No place like Home!

Introduction:

“Romans gave Luther his theology, but it was the Psalms that gave him his thunder”-Steven Lawson

“The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delights in God which made David dance”-C.S Lewis (2 Samuel 6:14-23)

“Whenever I read the psalms, I feel like I am eaves dropping on a saint having a personal conversation with God”-R.C Sproul

“It has been said by church historians that in those periods of Christian history where renewal, revival, and awakening took place and the church was at its strongest, that coincidental with those periods in church history, there was a strong focus on the psalms in the life of God's people-particularly in the worship of God's people.”-R.C Sproul

Psalms for You A Song to Stir Our Hearts

When writing the articles for the conduct of worship in Geneva in the sixteenth century, John Calvin wrote:

“Certainly at present the prayers of the faithful are so cold that we should be greatly ashamed and confused. The Psalms can stimulate us to raise our hearts to God and arouse us to an ardour in invoking as well as in exalting with praises the glory of His name.”

Read Psalm 84 “To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of…”

These sons of Korah were Levites, from the family of Kohath. By David’s time it seems they served in the musical aspect of the temple worship (2 Chronicles 20:19).

Korah led a rebellion of 250 community leaders against Moses during the wilderness days of the Exodus (Numbers 16). God judged Korah and his leaders and they all died, but the sons of Korah remained (Numbers 26:9-11). Perhaps they were so grateful for this mercy that they became notable in Israel for praising God.

Charles Spurgeon said Psalm 84 was entitled “to be called The Pearl of Psalms. If the twenty-third be the most popular, the one-hundred-and-third the most joyful, the one-hundred-and-nineteenth the most deeply experiential, the fifty-first the most plaintive, this is one of the most sweet of the Psalms of Peace.”

To love Jesus is to love his House. (vs.1-4)

The psalmist here in this passage is singing a psalm of praise. The affections of his heart were clear He loved the house of God the gathering of the saints because that is where Jesus is most present.

In John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Whats interesting is the word that is used there skēnoō for “dwelt” in Greek which means to “to live” “to take up residence” and its in a verb tense which also means in its verb tense to actively pitch a tent with or to live with.

This matters for a host of reasons number one being that Jesus being with his people is not only what he does but its who he is. He is the God that came down to save his people and to dwell with his people.

Here is the kicker this reality is not individualistic in nature but communal in nature. Let me make plain in other words it can never be just you and Jesus and that's its. To walk with Jesus and to be with Jesus is to also be with his church.

In the first verse the psalmist talks about how lovely God’s dwelling place is in general then in vs 2 he double downs and makes it personal and talks about his own affections for the courts of the Lord.

His heart, mind, and soul has a deep desire and intense affections to be where The Lord dwells.

Psalms for You Longing for the Blessings of Home

The living God is the source of all life that is truly life. The whole person of this believer is entirely oriented—is turned in affection and desire—towards the living God who at that time made himself known in the temple. No facet of the believer’s existence looks elsewhere for life or anything that makes life worth living.

The psalmist’s appreciation for God’s house wasn’t simply because it was beautiful. His soul longed for God’s house, and even faints when denied the privilege of meeting with God among His people.

This was deep feeling. Not every love is so great as to make a longing. Not every longing is so great as to make a fainting.

There is not many things the affections of my heart and the longing of my soul are moved for. I have deep affection and love for my bride. I want her I need her I cant go without her I tolerate everyone else.

Let me also say that I know that the church is not perfect and for a lot people this is hard to here when some of the meanest most judgmental people you've encountered were in and from the church.

That being said if you think people were less jacked up in the tabernacle when the psalmist wrote this then you are not reading your bible and your wrong. Sometimes we think that we are the only era in church history to deal with people in the church that have been legalistic, Pharisaical, and judgmental. Those things are not unique to church history people like that have been around since the ministry of Jesus.

We don’t get to use the fact that the church is messy and people are messy as a meal ticket and excuse to abandon the church because despite the sinful people in the church the church is the bride of Christ. Jesus died for the church and all her mess. Also lets not forget the church is messy because you and I are messy.

To long for Jesus and love Jesus is inseparable from longing and loving his church. Check your heart on this its okay to admit you've had some reservations and even disdain towards the church but its not okay to stay there. Ask the Lord to change your heart as it pertains to his church.

“There was no superstition in this love. He loved the house of God because he loved the God of the house. His heart and flesh cried out, not for the altar and the candlestick, but for his God.” (Spurgeon)

Your love for the house of God is more about him than the people. That being said the more you grab hold of Jesus and understand the gospel your love for his people will grow because the reality of the gospel is both horizontal and vertical. Jesus saved you and reconciled you back to God but also saved you unto one another.

Psalms for You Longing for the Blessings of Home

All these longings find their fulfilment in Jesus Christ, the One who is “greater than the temple” (Matthew 12:6). He is the sacrifice for sinners offered on the altar (Hebrews 9:28). He is the place where God tabernacled upon earth (John 1:14). He is the One in whom access to God the Father is found by sinners on earth (Ephesians 2:18). He is the One in whom the life of the living God has appeared (John 1:18). Now, by his Spirit, the church of Jesus Christ is the temple of the living God (1 Corinthians 3:16)

There is a place for everyone in the house of God no matter where you are in life no matter what you've been through. That’s whats communicated in vs. 3

Boice offered that the sparrow is an example of a bird of small significance and the swallow is a picture of restlessness. Likewise, the insignificant can find his place in the house of God, and the restless man can find his rest (nest) there – near God’s altar.

Knowing that we have a permanent place as believers in the house of God and can find our rest in him is is worthy of our ever praise as vs 4 says. Its easy to praise him with life going your way will you still praise him with you feel like nothing is going your way and the weight of living in a fallen world is more than you can bare will you still praise him then?

Read Psalm 84:4 “Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah”

“It is not enough to praise him, it must be a praising him still, before it will make a blessedness; and though to praise God be an easy matter, yet to praise him still, will be found a busy work.” (Baker, cited in Spurgeon)

2. The head of the church is your strength. (vs.5-7)

In the ESV when it used the word highways other translations like the NIV use the work pilgrimage there. Pilgrimage in context is highways. Simply communicating the point here that in this life the world is not our home so we are traveling through this world as aliens as some translations say. As Christians this is not our home ultimately our home is where Jesus is and this is why the church is often symbolically referred to as God’s house. Because his people are gathered together in the name of God the son Jesus Christ.

The man who finds his strength in God is also the one whose heart is set on pilgrimage. He does not rely on self or the world for strength, but considers himself a visitor, a traveler, a pilgrim in this world. His true strength and treasure are in the world to come.

Psalms for You (Looking for the Blessings of Pilgrimage)

The point is that here are those who, because their love is fixed upon Zion, cannot stop thinking about the journey to Zion. Because they love home, they want every step of their lives to be a part of the journey home. They are not wandering aimlessly through this life; they are deliberately, intentionally and consciously heading for home. Like a pilgrim walking up to Jerusalem for one of the great old-covenant festivals, they walk through life with their hearts set on their beautiful destination.

This strength and heart of a pilgrim are displayed by the love for the house of God. There he meets with God, along with other pilgrims, and they gain strength in God together as they meet.

This all makes much sense once we get to vs.6 where it mentions going through the valley. In this life we go through valleys meaning painstakingly hard season we need two things Jesus to be our strength and we need the pilgrimage, the village the family of the house of God the church.

See don’t miss this here the gathering of the local church is the means by which Christ uses to strengthen us to be strong in the valley when we are away from the gathering.

The christian whom is strong because Christ is there strength is the christian who is deeply devoted and commited to his church these two realities are inseparable.

Show me the christian that has gone rogue living this life apart from the church and I’ll show you the christian that is not walking in the provision and promises of God.

This whole psalm should do a few things for you being, check your heart to see how you view the church, long for Jesus, and to be ready for the time when we are all together with Jesus in glory for eternity.

Psalms for You Looking for the Blessings of Pilgrimage

Singing this psalm will stir in us this longing for home in such a way that we are able to view all of life as a highway heading to the new Jerusalem, where we shall dwell with God because of Jesus our Saviour.

3. Stay close to Jesus. (vs 8-12)

So now in this passage the psalmist mid praise starts praying. The psalmist grounded his plea in the long history of God’s dealing with His covenant people. That same God who blessed and was faithful to Jacob will also be faithful to His people today.

He prays that God would hear him and makes the declaration that God is our shield and makes the declaration that we are anointed.

I often for get that his face is upon me, that because I am in Christ I am anointed, and that he is my shield in this life.

Then we see the apex of this passage in verse 10. This verse is the declaration of the heart of someone that really gets it. It makes me think of what the apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:8 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”

Do you want Jesus this much? Do you want to be with him? Do you want to be close to Jesus? Do you recognize your desperate need for Jesus? If the answer to any of these is no if your being very honest don’t leave today without getting that right.

6512 When Jesus is present, all is good and nothing seems difficult; but when Jesus is absent, all is hard.

Thomas à Kempis

“Of course the psalmist means a thousand days spent elsewhere. Under the most favorable circumstances in which earth's pleasures can be enjoyed, they are not comparable by so much as one in a thousand to the delights of the service of God. To feel his love, to rejoice in the person of the anointed Savior, to survey the promises and feel the power of the Holy Spirit in applying precious truth to the soul, is a joy which worldlings cannot understand—but which true believers are ravished with. Even a glimpse at the love of God, is better than ages spent in the pleasures of sense.”-Charles Spurgeon

“The lowest station in connection with the Lord's house is better than the highest position among the godless. Only to wait at his threshold and peep within, so as to see Jesus, is bliss. To bear burdens and open doors for the Lord is more honour than to reign among the wicked. Every man has his choice, and this is ours. God's worst is better than the devil's best. God's doorstep is a happier rest than downy couches within the pavilions of royal sinners, though we might lie there for a lifetime of luxury. Note how he calls the tabernacle "the house of my God;" there's where the sweetness lies: if Jehovah be our God, his house, his altars, his doorstep, all become precious to us. We know by experience that where Jesus is within, the outside of the house is better than the noblest chambers where the Son of God is not to be found.”-Charles Spurgeon

Living for Jesus and walking with Jesus even if it means a lowly life where you may not have a lot money, not the perfect job, not the perfect living situation, not the most perfect health than it is to dwell in the tents of wickedness. The pathway of wickedness may very well get you all the desires of your flesh and the selfish desires of your heart but you won’t have Jesus and it does not compare to all that you can have in Christ.

Jesus is better, being with the saints in the local church is better. There are a lot of other places we could go and be doing but it does not compare to gathering with the saints. If this not where you are spiritually at what point do you stop pointing the finger at your church hurt experiences and people that have wronged you in a church and start praying Jesus change my heart to love your church. Jesus change my desires to love your church to want your church, to prioritize your church.

To often we underestimate the power of God to change our hearts. If you know you feel a certain way about the church that is not becoming of a christian as a christian why are you sitting in your feelings and not asking the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to come upon you and change you.

God will never deny the person that prays that he would change there heart look at the second half of vs 11. He withholds NO GOOD THING from you christian so walk uprightly. Praying that Jesus what change are heart that you may live for him the way his word commands you too and to love his church the way he does will never be denied or witheld he will do it.

Christ will always be our strength and give us what we need to walk uprightly. Paul said in Romans 8:11 “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

Thats where we find our rest in him in Jesus The Christ. Blessed are those who trust him