Psalm 84
How
lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of
hosts!
My
soul longs,
indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my 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.
Happy
are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise. Selah
Happy
are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart
are the highways to Zion.
As
they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They
go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
Behold
our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed.
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 live in the tents of wickedness.
For
the Lord God is a sun
and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No
good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you.
SERMON
Have
you ever been to those big cathedrals where you just want to sit in the dark
wooden pews and let vast stillness surround you? Have you ever been to one
those old, old churches, where the only sound is the click and echo of heeled
shoes on big slabs of blue stone or smooth marble? Have you ever looked up at a
stained glass ceiling or a high window and felt the presence of saints past and
as if their story remained etched in the colored glass? Have you ever been
outside and seen those great carved wooden doors, and longed to go in for your
soul needed the presence of the Lord? Have you ever longed for this sanctuary
to just come and sit, have you ever longed for worship, for single hymn? I
suppose you have felt that presence, because here you are again.
This
too is the world of the psalmist. He writes:
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs,
indeed it
faints for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and
my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Maybe
you have that longing, that praising Spirit, but it is not found in old
buildings. Instead you are drawn to well worn paths, trails up mountains, or
pastures under big sky. Maybe sometimes you long to simply lay back and ponder
the clouds, or attempt to define the stars. Perhaps majesty for you comes from
chancing upon a deer and meeting the gaze of her dark, dark eyes. Maybe you
feel at home in the dew covered cool morning. This is the world of which the
psalmist speaks. He writes:
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.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing
your praise. Selah
Maybe
you find the psalmist’s world in the places you least expect it. Maybe like
rain in the desert, you see grace in the help that comes when you humbly ask.
Maybe you see that Sprit filling the space where the words, “Thank you,” can
never be enough. Maybe you know it in the reconciliation of families, and the
forgiveness of debt. Maybe you see grace in healing. This is the world of the
psalmist. This is our world, our sanctuary. He writes:
Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a
place of springs;
the early
rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of
gods will be seen in Zion.
Perhaps
your sanctuary is found when your prayer is heard and its answer felt. Perhaps
your sanctuary comes when your life is like a storm, yet you feel as if you
were sitting patiently in its eye. Perhaps your sanctuary comes in a prayer in
a hospital room. Perhaps your sanctuary is present in unexpected tears. Maybe
your sanctuary is a glimpse of the indescribable divine. This is our world, our
sanctuary, and the sanctuary of the psalmist. He writes:
O Lord God
of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O
God of Jacob! Selah
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the
face of your anointed.
Maybe
you’ve felt the sanctuary of the Lord. Do you long for the sanctuary, or are
you living in the sanctuary? Maybe your life feels tied to the sanctuary, and
your gratitude and praise is a response to the sanctuary’s life within you.
Maybe you put your hope and your trust in that sanctuary place. Maybe the
sanctuary directs your life, allows you to make the tough, right choice. Maybe
the sanctuary protects you from falling astray. Maybe you are happy because you trust in the sanctuary. Maybe you
wonder what the sanctuary is all about? The Psalmist knows. Listen as he
writes:
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 live in
the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God
is a sun and shield;
he bestows
favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those
who walk uprightly.
O Lord of
hosts,
happy is
everyone who trusts in you.
Do
you know the sanctuary of our Lord? Does it surround you? Do you feel its
presence? Amen.
