Psalm 84:5, 6
When Christ returns and the tabernacle of God is with men, as we read in Revelation 21:3, man will have reached the highest point of bliss and glory that is possible for the creature to know and enjoy. It is that blessedness of which Psalm 84 speaks when it declares how amiable, that is, how lovely, God's tabernacles are.
However, those who reach that glory will never boast of having gotten there by their own strength. No, the psalmist states in verses 5, 6, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee: in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well: the rain also filleth the pools."
That valley of Baca is explained in our versification thus (PRC Psalter):
Blest they who in Thy house abide,
They still to Thee shall render praise;
Blest they who in Thy strength confide,
And in whose hearts are Zion's ways;
Though passing through the vale of tears,
Like springs of joy Thy grace appears.
The valley of Baca is a valley of tears. It is what David calls the valley of the shadow of death (Ps. 23:4). Significant is that statement in the Psalm that our strength is in God. Only because of that fact can we want to be in God's house, and can we walk on the way to it. We have absolutely no room to boast, not even for the desire to dwell with God. We have every reason always to thank God for every bit of our salvation and the desire for it. That the ways of those who reach that glory is in their hearts is because God put it there. Faith is God's gift to us, not our gift to Him. We were created in Christ Jesus unto good works and do not create ourselves by good works (Eph. 2:8-10).
If reaching God's house depends upon one thing we must do, it is hopeless. Ephesians 2:1 tells us that we were dead in trespasses and sin. Our assurance, all of it, rests upon the truth that our spiritual strength is in God and that He gives it to us in His grace in Christ.
Read: Ephesians 2
Psalter versification: #229:3
(Words and Music of the Psalter)
Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
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Song for Meditation: Psalter #51
Why not sing along??
Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Isaiah 10 ; Isaiah 11:1-16
2 Corinthians 12:11-21
Psalm 56:1-13
Proverbs 23:6-8
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Quote for Reflection:
"Rejoice that the immortal God is born that mortal men might live in eternity." ~ John Hus
Additional Info
- Date: 12-September
Heys, John A.
Rev. John A. Heys was born on March 16, 1910 in Grand Rapids, MI. He was ordained and installed into the ministry at Hope, Walker, MI in 1941. He later served at Hull, Iowa beginning in 1955. In 1959 he accepted the call to serve the South Holland, IL Protestant Reformed Church. He received and accepted the call to Holland, Michigan Protestant Reformed Church in 1967. He retired from the active ministry in 1980. He entered into glory on February 16, 1998.