Psalm 84

CIT: How wonderful it is to be in the Lord’s presence.

CIS: In order for us to long for Christ, we must first adore Christ.

SO: That the people of our church would grow in affection for Christ and His church.

2 Cor 3:18 - from glory to glory

Romans 1:17 from faith to faith

adoring = longing = adoring

A sandwich with one slice or no slices = is not a sandwich

Intro:

During wartime, there are many tragedies. One of the worst is when two people, who love each other deeply, are separated. When apart, they long to be in each other’s presence. Wherever that may be, being in the other’s loving arms is what they desire the most. It could be at the taj mahal or garbage dump, both are desirable not because of what is there but because of who is there. This separation, creates in them not a new love but a realization of it. It creates in them a pining that makes them obsess over the other.

There is a term that is used for this obsession. It’s called lovesick.

Meaning that the relationship that these two people have is so intertwined, they have such an overflowing love, that when one is absent, they find it difficult to function.

When they are driving down the road they are thinking so much about the color of their loved one’s eyes that they miss the color of the traffic light.

They are so caught up in missing the sound of their beloved’s voice that they miss the the sound of the kitchen timer and burn their meal.

What I love about Psalm 84 is that it describes very well this overflowing love or lovesick feeling.

The author isn’t love sick for another human, he is lovesick for his God.

To be near Him, to worship Him, to feel His gaze once again.

My prayer for you this morning is that through Psalm 84, it will kindle such a love for Christ and His presence, that when absent from it you long for it.

Sandwich

Psalm 84 has a structure that is like a sandwich. A sandwich that has adoring as the bread and longing as the meat. What this implies to us is that if you don’t long for Christ, it’s because you don’t adore Christ.

To put it another way, Adoring leads to longing.

The lovesick couple during wartime don’t adore because they long. They long because they adore.

Heaven is being with Christ and worshiping Christ

Verse 1-4 & 9-12: Adoring Christ

Behold your savior

Verse 1: How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord of Armies.

Lovely = beloved

Sense of longing

Dwelling place = tabernacle = temple

Lord of Armies = Lord of the heavenly armies

If the universe were world war 2, God would be the supreme high commander

He is above all

He is in charge of all

Verse 2: I long and yearn for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.

Long and yearn

This is lovesick language or language that communicates an overflowing love for another

Long in Hebrew means to be eclipsed

Yearn or in other translations pine

Heart and flesh

a metaphor for entire being. Like everything from his heart to his flesh which included his heart in the middle

Cry out

Some translate this as an utterance of joy but it’s better understood as an utterance of pain.

Given the context of Psalm 84, the Psalmist being separated from his beloved, feels tormented, he is suffering, to put it in a modern term, he’s riding the struggle bus

Verses 1-2

Set the reader up very well for the whole chapter. If we were deployed together overseas and you saw me in distress. You might ask me, what is causing me to be in such pain. I can’t just tell you I’m lovesick or I have an overflowing love for my wife Charis, that really doesn’t do justice to my wife. I have to try to help you understand why. Who is this person that I have a love that is so strong, that when separated from her, I feel like I’m being ripped apart. I would describe her to you, not simply physically but I would also describe her heart and her mind. Her beauty inside and out. She is so radiant, that just being in the same room as her, cause love to stir up. That’s verse 1, verse 2 describes the pain, which now knowing who I’m talking about, makes sense. You might even start to be lovesick for my wife as well. You might share in my pain, wanting to be close to this person.

This is how Christians should be. We should have such an overflowing love for Christ and His church that we pine for it, we suffer when we are without it. We struggle when we are apart from it.

Verse 3: Even a sparrow finds a home, and a swallow, a nest for herself where she places her young- near your altars, Lord of Armies, my King and my God.

Anyone watch Saved by the Bell, I mean the original… Yes I’m that old, no I’m not that old… Remember Screech? How he was crazy about Lisa? I remember one scene, they were at the restaurant they normally ate at and Lisa and Screech were sitting across from each other. Lisa was was drinking a soda and screech said, “how I long to be that straw” He wasn’t envying the staw’s higher status. In fact to be the straw would be a step down in many ways. Except one. The proximity and access it had to the one he loved.

The same way the Psalmist, envyes these birds. Not because they would be a step up in power or wealth, in fact the birds would be a step down in many ways. If he actually became the birds he would be sacrificing much. But how much more would he gain by being near to God. By being in his presence, it would have been worth every sacrifice.

Verse 4: How happy are those who reside in your house, who praise you continually.

This verse is turning from the birds to the priests and the worship leaders of the temple. In the age of the temple, the priests were in charge of caring for the temple and there would be singers and musicians who would lead worship during services. The priests and worship team you could call them, all lived very close to the tabernacle so they could be ready for a service at any time. Their whole life revolved around the temple and worship. Where they lived, when they went to sleep, when they woke up, everyday the temple of God and worshiping Him was at the very least considered.

The psalmist expressing how much more he envies them. He envies them over the birds! The birds are in God’s presence and they don’t even know it. He would gladly settle for that, but how much better would it be to be a priest or a worship leader who get to be in God’s presence and worship him. This is what the Psalmist desires more than anything. Not to just sit passively in God’s presence but to be actively glorifying His King, the lord of Armies, the living God, his beloved, in worship is his greatest desire.

Skipping to Verse 9-10: Consider our shield, God; look on the face of your anointed one. Better a day in your courts than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to live in the tents of wicked people.

Verse 9 is the biggest tell or sign that this was at least written by a king most likely King David.

In ancient times, the king was often considered a shield for the country. Especially for Israel, where the King was anointed or chosen by God.

This verse is pleads for God to consider Him. To at least think about him. More than that, could you look at me! Look at me so I might know that you haven’t forgotten me!

I would rather spend one day with you than a thousand anywhere else. Again more lovesick or overflowing love language. Only someone who is absolutely head-over heals in love would say something like this! He would even rather stand on the outside of the tabernacle than to live in the tents of the wicked.

This is insane! Why would anyone prefer to be outside someplace over being sheltered somewhere else. No wonder those who aren’t Christian think we’re crazy. Why would anyone chose that life. A life out in the sun, exposed to the elements, verses safe in a tent.

Why? It’s not about the location. It’s not about what’s there. It’s about who is there!

God is worth the elements, he is worth the pain of the scorching sun, the Psalmist would be happier sacrificing his flesh and having the chance to hear the faint sound of the worship music through or over the walls feeding his heart and soul. Than to protect his flesh and starve his heart and soul.

How often do we have this reversed.

How many of us have sacrificed worship in favor of our flesh?

How often we forfeit true comfort found with being in God’s presence with other believers over our preferences or comforts.

We would rather say no to Christ and his body than say no to our flesh.

Verse 11-12: For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The lord grants favor and honor; he does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity. Happy is the person who trusts in you. Lord of Armies!

For the Lord is a sun and shield

In good times the lord is the sun that produces that goodness. In bad times the lord is our protection.

You think you have it good in your tent? Let me tell you about my Jahovah God who is truly good. I am happier on threshold of my fathers house than I would ever be in the tents of the wicked.

Longing:

Verses 5-8: Happy are the people whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a source of spring water; even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings. They go from strength to strength; each appears before God in Zion. Lord God of Armies, hear my prayer; listen God of Jacob.

The valley of Baca. The meaning of this is a little vague. It could mean valley of weeping. Kind of like a valley of darkness. Think death valley, where it is so treacherous that it produces weeping for those who try to traverse it.

There is also a tree with a similar name. The tree drips sap, or weeps sap, and that’s where it get’s its name from. It’s a weeping tree. In fact, there is a valley near the saini peninsula where these trees grow. So, this verse could be referencing this sandy valley with all its weeping trees that a pilgrim on their way to Jerusalem would pass through.

Either way, quoting J. J. Perowne <Per-ow-n> Psalm 84:6 (BPNTINECVII): The meaning of the verse is, that the faith and hope and joy of the pilgrims make the sandy waste a place of fountains, and then (this is the Divine side of the picture) God from heaven sends down the rain of His grace. The word denotes the soft, gentle autumnal rain (Joel 2:23) which fell after the crops were sown. Thus the Vale of Weeping becomes a Vale of Joy.

Doesn’t this sound like church? Hear me out. What happens when you take sinful, hard hearted, stiff necked people and put them in a large group together and say, do life together.

Is there any wonder that there is conflict in church? Is there any wonder that there is pain in church?

Let me put it this way, if you tell me that you have been a member of any church, but tell me that you have never been hurt by someone in the church, I am going to doubt you were ever really at that church at all. You may have shown up. You may have even tithed. But, there is no way, you are going to truly belong to any group of people, without there being pain, dare i say even weeping.

But… But… Behold our savior. The savior who is worth it all. The God who takes our pain and turns it for good. The Lord who is good. So good that, that we can and should trust whole heartedly. So much so that even when it doesn’t make sense, we do what he says anyway. Because we know we may want what is good for us, but he wants what is best.

He is so good, that somehow through the vale weeping that we endure by being a part of a church, becomes a vale of joy.

The Psalmist, who adores God, is separated from his courts. This creates a longing a deep desire to be with his beloved again.

Again, adoring leads to longing.

Going back to the wartime analogy, there is very little that can compare to what’s called the freedom bird. The first step in going back home. It’s called a freedom bird because it’s usually a helicopter an airplane. When you see that freedom bird, the things that happened in the past seems to fade away and the excitement for the journey ahead begins. The count down starts and the anticipation rises for arriving home and being with your beloved again. It doesn’t matter how long it will take, I’m going home! It doesn’t matter what I have to do to get home, I’m going home!

What did we hear last week in Ps. 73 - My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart.

My strength isn’t in the journey, it’s who is waiting for me. If I have to go through the worst valley. To get to my beloved, I will do it! In fact, I’ll be happy to because it’s one step closer to my loved one.

In fact, in this journey, I will get stronger and stronger. That’s the meaning of strength to strength. Going from one level to strength to a higher level. Things that would crush others, isn’t crushing me. It’s actually doing good.

I had a classmate in my preaching class that would ask this question after a sermon… it was, “Now what?”

In other words, after hearing Ps 84 and how adoration leads to longing. How our strength should be in God who will meet us at the end of our destination… now what. What am I supposed to do with this?

First, we have have to understand that the church is today’s tabernacle. Not the building, but the gathering of God’s people is the tabernacle.

1 Corinthians 6:19, “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.”

That means that today’s equivalent of the Psalmist’s longing is the church. The gathering of His people.

Let’s be honest, how many of us have been lovesick for the church? How many of us struggle coming to church?

If you’re a parent, I know you hear me. The kids can’t find their shoes. The kids can’t find their coat. The kids are hungry. The kids are fighting.

To me that is the equivalent of the valley of weeping.

How many of us want to give up the journey getting to our beloved when things get tough.

How many of us would rather stay in the tent of the wicked instead of traversing some difficulty to be with God and his people.

Maybe we don’t have a longing to be with God because we don’t adore God like we should.

Maybe we don’t have an overflowing love for Christ that overflows to his people.

But we have access to this overflowing love.

Trinity

Let me tell you more about our God. There is one God, who exists in three persons. Each person is fully God in every way. Infanently perfect. Meaning, perfect in an infanent amount of ways. These three exist in love for the other two. God the father has a lovesick or overflowing love for God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. God the Son has a lovesick or overflowing love for God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. And God the Holy Spirit has a lovesick or overflowing love for God the Father and God the Son.

When we lack affection for Christ. When we don’t long for Him and his church, we don’t have to work harder. We don’t have to dig deeper.

bored to busy back to bored

open up to the Holy Spirit, ask him to reveal, and marvel

Open our eyes

Open ourselves

Open God’s Word

Open up to Christ’s body

Open our eyes

Luke 7:36-50 tells of a story of a woman crying and wiping Jesus’s feet with her hair. One of the pharisees didn’t think this was acceptable for a sinner to be touching this Rabbi. Then Jesus confronted the Pharisee. He said:

Luke 7:41–47 (CSB): 41 “A creditor had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii,, and the other fifty. 42 Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one he forgave more.” “You have judged correctly,” he told him. 44 Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she, with her tears, has washed my feet and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since I came in. 46 You didn’t anoint my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. 47 Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Satan like to blind us of who we are. If you are a Christian, you are forgiven. When we lose sight of our sins and all that we are constantly given mercy for, we lose affection. To increase affection we need to open our eyes to Christ our savior, forgiver of sins.

Open ourselves

Let me ask you, what happened in Acts chapter 2 after the Holy Spirit descended on the people. One of the things was that everyone sacrificed for the sake of the church gladly. You have access to someone who already has an overflowing love for Christ and that is the Holy Spirit. The member of the Trinity who is within you.

The Israelites endured hardship and struggle and vallies of weeping on their pilgrimage to the comfort that was found in the presence of God.

We are so blessed to have that comfort and that comforter with us on our pilgrimage.

Open God’s Word

If you want to get to know my wife better, you would go hear what she has to say about herself. Charis knows Charis best.

God has blessed us with everything we need to know about Him right here.

If we open our eyes to how much we have been forgiven, open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, and Open God’s word, we will grow in adoration for Christ and long to be with his people.

Open up to a community

There is nothing

Prayer

Communion

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (CSB): On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.