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Epiphany Season · Presentation of the Lord · Year C

Psalm 84 or Psalm 24:7-10

How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place

February 2, 2028

Schwalben im Nest (Swallows in the Nest), Friedrich Zeller
Schwalben im Nest (Swallows in the Nest), Friedrich Zeller, 1869Wikimedia Commons (painter died over 100 years ago)
A nineteenth-century German painting of nothing but a swallow's nest under an eave, with the birds coming and going.Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars. Psalm 84 envies the birds, and this is the nest.Friedrich ZellerA nineteenth-century German painter of small natural subjects, about whom little is recorded.Wikimedia Commons (painter died over 100 years ago)No holding institution is recorded with the image; it is known from the public domain reproduction.Wikimedia Commons (painter died over 100 years ago)
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelLuke 2:22-40Lk 2:22-40
EpistleHeb. 2:14-18Heb 2:14-18
Old TestamentMal. 3:1-4Mal 3:1-4
PsalterPs. 84Ps 84 orPs. 24:7-10Ps 24:7-10

Overview & Insights

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!" (Psalm 84:1)

The psalmist expresses deep longing for God's temple courts, envying even the sparrows that nest near the altar. The psalm blesses those who make pilgrimage there and affirms that a single day in God's courts outweighs a thousand spent elsewhere.

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Take it further: Psalm 84 or Psalm 24:7-10

Commentary

Psalm 84 - Longing for God's HousePs 84 - Longing for God's House Enduring Word · David Guzik

A verse-by-verse evangelical study of the psalmist's longing for the temple courts.

Psalm 84:1 CommentariesPs 84:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on the sparrow's nest near the altar.

Psalm 84 Verse-by-Verse CommentaryPs 84 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight

Gill's Exposition read straight through the psalm for a further expositional voice.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 84 (Hebrew and English)Ps 84 (Hebrew and English) Sefaria

The Hebrew of the passage alongside English with linked Jewish commentary.

The Church Fathers

Psalms 84 (Catena)Ps 84 (Catena) Catena

Early church readings of the psalmist's longing for a single day in God's courts.

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