Psalm 84

 

Psalm 84

Do I come with an expectation when I come into God's house - that I will meet with God? What will it be like one day when we get to heaven? Are we looking forward to that day? Sometimes our desire to be in God's house (on Sundays) depends on who is bringing a message from God rather than the people we will meet. And sometimes we don't exactly look forward to those meetings (I don't as I know certain speakers will not exactly enthuse me or motivate me in my worship of God). How will I react when I get to heaven and meet the King of kings? This challenged me to reflect on the reason I attend church - worshipping God - rather than on the people present. Courtney Reissig asks us to think of 3 years full of blessings but it is not as good as one day in heaven. As I reflected on this I have enjoyed 3 years of health blessings since my cancer diagnosis - compare that with a thousand years - well there is just no comparison! 

To the Chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for The Sons of Korah

How amiable are thy tabernacles O LORD of hosts!

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they will be still praising thee, Selah.

Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer, give ear O God of Jacob, Selah.

Behold O God our shield and look upon the face of thine anointed.

For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will be withhold from them that walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. 

 

TEACH ME TO FEEL BY COURTNEY REISSIG

Psalm 84 is about a longing for home, but a home that we never have to leave. It’s a psalm for the woman who knows God and the place where he dwells, and can’t wait to get there. There are some who think this psalm was sung as God’s people went on a pilgrimage to God’s temple in Jerusalem.

 

But there is something important that we might miss if we don’t see this psalm in its larger context in the entire book. Psalm 84 falls within Book Three of the psalms, and in this section crisis is the dominant theme. Many think the crisis which the people are facing in Book Three is the exile in Babylon – that these psalms were compiled specifically to encourage a people in exile. In addition, only one of the psalms in Book Three is attributed to David – it is as if the king is absent.  And so Psalm 84 is a bright spot in a dark part of the Psalter. Psalm 84 contains a deep longing for God, God’s house and the hope of restoration.

 

There is unassailable happiness to be found in longing for God’s house and knowing we will get there. Then the psalmist speaks of the One who dwells in that dwelling place. God’s place is hopeful because he is there. That is the main point and every other point about God’s place is subsidiary to the fact that God is present. His presence makes it lovely God is a God of beauty and the place he dwells in is the most beautiful of all. We tend to desire to be around beauty in this world and that is a foretaste of the ultimate beauty that awaits us in God’s house. Every beautiful thing we appreciate here should drive us towards worship of God, who is himself beautiful and the Creator of beauty.

 

So we long for God’s home not just because of what it can do for us (make us see beauty) but because God himself is there. In the Old Testament, God’s dwelling place was a big deal. In Genesis 1 and 2 God dwelled in the garden with his creation. In the wilderness God dwelled among his people in the tabernacle. In King Solomon’s day, God dwelled among his people in the temple, which is likely what the psalmist has in mind here.

 

Now reading this psalm as New Testament people, we know that God has dwelled among his people in a person, our Saviour Jesus Christ and that he dwells with us continually today by his Spirit. He has always been a God who delights to dwell among his people. And his people will delight to dwell, fully and finally, with him in his heavenly courts.

 

So the psalmist continues to list out the beauty of that dwelling place. God’s dwelling place is not just beautiful; it is also always a source of good for his entire creation. The God who cares for such small things, like the sparrow and the swallow is the God we should long to be with. The psalmist knows that God’s place is one of refuge and rest. It’s a good place with a good God. He takes care of his creation – so how much more will be watch over us.

 

This wonderful place and this glorious God, is where we are all headed if we are in Christ. And we get a taste of it each time we meet with Christ’s people. That’s because the temple now is – us!

 

We taste heaven in our church family when we serve one another joyfully and sacrificially, knowing that in God’s final dwelling place we will be working and serving in perfection and for his glory. We taste heaven in our church family when we enjoy fellowship around a meal, rejoice in our shared salvation in Christ and encourage one another in the study of scripture. These are the things we will be doing for all eternity. But the fullness is yet to come. We are forward-leaning people, hopeful people, because we know that however much this life gives us, or takes from us, our best days are always ahead of us. When we have a good day among Christ’s people in our church, it should make us long for more. It should spur us on to that final day, when it will be even better. And when things are hard now, it reminds us that the best is not here yet – we are waiting for that city to come.

 

The second section of the psalm speaks of a trip: a pilgrimage to God’s house. The psalmist is not yet in God’s house. That is why he longs for it and journeys towards it.

 

With the first mention of the “blessed” in verse 4, the psalmist spoke of the experience of being in God’s house. But what if you’re not there yet? Verse 5 is even more hopeful than verse 4 because it says you are blessed just by being on the journey to God’s house. Just by virtue of your longing and hope you find blessing.

 

The journey to the Jerusalem Temple wasn’t necessarily an easy one. In verse 6 and 7 the psalmist speaks of going through the Valley of Baca, which isn’t a known place but the general idea here is that what is happening in this valley is not natural. This was clearly, by nature a dry valley and presumably not an easy place for pilgrims to walk through. But despite its dryness, the psalmist says that the pilgrims “make it a place of springs.” How is this possible? If God is the source of your strength, then it can only multiply. If your strength is in God, then he can make even the driest desert valley a place of springs and pools for refreshment. Remember, the psalms are poetry, so the imagery in these verses might be speaking of literal rains filling up a dry desert valley, but it also might be speaking of a spiritual refreshment that comes when all external factors suggest you should be dried up.

 

So the strength of these pilgrims is in God, the God whose dwelling place is lovely and a source of good for his creation; and who multiplies their refreshment on their pilgrimage to Zion (verses 6 and 7). Their strength is in God, who hears their prayers (verse 8). They are not home yet, but they know they will be, and that changes their journey. They are hopeful.

 

Psalm 84 gives hope. It’s telling all who will listen, You are just a pilgrim here. Keep going. You will be home someday. And God will refresh you all along the way. The hopeful can keep going on the journey because they know the destination is sure and their strength is sufficient. We can keep going in hope.

 

The final section is anchored by the last verse. Why are you hopeful? Why do you trust? Because of verses 9 to 11.

 

You can do a lot with a thousand days. Imagine 3 years full of blessings – family, friends, job satisfaction and promotion, a great church full of love and growth, a fantastic house, great vacations – and imagine those 3 years have no problems: no health issues, no money worries, no relational difficulties, no bereavements Can you fathom that?

 

That is not as good as one day in heaven.

 

So when we catch a glimpse of that kind of life – a great day or a year that just brings wonderful blessings – we’re to think: “This is just a glimmer of a tiny fraction of what one day in heaven will be like.” That keeps us hopeful in the good times. And it stops us living as though this is the best there can be, which brings with it the danger that we forget to keep walking forwards.

 

And when we see others enjoying all those things, and we’re not and never will in this life, there’s no need for hopelessness. Better is one day in our future home than a thousand wonderful ones here. Where you are going shapes your experience of the pilgrimage to get there and in Psalm 84 the psalmist knows he is going somewhere amazing. So are we. Every other place pales in comparison with the place where God dwells.

 

Let Psalm 84 encourage you to look forward to God’s house, where he dwells in perfection, and where you will one day dwell with him. This temporary home might feel like a permanent one, but it is passing away. Think about God’s house, think about all that Christ did to prepare a place for you, there and long to be where he dwells. And if you find yourself brimming with hope today, praise God! May this shadow of a better reality spur you on. It’s merely a glimpse of the wonder to come.

 

Psalm 84 gives us strength on our pilgrimage to God’s place. It reorients our perspective as we make our way home. And it makes us hopeful. We have a lot to look forward to.