the highways to zion

Café Church at St. Mary’s tonight included worship & reflection based on Psalm 84 (using fave Matt Redman song “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere” from Ps 84 v10)

Here the Psalmist famously majors on the joy of worship in Temple & Church, with the first 4 verses crying out :

How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yea, faints for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God ….
Blessed are those who dwell in thy house, ever singing thy praise!

But then notice the verse that follows, adding this fascinating counterpoint to worship in buildings & services :

Blessed are those whose strength is in thee,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion (Ps 84 v5)

What a promise for us to pray into as we begin this journey : oh for there to be “Highways to Zion” paving the way to Him in our hearts! Thank God for such a glorious & radical invitation (even in Old Testament times) to search for the Holy One within …

And then, as if that weren’t enough to set pulses racing already, the next couple of verses describe a wonderful transformation flowing out from would-be “holy joes” who take up the challenge, even as they quest after His presence. (Valley of Baca here, meaning dry habitat of balsam trees, has also been translated literally as the “vale of tears”) :

As they go through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs ….
They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion

Seek earnestly after the Lord with our innermost being, the Psalm is saying, and not only we ourselves, but the very environment around us blossoms joyfully into life … and then (Glory!) even God Himself is made visible!

Lord please open up “Highways to Zion” in my heart I pray, and show me how truly to pursue your Holy presence with all that is within me …