But Psalm 84 has been quite special. The wall behind the altar at my aforementioned congregation, St. Peter Lutheran Church, is a little further back than the rest of the wall - if you look, you can see the reflection of the stained glass windows on the wall to the right and left of the cross. Sometimes birds (no idea if they were sparrows, swallows, or what) built their nests on the ledges outside that stained glass. Beautiful to see Psalm 84:3 come to life at the altar of the Lord of hosts.
The psalm also brought to my mind this quote from CFW Walther, which I needed to read again (and I especially needed to read the part that I omitted in the quote below):
My Friends: -When a place has been assigned to a Lutheran cadidate of theology where he is to discharge the office of a Lutheran minister, that place ought to be to him the dearest, most beautiful, and most precious spot on earth. He should be unwilling to exchange it for a kingdom. Whether it is in a metropolois or in a small town, on a bleak prairie or in a clearing in the forest, in a flourishing settlement or in a desert, to him it should be a miniature paradise. Do not the blessed angels descend from heaven with great joy whenever the Father in heaven sends them to minister to those who are to be heirs of salvation? Why, then, should we poor sinners be unwilling to hurry after them with great joy to any place where we can lead other men, our fellow-sinners, to salvation?... But now the question arises: What is the matter of chief concern to a minister who wants to attain this glorious object? He must approach the Lord with hearfelt prayer and earnest entreaties in behalf of his congregation and, when preaching the Word of God with great zeal publicly and privately, jointly or severally, rightly divide the Word of Truth. (Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, pg. 207-209)
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