Gatekeepers In God’s House

Psalm 84:8-12

8O LORD God Almighty, hear my prayer.

Listen, O God of Israel.

Interlude

9O God, look with favor upon the king, our protector!

Have mercy on the one you have anointed.

10A single day in your courts

is better than a thousand anywhere else!

I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God

than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.

11For the LORD God is our light and protector.

He gives us grace and glory.

No good thing will the LORD withhold

from those who do what is right.

12O LORD Almighty,

happy are those who trust in you.

History is full of examples of Christians who gave up lucrative careers to serve God full-time, such as Matthew, the tax collector; Augustine, the promising politician; and Martin Luther, who chose not to pursue law but to become a priest.

When Thomas Aquinas, a respected doctor of philosophy, chose to become a monk, he explained his decision by citing Psalm 84:10: “I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.”

A gatekeeper was a servant at the Temple. For anyone of status, it would seem to be a major step down. Yet the psalmist considers it an important career move. Serving in God’s house is better than being served anywhere else, for God will see that your greatest needs are taken care of.

This is what made Francis of Assisi reject a retailing career, what made track star Eric Liddell become a missionary, and what made David Livingstone take his medical training to the heart of Africa. They were gatekeepers, all of them, serving God by letting people into his presence. Think of all the people who have been ushered into God’s presence with the help of such servants!

Not everyone is called to full-time service in the church, but we should all be doing what God has called us to. No matter what else you are doing in life, find a way to be one of God’s gatekeepers. It’s a great job, and the benefits are tremendous!

To serve the present age,

My calling to fulfill;

O may it all my powers engage

To do my Master’s will!

CHARLES WESLEY

Bible Networking

See the New Testament job description for a gatekeeper in Matthew 28:19-20.

Notable Quotable

“These poets [the psalmists] knew far less reason than we for loving God. They did not know that He offered them eternal joy; still less that He would die to win it for them. Yet they express a longing for Him, for His mere presence. . . . They long to live all their days in the Temple. . . . Only there can they be at ease, like a bird in the nest (Psalm 84:3). One day of these ‘pleasures’ is better than a lifetime spent elsewhere (84:10).”

C. S. LEWIS