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To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.…For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness (Ps. 84:1-4, 10).
The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her. The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah. (Ps. 87:2-6).
These passages from the Psalms remind us that the Lord loves His Church — it is the dwelling place of His habitation and the focus of His blessing — and we ought to love and long for the Church too.
William Swan Plumer’s commentary on these Psalms gives helpful application on this point. Ps. 84:
The appointed worship of the true God has in all ages possessed great attractions for the regenerate….My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God, q. d., my whole nature is intensely wrought up to desire not only the privilege of worship, but actual communion with God. Without God all rites, though divinely appointed, profit not….The blessings connected with a regular and devout attendance at God’s house are so many and so great that the strongest terms may well be employed to describe them. Even the visitor of the sanctuary may be blessed, but those who dwell there are sure of great and numerous mercies….If we are not pleased with the solemn worship of God, it is because we lack the true spirit of devotion, and if we lack the spirit of devotion, we have no piety, vv. 1, 4….As true piety prevails, love for the worship of God increases….If our love to God and his house were as strong as it should be, as strong as it was in the bosom of the Psalmist, we should not find it necessary to spend so much time in seeking for evidences of a renewed state, and for marks of gracious affections, V. 10. Love is its own evidence. When it commands the soul, we cannot doubt its existence. When one desires God's word more than his necessary food, when he thinks it the highest privilege to be a worshipper of God, when he joyfully resigns his all to Jehovah, then his evidences are usually comfortable.
Plumer on Ps. 87:
God ought to be publicly worshipped. He is thereby honored. We should celebrate his works. Redemption is his chief work. As such worship is honorable, so it is pleasing to God….God's worship and presence dignify any place, thing or person pertaining to his service….To the end of the world they will be mentioned with respect by the best men of each succeeding generation….If we are truly pious, we will love all that God loves; and so we will love his church, v. 2….She is our mother. She is the spouse of Christ. She is the Lamb's wife. She is all glorious within. The glories of earthly kingdoms fade away before the glories of Zion, as the light of the stars is no longer visible when the sun rises.
Do you, Christian, like the Psalmist, long for the courts of God, that is, the Church? Do you know how much the Lord loves the gates of Zion, that is, the Church? If it is your heart’s desire to commune with God among His people, not merely in the outward observance of His ordinances of public worship, but with sincere inward devotion, that is evidence of a heart that loves what God Himself delights in. As the Christian Sabbath, or the Lord’s Day, approaches, may this heart be in each of us, and may we love the Lamb’s wife, the Spouse of Christ, as He indeed loves the Church.
