PSALM 84
A HEART FOR WORSHIP
John Piper (you all know who he is, an author and pastor) says this: “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.” That is really an amazing thought, that we were made in the image God. That is what the Bible tells us. And we were made to worship Him and to have fellowship with Him. This morning we’re going to talk about worship. And that is the overriding theme of Psalm 84.
So, this psalm begins with a little title. A lot of the psalms have a title. “To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.” We don’t know who wrote Psalm 84. We know that he was a Levite because he identifies himself as one of the “sons of Korah.” And we know that he did not live in Jerusalem because in this psalm he is longing to go there. So, he is obviously not living there. Since he is a Levite, he very likely lived in one of the 48 Levitical cities that was scattered around Israel. We do not know where. Most likely this psalm was written in the time between the reigns of King Solomon (after the temple was built) and the reign of King Hezekiah.
Now, the psalmist, whoever he is, has a deep longing to go to Jerusalem, to the temple that is located there, and to worship God. He expresses a deep emotion and a passion for worship. He had this intense yearning to go and worship God. He wrote this psalm “to the choirmaster.” Some translations say “the chief musician,” the worship leader in the temple. And he had in mind that it would be sung or chanted or however they did it rhythmically, while being accompanied by a particular musical instrument called “the Gittith.” The commentaries I read said this was probably a stringed instrument similar to a small harp.
Now in Old Testament times, from the time of King David on, God’s people were required to make an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for one of several feasts they held throughout the year. Depending on where you lived in Israel this could be quite a long journey – and dangerous. The Jewish pilgrims traveled in groups. You know that whole story about Mary and Joseph going to Jerusalem with Jesus as a boy and they were traveling in a caravan, in a group. They did this for safety because it was very dangerous, a lot of robbers out there.
The Old Testament Jews viewed the temple in Jerusalem as being the dwelling place of God Himself. There is this dramatic scene if you read 1 Kings Chapter 8, right after Solomon has finished the temple, where the Ark of the Lord is being brought into the Holy of Holies (it has just been constructed). Sometimes in the Old Testament that is called “the Most Holy Place.” And the priests came out of the Holy Place and there was this cloud that filled the house of the Lord. The Shekinah glory of the Lord was so intense that the priests could not stand to minister. The Bible says that “the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:11). Can you imagine coming to church and you cannot walk in because the glory of the Lord is too much?
So, Solomon’s temple was a special place where God’s people gathered from all over to worship several times a year, to meet with the one true God, Yahweh – and all of the feasts and the sacrifices and the ritual cleansings that accompanied their corporate worship.
So, what does that have to do with us? All that changed after Jesus came, right? God came to dwell with us in human flesh. John says in his Gospel, “and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth [speaking of Jesus]” (John 1:14 KJV). But Jesus – we know this from reading the Gospels – was rejected by His own people. He was betrayed by one of His own disciples. And He went to the cross and He died for the sins of the world, right? No longer was there a need for sacrificial animals to pay for sin because Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins, “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). Jesus fulfilled the Law. He took our place on the cross. He was our substitute and paid for our sins. He redeemed us from the curse of the Law. He satisfied the wrath of God against sin. He reconciled us to God. And because of what Christ accomplished, we are no longer under the old covenant, under the Law, but we are under a new covenant, a “better covenant” (Hebrews 8:6), under grace.
So, Jesus after His death was resurrected. He ascended back to heaven. He established His church here. And He did not leave us alone. Remember He promised, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). And He did not because after He left the Holy Spirit came. God Himself came and He indwells, guides, comforts and empowers believers, right? So, this is what I want you to hear from all this… we DO NOT need to go to the temple in Jerusalem to experience the presence of God, do we? God is in us, in our hearts. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, right?
So, while a lot has changed since the time the psalmist wrote Psalm 84, I still believe that we can learn a lot about the heart of worship from this psalm, from this particular man who is writing this. After all, human nature has not changed. God has not changed. And He still “inhabits the praises of His people” (Psalm 22:3). So, as we read and study Psalm 84, I want us to do so through the lens of New Testament grace.
READ Psalm 84:1-4
Notice all the names that the psalmist has for God. You read this and there is such emotion, such passion about worship! This man, whoever he is, is expressing what is in his heart. To what extent is our worship here at First Baptist Church Rockwall (or wherever you go to church), an emotional experience?
[Class discussion about how real emotion emerges from worship as our hearts become stirred by the Holy Spirit]
As you study about God and who He is and what He has done, it is this truth about God and what Christ did (all the things I just mentioned that Jesus did); as you reflect on that, it should stir some emotion in you. You may cognitively know truth and believe it. But doesn’t that then stir up within us some emotion? You cannot just say, “That’s great. That is a fact. Great!” We are not robots.
READ Psalm 84:1 again
He is talking about the temple, the place where he went to meet with God. That place was very special, very beautiful. It meant a lot to him. It filled him with joy as he just thought about it.
READ Psalm 84:2 again
“My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD.” He cannot wait to get back there. That is the idea – the anticipation. His heart and his flesh “sing for joy to the living God.” I got the sense as I read this that this guy has a very close relationship with God.
READ Psalm 84:3 again
At the end of v 3, “at Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.” The altars were an important part of Jewish worship. They represented where sin was dealt with. And as we approach the altar, figuratively, today whenever we focus on Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for us, that is, in a sense, us going to the altar. The psalmist in his day witnessed the sacrifices of all those animals on the altars (remember they had the sacrificial system back then), and as he was watching these animals being killed – and as the people watched this – they reflected on their own sin. The animals were being killed because of their sins.
I like the way our church does the Lord’s Supper because when we observe the Lord’s Supper here there is a time for where we are to do business with God, where we reflect on our own sin, where we get our hearts right with God. It is very meditative.
Sometimes, many times as we do this, tears are shed and it is an emotional time. It is for me. It is a deeply personal time, alone with God. It is a special time. The altar was very precious to him (the psalmist) because that is where his sin was dealt with.
Now, as I read v 3 there with the birds and all that, I get the sense that the psalmist, whenever he is in Jerusalem at the temple really loves being there and he doesn’t want to leave. Why, even the birds, the sparrows and the swallows, get to live there! They get to make their nests in that wonderful place! And then in v 4 he talks about the Levites, “those who dwell in your house” (the house of the Lord).
READ Psalm 84:4 again
Even the ones who are there permanently, they get to be there all the time. They get to always sing Your praises here. They are so blessed!
“Selah.” Whenever you see that word it is an interlude, a pause for effect. Think about what he has just said.
So, with all of his heart this man expresses how much he loves to be in the house of God worshipping His great God with the people of God (corporate worship). He loves it so much that he longs to be there and never to leave. But alas, he is a pilgrim. He lives somewhere else. So, when the week-long festival is over with, sadly, he has to go back home. You get the sense that he’s disappointed that he has to leave.
So, how about us? How do we feel about church, the place that we go to worship corporately? Do you long to be there? When you are not here, do you feel like you missed something?
[Class shares of positive church worship experiences and about people we know who are unable to attend church regularly and miss it]
READ Psalm 84:5-7
I really think this is coming out of the psalmist own personal experience as he travels to Jerusalem. The journey is tough and he is requiring God’s strength to make it. I thought about the picture of the Christian life. In the New Testament the Christian life is often referred to as our “walk.” What are they doing here? They are walking to Jerusalem. This man needed God’s strength as he made his walk to Jerusalem. We need God’s strength as we make our walk through the Christian life here. And we need that daily. I mentioned they traveled in groups. As they were traveling, they probably got tired along the way. So, they got the encouragement of their traveling companions as they were going to Jerusalem. So, likewise, we need the encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ. And hopefully we get that here in church and in this class.
Now, the Valley of Baca, it is an unknown place to us. We do not know exactly where that is. But it refers to a dry desert place. The word “Baca” means “tears” or “weeping.” Sometimes our pilgrimage through this life will take us through places where our physical strength is drained. Maybe even emotionally or spiritually we feel like we are in a desert place. We go through places of personal difficulty and even sadness. But the rest of v 6 mentions how God (just like in those literal dry places in Israel) produces springs in those places and replenishes these dry places with the autumn rains. Well, in the same way with us, God brings refreshment to our souls. You have this dry valley, this valley of sadness, but God comes and brings the springs. That is a really nice picture of the Christian life.
The Jewish pilgrims were headed for Jerusalem and they had to go through these harsh landscapes. But as they were going, they were keeping in the forefront of their minds the joyous end to their journey – they were going to get to worship God in the temple. They were going to get to meet with Him. In the same way, as we go through our walk, through the difficult days that we face at times, we have to keep in the forefront of our minds the glorious end to our journey. We get to see Jesus, face to face. Have you ever thought about that? What a glorious thought! It is what keeps us going sometimes. We do not give up. We press on. We have much to look forward to (not that we are done here). We remain faithful in our walk. We move forward with an eager anticipation of what lies ahead.
[Class discussion brought out that part of worship is remembering; an important aspect of our walk, whether easy or difficult is our attitude]
READ Psalm 84:8-9
He is praying. The psalmist is praying. “Hear my prayer.” God was his constant resource for him, for encouragement and strength. I think John Phillips said it well. He said, “No matter what, no matter where, no matter when, no matter why – we can pray!” And that is what this man is doing. The terms he uses, “O LORD God of hosts” reflects upon God’s mighty power. And then that term, “O God of Jacob” reminds the psalmist of God’s great mercy, of His covenant promises to Israel.
And then in v 9, “Behold our shield, O God.” The psalmist may have had the king (of Israel) in mind. Of course, the king was God’s anointed as far as who would protect His people. David constantly referred to King Saul as “the Lord’s anointed.” But for us as Christians, who is the anointed One? Jesus, right? He is our source of strength and protection, isn’t He? The word “Christ” means “anointed one.” So, Jesus is the Messiah. He is the anointed One. And that is who we look to as being our shield and our protector.
READ Psalm 84:10-12
Another way of saying v 10, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere” is this: One day in the house of the Lord worshipping Him with His people is better than three years anywhere else I could be. He wants to be there! He is driving that point home. “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” The sons of Korah were just that. They were doorkeepers. What is a doorkeeper? Well, they did all the menial tasks in the temple (to keep it running). He is saying, “I would rather do menial tasks, be a janitor, or whatever, in the temple than to be out there with the world.” This is the man’s attitude, the man’s heart. He is sharing it. Do you feel that way about being in God’s house?
On v 11 I just want to point out the rich promise for Christians that is here, what these words mean. “Sun” is a biblical symbol for righteousness; “shield,” of course, speaks of protection; “favor” speaks of grace; and “honor” speaks of being glorified in God’s presence forever. Our righteousness is found in Jesus Christ. Our salvation is protected by God. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit. We are saved by grace. And one day we will be glorified. That is something to look forward to.
The last part there – I cannot leave this out. “No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Who are those who walk uprightly? Is that us (believers in Jesus)? Are we walking uprightly? Well, positionally, yes. Positionally, that is where we are in Christ. Our deepest needs of forgiveness and reconciliation have been accomplished by what Jesus did on the cross. And as we worship God, this is the time for us to reflect upon, to be reminded of, our blessings in Christ.
As we get a sense of His holiness and as we get a sense of our own unworthiness and sin, we cannot help but ask the question, as we are in worship and praising God for this, “Why me, Lord? Why did You choose to bless me? I am glad You did, but I am so unworthy!”
As I go through the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Psalms in my readings (as I have been reading through the Bible this year), I just see all this emotion that is expressed in the Bible by the writers as they are in the presence of God. And various kinds of emotions. They run the gambit of human experience, emotional highs and lows. We see in Habakkuk 2:20 there is silence before God. We see in Psalm 33:8 there is awe. In Psalm 51:17 David expresses his brokenness with such emotion. In Psalm 63:8 David speaks of clinging to God. In Psalm 30:11 David expresses how his mourning has been turned into dancing. He goes from one extreme to another. In Psalm 130:5 the psalmist waits and hopes in the Lord. In Isaiah 6:5, “Woe is me for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips!” He expresses his sadness at his own sinful state. So, worship, when you come into the presence of God, stirs our various emotions depending one where we are at in our life at that time and what our thoughts are about God at that moment.
This is what I see here in Psalm 84 from the psalmist. He expresses his true emotion about being in God’s house.
[My class had a lot of fun with the following analogy]
Married couples, I want you to think about your wedding anniversary. Do you do anything special on that day? Let me share this with you. I give roses to my wife on our anniversary every year – a dozen roses. She can vouch for me. I do this because I am married to the BEST woman in the world (sorry ladies). And so, I give her roses. I give her a nice card and all that mushy stuff. And do you know what she usually does? She usually hugs me and she kisses me and she says, “Oh, thank you.” It is very sweet. I just love that!
Well, let’s just suppose for the sake of argument that one year I give her the roses and she hugs and kisses me; and then I say, “Oh, don’t mention it. It was my duty.” Now, what do you suppose Robin’s reaction would be to that? Would she be pleased with me? Would she be blessed by what I said? Or would she be hurt? She would probably be hurt. Well, that is hard for me to understand because isn’t the exercise of one’s duty a noble thing? Don’t we honor those who dutifully serve? I did my duty. That should be something that I am honored for, right? No!
Look, giving my wife gifts needs to be a sincere expression of my deep love for her. It is NOT a duty. It is an expression of how I feel about her. And I give her roses because I love her. And so, my response to her when she hugs me and kisses me and gives me that feedback is “Honey, nothing makes me happier than to be with you. I am so blessed to have you as my wife. I love you so much!” That should be what I say, or words to that effect, right? It is out of the expression of my love for her that I give. It is not because I HAVE to.
And in the same way that is the way worship is for us. As I stood in the worship service today, I thought, “Am I here out of a sense of duty?” I’m doing my duty, God. Praise you! We are not robots. We are moved by what He did. We are moved out of our sense of love to be there and to worship Him. Yes, we are supposed to be in the house of the Lord. Hebrews 10:25 says we are not to neglect meeting together. Yes, we are expected to do that, but that is not why we come. We come because we want to be here. We long to be here. We have a sense of love and thankfulness to God for who He is and what He has done and what He is continuing to do.
And that is what I love about Psalm 84. The attitude of the Psalmist is that “Nothing O Lord makes me happier than to be with You and Your people in Your house today. I love you Lord” That should be our attitude of worship as well.
V 12 closes with that thought about trust. I love what our pastor said. It goes right along with this. He said, “love and trust go together.” And so, the psalmist closes with the fact that he loves God and therefore he can trust Him. That is what you see in a marriage relationship as well. Love and trust go together.
We’re going to sing this hymn (chorus), “I love You Lord.” Let this be our prayer to the Lord this morning as we reflect on God’s goodness and faithfulness to us...
I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice
To worship You, Oh my soul rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what You hear.
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear.
I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice
To worship You, Oh my soul rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what You hear.
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear.
Make it a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear!