Selected Psalms

Yearning for the Dwelling Place of God...

“How blessed are those who dwell with God...!” - Psalm 84

Introductory Thoughts:

·        I want to invite you to open your Bibles to Psalm 84...

·        A few times in my life I had the blessing and joy of experiencing the presence of God along  with the people of God in such a way, that I didn’t want to be anywhere else at that moment...

·        I remember some band practices and times of worship... some sermons... some LifeGroups... some camps  and outreaches where everything else just faded to the background and I wished that time could just stand  still... that that moment could just continue forever...

·        There is a quote from George Muller that says: “the less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to  read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray.”

·        I believe that it is perfectly applicable to gathering with other believers to worship and have fellowship with the Lord as well... the less you gather with them to worship God, the less you will desire to gather with  them to worship God... the less you gather with them to have fellowship with God, the less you will desire to gather with them to have fellowship with God...

·        Psalm 84 is most probably written by one of the sons of Korah, who served as servants in the temple, who was a true believer and who was longing and yearning to be able to gather with the  people of God in God’s house to be able to worship Him and have fellowship with Him.

·        Some circumstance, that we cannot be sure of, was hindering him from being able to do so, and so he writes this Psalm to give expression to the longing of his heart, namely, to be in the courts of God, as well as the reason behind this great longing, namely that those who dwell with God, those who  seek His presence, are the ones who are truly blessed... are the ones who have true and  lasting joy...!

·        And so we will study this Psalm tonight under this theme:

Yearning for the dwelling place of God... “How blessed are those who dwell with God...!”

·        Lets then read Psalm 84...

·        Three times in this Psalm, the Psalmist refers to those who are “blessed”.

·        Lingon Duncan comments: “The idea of being blessed is the idea of the one who has found the fullest  joy, the deepest satisfaction, the truest purpose of life.”

·        The AMP Bible explains being “blessed” as “happy, fortunate, to be envied...”

·        He then connects being blessed with those who dwell in God’s house... those whose strength is in Him... those who trusts in Him... very simply, with those who experience the presence of God in their lives...!

·        Here is then the principle of this Psalm: true and lasting joy can only be found in the  presence of God...!

·        To say it in a more complete way: True blessedness, true joy, comes to those who delights in, longs for, seek and choose to be in the presence of God, in the house of the Lord, to worship Him, depend on Him and rest in Him.

·        It is only those who dwell with God that will be blessed...!

Teaching Points:

I then want to draw our attention to three realities concerning every Christian and the dwelling place of God:

1. The desire & delight of every Christian... (for the dwelling place of God...) (v1-4)

·        Verse 1: “How lovely” or “how I love” Your dwelling place... He is obviously not talking about the physical appearance, but rather of spiritual presence that it resembles namely the presence of God.

·        The dwelling place of God is lovely... why?... because God is there...!

·        True believers are longing after God himself...! That is what draws them to His house...

·        Verse 2: He longs to be there implying that there is something that is hindering him... his longing is so great that he is fainting from this longing... near to passing out, out of great desire and need to be in the courts of God, in the presence of God...!

·        His desire is to be there so that he can worship the living God as opposed to all the other false and dead gods – that is his delight... his joy.

·        Now, in context he is clearly referring to the Old Testament Temple that was where God’s presence dwelled among His people.

·        In the New Testament, we know that God is not limited to a building but that every believer  is now His temple...! (cf. 1 Cor 3:16) We can now draw near to the presence of God anywhere and at anytime...!

·        Jesus taught in Joh 4:21-23...

·        We can now come into the presence of God through private worship and also corporate worship.

·        We can come together at any place and know that we are the temple of God... God is present  wherever His people come together... wherever His called out ones, the church,  gathers, there is His temple and there is His presence...!

·        Here is the question: How great is your desire to be in the presence of God...? How great is your  longing to gather with other believers so as to worship God...?

·        Verse 3 describes part of the reason why he is longing for the courts and presence of God...

·        In other words, God's house, God’s presence, is to his soul what a nest is to a swallow – a place of rest  and security and satisfaction and peace... he mentions the alter to direct our thought  towards the sacrifices that were made to bring peace between God and His people... we know that  Jesus is our ultimate sacrifice that brough us to an eternal peace with God...!

·        And it is not just for his own soul that he finds these things, but just like the swallow finds a place for its  young, so we are to realize that there is no better place than to bring up our children than in the presence of God, in the local church...!

·        Note also then end of verse 3 – the great and mind blowing reality is that as we approach the presence of  God and worship Him together, we are not just a number or a face, but that each one of us can have a  personal relationship with God... He is not an impersonal God, but a personal God...!

·        The Psalmist was not just longing to be with other people, He was longing for the presence of His best friend... “my King and my God” ...!

·        Verse 4: He then makes the statement about how blessed, happy, fortunate, to be envied are those who can so gather together to worship God...! Who dwell in His house to sing His  praises...!

·        The psalmist’s point here is that he longed to gather corporately with God’s people so that he could praise God with them and experience God’s presence together. That brings about true and lasting  joy...!

·        Q: Do you share his longing? Do you look forward to gathering with the saints in worship, with the desire to be in God’s presence?  Do you still see it as a great privilege  and blessing to be able to come together and worship God? Do you come really looking for God to show up?

·        Warren Wiersbe: “If you have been saved by God's grace, you ought to have a strong desire to worship Him and fellowship with Him. You have the privilege of attending God's house and worshiping with His  people. Do you desire to be with them? Does your heart cry out for the living God?”

2. The dependence & direction of every Christian... (towards the dwelling place of God...) (v5-8)

·        In verse 1-4 he was talking about those who are there – dwelling in the house of God to praise Him.

·        In verse 5-8 he is talking about those who are on their way to gather with the others in the temple of God  to worship Him... he is talking about the travellers who are with great purpose and resolve  are on their way to the presence of God and that they too are blessed, happy, fortunate and to be envied.

·        In context, it then refers to those travellers who had to travel from a far place to reach the temple of God  and worship Him along with the other people.

·        Verse 5: They are happy and full of joy who do not trust in their own strength to come into the presence of God, but who are completely dependent upon God to bring them safely into His  presence.

·        They are happy and full of joy whose hearts are set on seeking Him and His presence... whose  hearts is not set on this earth and the things of the earth, but on Christ and the things that are above...! That is the direction of every Christian...!

·        While we can experience the presence of God in this live, in personal and corporate worship,  we are on our way, we are travellers, we are pilgrims on our way to the eternal dwelling place of God...! We are on our way to heaven and we need to make sure that the “highway to Zion” is  what is in our hearts...!

·        Happy and joyful people are those who has their hearts set on eternity and depending on God to get them there...!

·        Verse 6: “Baca” means weeping and reminds us of the reality that our journey to the presence of  God, to heaven, through this world is not without heartache and pain and suffering, but  that God will lead us through it and that in the end, even our weeping will proof to be a blessing...! God  doesn’t waste any of the trials that He sends His beloved people through – it will result in being a  blessing to them and to others...! (cf. 1 Pet 1:6-7; Jam 1:12-13)

·        Verse 7 has been such a great verse of encouragement to me yesterday...!

·        God’s people on their journey to His presence do not move from strength to weakness. They move from  strength to strength. The trip will not wear them out...! (cf. 2 Cor 4:16)

·        Warren Wiersbe: “They were looking forward to meeting with the living God as they went to celebrate  the feast. We, too, go from strength to strength. You may look ahead and say, "I'll never make it." But  you will. He gives you the strength to keep going as you make your pilgrimage... It is often a difficult  journey, but God will give you the strength to continue and progress.”

·        What a great joy to know that God will bring everyone who depends on Him and whose hearts  is set on Him into His presence one day...! He will give us the strength to endure and  persevere because He is the One who is preserving is for Himself...!

·        Verse 8: This is what the Psalmist is praying for in the light of him being hindered to reach the  dwelling place of God... He is depending on God to bring him there and He is giving proof of this  dependence by pouring out his heart before God in prayer... he was admitting his own weakness to God and that he needed the strength of God to accomplish it for him.

·        Q: When was the last time you poured out your heart in longing dependence to God that  He will bring you into His presence...? That you admitted your weaknesses before God and  pleaded with Him to give you the strength to endure...?

3. The declaration & doctrine of every Christian.... (regarding the God of the dwelling place...) (v9-12)

·        Verse 9: Here we find a hint that the reason why the Psalmist couldn’t reach the dwelling place of God, was because there was some or other national crisis maybe which the Psalmist then pleads with God that He will remember their “shield”, their king, that He has annointed and empower him to resolve this crisis, so that the Psalmist can reach the presence of God...

·        This then points us to our King who is the annointed of God – Jesus Christ, and that He  came to remove the obstacle that kept us from being able to know God and come into His presence  namely, our sin...!

·        Through Him we can now approach the throne and presence of God with full  confidence...!

·        Every believer who gets this reality and further longs for God’s presence and have  tasted His presence, make the declaration of verse 10...

·        Sam Storms: “The author of Psalm 84 undertook a comparative study as he prepared to worship. He  investigated the best and the most and the sweetest and the highest and the happiest this world could offer  and drew this profound conclusion: "A day in your courts [O God] 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" (v. 10).”

·        Knowing God, worshipping Him, being in His presence brings about greater joy and pleasure than this world can ever offer...! (cf. Ps 16:11)

·        Our problem is not that we are seeking too much joy, but rather that we are seeking too little and  fleeting joys... God is a God of joy and with Him, in His presence are fullness of joy...!

·        Even if the Psalmist were to have the lowliest of functions in God’s presence, which would still be better for Him than he best things this wicked world could offer him...!

·        Nothing that this world could offer can bring you more joy than God can give you...!

·        Q: Do you believe this...? Will you trust Him...?

·        You will only trust Him if you have an accurate doctrine of Him.

·        Verse 11: Here we find what should be every Christian’s doctrine about the God of the dwelling place... the God whose presence they seek...

·        God is their sun - He is their provision and in that He is sufficient...

·        God is their shield - He is their protection and their security...

·        As true believers travel through this world, they can fully trust in God that He will sustain them and keep them secure...

·        God gives them favour or then grace – their journey to God’s presence begins with God’s saving grace that He gives to them as a gift and He then further gives them His empowering grace so that they can keep on standing in His grace....

·        He gives them honour or the glory – as they walk through this life, He transform them from one degree of glory to the next and He ultimately gives them the glory of heaven and of His  presence... the end and aim of their journey...!

·        God will not withhold any good thing from them – God is good and He does good. He loves doing good to His people and they can trust and know that He will not withhold that which would be good  for them... (cf. Rom 8:28; 32) Given that we will not always perceive it as good, but that is where faith needs to operate in trusting the unseen heart of our Father...!

·        This is then true for those who walk uprightly, namely those who live with integrity,  honesty, not with hypocrisy and deception before Him... those who are truly seeking Him and His presence so as to enjoy Him... not just that He could do for them what they perceive would bring them pleasure...

·        Verse 12 then closes by confirming that those who trust in God to be all of this to them, it is they that will be truly blessed, joyful, happy, fortunate, to be envied...!

Closing Thoughts:

·        Q: Are you yearning for the dwelling place of God...? Is it your pursuit here on earth to  seek God privately and with His people...? Are you dwelling in the house of the Lord – spending time in the Bible and prayer as often as you can... gathering with other believers as often as you can...?

·        This is to be the reality of every Christian and I believe that it is only those who are  growing in this yearning that will ultimately reach the “dwelling place” of God that Rev 21:1-5 speaks about...

·        Those who are yearning for the dwelling place of God, the presence of God will be  satisfied and they are the ones who are truly blessed, joyful, happy, fortunate, to be envied...!

·        Let us make sure that you and I are one of them...!

·        You only have this one life to yearn for and seek the presence of God... Don’t waste it by trying to “dwell in the tents of wickedness” ...!

·        “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past. Only what is done for Christ will last...!”

·        In 1714, Matthew Henry, the well-known pastor and Bible commentator, was on his deathbed at age 52.  He was relatively young and had not finished his commentary (others finished it from his notes). He had  endured the loss of his first wife and of three of his nine children. He could have complained about his hard life. But he said to a friend, “You have been used to take notice of the sayings of dying men. This is mine - that a life spent in the service of God, and communion with Him, is the most comfortable and pleasant life that one can live in this present world.”

·        Following the Lord is the most blessed life possible. The many pleasures that the  Lord gives to satisfy your soul should fuel your desire to be in His presence, both individually  and when His people gather to worship Him.

May it be so...!