May it please the Lord to bless
us together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let us
turn to the book of Psalms, Psalm 84, and we'll read verse 10. Psalm 84, and reading verse 10. For 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. This is a statement that gives
a very clear view of the psalmist's desire and the essence of it
is that he wanted to be found really in the house of God whenever
he could be and not to be found in the tents of wickedness. And he tells us then very simply
that just one day in God's courts is far better than a thousand
days spent in the tents of wickedness. And he makes the statement I'd
rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God. Well, we must
remember, of course, that he's writing when they had the tabernacle. And it would have been, as we
can read in the margin, that the truth is that it was sitting
on the threshold, the threshold of the temple. And of course,
as he was sat there in a fairly inconspicuous situation, not
really doing anything, but just sat there, and many people would
have come in and gone out and would just hardly notice that
he was sat there, but he was content to be in that position. And he tells us indeed, more
than that, he says, I'd rather be in that position, in the house
of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. And it is
really a very wonderful position if you and I have in our hearts
the same desire, the same true desire, that to be found in the
place of worship, to be found in the house of God, is far better
really than anything else, uses the illustration of a one in
a thousand. Well, it could be one in a million,
couldn't it? Could be very many. But what
a blessing it will be if you and I are blessed with a desire
to be found, perhaps in the precincts, perhaps at the door, perhaps
just in some inconspicuous situation. But nonetheless, we want to be
there. We began this Psalm 84. How does it begin? He says, how
amiable, that means how really pleasant, 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. Now one thing is very clear.
If we don't really have any desire for the things of God, if we
don't really have any desire for union with the Lord Jesus
Christ, then such a statement will not be true of us. And we
will have not a desire, to be found in this way. Perhaps we
will have a desire rather the other way to be found indeed
in the tents of wickedness. What a difference there is. What
a vast difference. What a wonderful blessing if
the Holy Spirit comes and produces in our hearts this living desire
to meet our God. That's really what it comes down
to, isn't it? Because in the tabernacle, that was where the
Lord came down. That's where the Lord met with
the high priest. And today, we're thankful to
know that the Lord has said, where two or three meet together
in my name, there am I in the midst. There's no particular
blessing, of course, upon the building itself. It's just bricks
and mortar. But it's where the Church of
God meet. They are the building, the spiritual
building. And where, therefore, the Church
of God meet, is it not a desire, then, to be found with them? Perhaps a desire to be found
listening to what they have to say, listening to the truth of
God, and listening to hear what they have to say about the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, it's good, isn't it,
to have a desire to hear such truths. And surely we can imagine
the picture coming up that is referred to here, that here we
have the psalmist in this position, at the threshold of the temple,
and what would he have seen? He would have seen the people
going in. He would have seen them bringing
the sacrifices. He would have seen the animals
being slain. He would have seen the blood
spilled. He would have seen the atonement
being made. He would have seen the animals being sacrificed. What a picture it would be. And
of course, the real picture is that such a scene directs those
who have faith to behold the glorious picture of the Messiah. Well, let's translate that to
our day and age. Our day and age is, of course,
very different. But we have the same situation,
really, because the whole aim of true worship must be to direct
us to the Lamb slain, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, as we may
perhaps be, as it were, on the outskirts, just at the threshold,
and yet you see with that desire, to see and to hear of the great
truths of the gospel. Now, clearly the psalmist here,
this wasn't a one-off experience. He didn't just want to go one
day and then not go again. No, he wanted to be there really
every day, hearing the good news, seeing the good news. And that
should be the concern of us today. We should never find it a boring
situation. We should never think, well,
it's service night tonight, oh, I can't do this, and I can't
do that, and I really wanted to do this, and I don't really
want to go and worship God. Well, what a blessing it is when
the Holy Spirit moves us so that we can think of nothing better,
nothing more desirable than gathering together to hear the gospel proclaimed,
the truth of God preached. Because that's where our heart
is. That's where our heart is. You
see, our heart can't be divided. It's either in the world or it's
in the things of God. We either possess the new nature
or we still have our old nature. And if we possess the new nature,
what a blessing if that new nature is in exercise, And by that I
mean healthy, and by that I mean lively in the things of God,
so that we desire to gather together to hear the truth of God. That 42nd Psalm gives us a very
vivid picture, doesn't it? As we commence that chapter,
the Psalmist says, as the heart panteth after the water brooks,
So panteth my soul after thee, O God. Oh friends, what a blessing
if we pant after the things of God. Just like this illustration. A heart or a deer running perhaps
from an adversary and trying to escape and becomes very thirsty
and pants, longs for the water brooks And then he says, so panteth
my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God. And this is not the unknown God. This is the true God. This is
the real God. He tells us, for the living God. If our souls are alive, if they're
living, then surely there'll be found
there the desire for the living God, because it's the living
God that has produced a life within us. That life to desire
the things of God. Now, let us be quite clear. The
spiritual life is always a battle. It's a big battle. And the devil
knows how to tempt you and how to tempt me. and how to bring
things before our eyes and into our lives to distract us from
the things of God. And let's put it this way, sometimes
perhaps there have been those occasions when we could have
gone to the house of God, but no, we've produced some good
excuse why we've not gone. And then when we've not gone,
perhaps it's come to the end of the day, It may be that our
conscience has smitten us. We thought, well, we've made
an excuse. What's been the result really,
perhaps not in directly, but really like this, that we found
dwelling in the tents of wickedness. And that may not be in a physical
way, but it may be in a mental way. Our hearts may have been in the
tents of wickedness, rather than being in the courts of the Lord,
rather than being just on the threshold, just desiring to be,
as it were, just on the edge. And yet, longing, thirsting is
the word here, longing we can understand perhaps, thirsting
for God, for the living God, He goes on to say, when shall
I come and appear before God? Well, it's a good thing if you
and I come and appear before God on the earth. We should all
appear before God at that great day of judgment or when we pass
out of life. But it would be a good thing, you know, if we
come and appear before God. As it were, when the Lord comes
to us and questions us. And there we are before God. And God's looking at us, and
God's speaking to us, and God's questioning us. You know, when
God questions us, you won't be able to find answers which adequately
can disagree with God's Word. You may try to. You won't be
able to. You won't be able to because
God's word is truth. And all our relative excuses,
when they're boiled down, we'll find they're not holy truth. There may be some vestige of
truth in them. And when it comes right down,
and you see, when the Lord presses us, which he does, And bless
God for that. When the Holy Spirit comes and
presses us to examine ourselves, to see
really what our motive is and whether it is like this. You
see, these are beautiful words which we can read, and no doubt
we've read them perhaps a number of times. But have they arrested
us? as to the relationship of such
words to our own case. Because God's word is written
for all his people. It's not written for just one
or two people we might think are extra good. It's written
for the whole Church of God. And you and I, if we are God's
people, it's written to us. And it's written for our gracious
encouragement and gracious instruction. so that we might have a desire,
therefore, to be found walking in this way. Now, we should not
be discouraged, because as you may have noticed in this 42nd
Psalm, the psalmist knew what it was to be cast down. And he asked the question, he
asked himself the question, It's always good, you know, if you
and I are able to examine ourselves. The Word of God encourages us
to examine ourselves. And therefore, there was this
question. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou cast
down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in
me? Well, there may be those situations
which have developed which we found very difficult and very
hard and the opposition is very great. And what are we to do? The answer's here. Hope thou in God. Trust in the
Lord. Hope thou in God. Because such
a desire produced from the Holy Spirit will not fail because
the answer is For I shall yet praise him for the help of his
countenance. That means when the Lord looks
upon us and perhaps shows us why we're
cast down. It may be because of guilt. It may be because of sinful thoughts,
sinful desires. We may be cast down because of
it. It may, in fact, come to this.
We may feel before God, can ever God dwell here in such a heart
as mine? And you see, when that comes
upon us, we shall be cast down. Why art thou cast down, O my
soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God,
for I shall yet praise Him, and this is the second time it occurs,
I think it occurs perhaps three times in this psalm, who is the
health of my counsellors and my God. See, God gives us spiritual
health. Spiritual health. And spiritual
health will produce a desire like the psalmist had here when
he tells us this great fact. For 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. Now,
the position here that the psalmist did have the evidence that he
was coming to his God. My God. It's very personal, isn't
it? Rural religion is very personal.
We all need to know that the great God is our God. My God. How humbling to think of that. But how wonderful it is that
through his grace and mercy and love, we can come and say, yes,
my God. My God, I'd rather be a doorkeeper. Yes, I'd rather be at the threshold
to be able to hear about the things of God. And of course,
the things of God really are health to our souls. Because
the truth of God, the gospel, shows to us our need and shows
to us the way of salvation. And if perhaps we have been cast
down within ourselves because of ourselves, then you see to
come to the threshold and to hear the good news of the gospel, to hear that Jesus came to seek
and to save those that were lost, the very worst of sinners. Then
you see, there's hope, isn't there? Hope down in God. And so we can bless God then,
for an occasion. And we look forward then to the
next occasion, when again we may receive some comfort and
some help and some strength for our souls. to realize the Lord
doesn't deal with us according to our sins. He's full of compassion. He's a merciful God. And to think
then that the good news, like it would have been in the Old
Testament when the psalmist came to the door, as it were, the
threshold, and saw the wonderful sign of those sacrifices, And
perhaps, given that faith, as Abraham was, when, as we read,
Abraham saw my day and was glad. No doubt, I'm sure, the psalmist
looked forward to see the day of the Saviour and was glad.
My friends, you and I today can look back and see what the Lord
Jesus Christ has done, and see the great and glorious acts that
were performed, and that great death that was died upon that
cross at Calvary, the price that was paid to atone for our sins. Oh, hope in what Christ has done. The finished work, it's complete. There's our hope for time and
for eternity. We come and say, on Christ, the
solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
To hear the good news of the gospel, to hear that Lord Jesus
Christ has come, has come. He didn't fail in the work that
his father gave him to do. He fulfilled it, notwithstanding
the great cost it was. The great personal cost, and
remember, the Lord Jesus Christ was very man and very God. And he had to be very man, a
human form, therefore to pay the price for our sins. Yes,
he bore the punishment instead. Well, you know what good news
that is. And therefore to come like this
and say, yes, a day in thy courts. A day when the Holy Spirit comes
and touches our heart is superior to anything that this world can
offer. You may say, well, why is that? I'll tell you why it is. Because
it is a blessing of eternal reality. It's not something which fades
away. The things of time, the so-called
enjoyments of time, the so-called pleasures of time, they fade
away. The things of God are eternal. The blessings of God are eternal. And you and I can rest our soul
upon the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when we
hear the good news of the gospel, what's the effect? Surely the
effect upon us is to bow down and to worship. It's a great
blessing when the Holy Spirit touches our heart so that we
do worship God in spirit and in truth. They perhaps are familiar
words often used. But they're very relevant to
the reality of true religion, to worship God in spirit and
in truth. Because when the Lord grants
us that, it's then that our souls rejoice. Rejoice then in what
God has done. You know, the psalmist goes on
to say, for the Lord God is a sun and 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. favor it is if you and I are
brought to this situation so that we do come and we trust
in the Lord and we rejoice in the Lord and we bless God for
his great salvation. The psalmist joined together,
95th Psalm, he says, O come, let us sing unto the Lord. Let
us make a joyful noise for the rock of our salvation. And he
comes down in the sixth verse, he says, oh, come, let us worship
and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord,
our maker, before he is our God. And we are the people of his
pasture and the sheep of his hand. Today, if ye will hear
his voice, harden not your heart as in the provocation and as
in the day of temptation in the wilderness. And he goes on, of
course, speaking about the waywardness of Israel of old. But nonetheless,
this is a very encouraging statement for the Church of God today. What a blessing it is. It is
an encouragement for us today as we think of this statement,
a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. And so it is. Well, perhaps we would ask the
question, do you agree with that? Do you agree with that? Is that
true in your heart? Is it true in your life? That
just one day in worship, Just one day of blessing in the house
of God, perhaps right on the outside, perhaps on the threshold,
you've just about been able to hear it, is better than anything
else. That's what it really means.
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. So here was
the psalmist desiring. He wanted to be on the threshold. He didn't want to dwell anywhere
else. That really sets us apart, doesn't
it? That really is a separating word. It really is the word of
Almighty God. Another beautiful verse in the
122nd Psalm. The Psalmist David says, and
this is good, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go
into the house of the Lord. Yes, he didn't drag his feet,
did he? He didn't say, well, I want to
do this, and I don't think I can come with you today. Oh, no. David here, blessed with spiritual
life, was able to say, I was glad. when they said unto me,
let us go into the house of the Lord. Well, I wonder if we can
say that, and you know, in this little Psalm 122, he goes on
to say, peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces.
For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, peace
be within thee, because of the house of the Lord our God, I
will seek thy good. What does it really come down
to? Sure it comes down to this, looking unto Jesus. That will
be the desire, to come and hear whether the Lord has a word to
speak to our hearts. We're hungry and thirsty. The
42nd Psalm speaks about thirst. We're thirsty. Are we thirsty
for the things of God? Are we really on the stretch
after them? Or are they a bit irrelevant? Are they not very
important? Well, they were important to
the psalmist. It would be a good thing, therefore,
if they are really important unto us. These are the most important
things. These are the most important
things. Because when we come to die, what's important? All
the days we spend aimlessly serving the devil? Or the times when
God has come and blessed our souls in his house? David tells us in an earlier
psalm, 27, He says, one thing, one thing. Have I desired of the Lord that
what I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to
inquire in his temple. What a good desire. What a godly
desire. What a wonderful desire. And
all that the Holy Spirit might give us a similar urgency and
desire, just like this. Because he starts off this psalm,
he says, the Lord is my light and my salvation. We might say,
well, that's true of me. I hope it is. But then can we
go on to say, like he says here, one thing of our desire to the
Lord, That would I seek after. Are we seeking after it? That
I may dwell in the house of the Lord. I know that can refer to
a natural situation, but it also refers to a spiritual situation,
that we dwell with the Lord day by day. We walk with Him day
by day. It's not something we only reserve
for the Lord's day. It's something we desire every
day. That's why the psalmist tells
us here, 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. Now, I cannot answer for you. You have to answer before God.
But bless God if you can find in your heart a truth like this. Because if it is so, it is a
wonderful evidence of the life of God, because it's not just
coming to the building. It's coming to hear what the
Lord will speak to our souls, just like it was with David here. There he was, he was seeing everything
that directed the people to the Savior. Forgiveness, atonement,
it was all there. And so it is today. Bless God,
then, if our hearts are towards God in such a way that we can
say humbly, because it's the work of the Holy Spirit. And
bless God if you and I can say it. But may we be able to say
it. For 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. Amen.