be single-minded, pursuing God’s Will rather than their own. Even when such people pass through trials so terrible that they are driven to tears, those tears will turn dry ground into well-watered fertile land. Such people may suffer disappointments, but their spiritual strength will steadily increase and eventually they will appear before God in His dwelling place of eternal Zion. The psalmist longs to become such a faithful person.

“O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” One day in God’s Presence far outstrips any number of days without Him. In the psalmist’s culture, doorkeepers are considered very low-level servants. The psalmist would far rather take a humble position in the temple than to have anything to do with the wicked.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold
from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!” These statements are self-explanatory. The sun gives light and shields offer protection. The Lord God is the ultimate Source of light and protection. And what a promise! Incredible!

APPLICATION: My late grandmother was a woman of deep faith, and this was her favorite psalm. That wonderful woman was born to Swedish immigrant parents who lived in very humble circumstances. Grandma didn’t learn to speak or write English until she was in her late teens and came of age during World War I. Grandma and Grandpa survived repeated crop failures on the farm, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Korean War. In 1955 Grandma nearly lost her only child, my father, in a terrible car crash. While Dad was recovering, Grandma helped milk cows and care for farm animals and a large garden. For most of Grandma’s life, she kept free range chickens, only parting with the chickens when she moved into town at age 90.

Grandma was an amazingly positive person, intensely interested in everyone and everything around her. Grandma produced a never-ending flow of baked goods, flowers, canned fruit, and encouraging letters. At age 85 she was driving into town to play the piano at the Senior Citizens Club “to cheer up the old folks.” (Some of the old folks to whom she was referring were decades younger than she was!)

They read the 84^th Psalm at Grandma’s funeral, and it was highly appropriate. If ever there was someone who turned valleys of weeping into fertile ground with pools of water, it was my Grandma. Truly, the last verse of this psalm remains as Grandma’s testimony: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to love You more each day than we did the day before. Help us to love Your Presence so much that we would rather be with You than anywhere else. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Prayer to Frustrate Conspiracy Against Israel

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

“Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”

For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You: the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot. Selah

Deal with them as with Midian, as with Sisera, as with Jabin at the Brook Kishon, who perished at En Dor, who became as refuse on the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God for a possession.”

O my God, make them like the whirling dust, like the chaff before the wind! As the fire burns the woods, and as the flame sets the mountains on fire, so pursue them with Your tempest, and frighten them with Your storm. Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; yes, let them be put to shame and perish, that they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.”

“Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” You might think these sentiments have been lifted from some recent news script; however, this psalm may be more than 2500 years old. The nation of Israel has been a target ever since it was first founded. Recently, Hamas has initiated unprovoked attacks on Israel, stirring up old controversies.

 “For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You: the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot. Selah”  Most of the nations listed here have new names; however, Israel remains a tiny speck surrounded by a huge number of enemies whose territories include most of the Middle East. Israel is bordered by 22 hostile Arab nations that are 640 times her size and 65 times her population. The worldwide Jewish population is 13 million while the worldwide Muslim population is 2.1 billion.

“Deal with them as with Midian, as with Sisera, as with Jabin at the Brook Kishon, who perished at En Dor, who became as refuse on the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God for a possession.” The leaders mentioned here were all ignominiously defeated by ancient Israel. Sisera even wound up being killed by a woman who drove a tent peg through his head while he slept.

“O my God, make them like the whirling dust, like the chaff before the wind! As the fire burns the woods, and as the flame sets the mountains on fire, so pursue them with Your tempest, and frighten them with Your storm. Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; yes, let them be put to shame and perish, that they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.” Although these words are thousands of years old, there are many who are praying for Israel along these lines. God has never removed His hand from Israel and has consistently delivered her from all kinds of attack as long as His people have followed Him.

APPLICATION: On the face of it, Israel shouldn’t even exist. Through the centuries, there have been repeated attempts to wipe out Israel as a nation, only for her to rise from the ashes. The Bible is full of God’s promises towards Israel, and God has never gone back on His Word.

Isarel is not a perfect nation; there are no perfect nations. And there are those who have severely criticized Israel for resisting the attacks by Hamas. But it’s easy to criticize when the rockets aren’t aimed at you and your family.

How can we pray for the mess in the Middle East? Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray for peace in all the countries. And pray that God will sovereignly intervene, because only God can change human hearts.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we lift up the conflicts in the Middle East and ask You to bring Your perfect solution. Lord Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace. You are the One Who can change human hearts and defeat hatred. Lord, we soak all the nations involved in the Blood of Jesus, the Love of Jesus, and the Fire of the Holy Spirit. Consume every trace of hatred and cause Your Light and Your Truth to come forth. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

A Plea for Justice

A Psalm of Asaph.

“God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked. They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable.

I said, “You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all nations.”

“God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Selah  Once more the musicians of the Sons of Asaph are crying out against the injustice around them. The psalmist is shocked that the wicked are ignoring God’s presence among them. God judges justly, so why are the wicked perverting justice?

“Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked. They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable.” God has not called us to serve ourselves but to serve the poor and needy and those left to the mercies of the wicked. When wicked people are in control, truly societies will be in a continual state of flux.

 “I said, “You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all nations.” No matter how powerful a leader is, eventually he or she will die, “falling like one of the princes.”

APPLICATION: We serve a God who is omniscient, knowing everything, omnipresent, and omnipotent. But despite these facts, many people still want to believe that they can do things secretly without God’s knowledge. The two sides of the witchcraft coin are rebellion and control. People begin by rebelling against God, demanding that they control things. All witchcraft is aimed at controlling something or someone-weather, people, events, etc. The fundamental lust driving witchcraft is a lust for power.

These days, there are all kinds of temptations to slide into “soft witchcraft.” Many groups offer the lure of secret knowledge, particularly if they can invoke ancient sources or even refer to alien visits to earth. The amount of misinformation available is mind-boggling. But God knows everything, including our thoughts and desires.  

1 John 1:5-7 tells us, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Each day we make choices. Either we choose to walk in light or we choose to walk in darkness. Even when we try to convince ourselves that something “really isn’t so bad,” we are already choosing darkness. God’s will for us is clear: we are to speak for the voiceless and defend those who cannot defend themselves. We are to persistently oppose wickedness without compromising. Let us take courage, remembering that the God whom we serve has promised to be with us forever.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives, knowing that You will give us the strength and courage to do  so. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

An Appeal for Israel’s Repentance

To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of Asaph.

“Sing aloud to God our strength; make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob. Raise a song and strike the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the lute. Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day.

For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob. This He established in Joseph as a testimony, when He went throughout the land of Egypt, where I heard a language I did not understand. “I removed his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from the baskets. You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. “But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over  to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.

“Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever. He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”

“Sing aloud to God our strength; make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob. Raise a song and strike the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the lute. Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day.” It must be incredibly frustrating to be a righteous person watching Israel deteriorate morally and spiritually. Here the psalmist is begging his fellow Israelites to repent and leave their idols, reminding them of God’s requirements for regular worship.

“For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob. This He established in Joseph as a testimony, when He went throughout the land of Egypt, where I heard a language I did not understand. “I removed his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from the baskets. You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah”  God has done so much for Israel, delivering the Israelites from slavery and then providing for them as they journeyed through the wilderness for forty years. But the Israelites have short memories and are rejecting the One True Living God.

“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. “But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over  to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.” God has warned the Israelites of the blessings they will enjoy if they will continue to worship Him faithfully but also of the consequences should they reject Him and neglect His worship.

“Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever. He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.” Here the psalmist is functioning as a prophet, speaking for the Lord. In these last verses, we glimpse God’s father heart as he grieves over his rebellious children. God knows the horrible consequences His people will suffer unnecessarily due to their hard hearts. If only God’s people would turn to Him, He would help them!

APPLICATION: WHY WORSHIP? Sometimes people complain that they don’t attend church worship services because they’re so boring. My response: Find a different church! Forty years ago, we were living in midtown Memphis; however, we had found a great church about thirty miles away. Our solution: On Sundays we essentially moved to the town where the church was. We would begin with Sunday morning worship services, get lunch, and then hang out at a friend’s house until time for choir practice and Sunday evening service. The services were uplifting, the preaching was excellent, and God was always doing something new in the congregation. Those services gave us the strength to run for the rest of the week. We remain very close to many of the friends we made during that time.

This psalm is both encouraging and also very sad. Worship is a two-way street; we meet with God but God also meets with us. God wants to bless us as we worship Him, and the more we worship, the more we open ourselves up for God to bless us spiritually, emotionally, physically, and in every other aspect of our lives. Tragically, when we refuse to worship, we cut ourselves off from God’s blessings, and God misses us.

What constitutes worship? Worshiping with others encourages us to open ourselves to God. But we can also worship God by ourselves. For much of my professional life, I have had to miss formal worship services because I have found myself at work in the hospital. But I can still worship God and praise Him whenever I have time. You are reading the results of one of my worship activities. I write these Bible studies as a form of worship and because God has called me to do so. Eric Liddle said that when he ran, he felt God’s pleasure. When I write Bible studies, I feel God’s pleasure.

God longs for you to spend time with Him and to worship Him. Your worship activities might look different from other people’s, but as long as you are meeting with God, you are worshiping Him in spirit and in truth.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help all who read these words to realize how much You want to meet with them. Help them to turn to You at all times. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.