Turn with me back to Psalm 84. That'll serve as our text this
morning. Psalm 34, verse 3, it says this. It says, O magnify the Lord with
me. O let us exalt his name. together. Exalt his name together. Worship him together. We were visiting some family
over the weekend, and my sister-in-law made this comment. I don't even
remember how it came up, but she said, she said this to a
dear friend. She said, the most important
thing we do in this world is worship God. to gather together
and worship Him. Is there anything more? Is there
anything more important? Is there anything more essential?
Is there anything more that we rejoice in than to gather together
as a people and worship Him? You know, to call upon His name
is to worship Him. To believe God is to worship
Him. To fear Him is to worship Him. To trust, to trust in the Lord
God is to worship Him. To walk with Christ is to worship
Him. To glorify God, to whom all glory is due, is
to worship Him. And that's what we've done here,
this morning. We've gathered together in this
house, not just one person, we've gathered together as a people
for this purpose, to worship Him, to worship Almighty God. And we do that together, with
one heart, with one spirit. I'm just confident that there's
as many differences among this group of people as there is amongst
anybody in this world. But we share one common bond
that overcomes all those things. We believe God. We love God. We're His children. We worship
Him together. We're told in Hebrews 10.25,
Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. That word together. You know,
there are many scriptures in God's word about public worship,
about meeting together, about worshiping together. And truly,
what a privilege. Isn't it a privilege to gather
together as a people and worship him? You know, we don't have
to be pulled out of the service for too long, I think, to realize
that, do we? To gather together and worship
him. Again, if you haven't turned
to Psalm 84, turn there with me. I believe this passage of scripture
declares much about what goes on in his house, the Lord's house. And it's divided into, I suppose
you could divide it up in a number of ways, but I see three, okay? It don't mean there's not more
than that, but for sake of time, let's look at three. The first
four verses, we see the blessing of those who reside in his house. Verse five declares the blessing
of those who visit his house, and then the remainder of the
chapter, declares the master, the master of his house. Whose
house is it, huh? It's his house, isn't it? Well,
let's look at this passage of scripture together this morning.
Verse one, he says, how amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of
hosts. How amiable. How lovely. How lovely is his tabernacles. Back in the Old Testament, those
tabernacles were erected by Moses in the wilderness. And they were
done so at the command of God. And you know, it wasn't the outside
of that tabernacle that was beautiful. I don't believe that to be the
case. I've seen different images of men have read and they've
come up with what those look like and I tell you, it doesn't
really look like much different than somebody hanging their laundry
out, just a bunch of sheets hung up. The beauty of that tabernacle
was inside the tabernacle. What was represented inside the
tabernacle That's where you'd find those vessels of fine gold. You'd find priests dressed in
their priestly apparel. And you'd find the high priest,
the high priest dressed in his apparel. Inside that temple is
where the beauty was seen. That high priest who pictured
the Lord Jesus Christ the one mediator, that one who makes
atonement and intercession by his work. And it's by his work, listen,
makes our presence a possibility that we could even come into
his presence. It's by what Christ has done. That's where that sacrifice was
slain. Slain and offered up unto the
Lord, Aaron was to take two goats, One for a sin offering, one for
a burn offering. The ram was to be offered up
as an atonement, a sacrifice for sin. For the sins of the
people, for himself, for his house, and then there were lots
cast upon those two goats. And one would be a sin offering
on the mercy seat, and the other one would serve as a scapegoat. This is all in the temple. And
you know these things would mean, the beauty of all those things,
the gold and the dress of the priest and the sacrifices, those
things wouldn't mean anything. They would mean absolutely nothing
if they did not point to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our
high priest. Listen, he's both the scapegoat
on whom our sins were laid, and he's also our sin offering. The Lord Jesus Christ who died
for us, he was our sin offering. And by that sacrifice, we're
taught about the nature of sin. How awful, how awful and ugly
sin must be that God would slay his only begotten son when it
was found on him. We're taught about the strictness
of God's justice. I'd like to think that if one
of us had a child and sin was on them, and it is, right? But if we found it on them, we'd
just shake our heads and go on, wouldn't we? God's justice required that he
slay his only begotten son. He must suffer. He must die. He must shed his blood. Atonement
has to be made. And Aaron would take and he'd
sprinkle blood on that mercy seat, the blood of the sin offering,
and he would make atonement for the sins of the people. A picture. A picture of the Savior. A picture
of our Lord who died. He who entered into the presence
of Almighty God, bringing his own blood. Man offered nothing. Man brings nothing. But the Lord Jesus Christ entered
once. just once, with his own blood,
and he made eternal reconciliation for his people. Those offerings
in the tabernacle, they were made over and over and over again. Who knows how many gallons of
blood were shed on those altars. They could never take away sin,
though, could they? And yet our Lord, God's Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ, he offered one sacrifice for
sin forever. The blood of those bulls and
goats could never, never take away sin. But the Lord Jesus
Christ made one sacrifice for sin Forever. Forever. Having obtained, Scripture
says, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Having obtained. That's past tense, isn't it?
It's done. It's finished. Scripture says
that He by Himself purged our sins. I ask you, He described
the beauty of the temple. Can you see the beauty in that
temple? Can you see the beauty in him? When he said, how amiable, how
amiable are thy tabernacles, how beautiful are thy tabernacles. Is it not beautiful the thought
of our sins being put away? He put them away. You know, I think about this
every time I drive in this parking lot. Every time I drive by, we
have such a beautiful building. It's just nicely, everything
about it, it's nicely done. It's well kept. Everything's
taken care of. But you know what's truly important?
What's truly important is what's inside this building. This is
where we come to hear the gospel. preached. It's in this place
that God in mercy has been pleased to continue to bless his gospel. To bless us with the sound of
his gospel. There's a lot of buildings in
this town. That can't be said, many of them can't. But it can be said of this place
by God's mercy, by his grace, a place where Christ is preached.
Listen, for our sakes and for the sake of our community, for
the sake of our brethren, for the sake of our children, I pray
he'd continue to bless his word. And what a blessing it is to
know that the Lord is still sending forth his gospel. If he's continuing to send forth
his gospel, he's continuing to call out his sheep. How amiable, how beautiful are
thy tabernacles. Again, it's where the gospel
is preached. It's where his ordinances are
administered. Baptism, the public confession
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's where we partake of his
table. We remember Him, we remember
our Lord and Savior, His shed blood and His broken body. It's
a place where we gather together to sing hymns of praise, songs
of worship, hymns that declare His love and His grace. Now we don't listen, we don't
come to be entertained, but we come to worship. We come to praise
His name. to worship the Lord. And you
know, isn't it a wonderful thing when he's pleased to bless us
with his presence, when he's pleased to dwell among his people? He said that, he said, where
two or three, just a few, where two or three are gathered in
my name, there I am in the midst of them. Isn't that beautiful? To think that the Lord would
be pleased, that He'd be pleased to dwell
among sinful men. Well, verse 2 of Psalm 84, let's
read on. Oh, my soul longeth, yea, even
faintest for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh crieth
out for the living God. Not just a cry from the mouth,
but a cry from the heart. We know the difference, don't
we? There's things when we just rattle
things off. But there are times when the
Lord, boy, he hits us where it counts, doesn't he? And that
prayer, that cry, it's not just something to be heard. It's something,
Lord, hear me. A cry from the heart. to be among God's people. What a blessing. What a privilege. I fear sometimes we, I know I
do, I take that for granted at times, but truly what a blessing
to be among God's people, to gather together for this purpose
again, to worship Him, to worship our Lord and Savior. Not a social
gathering, but a worship service. We come and we hear of God's
mercy and grace to us, to sinners. David wrote that. We started
the service with this scripture. He said, I was glad. Oh, I was
glad. What made you glad, David? I
was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house
of the Lord. I pray the Lord would make that
so. Not a habit, not a chore, not a burden, but that it would
fill our hearts with gladness. He said, I was glad. I was happy
when they said, let us go into the house of the Lord. And listen,
not just the joy of coming into his house, but the joy of being
in his house, the joy of being blessed with his presence. Didn't our hearts burn within
us? Didn't it burn within us when
he talked with us, when the Spirit of God was pleased to speak to
our hearts, when he opened the scriptures
to us? And listen, that we would come
rejoicing, that we would rejoice in his house, and listen, that
we would depart rejoicing. Verse three of Psalm 84. Yea, the sparrow hath found a
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." David envied the sparrows. He envied a worthless bird. David was envious of that sparrow
because it never had to leave God's house. Its home was right
there. There are times we notice that.
There's times when the Lord's pleased to dwell among us and
we don't even want to walk out of the house. We just want to
stay and continually rejoice in Him. David said that sparrow. That
sparrow has the luxury of never having to leave God's house. You know, come point the messages
over, we'll sing a closing hymn and we go back out into this
world with all the things that it serves up. Some things we
enjoy and some things we don't enjoy. But Dave said that sparrow,
it just gets to stay in God's house continually. It's where
we find God's word. It's where we find a place of
rest, a place of security, a shelter in a time of storm. And listen,
don't lose this. I think about this often. David
said, not just for the sparrow, not just for that sparrow, but
for her young. for her young, for her little
ones. I'm thankful the Lord's given
so many faith to believe. But isn't it our heart's desire
above all things that he'd be merciful to our young ones, to
our little ones, to our children? All the importance of continually
bringing them That's not an easy job, is it? It's extra ones to
clean up and dress and fight with along the way. But all the
importance, the importance of bringing our children to the
worship service. In Mark 10, Mark chapter 10,
you can turn there if you want. Mark 10 verse 13. Look at verse 13, Mark 10. And they brought young children
to Him that He should touch them. And His disciples rebuked those
that brought them. But when Jesus saw that, what
was His reaction? He was much displeased, wasn't
He? And He said unto them, Listen
to what he said. Suffer the little children to
come unto me and forbid them not. For such is the kingdom
of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever
shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he
shall not enter therein. The birds and their young were
not restrained from entering into the tabernacle. And listen,
David finished the verse with this, back in our text. He said,
my king and my God. Spurgeon said this, I love it. He said, David just lays hold
with both hands. My king and my God. just like Jacob of old. What
did Jacob say? He grabbed ahold, he said, I
will not let you go until you bless me. To lay hold of him,
to lay hold of eternal life, to lay hold of the hope that
is set before us. Well, look at verse four. Again,
our text, Psalm 84, blessed are they that dwell in thy house. They will be still praising thee. He who alone is worthy of all
praise. He who alone is worthy of all
adoration. In this verse, verse 4, if you
look at the end of it, there's that word selah. That's not a
word we typically, we don't even say that when we're reading,
but it has great meaning. It means just stop and consider
what's just been said. Stop and consider. Pause and
consider what we've just read. Pause and consider dwelling with
Him, praising Him throughout all eternity. We could just stop right there,
couldn't we? We could spend a whole lot of
time just thinking on those things. We don't do that very often.
Typically, we just read on through, don't we? Stop and consider what's
being said. Verse five through eight, the
blessing of those who visit. Verse five, blessed is the man
whose strength is in thee and whose heart are the ways of them. I ask you, where is your strength? Where's your strength? Is it
in yourself? Is it in this arm of flesh? Where
is your strength? Is it in yourself or is it in
Him? Is it in Christ? Is it in Almighty
God? Let me read it again. Blessed
is the man whose strength is in thee. See that? It's in thee. Blessed is the
man whose strength is in the Lord. Think about that strength that
comes only from Him. Strength to believe, strength
to obey, strength in time of great heartache and trial. Where's that come from? Who's
the source of strength in thee, strength in him? Verse six, 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. The valley of Baca,
that's interpreted a valley of tears or a valley of weeping. Boy, it's not uncommon for the
child of God to find himself or herself in that valley. And not just an occasional passing
through, but often. Times of weakness, times of temptation,
times of affliction. But we're not to despair. We're
not to grow weary for the Lord. The Lord continually provides
for His people. His rain, His rain filleth the
pools. We don't have to go out and dig
our own. We don't have to go out and build a new well. That's often our thought, isn't
it? I'll fix this. I'll take care of this. Just
trust in Him. Oh, I wish I could remember that. Just rest in him. Rest in the Lord. He filleth
his pools. You know, I was thinking about
how we use water. Many uses for water. It cools. Water cools. It cleanses. It
puts out fire. Water often refreshes. David wrote this, he said, weeping,
weeping may endure for the night. That's temporary, isn't it? It
may endure for the night, but joy, joy comes in the morning. He says they go from strength
to strength. Every one of them appears before
God. Every one of his sheep are going to appear in glory. God's word's clear on that. There
we will behold Him. In 1 Corinthians 13, just let
me read this to you. It says, now we see through a
glass darkly. But then, the time is gonna come
when we see Him And we're going to see him face to face. Paul said, then I'm going to
be, I'm going to, listen, I'm going to know him even as he
knows me. How intimately does he know his
people? The very hairs of our head are numbered. We're going to see him. We're
going to know him. Again, just as He knows us. We can't even begin to comprehend
that, can we? That's beyond our human comprehension. Well, verse 8 of our text, O
Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer. Hear my prayer. Give ear, O God
of Jacob, the Lord of hosts. He's almighty. almighty in power. He refers to him as the God of
Jacob, that covenant God, infinite in mercy and goodness to his
people. And listen to this cry, hear
my prayer. Hear my prayer. Does he? David wrote in Psalm
34, 12, this poor man cried and what happened? The Lord heard
him. He heard him. The Lord hears
the cry of his people. And not only did he hear him,
David said, the Lord, he heard me and he saved me out of not
just one problem, not just a couple, he saved me out of all of my
troubles. The Lord God, the Lord of hosts,
the God of Jacob, hears the prayer. He hears the cry of his people. It amazes me, it amazes me, you
mothers, you always hear the cry of your little ones. God hears the cry. of his people. Well, look again at the end of
that verse. Verse 8, it says, Selah. Pause. Pause and consider. We're going to see him. My eyes,
I'm going to behold the Lord. I'm going to see him and know
him as he knows me." Pause and consider this. He hears
the cry of his people. He hears the cry of his people. Well, last point here. Look beginning
at verse 9. The master, the master of the
house. Whose house is this? Behold,
O God, our shield. and look upon the face of thine
anointed." That's our prayer. That's our
prayer, that the Lord would look on who? His anointed. Don't look on me. Listen, if
he looks on us, we know what he's going to see, don't we?
We have a pretty good idea of that. He's going to see nothing
but death and sin and condemnation. The list could just go on and
on there, couldn't it? He doesn't say, look on me, does
he? What's his cry? Look on thine
anointed. Look on his obedience. He obeyed
the law perfectly. Look on his suffering. Has any
man suffered like the Son of God? No. Look on the Savior. That One who bore more than just
the wrath of man. He bore the wrath of His Father. He bore the wrath of Almighty
God. Look on His obedience. Look on
his suffering. Look on his death. He died in
the room instead of his people. He died as our substitute. Look on his righteousness. He
obeyed the law perfectly. Every jot and tittle. Look on
him. Only he, only he can save you
from your sin. Ephesians 1, 6 says, To the praise
of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved. That's all of our hope. He is
all of our hope. He is all of our righteousness. Look on Him. Look on Thine Anointed. I couldn't find the writer of
this song, but I remember the chorus. It says this, When He
sees me, When he sees, what does he see? What a miracle. He sees the blood
of the lamb. He sees me as worthy and not
as I am. He views me in garments as white
as the snow for the lamb of God is worthy and he washed me. This I know. Look on the face
of thine anointed. Well, let's read on here. Verse
10, a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I'd rather be
a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents
of wickedness. He said just one day. Just one
day with thee goes beyond anything, anything this world has to offer. Doesn't say a week, doesn't say
a month, a year, a decade. One day. One day in thy court. And that court from what I read,
listen, that wasn't the actual tabernacle. The court was just
the enclosure. The enclosure that went out around
it. Just listen, just to be close to him. just to be able to see
his tabernacle. One day in thy courts is better
than a thousand, better than a thousand anywhere else. The
best this world has to offer pales in comparison. It doesn't even hold a candle
to him. And he says, I'd rather be a
doorkeeper. I'd rather be a lowly servant, just a servant. A couple thoughts here by the
old riders, they said, I'd rather be a servant sitting, like a
beggar, just sitting there at the threshold of the door, just to be able to catch a glimpse
of him, just to sit at the threshold, like those old beggars that would
lay at the gates of the city. Is there anything, is there anything
for me? Is there mercy for me? All just
to catch a glance. Think about Zacchaeus. I was
thinking about Zacchaeus. He just wanted to see the Savior,
didn't he? Climbed up in that tree just so he could see, just
at the chance of seeing him. Christ saw him, didn't he? He
saw him. He said, you come down here today. Today I must abide in thy house." A servant. Do we turn up our
nose at the idea of that, just to be a servant? Is that a bad
thing? Is it a bad thing to be a servant? Scripture says this, that the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself, what did He do? He took upon Himself
the form of a servant. He could have been anything.
He's God of the universe, and yet He took upon Himself the
form of a servant. And some of the old writers say
this can be interpreted as one tied to the door. That's a reference
to that bond servant that we read about back in the book of
Exodus. Turn back there quickly. Exodus 21. Exodus 21. Look at
verse 1. I'll hurry. Exodus 21, verse
1. These are the judgments which
thou shalt set before them. If you buy a Hebrew servant six
years, shall he serve. In the seventh, he shall go out
free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he'll
go out by himself. If he were married, then his
wife shall go out with him. If his master gave him a wife,
and she hath borne him sons and daughters, the wife and her children,
they shall be her masters. and he shall go out by himself.
Look at verse five. And if the servant shall plainly
say, I love my master, I love my wife, I love my children,
I will not go out free. The master shall bring him unto
the judges and he shall bring him to the door. unto the doorpost,
and his master shall bore his ear through with an awe, and
he shall serve him forever." He could go free. He could go
free. That's what the law says. Free. But all that he has, if he does
that, all that he has all that the master has given him, you're
going to leave without it. Listen to what he says here.
I love my master. I love my wife. I love my children. Don't send me away. Just make me a servant. Make
me a bond servant, a willing bond servant. I'd rather be a
doorkeeper, David says, in the house of my God than to dwell
in the tents of the wicked. Whose house is it? It's the house
of my God. It's his house. That's where
I want to dwell. That's where I want to be. Let
me just read these last two verses and I'll close back in Psalm
84. For the Lord God is a sun and
a shield. The Lord will give grace and
glory. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk
uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the
man that trusteth in thee. Isn't that the house we want
to dwell in? And who's the master of it? He
is. It's all, it's all his. All right.