Sing for joy

 

“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.” Psalm 84: 1, 2

We were walking the Banadad Trail in an interlude last week between snows and rains. The balsam trees lining the trail were dripping from the previous rain. Sunshine was breaking through the thick forest, reflecting off the thick covering of leaves and cone fragments left by hungry squirrels on the path in front of us. The scene was beautiful and peaceful, but it was also unusually quiet. Of course, on the wet leaves, our footsteps were as quiet as can be.

There was very little breeze, all was silent, and then around us, the forest burst into song. Not having trained my ear to recognize the species by the bird song, I can’t tell you the names of all the birds that surrounded us. By sight, I could tell that we had chickadees and nuthatches, and there were more I could not see clearly in the thick of the upper branches.

But I can definitely tell you that at least four species were singing together. It was marvelous. Like many before me, I felt I was witness to the choir of God singing for joy. Like many before me, I knew I was in a sanctuary.

Later this week, I was sharing Psalm 84, which is appointed for this Sunday worship, with my Bible study friends at the Care Center. The third and fourth verses brought me back to that moment on the Banadad Trail and to many other occasions when bird song has erupted in the trees around me. “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at thy altars, O LORD of hosts, my king, and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in thy house, ever singing thy praise!”

I suppose after reading the psalm, one could picture birds nesting in the eaves of a physical house, but I think this psalm leads us to a more expansive view of God’s dwelling place and, therefore, our own dwellings as well as that of the birds. This psalm speaks about the dwelling, the courts, the altars, and the house of the LORD, but these things cannot be pinpointed to one geographic place.

Although we think about the one temple in Jerusalem at the time the psalm was written, I hear the psalm suggesting that the singing for joy begins in the longing and anticipation, which is not tied to a location. Therefore the experience of the presence of the LORD is equally wide. The psalm is speaking about a spiritual condition that travels with the one who has learned to praise. And so the choir of birds reminds me that they have been making their nests and raising their young at the altars of God in the sanctuary of trees I love. And a walk in the woods becomes another occasion to say, “How lovely is thy dwelling place.”

Verse 5 speaks about the blessing that comes to those whose hearts are striving to follow the paths of God. For those who long and hope for God, the epiphanies and visions of the place where God dwells come anywhere and everywhere. Psalm 84, verse 6, even uses another image that speaks directly to our lives here on the edge of the boreal forest. “Those who go through the balsam valley will find it a place of springs.”

There is such a beauty and blessing readily available to so many people through the experience of God’s creation. The image of the balsam valley in Psalm 84 definitely speaks to me, because the forest is a special place for me. Studies have shown how spending time outside in natural settings is physically and emotionally healthful. One does not need to be a person of faith to reap benefits from God’s creation. Faith and trust, however, adds that quality of spiritual blessing, a layering of reverence, an appreciation of holiness, and the impetus to praise.

Faith offers a lens to recognize the sacred presence of God. And for me, I know there is the extra joy of not only remembering the psalms during my walks but also in worship hearing the congregation speak these inspired words as we praise God together. “Blessed are those who dwell in thy house, ever singing thy praise!”

Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month our contributor is Reverend Mark Ditmanson of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais.