Psalm 84 [To the choirmaster (the Levites who were leading the songs): according
to The Gittith (a musical instrument on which some of the Psalms were played).
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah] 1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of
hosts! 2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and
flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 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. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever
singing your praise! Selah 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in
whose heart are the highways to Zion [or who have set their hearts on
pilgrimage (NIV)]. 6 As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place
of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength
to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. 8 O Lord God of hosts, hear
my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 9 Behold our shield, O God; look on
the face of your anointed! 10 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 wickedness. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the
Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk
uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!
Introduction:
I pray that
that the Lord may use this wonderful psalm to ignite a passion for His glory,
for His presence, for His church, and for Heaven!
Just the
reading of Psalm 84 is enough to confront our coldness of heart and light a
flame of fire to desire God, His people, and His presence for eternity!
Background / Context:
AUTHORSHIP: We
don’t know for sure who wrote this psalm. The title says, “A Psalm of the Sons of Korah”, according to I Chronicles 26:18-19
the Lord appointed the sons of Korah to be guards of the temple. They served by
singing and keeping the temple in order. We don’t know if they wrote or just
collected some of the psalms.
James Boice
called this The Psalm of the Janitor,
because, in his interpretation, it was written by those who worked in the
temple (see v.10).
TIME OF WRITING: It is also
difficult to know when this Psalm was written. The description of the temple
implies that it could have been during the days of the Solomonic Temple or
after the Babylonian exile.
Some
commentators called it a Pilgrimage Psalm/
Pilgrim Song – implying that the people sang this psalm as they journeyed
to Jerusalem. Psalm 84 is one of the “Songs of Zion” psalms, which also
includes Psalms 46, 48, 76, 87, 122. This label basically designates the same
idea as the label “Pilgrim Psalms.” These psalms celebrate the greatness of God
and the opportunity to worship God in the temple at Jerusalem.
CONTEXT OF PSALM 84: Just
previous to Psalm 84 is a series of Asaphite psalms (Pss. 73-83). The common
theme of longing to worship in the temple runs through both sets of Koraphite
psalms.
Even though
the questions about authorship, date, and circumstances of the writing are
extremely important they all fade away by the emotions and longings and
desperation that this Psalm triggers in us.
As I read,
study, and meditate upon Psalm 84 I become just like the man who wrote it – I
start longing for God, I start longing to be in the Lord’s House singing and
praising His name.
Spurgeon
said, “it could be entitled as 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 experimental,
the fifty-first the most plaintive, this is one of the most sweet of the Psalms
of peace” (http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps084.htm).
Psalm 84 is
divided into 3 parts. The Hebrew text is divided by the word Selah (see vs. 4 and 8). This word could
mean pause or to shout, so it is difficult to know if people should stop and
reflect or if they should sing louder, but it is clear that the word selah had an important function in the
psalms.
The
psalm is divided into 3 blessings, or 3 beatitudes (benedictions):
Outline:
I – blessed is the one who dwells in the
lord’s house (vs.1-4)
II – blessed is the one who pilgrims to the
lord’s house (vs.5-8)
iii – blessed is the one who trusts in god
(vs.9-12)
I – BLESSED IS THE
ONE WHO DWELLS IN THE LORD’S HOUSE (VS.1-4)
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longs,
yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the
living God. 3 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. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your
praise! Selah
v.1 - To the choirmaster/leader/director of music (the Levites who were
leading the songs): according to The Gittith (a musical instrument on
which some of the Psalms were played). A Psalm of the Sons of Korah (they were singers
according to 2 Chr 20:19; gatekeepers: 1 Chr 9:19; 26:1, 19).
Let us now see
the true confession of love and longing and passion for the Lord. May the Lord
make it your confession!
v.1 “HOW LOVELY IS YOUR DWELLING PLACE
(places), O LORD OF HOSTS!” --- The Psalmist is thinking about the
temple, the place where God was dwelling.
He calls the
House of the Lord lovely. The word means “beloved” and expresses the
attractiveness of God’s house.
“YOUR
DWELLING PLACE” --- It is the Lord’s place. He is longing for the
Lord’s place. It doesn’t belong to man, but to God.
“O
LORD OF HOSTS” --- This title speaks about the power, strength,
authority, and reverence that God has. The church is the dwelling place of the
Lord of Hosts!
What a
beautiful, gracious, and terrifying picture: Those who are being persecuted,
are suffering, need protection and safety, can come to the House of the Lord
and find protection, safety, and peace because He who dwells in this place is
the Lord of Hosts. No man, no power, and no situation is out of His reach and
domain.
But for those
who treat His Dwelling Place as a circus, without reverence, without fear, for
those who make the church of Christ a den of robbers, it is a terrifying thing
that the One who dwells there is the Lord of Hosts and that He will judge!
v.1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! It is
a declaration of love!
“Earth contains no sight so refreshing to us as the gathering of
believers for worship. Those are sorry saints who see nothing amiable in the
services of the Lord's house.” (Spurgeon)
God’s
dwelling place is so lovely and attracts and draws his heart so much that he
says:
v.2 “My
soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for
joy to the living God” --- see 42:1-2
The use of soul,
heart,
and flesh
indicate that his whole being is eager and longing to worship his God!
“MY SOUL
LONGS, YES, FAINTS FOR THE COURTS OF THE LORD” --- The intensity of his
desire to be in the Lord’s presence is so profound that he uses two very strong
words:
‘longs’ –
it literally means to grow pale.
‘faints’ –
it means to be consumed, to cease, to come to an end.
He pictures
himself so desperate for the Lord’s presence that he starts getting sick, he
gets pale and faints.
*** “He has a holy lovesickness” (Spurgeon)
His delight
is never satisfied! He wants Heaven!
** Do you
long for the Lord? Does your longing for being in the Lord’s presence affect
your whole being?
He is
exploding, he is bursting in love and passion and longing for the presence of
the Lord.
He
explodes in praises! The boiling water spills into songs!
v.2 “my
heart and flesh sing (shouts in singing) for
joy to the living God” --- He is singing with joy to the living
God!
His heart and
his lips have no space for songs about worldly issues. He doesn’t sing Bob
Marley, or Madonna, or the Beatles or Rolling Stones’ songs!
His heart is
overflowing with love for his Lord and as a consequence his lips can only sing
about the One he loves!
In his heart
he has no space for secular music! He doesn’t ask if it is ok to sing and
listen to secular music, because there is no space in heart and lips for it.
** Is that you? Is that you during the week? On Tuesday?
On Thursday morning? On Saturday evening and Sunday morning?
“TO
THE LIVING GOD” --- His love is alive, his passion is live, his desire
is real, his longing is true, because he desires the living God!
*** He doesn’t
desire the temple itself. He doesn’t desire the church itself, or the music, or
the fellowship in itself, but the One who is over all these things!
“Ordinances are empty things if we meet not with God in the ordinances.”
(Matthew Henry)
He has a real
love and a real passion and real worship, because he has a living God!
People can
see in and through your life if you worship a living God! If, during the week,
you worship a false and dead god, you will become like it! You will come to
church, go to school, go to work like the dead and false idol that you worship (Ps 135:15,18
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.18 Those
who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them).
But if you
worship and have a true relationship with the living God, you will be like your
God! You will overflow with love and passion for His glory.
HIS JEALOUS OBSERVATION:
He not only
sings, but he also observes, and the psalmist observes the birds in the Temple:
v.3 “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”
It was very
common for birds to make their nests in the cracks of the walls of the temple.
The psalmist
is jealous, he has a holy jealousy of the birds. The birds that were so
despised had nests in the temple of the Almighty God, and he sees that with
envy, for he himself desired to have a house there.
“Observe, David envies the happiness not of those birds that flew over
the altars, and had only a transient view of God's courts, but of those that
had nests for themselves there. David will not think it enough to sojourn in
God's house as a way-faring man that turns aside to tarry for a night; but let
this be his rest, his home; here he will dwell.” (Matthew
Henry). It is not about those who are a “rollercoaster” in their walk, but
about those who are consistent in their walk with God.
** When was the last time you were jealous of someone
who was going to church and you could not because of an illness?
** When was the last time that you had a holy jealousy
of those Christians who already died and are in the presence of the Lord?
“and the swallow a nest for herself, where she
may lay her young, at your altars” --- “We rejoice not only in our personal religious opportunities, but in
the great blessing of taking our children with us to the sanctuary. The church
of God is a house for us and a nest for our little ones.” (Spurgeon)
THE 2 BIRDS:
It is
interesting that the psalmist uses these two birds, for they are full of
meaning:
The Sparrow
--- The Hebrew could mean any bird, but he is probably referring to the
sparrow. It is an image of something despised and with no value, not
worthy (see Matthew 10:29).
** There is room, there is a place of protection for
those who are despised in the world’s eyes in the House of the Lord. God chooses the insignificant and those who
are obscure to be useful!
The Swallow
--- It is a picture of restlessness. The swallows are always flying, they don’t
stop.
** If you are like the swallow, if your heart and mind
has no rest, if you are always troubled by things, be reminded that there is
rest and there is peace in the House of the Lord. Jesus wants to give you rest
and you will not find it traveling, staying at home, or watching TV, but by
having fellowship with the living Christ!
“O Lord of hosts, my King and my God”
--- It is so wonderful that the One who is the Lord of Hosts, the Creator of
heaven and earth, the One who controls the sun and moon – He is MY
King! Because of Christ’s work now I can call God my King!
v.4 “Blessed
are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah”
Here the
psalmist is talking about the priests in the Old Covenant, who used to live and
dwell in the temple area and served the Lord with singing. But now under the
New Covenant all the believers have this wonderful privilege and blessing!
What a
different perspective on what it means to be a blessed man/woman! Most
Christians believe that to be blessed is to have money, health, and wealth. But
according to the Bible, especially according to Jesus, to be blessed is to be a
person who finds the deepest joy and fullest satisfaction in who God is and not
in the circumstances.
A blessed
man/woman is the one who dwells in the House of the Lord. It is a person who
walks with Christ. It is a person who spreads the fragrance of the cross.
** A
blessed man/woman is the one who is serving the church of Christ! He/she who dwells
in the House of the Lord!
“To come and go is refreshing, but to abide in the place of prayer must
be heaven below. To be the guests of God, enjoying the hospitalities of heaven,
set apart for holy work, screened/protected from a noisy world, and familiar
with sacred things—why this is surely the choicest heritage a son of man can
possess.” (Spurgeon)
“ever
singing your praise” --- Singing praises is a mark of a spirit-filled
life (see Ephesians 5:15-19)! And especially singing with a group of
believers!
SONGS OF PRAISE:
Some people
are so concerned about the style of music that they lose track of what is truly
important. It is so beautiful that we can sing psalms as the Hebrew Christians
did, sing old hymns as Luther, Watson, Calvin, and Spurgeon did, and
contemporaneous songs with those who write today. Let us be careful to not lose
the joy of singing because of selfish ways of thinking.
That is what
we will do through eternity, you better enjoy it now!
SELAH
--- Let’s pause here and have a crescendo in our thoughts. Is that a description of you?
Is this man
who longs for the Lord, who longs for the House of the Lord, a picture of you
during the week? Are you a blessed man/woman? One who dwells in the House of
the Lord.
Do you long
so bad that you “faint” during the week?
** It is sad
that so many people in church are so far from having a heart like the one described
here. And a lot of churches are adapting themselves for this type of people. No
more preaching. The “talk” is short and doesn’t confront sins. The music is not
Christ-centered, but man-centered and as a consequence we have this poor
Christianity that we have today.
Blessed is
not only the one who dwells in the House of the Lord, but the one whose
strength is in the Lord! It is not about abiding and dwelling in the House of
the Lord, but also having your heart and all your strength in the Lord!
II – BLESSED IS
THE ONE WHO PILGRIMS TO THE LORD’S HOUSE (VS.5-8)
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the
highways to Zion [or who have set their hearts on pilgrimage (NIV)]. 6 As they
go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain
also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; each one
appears before God in Zion. 8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O
God of Jacob! Selah
Before his
heart was pilgriming to the House of God, but
now he literally on the way!
v.5 “Blessed
are those whose strength is in you” --- Blessed is the man whose
strength is not in his job, in his degree, in his career, but in Christ!
The
world/media celebrates the independent and autonomous man. The woman who is
adored is the one who is independent and powerful in business. But that is not
the reality in the Kingdom of God!
Where do you
draw strength from when you are weak? Where do you look for strength when you
are weak?
Some here go
to TV, others go to bed, others go to the Internet, but there is only one place
where we can find true strength – in Christ alone.
Blessed is
the man “IN WHOSE HEART ARE THE HIGHWAYS TO ZION” (or who have set their hearts on pilgrimage)
Do you want
to be blessed? Set your heart on pilgrimage to Zion! Be a hero of faith - Hebrews
11:13-16, 37-38; 13:14.
Be a pilgrim
here! This is not your destination!
“WHO
HAVE SET THEIR HEARTS” --- Their hearts are on the road! “Neither prayer, nor praise, nor the hearing
of the word will be pleasant or profitable to persons who have left their
hearts behind them.” (Spurgeon)
It is a sad
reality that so many Christians are walking to Zion, but their hearts are so
far away from there, their hearts are in the things that surround the highway!
** On what highway
is your heart?
May you see
yourself as a stranger and exile here! May the Lord open your eyes so that you
may see the beauty of the Heavenly Zion!
Because their
hearts are not here, because their hearts are on the highways to the New
Jerusalem:
v.6 – “As they go through the Valley of
Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.”
“Valley
of Baca” --- It is hard to know the meaning of these words. Most
commentators say that the word Baca
(Hb. הַבָּכָא) means “weeping”
or “tears”. Some believe it was a very dry place.
As they
pilgrim to Zion, their hearts are there, so that the Valley of Weeping becomes
a place of joy and blessing!
The dry
places become places of springs.
The place of
weeping becomes a place of joy.
Why?
Because their hearts are not in the circumstances. They have a true
hope! Their eyes, their hearts, and minds are where Christ is sitting right
now!
* * As we
pilgrim and journey to the Heavenly Jerusalem, the true Mount Zion – Heaven, we
go through many Valleys of Baca (Psalm 23:4 though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me).
- We walk
through the Valley of Death: dear ones die.
- We walk
through the Valley of Pain and Suffering: we get sick, we suffer.
- We go
through the Valley of Disappointments and Frustrations.
But by God’s
grace and mercy the Valleys of Baca become a place of springs!
There is
water and rain in this desert land! We become water and rain in this desert
land. We not only receive blessings, but we are a blessing!
v.7 – “They go from strength to strength”
--- That is the Christian life, always growing in grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior!
Even in the
Valley of Baca, when we are weak, He is strong and gives us strength! See Isaiah 40:28-31
“Far from being wearied/tired they gather strength as they proceed. Each
individual becomes happier, each company becomes more numerous, each holy song
more sweet and full. We grow as we advance if heaven be our goal. If we
spend our strength in God's ways we shall find it increase.”
(Spurgeon)
“Usually, if we are walking, we go from
strength to weakness; we start fresh and in good order for our journey, but
by-and-by the road is rough, and the sun is hot, we sit down by the wayside,
and then again painfully pursue our weary way. But the Christian pilgrim,
having obtained fresh supplies of grace, is as vigorous after years of toilsome
travel and struggle as when he first set out.” (Spurgeon)
As we come to
church God, uses the meeting together, the singing, and the preaching of the
Word to give us more and more strength!
II Corinthians 3:18 And we all, who with unveiled faces behold the Lord’s glory, are being
transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory / from glory to glory,
which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. [we behold Him by hearing the
Word of God]
“each one appears before God in Zion”
--- The certainty of arriving there! The strength He gives you is sufficient!
Blessed is
the one who longs for the House of the Lord, is in pilgrimage to the House of
the Lord and thirdly – blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord of the House.
III – BLESSED IS
THE ONE WHO TRUSTS IN GOD (VS.9-12)
9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! 10 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 wickedness. 11 For
the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good
thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, blessed
is the one who trusts in you!
v.8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my
prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah (pause)
His
prayer for protection: Even though the psalmist knows that the Lord is
faithful to His promises, that the Lord will keep him safe, he still prays! The
person who truly understands the Doctrines of Grace, the sovereignty of God understands
the importance of prayer!
That is his
prayer:
v.9 “BEHOLD OUR SHIELD, O GOD; look on the face of your anointed!”
--- It is very hard to know what the psalmist is saying for sure. Some
commentators believe he is praying for David, others that he is praying for a
king or a priest.
What we know is that he is praying for an intervention
of the Lord. He is asking for the Lord’s protection and favor.
“BEHOLD
OUR SHIELD” --- He is crying out for God to protect them on their
journey.
“LOOK
ON THE FACE OF YOUR ANOINTED” --- He is asking for God’s favor.
He longs for the
protection and favor of the Lord. Why?
v.10 – “For a day in your
courts is better than a thousand elsewhere” --- He is praying
and crying out for God’s favor and blessing so that he can be at the Lord’s
House!
His Sunday
morning is not negotiable! He doesn’t trade his time of worship for sports,
parties, or bed!
“I
would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the
tents of wickedness” --- The Sons of Korah were the guards of the
temple. They served as doorkeepers. They preferred serving the Lord to being
inside the tents of the wicked and being served by others.
He wants to
serve His Lord and Savior as he was appointed and called to serve!
*** He prays
for protection and favor so that he can serve His God!
“DOORKEEPER”
--- The word could also mean threshold, alluding to the servant that was
desirous of continuing in his master's house, and serving him forever; who was
brought to the door post and had his ears bored through with an awl.
Both interpretations
allude to the idea of serving. Saved to serve!
“Even a glimpse at the love of God is better
than ages spent in the pleasures of sense.” (Spurgeon)
“In a day when Christians frequently skip church to pursue recreation, I
wonder how many could honestly say that one day of gathering with God’s people
to worship Him is better than a thousand days of other pursuits?” (http://www.fcfonline.org/content/1/sermons/060709M.pdf)
** If you had
only one day to live, where would you spend it? What would you do if you had
only one more day?
Why is One
Day with the Lord better than One Thousand elsewhere? Why would he rather serve
in the House of the Lord than to be served in the house of the wicked?
v.11 – “For
the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good
thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly”
Life in the
Lord’s presence is complete! There is fullness of blessings in the presence of
the Lord.
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield”
--- sun = It is not a New Age philosophy, but a
figure of speech. The metaphor is in the context of travelers. There were no
lighted streets or cars with headlights. When you were traveling in the
wilderness
and it got
dark, you had to stop. It got cold when the sun went down. Wolves howled in the
darkness. So the travelers huddled together and waited for the dawn. The rising
sun meant that you could see your way again. It brought warmth and cheer. As
the sun, the Lord provides light in this dark world. He provides guidance and
direction. He is the source of illumination! He sustains all life on earth. It
is a never-ending source of energy.
shield = Protection. The Everlasting Father. The One who
keeps us safe in His hand! Without the shield, we would be vulnerable to all
sorts of dangers in our pilgrimage to heaven.
“A sun above, a shield around. A light to show the way and a shield to
ward off its perils.” (Spurgeon)
“the Lord bestows favor/grace and honor/glory”
--- He gives us grace so that we may receive glory in the end!
It all starts
with grace and ends with glory! And God is the source of these things!
“We are promised His grace while we travel and His glory when we arrive
at home. There is help for today and hope for tomorrow. God is simply promising
to get us home safely!” (http://www.sermonnotebook.org/old%20testament/Psa%2084_10-12.htm)
And he also
gives us glory in our journey! The glory is also present, for we are changed
from glory to glory!
He not only
gives grace and glory, but the Lord also:
“No good thing does he withhold from those who
walk uprightly”
What a
tremendous truth! He doesn’t withhold good things from us!
“from those who walk uprightly”
--- That is the just. The righteous man and woman. Those who walk by faith.
Those who have a lifestyle of living by faith in the Son of God.
No man can
walk uprightly before God if He doesn’t first give saving grace and faith!
By faith we
become the righteousness of God, that is, we become His children and He becomes
our loving and perfect Father.
No good thing does he withhold from US --- See
Matthew 7:10-11
He knows what
is good for us, because He is good! He always gives us what is good, according
to His own standard of goodness.
v.12 “O Lord of hosts, blessed is the
one who trusts in you!” --- The third and last benediction.
Blessed is
the one who dwells in the House of the Lord, and as he dwells there the Lord
becomes his source of strength and that can be done only by those who trust in
God!
Do you trust
in the Lord? Is He you shield and sun? Is Christ your longing? Is He your
strength?
CONCLUSION:
Let us sing
this wonderful Psalm together with our brothers and sisters from the past as we
journey to church and to the Heavenly Zion!
Let us be pilgrims
in this world! A pilgrim with lovesickness!
May your life
reflect the life of a pilgrim – somebody who ‘journeys to a sacred place.’ It
is temporary here, so train yourself and your kids to be pilgrims – to love the
House of the Lord!
May the Psalm
84 awaken a new love for the Lord, for His house, for His people, for Heaven!
May the Lord
help you to say, ‘How lovely is your
dwelling place’!
May the Lord
set you on fire so that you can say on Tuesday, Wednesday…, ‘My soul longs, even faints for you’!
May the Lord
help you desire to serve the Lord so badly that you pray for His blessing and
protection so that you may be in His house!
Only them you
will be able to say, ‘I am a blessed man’!
No comments:
Post a Comment