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Verse:Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young— Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. —Psalm 84:3
Passer domesticus, the house sparrow, is the most common bird in the world. Sparrows are typically about six inches long and weigh about an ounce.
And they are adaptable.
They have been seen feeding eighty floors up on the Empire State Building and spotted breeding in an English coal mine two thousand feet below ground. They thrive around people, but they are vulnerable —to cats, birds of prey, rodents, and humans. Only one in five hatchlings make it to their first breeding season. The picture painted of the sparrow in Psalms is especially poignant— a beautiful picture: a vulnerable, defenseless, tiny bird, finding refuge in God’s house.
The psalm begins, How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God (Psalm 84:1, 2). It goes on to say, “Blessed are those who dwell in your house” (verse 4). Even a little bird is safe, protected, and secure in God’s house. Where do you look when you’re worried or concerned, when you feel vulnerable? Where do you find hope? To whom do you turn in those moments when life is squeezing you, when the world seems to be against you, or when you need to feel safe, secure, and sheltered? God has shown us that He offers us safety even in the storms of life.
He protected Noah and his family in an ark while floodwaters covered the earth. Moses was cradled in a basket boat when a royal decree threatened his life.
Three young Hebrews were shielded by Jesus Himself in a fiery furnace, and Daniel was protected from certain death in a den of lions.
Like a mother bird sheltering her Young