Psalm 84 – the Psalm of the Doorkeepers

Psalm 84 – The Psalm of the Doorkeepers

Last week PJ began a series entitled Summer Psalms. He began this series in Ps 121 and this is a beautiful psalm of ascent, a pilgrimage psalm. The Psalmist asks, Where does my help come from, my help comes from the Lord, (and he reminds himself in song that God is) the maker of heaven and earth. God has made you and me in His image and desires a relationship with us and promises to protect us. And if he is wise enough and powerful enough to make everything we can see in all of creation, and everything beyond what we can see, he is certainly able to keep your foot from slipping and to watch over your coming and your going now and forevermore. Beautiful assurances and promises.

And before I go on let me say, especially if you are new to Grace, please do not mistake me for PJ. He is a tall, thin, balding, middle aged white guy – obviously we have little in common. Most people mistake me for Brad Pitt. Although I do find that a bit insulting as Brad is an inch shorter than me. PJ and I do share two things in common, Jesus rescued us from ourselves and we were both blessed to marry incredible, godly women in 1984.

Pastor Jeff is very faithful to prepare and present a message from God’s word Sunday after Sunday. He takes his responsibilities as the pastor of this local church family very seriously and this can be taxing. I am glad that he has taken a week off to spend with Violet, their children and some friends.

Today, I have the responsibility (and privilege) to present God’s word – a truly sobering task. If I am a stranger to you, let me briefly introduce myself- My name is Chuck Rustin...... (Brad and I same age. Have been married to a godly, beautiful woman named Julie for almost 35 years. We have 2 grown sons, Robert and Michael. Both love the Lord and there is no greater blessing to a parent than that. Robert lives here with his bride Nicole and both serve faithful on our P&W team and they are about to have their first child in ~ a week –Olivia will be our first grandchild. Michael is the younger and was B&R here in PSL and moved to MN 3 yrs ago and loves it…. I came out of secular employment at P&W when PJ invited me to join the staff back in 2002. On staff ~17 yrs now and I help with member care, small groups and some church administration.

And I don’t want to be guilty of painting an artificially rosy picture of our family. Like you we experience hardship and trials... In a 10 month stretch we lost 3 of Julie’s family members, her step-mother and a 36 yr old cousin then her father just 2 months ago, her mom is very ill, we have other family suffering physically and emotionally, some struggling with drug and alcohol addiction…. Julie has had over 200 stitches from skin cancer and pre-cancerous surgeries and I still deal with some lasting effects from a neuro-toxin poisoning over a decade ago…. And we currently have a water leak under the slab of our home.

And I don’t say any of that to garner any pity or sympathy, or to compare trials, b/c I know you have them as well. I just want to assure

2 you that we all live in the same broken, painful world. Not the world of Hollywood or fake-book or insta-lie, or a world skewed by a false, prosperity-gospel. But the real world where there are real problems, real heartache. But, as followers of Jesus Christ we all have access to the same grace and the same hope that is found in Jesus Christ – a grace that God says is sufficient no matter what we face and a hope that will see us thru the most difficult trials.

And I feel that is what makes the Psalms so beautiful to us. The Psalmists are so real in expressing their heart toward God or about God. They write from their emotions as much as from their minds. They share literally and also incorporate metaphors and imagery: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.” Ps 18:2 And they use hyperbole – Psa 6:6 “I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.”

The Psalmists proclaim God’s worth, his holiness, his majesty. They offer repentance, they acknowledge his forgiveness and mercy, his goodness and faithfulness. We also see them sharing their pain, their doubt, their brokenness and despair. The writers aren’t churchy or religious, they are real - and this realness is one of the things that makes the Psalms so relatable. The Psalms speak to us primarily thru our hearts and emotions, even more than thru our minds.

Something really important to realize about the Psalmists, especially when they verbalize their pain and distress and even hopelessness at

3 times – they were not complaining or looking for a pity party – no, they were presenting their hearts and emotions before God, they were praying their anguish, their doubt, their fear.

Having the NT we know that God instructs us to cast all of or cares on Him – why? Because he cares for us. The writers of the Psalms did not have this verse from the book of I Peter, but they served the same compassionate God and by the Spirit they knew to cast their cares on the Lord - they sang their heartache, their disappointment, their fears and uncertainty…. And the goodness of God would overshadow their emotions and their burdens and a fresh perspective would come.

By faith they would proclaim the goodness and faithfulness of God. Their circumstances, their problem or pain would not necessarily go away, but they would just not seem so big, or so overwhelming anymore because they allowed God to remind them how big He is. Their hope would be renewed.

There is much to learn from the Psalms and I would like to take a look at another one today. One that I know will be familiar to at least some of you. Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar,

O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. 8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob-Selah 9 Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. 10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. 12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

So let’s take a look at what the psalmist is saying: 1. How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Is he really saying, hey God, nice crib. The mercy seat, great choice on going with wood, and the gold inlay, beautiful touch, and those curtains really complete the place… No, that is not what he is saying. God’s dwelling place is lovely because God chooses to reveal himself there… his glory, his majesty, his holiness can be felt – so the place is lovely because God is lovely. And the psalmist reinforces that by describing the one who dwells there – O LORD Almighty! Just like last week we see again that the reference

5 to God is the Hebrew name for God – YEHOVAH = self existent one or eternal one, the one without beginning and without end, and he adds to the name (Almighty) = you who rule over the masses

Just as the psalmist goes before God in song by first declaring who God is, it is very important when we go before God in prayer, in worship, whenever and however we approach Him, to consider who he is and to go before him by acknowledging who he is! When Jesus was asked to teach the disciples how to pray, what do we see, about 40% of the prayer he spoke was recognizing and reverencing Father God: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Whether at home or here with your church family, we should be mindful and intentional in worship of God. If you hold back or don’t enter into worship it may be because you are forgetting who God is and that you were created to worship him. Worship is one of the most natural responses to God from His children when you see him for who he is and what he has done for you in Christ.

The writer of Hebrews says at the end of ch 12, “since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.” Heb 12:28

“I love you lord…..” does that look like reverence and awe? In Isaiah we see a type of angel called seraphs flying near the throne of God and they had 3 sets of wings. w one set they covered their faces another covered their feet and w another they flew, and as they flew

6 near the throne of God they cried out HOLY HOLY HOLY is the LORD almighty, the whole earth is filled with His glory!

God is immutable, that means he is unchanging, from eternity past to eternity future he is the same and if he was HOLY HOLY HOLY to these angels he should be nothing less than HOLY HOLY HOLY to us! We have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ and we need to be continually mindful of who God is and the reverence He deserves! Then we will be like the Psalmist when he says - My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh (everything in me) cry out for the living God.

He declares who God is and that God, not anything else, is his chief desire - He goes on…. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

We have a couple of bird feeders and a bird bath in our back yard and we really enjoy taking a few minutes to watch the birds feed and splash around. Sometimes I go racing out the back and I hear the slightest commotion and one of the feeders is rocking – what happened? … birds are easily scared away. They are not typically the most ferocious of living creatures, especially the little ones. They need a safe place to feed, and to rest, and will only build a nest where they know it is safe and protected. So, even the Sparrow has found a home…. not to pick on this bird, but not exactly an eagle or falcon or a blue and gold macaw.

Jesus speaking in matt 10 – “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. So don’t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.”

One of the least valuable birds on the planet, something that is almost worthless in man’s eyes, is watched over by the Self-existent one. EVEN a sparrow…. If God will allow a sparrow to find a safe place near him, how much more will he provide a safe and secure place for you, who is made in his image and likeness.

The Psalmist is reminded of the safe and secure place he has with God by seeing that even the simplest of birds can find a safe place near God. and he proclaims, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

(( Something of little worth finds great worth in God… ))

V 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah Those who get to serve in the house of God, are continually exposed to the presence and goodness of God so they are continually praising Him - how blessed and fulfilled they are to do what they were created to do!

But the Psalmist is mindful that not all dwell in the house of God on a regular basis… 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

Let me go back and explain something, when scripture says God’s house it means a place he has prescribed and he promises to put his name or make his presence know there.

8 "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. Exodus 25

God first prescribed a tabernacle be built, a very elaborate tent, then later he allowed Solomon to build a temple, a permanent structure. Scriptures tell us of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - and at one point God gave Jacob the name Israel. Jacob or Israel had 12 sons and they become known as the 12 tribes of Israel. One tribe was the tribe of Levi and the Levites were given responsibility to serve in all different capacities in God’s house – what an honor and blessing.

“take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name. Duet 26:2 And when the people did this they would then give the offering to the priest to present to the Lord.

And what we see here is early instructions for the Israelites to travel to God’s dwelling place with an offering. That “go to the place” came to be known as a pilgrimage.

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.” We could read v5-7 this way: because they have set their hearts on drawing near to you, you have strengthened them for the task. And although they pass through the valley of Baca (that is the valley of weeping) they are continually refreshed and strengthened by the joy set before them – the joy of being in your presence.

Speaking of Jesus, scripture says, For the Joy set before him he endured the cross…Sometimes life is hard, but with a clear vision of what is to come, we can endure and we can stand firm until the end…

So what was their goal in making pilgrimage – to meet with God in Zion and to know the joy and awe of his presence. They chose to not focus on their trials, but on what was beyond the trials. Hebrews ch 11 says this about Abraham– he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Those who set their hearts on pilgrimage were “walking by Faith!” And this was pleasing to God.

So those who serve in God’s house are blessed and those who are determined to get to God’s house to meet with him are blessed.

8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob- Selah 9 Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. Here the Psalmist appeals to God to hear his prayer. Some commentators believe this was a prayer for the current ruler of Israel.

And this could be, but not sure who that might have been because we don’t know when this Psalm was written. One thing we can glean from this though is that it is important for us to pray for our leaders. We know from Daniel that God sets up kings and depose them – and these actions are based on his sovereign will.

II Timothy 2 “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” Not only does it please God when we pray for our rulers, but it means a blessing for our lives.

Before I go to the next verse, I need to go back to the Levites for a moment. We know some Levites were assigned to serve as priests, some handled the sacrifices, some were responsible for singing and music. One branch of the tribe of Levi was the sons of Kore (known as the Korahites) and we see at the beginning of this Psalm it was written by the sons of Korah.

Since they were part of the Levitical lineage they too had responsibility at the temple. And in I Chronicles 26 we discover what that responsibility was. The Korahites were the gatekeepers or doorkeepers at the temple. Being a doorkeeper does not seem like a very glamourous position, but serving anywhere in the Temple was considered a great privilege and I Chron 26 goes on to tell us these were strong, capable men.

So the Korahites served regularly at the temple courts as doorkeepers and the Psalmist, apparently speaking from first-hand experience, proclaims a very familiar portion from this Psalm: V 10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. And goes on in v 11 to explain why he feels this way 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

Sounds like the Psalmist has tasted and seen that the Lord is good! To be near to God and to know his presence even for just a single day is better than a thousand days sampling the best this world has to offer. This sounds like a lesson that was learned the hard way by the Prodigal son….

He says I would rather do what God created me to do, to be a doorkeeper in God’s house, no matter how ordinary that seems, then to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

And he takes the focus off the house of God and puts it on God himself. Like he wants to be clear all this talk about wanting to be in the house of God or to go to the house of God has nothing to do with the place itself, but everything to do with the one who is found there. He has found God to be both sun and shield (a light to illuminate the way and a protector along the way), (and he is) the giver of favor and honor

(awesome), and he withholds no good thing (great) to those who walk in blameless (rutrow) – I was all in until that one.

Can any man be blameless before God? no, not on their own! The Bible is clear that all our righteous acts are like filthy rags… So, what do we do with that? Well, way back in Genesis 15:6 “Abraham believed the LORD and he credited it to him as righteousness”

Did God just randomly decide Abraham is now righteous? No God the father knew that one day a sacrifice would be made that would pay the price for the sin of all mankind. Romans 3:25 tells us: God presented him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.”

How can a person in the Old Testament be found blameless, the same way we are found blameless today, by faith in God and what he says. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. We believe God and we are made righteous in Christ!

And the Psalmist concludes: 12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you. By simply trusting in God, not in self, we can know the blessings that are promised.