Psalm 84: Your Dwelling Place

[0:00] Well if we could, with the Lord's help, and the Lord's enabling this evening, turn back to that portion of scripture that we read, the book of Psalms, Psalm 84.

[0:21] Psalm 84, and we'll just read, I want to walk through the whole psalm, but we'll just read the first two verses. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts, my soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord, my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

[0:43] And so on. Now Psalm 84, it's not only a favourite with many of the Lord's people, it's also a psalm which reminds us about the wonder and the glory of who our God really is.

[1:01] And it was Spurgeon who said in his treasury of David, I'm sure many homes here have the treasury of David in them. And he said about Psalm 84, Spurgeon said, this sacred ode is one of the choicest of the collection.

[1:16] It has a mild radiance about it, entitling it to be called the Pearl of Psalms. And Spurgeon went on to say, he said, if the 23rd Psalm is the most popular, the 103rd Psalm the most joyful, the 119th Psalm the most deeply experimental, and the 51st Psalm the most plaintive, then this Psalm is one of the most sweet of the Psalms of peace.

[1:44] You know, I think Spurgeon, he captures the feeling of many of the Lord's people when he calls Psalm 84 the Pearl of Psalms, because it's a psalm which describes the longing and the delight which the Lord's people have in their heart when they consider the house of God, when they consider the Lord's house.

[2:08] But with a psalm like this one, we have to view it in a twofold light. Because the psalm speaks about the now and the not yet.

[2:19] The now and the not yet. Because for the Lord's people, you could say there are two dwelling places. The psalmist here speaks of one, but in the now and the not yet, there's actually two dwelling places.

[2:32] And that we would refer to them both as lovely dwelling places. There is, because there's the lovely dwelling place here in the now, here in this life where we gather in the Lord's house as the Lord's people and we come to worship the Lord and experience his presence and listen to his voice speak to us in the gospel.

[2:53] And because the Lord speaks to us here and he speaks to us so intimately, so personally, through his word to his people, we would regard this place as a lovely dwelling place.

[3:06] But we also have to look forward to the not yet. Because we have the promise, as Jesus says, we have the promise of the place of many mansions wherein dwelleth righteousness.

[3:19] And it's there that we will worship the Lord in the many mansions. And we will continue to learn about the Lord throughout the endless ages of eternity. And so for the Christian, there are two dwelling places that we would call lovely dwelling places.

[3:34] And that's the way in which we ought to view this psalm. That it speaks about the lovely dwelling place of God's house now and not yet. Here and now and also in the future to come.

[3:47] And you know, as we can see with many psalms here that we see in this altar, but especially this psalm, another point to notice, the word selah, it keeps appearing. And it's a word that we can often overlook in the psalms, but it breaks it down helpfully for us.

[4:03] And the word selah just means to exalt or to praise. And the psalmist, as we go through the psalm, he's calling us to stop and consider what he's saying. Stop and consider how lovely this dwelling place is.

[4:16] Stop and consider how we are to exalt the Lord and praise him for his wondrous works. And as we can see from looking at this pearl of psalm, pearl of psalms, you could say, the psalmist divides the psalm into three sections.

[4:34] And he divides it using the word selah, because it appears at the end of verse 4 and then again at the end of verse 8. And so there are three things in this psalm that we could see, three things which are blessed.

[4:49] He tells us that the Lord's house is a blessed place in verses 1 to 4. Then he points out to us in verses 5 to 8 that those who travel to the Lord's house are blessed pilgrims.

[5:02] And then the psalmist concludes this pearl of psalms. He concludes it with a prayer, highlighting that everyone who trusts in the Lord is blessed.

[5:15] It's the blessed prayer. So there's the three headings. Verses 1 to 4 is the blessed place. Verses 5 to 8, the blessed pilgrims. And verses 9 to 12, the blessed prayer.

[5:27] So if we look first of all at the blessed place, the blessed place, verses 1 to 4. I'll just read it again. He says, How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!

[5:40] My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

[5:58] Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise. Selah. In these words, the psalmist, he expresses his longing and his earnest desire to be in the Lord's house with the Lord's people and to be worshipping the Lord.

[6:14] Because he says, those who dwell in the house of the Lord, they are blessed. We are blessed, he said. He said, we are a privileged people and we are a people who have come here tonight into the Lord's house.

[6:29] We have come in order to receive the blessing of the Lord. And you know, that was the psalmist's longing. He longed to be in the place of blessing because that's where the King is to be found.

[6:41] That's where the King meets with his people. And in these opening verses, the psalmist refers to the Lord using all these different titles and names. He calls him the Lord of hosts.

[6:53] In verse 1, he says, the Lord, the living God, the Lord of hosts, my King and my God. He gives all these titles. And what he's saying is that the longing of his soul is to be in the presence of his King.

[7:07] That's where the blessing is. That's where the blessing is to be experienced. It's to be experienced in the presence of the King. And you know, is that not why we've come here this evening?

[7:18] We've come to experience the blessing of the King. Is that not the longing of our soul? To be in the place of blessing and to be in the presence of our King.

[7:30] Is that not why we have come? But as you know, and I've mentioned this before, this word bless, it's significant. Because it's a royal term which literally means to kneel.

[7:43] And it always should bring us back to the idea of, well, or give to us the image that we often see of the Queen and someone kneeling before the Queen who's been knighted.

[7:55] And that's the sense of this word, word bless, to kneel. It's portraying to us this royal figure being Jesus, the King standing up from his throne.

[8:06] And those who are in the King's presence, they're kneeling. And they have their heads bowed and their hand outstretched. And they're receiving something from the gracious hand of the King.

[8:17] And what they're receiving from the King is something that they don't deserve. And yet the King is graciously giving to them. He's freely and graciously giving to them what they don't deserve.

[8:29] He's blessing them. He's blessing them. Because blessing only comes from the gracious hand of the King. And the psalmist knows that the place of blessing is only to be found in the presence of the King.

[8:44] In the King's throne room, as it were. And that's why his longing is to be there. He wants to be in the presence of the King. He wants to be in the Lord's house. And that's what he emphasizes and re-emphasizes throughout this psalm.

[9:00] Because he gives all these descriptions of the dwelling place for which he's longing for. He calls it the lovely dwelling place of God. He calls it the courts of the Lord.

[9:12] The house of God. Your house. Your courts. The house of my God. And the psalmist is clear. He wants to be in the presence of his King.

[9:25] He wants to praise the Lord for who he is. And thank him for what he's done in his life. And he wants to experience the Lord's blessing. That's his longing. That's his longing.

[9:38] And he goes on to say in verse 2. And you know the psalmist, by saying soul, heart and flesh.

[9:54] He gives this threefold description of his entire being. His entire being that's longing for the Lord. He says my soul, my heart, my flesh.

[10:06] It's all crying out for the living God. He's saying there is not one part of me that doesn't want to be in the King's house and in the place of blessing.

[10:16] My entire being, my soul, my heart, my flesh. It longs to be in your dwelling place. And you know what? When we hear about this longing.

[10:28] Do you not think to yourself, well is that me? Is that what I'm like? Is that me? Is that you? Is that our longing? Is it our longing to be in the Lord's house?

[10:40] In the presence of the King? Is that our desire? Even as we come to another communion season. And we have communion with the Lord this weekend.

[10:54] Is that our desire to be in the King's house? To sit at the King's table? Is that our desire to be in communion and fellowship with the Lord? Our communion and fellowship with the Lord's people?

[11:07] Do we have the same longing that the psalmist had? To experience the blessing of God? As we gather together. Around his word and around his table.

[11:18] Have we come here this evening? Not only out of habit or out of duty. But because our soul, our heart, our flesh. It longs to be in the presence of the living God.

[11:32] But you know the psalmist he doesn't end there. You might think well that's enough. Surely. But his deep desire is to be in the place of blessing. And it was so deep that he even envied the sparrows and the swallows.

[11:47] He envied the sparrows and the swallows. He says in verse 3. Even the sparrow finds a home. And the swallow a nest for herself. Where she may lay her young at your altars.

[11:57] O Lord of hosts. My King and my God. You know the psalmist he considers two of the most insignificant birds. And he envies them.

[12:07] Because he says. And he has envy towards them. Because they have found the Lord's house. To be a place of shelter and refuge. And with this imagery of the sparrow and the swallow.

[12:22] The psalmist is describing how he feels. Now we don't like to speak about our feelings. But the psalmist reveals how he felt. And by envying the sparrow.

[12:34] The psalmist was showing us. How weak and how frail he felt. He feels weak and frail. Because the sparrow was. It was a burden. Which in ancient times.

[12:46] It was considered to be worthless. The sparrow was worthless. And it's said that. Two. That two sparrows would only cost a penny. And well young boys in Jerusalem.

[12:57] They would often try and catch sparrows. And then try and sell two of them. Just to make a wee penny. And yet the psalmist says. The sparrow has found a home near to God's altar.

[13:09] Implying that he feels that he is worth less than a sparrow. Because he hasn't yet found refuge in the house of God.

[13:20] In the place of blessing. In the palace of the king. He hasn't reached there yet. We'll come to that in a minute. He's a pilgrim going to the house of God. And you know that's how we can often feel.

[13:32] We can often feel so unworthy. We feel so insignificant. And so unimportant to God. Maybe even in comparison to other people.

[13:45] And naturally we make comparisons with other people. Even though we shouldn't do it. But my friend. Don't you just love what Jesus says about us in Matthew chapter 10.

[13:55] He asks the question. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your father's will.

[14:07] Therefore he says. Do not fear. You are of more value than many sparrows. You are of more value than many sparrows. And so my Christian friend.

[14:19] You're not worthless. You're not insignificant to the king. You're not unimportant to the king. And you're certainly not unworthy to come to the king's house.

[14:32] And you're not unworthy to sit at the king's table. And you're certainly not insignificant to the king. No, no. What we've been reminded here is that you're precious to the king. You're a treasured possession of the king.

[14:45] You're the apple of his eye. You've been redeemed. Not with corruptible things such as silver and gold. But with the precious blood of Christ. That's your standing tonight.

[14:57] You're precious to the king. Not unworthy. But made worthy through the blood of Christ. But then there's also the description of the swallow. And if the sparrow was an illustration of the psalmist's feeling of worthlessness.

[15:12] Then the swallow is an illustration of the psalmist's feeling of restlessness. Because if you're a keen bird watcher, which I'm not. You'll know that the psalmist is...

[15:23] Not the psalmist. But the swallow is a very restless bird. The swallow is a very restless bird. Because it's said to always fly from point to point. All day long.

[15:34] It's a bird that's always restless. But then when it comes for the time... It comes for a swallow to mate and raise its young. The swallow settles down and it finds a resting place.

[15:47] By building a nest in preparation of laying its young. And interestingly, swallows like to make their nest in open-fronted buildings.

[15:58] Like large barns or stables. Or in this case, it's in the front of the temple. The front of the temple. And once the nest is built, the swallow settles down and rests peacefully in the home which she has made.

[16:12] And the psalmist feels that even the swallow is more blessed than him. Because the swallow has made her nest near to the altar of the Lord. And yet he is still restless.

[16:24] He's still longing. He's still, as a pilgrim, still going and yearning towards getting to the Lord's house. And you know, we should be like the sparrow and the swallow.

[16:38] Because like the worthless sparrow, we should only find our worth in Jesus Christ. Not in people. Not in things.

[16:49] Or feelings. Or opinions. Or relationships. Or finance. Or intelligence. But we should find our worth in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. And the love that he has demonstrated towards us.

[17:03] And like the swallow, we should be restless. We should be restless until we're resting in Jesus. Resting in his royalty. Resting in his redemption.

[17:15] Resting in his righteousness. Resting in his resurrection. Resting in his restoration. That he's making us new. And he's making us more and more into his own image.

[17:27] We should be restless until we're completely resting in Jesus. And that's why the invitation is to come. Jesus says to us all. We might think this is for the unconverted.

[17:39] But it's not. Come unto me. All ye that labour and are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. And learn from me. For I am meek and lowly in heart.

[17:51] And you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy. And my burden is light. My friend. And our longing. Should be.

[18:03] To be here. To be in the Lord's house. With the Lord's people. And to receive the Lord's blessing. Because this place. As the psalmist says. It's a lovely dwelling place.

[18:14] And we should see ourselves as privileged to be here. Privileged to be here. Because I'm sure that there are many people connected to our congregation.

[18:26] Who would love to be here. But they cannot be here tonight. The housebound. They'd love to be here. But they can't be here. And yet they still say.

[18:37] How lovely is thy dwelling place. Because this place. It's a blessed place. It's a blessed place. It's the place of blessing. And it says in verse 4. Blessed are those who dwell in your house.

[18:49] Ever singing. Your praise. Selah. So. This is a blessed place. So there's the blessed place. To the first point. But secondly. We see the blessed pilgrims.

[19:01] In verses 5 to 8. The blessed pilgrims. If we look at verse 5. He says. Blessed are those. Whose strength is in you. In whose heart are the highways to Zion.

[19:14] As they go through the valley of Beka. They make it a place of springs. The early rain also covers it. With pools. They go from strength to strength. Each one appears before God in Zion.

[19:25] O Lord God of hosts. Hear my prayer. Give ear. O God of Jacob. Selah. In this section. We can see that.

[19:36] The psalmist begins by declaring. What the blessing is. In the previous section. He emphasized that. The place to which he longed to go. Was the place of blessing.

[19:47] Which was the Lord's house. The place to be. But now he says. The pilgrims are blessed. Because they desire to get to the king's house. Which means that. He not only longed to be in the blessed place.

[20:00] He also knew that he was a blessed pilgrim. Because he had the privilege of going to the Lord's house. He was a blessed pilgrim going to the blessed place.

[20:12] He was a blessed man. He was a blessed man. And that's what he says. Blessed is the man. Blessed is the man. And the word that the psalmist uses.

[20:23] To describe himself. As the man. It's the word Adam. And that's significant. Because the psalmist is highlighting that. The gracious and merciful blessing.

[20:34] Of the king. Is a blessing which has been bestowed upon Adam. And all of his posterity. All of his descendants. The psalmist is speaking about. The fallen race of mankind.

[20:46] Which sinned in Adam. And fell with him. In his first transgression. And he's saying. Adam has been blessed. Mankind has been blessed. Sinners have been blessed.

[20:56] Those in Adam have received. From the hand of the king. What they don't deserve. They have been blessed. Because the king has given to them. He has conferred upon them.

[21:07] What they couldn't earn. And what they couldn't manufacture for themselves. And they have now received. The riches of his grace. From the hand of the king. And my friend.

[21:18] That's the difference. Between someone who is still in Adam. And someone who is now in Christ. We are blessed. We have received. From the hand of the king. What we don't deserve.

[21:30] We are blessed people. We have received. As Paul says. Every spiritual blessing. In heavenly places. In Christ. And I told you before.

[21:42] About. The boy I was studying with. In college. Craig. I was in touch with him. Not so long ago. That he's now. He's now ministering. In the United States. And he's very very busy. But I always go back.

[21:53] To that. Moment in college. When I went in. One morning. And I asked him. How are you? And his response. Wasn't the usual. What we all say. Oh I'm fine.

[22:04] Not bad the day. Okay. Plodding on. We all say it. But he would always say to me. Murdo my brother. I'm blessed. I'm blessed. And you know.

[22:14] Every time Craig said those words. To me. Every morning. He's always rebuked me. But he always reminded me. Of what we have. In Jesus Christ. We are a blessed people.

[22:26] Craig. As you know. As I've told you before. He had a difficult upbringing. But yet. He could see. That he was a blessed man. Through Jesus Christ. And for that reason.

[22:37] When you would ask Craig. How he is. He would always say. I'm blessed. I'm blessed. And. Cathy Ann always says it to me.

[22:47] She says she's been blessed. And she's kept. But you know. That's how we should respond. When someone asks us. How we are. I'm blessed. I'm blessed.

[22:57] Because we are. We are blessed. We are blessed people. We're blessed pilgrims. Who've been blessed. With every spiritual blessing. In heavenly places. In Christ.

[23:08] We are blessed pilgrims. And because. We are blessed. The psalmist reminds us here. That our strength. Is in the Lord. God. He says that in verse 5.

[23:19] Our strength. Is in you. And our heart. Is set. Upon the highway. To Zion. But you know. As we go into verse 6. The psalmist very quickly.

[23:30] Highlights to us. The reality. Of the highway. Towards Zion. Zion. Because he says. Getting to Zion. It's not an easy journey. It's a long journey. But it's.

[23:41] It's not a journey. For the faint hearted. Because he's saying to us. You have to be committed. You have to. Keep persevering. You have to keep. Pressing. On. Despite the opposition. That you encounter.

[23:52] From the world. The flesh. And the devil. And he says. You can't turn back. It's. A long journey. It's a hard journey. But you need to keep. Going on.

[24:02] Towards. Zion. But as I'm sure. You're well aware. The fact that. We're blessed. And. We've set our hearts. Towards the highway. Of Zion.

[24:12] And we have the promise. That the strength of the Lord. Is in us. Despite all these things. I'm sure that. We realize. That it doesn't make us. Immune to the pains.

[24:23] And sorrows. Of this journey. The strength of the Lord. Doesn't leave us. Continually on the mountain. And top. We all know that. And it doesn't. Excuse us.

[24:34] From going through. The dark valleys. So what the psalmist. Reminds us here. Is that. The strength of the Lord. Is for the valley. The strength of the Lord.

[24:45] Is to. To keep us going. In the valley. The strength of the Lord. Is to prevent us. Turning back. From. The valley. My friend. The strength of the Lord. Is to help us.

[24:55] Pass through. The valley. The valley. The valley. And. What a valley it is. Because he says in verse 6. As they go through the valley of Beka. They make it a place of springs.

[25:07] The early rain also covers it. With pools. The psalmist affirms to us. Is that every. Every. Blessed pilgrim. Which is traveling. On the highway. Towards.

[25:18] Zion. They must pass through. The valley of Beka. We must all. Navigate our way. Through the valley of Beka. In order to reach Zion.

[25:30] And. The valley of Beka. Was a treacherous valley. To pass through. As you. Went towards. Jerusalem. That's the way the. Pilgrims took. As they went to. The annual festivals there.

[25:40] And they had to pass through it. But in passing through it. It posed. Many dangers. To the traveling pilgrim. And one particular feature. Of the valley of Beka.

[25:51] Was. Your exposure. To the heat of the sun. The valley of Beka. Was a very dry valley. It was a dry. Parched land. In which.

[26:02] The burning sun. Above. The pilgrims. It parched the ground. Beneath the pilgrims. At that very time of year. When they would be. Traveling towards Jerusalem.

[26:14] Be. Roasting hot. But there was no way around. This valley. You had to go through the valley. Every pilgrim. Had to pass through the valley. In order to get.

[26:25] To Zion. You had to go through Beka's veil. In order to reach the king's palace. And with all the pain. And the hardship. And the difficulties. The dangers.

[26:36] And the sufferings. That were posed to all the pilgrims. As they passed. Through this valley. That was the reason. Why they called it. The valley of Beka.

[26:48] Because the name. Valley of Beka. Means. The valley of weeping. It's the valley of weeping. The image which the psalmist. Is creating for us. Is that.

[26:59] It's through a veil of tears. Through the pain. The pain of the valley. It's through the veil of tears. That. The traveling pilgrim.

[27:10] Will reach the king's palace. And you know. How true that is. For the traveling pilgrim. In this life. That in order to stand.

[27:21] On Mount Zion. We must first of all. Pass through Beka's veil. In order to enter the gates. Of the king's palace. Every pilgrim.

[27:31] Must pass through. The darkness. Of the valley of weeping. And I know that. For some of you. This journey really. Has been for you. A valley of weeping.

[27:42] Because. Under the heat of illness. Or through the pain. And sorrow of loss. Maybe you were left saying. With the psalmist. Back in Psalm 42. My tears.

[27:54] Have unto me been meet. Both in the night and day. And maybe. Sometimes. In your weeping. And mourning. Which. As the psalmist says. Endures for a night. You longed for.

[28:05] Joy to come. With the morning light. But it never came. The tears of the valley. Were night and day. Because this valley.

[28:17] Which you had to pass through. It's a hard valley. And of course. Beka's veil. Was. A valley that you didn't want. To pass through. And it was a valley.

[28:28] Which was. You never expected. To come. And maybe it was a valley. Which. You didn't want to come. And yet.

[28:39] This valley of tears. Is a valley. Which you know. Will bring you to stand. On Mount Zion. In the presence of the king. Because the promise is. That by passing through.

[28:50] Beka's veil. We will reach. The king's palace. And you know. That's. This imagery. That we're being given. Here.

[29:00] In Psalm 84. It's the imagery. Which we also have. In the book of Revelation. You'll remember. When the apostle John. Was given that. Glorious vision.

[29:11] Of heaven. He was given. The vision of the throne room. Of heaven. And the throne of God. And of the lamb. And. Everyone was gathered there. This multitude. That no man could number.

[29:22] And they were all. Clothed in white robes. And they had been gathered. From north. South. East. And west. They were from every. Tribe. Tongue. Nation. And language.

[29:33] But. When you read chapter 7. In the book of Revelation. We're told that. One of the 24 elders. Around the throne. They asked. John a question. About this multitude.

[29:45] In heaven. And he said. Who are these. Clothed in white robes. And where have they come from. Where have they come from. And John said.

[29:57] Says to. The elder. Sir. You know. You know where they've come from. And then we hear this elder. Saying to John. These are the ones. Who have come out. Of the great tribulation.

[30:09] They've. Passed. Through. As it were. Baker's veil. They've gone through. Baker's veil. They've washed. Their robes. And made them white. In the blood of the lamb. They are the Lord's.

[30:19] Redeemed. And they've been redeemed. In the precious. Blood of the lamb. The lamb. Who's in the midst. Of the throne. And the elder. Says to John. That's why. They're. They're before.

[30:30] The throne of God. And they serve him. Day and night. In his palace. Because the lamb. Who sits on the throne. He says. He will shelter them. With his presence. And they shall hunger.

[30:41] No more. They shall. Thirst. No more. The sun shall not. Strike them. Anymore. Nor the scorching heat. This valley. He's saying. Can't hinder them.

[30:53] Anymore. Baker's veil. Is no longer. In their path. Because the lamb. Is in the midst of the throne. And he will be their shepherd. And he will guide them. To springs of living water.

[31:04] And God will wipe away. As it says. Every tear. From their eyes. This is the wonder. Of being. A blessed pilgrim. That by passing.

[31:15] Through Baker's veil. The valley. Of tears. The valley. Of weeping. By passing. Through Baker's veil. We will enter.

[31:27] The king's palace. With the tears. Of our. Of the valley. Still in our eyes. That's what he's saying. God will. Wipe away.

[31:38] Every tear. That means. You enter glory. As he's saying. With the tears. Of the valley. Still in your eyes. God wipes them all away. Every tear.

[31:49] And every pain. Every heartache. And every sorrow. He will wipe it all away. And he will lead us. As the psalmist says. To springs. Of living water.

[32:01] My friend. We are blessed pilgrims. Blessed pilgrims. Both in the now. And the not yet. And the valley.

[32:13] Which we must pass through. In order to stand on Mount Zion. That valley. It's not there to weaken our faith. It's there to enable us to go. From strength to strength.

[32:24] Until we appear. Before God in Zion. That's what he says. Well that's the verse we know. In verse 7. So they from strength. Unwearied go. Still forward.

[32:35] Unto strength. Until. In Zion they appear. Before the Lord at length. It's through much tribulation. We shall enter the kingdom of heaven. It was Paul who said.

[32:48] Our light affliction. And you know. You often wonder. What does Paul mean by light affliction? Because. Baker's veil. Often seems like.

[33:02] That's not light affliction. But yet Paul. He assures us that our light affliction. It's but for a moment. And it's working in us. A far more exceeding.

[33:13] And eternal weight of glory. Because. He says. In our pilgrimage. And in the valley of tears. We are not to look to the things that are seen. But to the things that are unseen. For the things.

[33:24] That are seen. Are temporal. But the things that are unseen. They are eternal. They are eternal. But as the psalmist concludes this section.

[33:37] He prays. To his faithful covenant God. And he longs for him. To hear his voice. He says in verse 8. O Lord God of hosts.

[33:47] Hear my prayer. Give ear. O God of Jacob. Sela. The psalmist desires that the Lord. Will listen to his prayer. For blessing. And that brings us to look at this last section.

[34:01] The section of the blessed prayer. So we've seen the blessed place. Verses 1 to 4. The blessed pilgrim. Verses 5 to 8. And then lastly and briefly.

[34:11] The blessed prayer. Verses 9 to 12. The blessed prayer. It says in verse 9. Behold our shield O God. Look on the face of your anointed.

[34:23] For a day in your courts. 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. For the Lord God.

[34:33] Is a sun and shield. The Lord bestows favour and honour. No good thing does he withhold. From those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts. Blessed is the one.

[34:44] Who trusts in you. The prayer of blessing. Which the psalmist concludes with. Is a plea. A plea that. Others would see the blessedness.

[34:56] Of trusting. In the Lord. That's why he says in verse 12. O Lord of hosts. Blessed is the one. Who trusts in you. But even though that's how the psalmist. Concludes his prayer.

[35:08] In verse 12. The way in which he commences his prayer. In verse 9. And it's wonderful. Because he says. Behold our shield. O God. Look on the face.

[35:19] Of your anointed. And what we see. Is that the psalmist. Describes this figure. As our shield. And the Lord's anointed. Our shield.

[35:29] And the Lord's anointed. And we may well ask. Well. Who is our shield. And who is the Lord's anointed. And the word anointed. Is the word Christ.

[35:39] Who is the Lord's Christ. Christ. And of course. He's speaking to us. About Jesus. Jesus. Is our shield. In whom we find protection. And shelter.

[35:50] And Jesus. Is the Lord's Christ. He is the Lord's anointed. He's the one. In whom. The Lord set apart. To assume the office. Of prophet. Priest.

[36:01] And king. He's the one. Who is to act. On our behalf. And be the redeemer. Of God's precious people. Jesus. Is our shield. And he is the Lord's.

[36:12] Anointed. And you know. It's in this blessed prayer. That we realize. Why the psalmist. Is longing to be. In the king's palace. We see. Why he's longing.

[36:23] To be there. And why his. Flesh. And his heart. And his soul. Are crying out. For the living God. And it's all because. He wants to see. Jesus. He wants to see.

[36:33] Jesus. Face to face. He wants to. Look on the face. Of the Lord's. Anointed. He wants to see. With his own eyes. The source. Of his blessing. He wants to see.

[36:44] The hand. That has been. Giving to him. All these years. The hand. That has been. Graciously. Giving to him. What he doesn't deserve. He wants. To gaze upon the one. Who is.

[36:55] The fountain. Of his strength. Throughout his. Wilderness journey. He wants. To be with. The only one. Who never left. His side. And never. Forsook him. One moment.

[37:06] Throughout the journey. He's saying. He wants. To behold. The glorious. John says. The glorious. Of the only begotten. Of the father. Full. Of grace. And truth.

[37:17] He wants. His faith. To give way. To sight. That he may. See him. And. Know that he too. Has been made like him. He wants.

[37:28] To stand. Before the throne. Of God above. And sing. With the multitude. Blessing. And honor. And glory. And power. Be to him. Who sits on the throne.

[37:39] And to the lamb. Forever and ever. My friend. The longing. That the psalmist. Had. To see Jesus. Was such. That he says.

[37:49] That. Even one day. In the courts. Of the Lord. And in the presence. Of Jesus. They're better. Than a thousand. Elsewhere. And.

[38:02] He says. He would rather. Be just the doorkeeper. Give me the doorkeeper. Make me the doorkeeper. In the house of God. Than allow me. To dwell in tents.

[38:12] Of sin. And that's the psalmist. Desire. Because. He knows. That blessing. Comes from. Nowhere else. But from this Jesus. This Jesus.

[38:24] Who loved him. And gave himself. For him. And he knows. That it's in this Jesus. That he is blessed. With every. Spiritual blessing. And what the psalmist. Is emphasizing to us.

[38:35] Is that. The king's palace. It's a place. Of even more. Blessing. Because in. The king's palace. He says that. The Lord. Is a son.

[38:47] He's the source. Of light. Because. In the king's house. As it says. In revelation. There's no night there. He's the permanent light. He's the pure.

[38:58] Light. That will. Enable us. To see clearly. We'll no longer. See our saviour. Through a glass. Darkly. But we shall see him. Face to face. But more than that. He says. We will understand.

[39:10] Why. We had to go through. The valley. He says. We will understand. The valley better. And why it. Had to be. The way it did. For us.

[39:21] And we will see. Our saviour. He says. As our shield. He will be the lamb. In the midst of the throne. And he will shelter us. With his presence. All these promises. Are given to us.

[39:34] Now. And they're also promised. For the not yet. The now and the not yet. My friend. We are a blessed people. And we have to realise this. We have to see ourselves.

[39:46] As a blessed people. A privileged people. So the psalmist says. In Psalm 89. Oh greatly blessed. The people are. The joyful sound that know.

[39:57] In brightness of thy face. O Lord. They ever on. Shall go. We are a blessed people. Because. The king. Bestows upon us. As he says here.

[40:08] Not only his grace. But also his glory. Not only his grace. But also his glory. He will not. Withhold it from us. But he will graciously. Give it to us.

[40:20] No good thing. Does he withhold. From those. Who walk. Uprightly. He will bless us. Not because of who we are. But just because of who he is.

[40:32] He is. The king. Who blesses his people. With every spiritual blessing. In heavenly places. In Christ.

[40:43] My friend. This evening. We are in a blessed place. Because we are in the kingdom. King's house. And we should always view it. As the king's house. And as blessed pilgrims.

[40:54] Who have strength. For the journey. And help. To get through the valley. We are going to. The blessed place. Of Mount Zion. But along this highway. To Zion.

[41:05] That we have read about. The promise. Of the blessed prayer. He says. O Lord of hosts. Blessed is the one. Who trusts. In you. My friend.

[41:16] We have been blessed. And we are blessed. And we will continue. To be blessed. Blessed. Both now. And in the not yet. Because blessed is everyone.

[41:27] He says. Who trusts. In the Lord. So may the Lord bless these thoughts. To us. Let us pray. O Lord our gracious God.

[41:40] We. Are indebted to thee. And we are. As we know. We are so unworthy. But we thank thee. And we praise thee. That. Oh.

[41:51] Does not only. We do not deserve. Anything from thee. But. We thank and praise thee. For what thou hast done. In and through thy son. Jesus. Help us. To not look to self.

[42:03] Not to focus upon. Our failures. Or our faintings. But to look to Jesus. The one. In whom we can trust. The one. Who knows. Our every weakness. And who promises.

[42:15] To bless us. And to keep us. To watch over us. Each and every day. Help us Lord. As we. As we encounter. Baker's veil. And help us.

[42:25] To keep our eyes. Firmly fixed. Upon. The king of kings. And the lord of lords. Oh. That we would not look. To the left hand. Or to the right. But to keep our eyes. On Jesus.

[42:36] For we know. That when we look to him. That we can be. As the one of old. Who said. That they looked to him. Enlightened were. Not shamed. Were their faces. Lord bless us.

[42:47] Then we pray. Guide us. And keep us. Prepare us. For. A communion season. This weekend. As we. As we come. And sit at the lord's table. That we would remember.

[42:58] The lord's death. Until he comes. That we would see it. As the greatest sacrifice. To satisfy divine justice. And to grant to us. A new and a living way.

[43:08] To experience a relationship. With the great god and king. That thou art. Oh lord. Do us good. Then we pray thee. Go before us. Cleanse us. And keep us. For Jesus sake.

[43:20] Amen. Amen. We shall conclude. By singing. In psalm. That's psalm 84. The concluding verses.

[43:32] From verse 7. Down to the end of the psalm. Psalm 84. From verse 7. So they from strength. And wearied go. Still forward unto strength.

[43:44] Until in Zion. They appear. Before the lord at length. Lord God of hosts. My prayer here. O Jacob's God give ear. See God our shield. Look on the face.

[43:55] Of thine anointed dear. Down to the end of the psalm. Of Psalm 84. To God's praise. Okom no.

[44:10] God's praise.何 who â. O heaven. Do they from strength. Lord unto strength, And if Zion may appear Before the Lord doth lay.

[44:42] Lord unto force, My prayer hear, O Jacob's God, give thee.

[45:01] See, God, thy shield Look on the face Of thine man-minded dear.

[45:21] For in thy courts one day Excells a thousand brother in.

[45:41] My courts, as will I keep my door, Thine dwell in tents of sin.

[46:01] For the Lord's a sun and shield, Hail, grace, and glory give, And will therefore No good from them But uprightly to live.

[46:38] O thou art the Lord of hosts That man is truly blessed Who by assured confidence On thee alone doth rest The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, The love of God the Father, And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Be with you all, now and forevermore.

[47:25] Amen. Amen.