On Being a Doorkeeper

Scripture Reading: Joshua 10; Luke 9; Psalm 84

My friend Tom used to quote Psalm 84:10 a lot:

“I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
And I think he meant it. He lived like he meant it.

Okay, I get it—we can’t technically call a church building “the house of God.” Not in the same way the temple was. And Tom wasn’t some theological Luddite. He knew that.

His point wasn’t about the building itself, but about what happened there—God’s people gathering to worship, to pray, to hear the Word. That mattered to him deeply. He didn’t need to be on stage or in the spotlight. He just loved being there.

He loved Sundays. He loved being with God’s people. He missed it when he couldn’t be there.

So, don’t get bogged down in the distinctions between the Old Testament temple and the New Testament church. Those distinctions are real and important—I trust you know them. But here’s the point: there ought to be a deep affection in every believer’s heart for the gathered people of God.

I hope you feel that. I hope Psalm 84 stirs something in you too.

There’s a line in The Valley of Vision, a book of Puritan prayers, that puts it well:

“Lord, help me not to treat excellent matters in a defective way.”

To that I say, Amen.