A Song for the Journey (6)

Opening Prayer: Psalm 84.12
O LORD of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Sing Psalm 84.8-12
(Holy Manna: Brethren, We Have Met to Worship)
Lord of hosts, my prayer receiving, hear me, help me by Your grace!
In Your courts I stand believing; turn to me Your glorious face!
Lord, our sun, our shield, our glory, no good thing will You deny
to those who proclaim Your story, and who on Your grace rely.

Read Psalm 84, meditate on verse 12

Preparation
1. What comes to the man who trusts in the Lord? What does that mean?

2. What must we do if we want to be blessed of the Lord?

Meditation
Happiness can be a fickle thing because it depends on circumstances (“hap” or “happenstance”), and circumstances can be unpredictable, fleeting, and disappointing.

But the Bible nevertheless holds out happiness to us – “blessed” here – as something to desire and seek. Biblical happiness is more like joy, in that the “hap” of Biblical happiness is the unchanging and unfailing God Who loves us and calls us into His Presence daily. In God’s Presence is fullness of joy; at His right hand, where Jesus sits, exalted in glory, are holy and eternal pleasures (Ps. 16.11).

That’s enough to make anyone deliriously happy.

We gain the Presence of God by trusting in Him. That Hebrew word,  בָּטַחbatach, means to trust, rely upon, or have confidence in. It actually derives from a Semitic root that means to fall on your face, fully extended. “Trust” indicates a state of quietness and security. We trust in God because He is God, our Creator and sovereign Lord, our Redeemer and Keeper. Trusting in Him we enter His joy and know His peace. God invites us to seek such happiness all along the way in our journey with and toward Him. At any place in our journey, whatever may be our temporal circumstances, our eternal circumstances are unchanging, and we know peace and security as we trust in the Lord.

As we pursue our journey each day in the strength of the Lord (v. 5), following His path (Ps. 1.1-3) and trusting in Him, we may expect to know complete happiness in His unchanging promises, His unfailing Word, and His sustaining Presence.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Jesus was disappointed by His friends. But He trusted in God. And in this trust, He found joy.
He said, “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer,
I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16.32, 33).

He was not counting on anyone or anything to supply His joy and peace.
He knew that the Father was with Him, and this brought Him true happiness.
When we have the same mindset of trust in God, we too will experience true happiness.
He withholds no good thing from us (Ps. 84.11).
We will never be alone. In fact, we will be blessed!

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3.5, 6).

“Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness” (Ps. 37.3).

“Blessed is the man who trusts in You!” (Ps. 84.12)

“Jesus! What a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.
Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me to the end.”
(J. Wilbur Chapman, 1910)

Reflection
1. How would you explain the concepts of “blessing” and “happiness” to a new Christian?

2. From the Christian point of view, what does the “pursuit of happiness” entail?

3. What can keep you from realizing true happiness? How can you overcome that?

Let it be our care to walk uprightly, and then let us trust God to give us every thing that is good for us. If we cannot go to the house of the Lord, we may go by faith to the Lord of the house; in him we shall be happy, and may be easy. That man is really happy, whatever his outward circumstances may be, who trusts in the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob. Matthew Henry (1662-1714, Commentary on the Psalm 84.12

Closing Prayer: Psalm 84.5-7
Ask the Lord to increase your trust in Him. Look to Him throughout the day for the strength you need to follow where He leads, and for the blessings of joy He is preparing for you even now.

Sing Psalm 84.5-7
(Holy Manna: Brethren, We Have Met to Worship)
Blessed are they whose strength is founded in Your strength, O Lord above.
All whose hearts in You are grounded journey in Your strength and love.
Though they weep with tears of sadness, grace shall all their way sustain.
In Your Presence, filled with gladness, they shall conquer all their pain.

T. M. and Susie Moore

You can listen to our summary of last week’s study by clicking here. Psalm 84 is about our pilgrimage in this life, our journey with the Lord and toward the Lord. For an excellent explanation of this journey, and how to make the most of it, write to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and I’ll send you a copy of Jonathan Edwards’ great sermon, “The Christian Pilgrim.”

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.