OceanSide church of Christ

 Previous Return to Sermons Next  Click to download Audio

A DOORKEEPER IN THE HOUSE OF MY GOD

Psalm 84

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    The psalms are some of the most beautiful pieces of literature in the Bible.

 

B.      One has said that this is the only book in the Bible wherein man speaks to God instead of God speaking to man.  Yet, God does speak through its inspired messages.

 

C.     When we read the psalms:

1.      We see that the men of old were men like as we are.

2.      We identify with their words.

3.      We feel the emotions of the inspired penmen.

4.      We are shocked by some of their statements.

5.      We are encouraged by the humanness of the comments.

6.      We learn because the lessons are so numerous.

7.      We even see the Christ in many of these hymns.

 

D.    Tonight, we turn our attention to Psalm 84 for our study. 

1.      Some have referred to this as “The Janitor’s Psalm.

2.      I have simply entitled it:  “A Doorkeeper in the House of My God,” words taken directly from Psalm 84:10.

 

…I had rather be a door keeper in the house of my God…

 

E.      We will be staying strictly in the psalm itself and seeking out the lessons we can learn.

 

I.                   THE PAINS OF DESIRE (Psalm 84:1-3).

 

A.    The Loveliness of the Tabernacles (v. 1)

 

How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!

 

1.      The word “amiable” means “lovely.”

a.      The splendor of the temple is hard for us to conceive.

b.      The purpose of the temple is even more difficult for us to fathom.

c.       The fact that it was God’s dwelling place is even more incomprehensible.

d.      All of these things were beautiful to the psalmist.

2.      The beauty of the tabernacles (plural denoting the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place), were the cause of the psalmist’s longings.

 

B.      The Longing of the Man of God (v. 2)

 

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord:  my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

 

1.      Three words express the deep yearning the psalmist has for the temple of God.

a.      Longeth:  to pine after, to desire earnestly

b.      Fainteth:  he so deeply longs for the tabernacles of God that his strength is spent, he wastes away in exhaustion

c.       Crieth out:  to shout for joy, to give a ringing cry

2.      It is interesting that he includes both his outer and inner man in his longing.

a.      “my heart and my flesh”

b.      His whole nature longs for God.

c.       His body cries for participation; and his heart cries out for communion with God.

d.      “Body and soul were made for his service, and the necessities of neither can be satisfied without religion” (Barnes, e-sword).

 

C.     The Luck of the Birds (v. 3)

 

Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

 

1.      There are three different ways this verse has been interpreted.

a.      One is literally.

1)      The psalmist is not yet at the house of God, but he envisions the small birds that nest at various places around the tabernacle. 

2)      There is a hint of jealousy in the heart of the writer because the little birds are there and he is not.

b.      Two are figurative.

1)      One figure involves the psalmist seeing himself as the birds.

a)      Just as this was the home of the birds, it was his true home as well.

b)      Just as they are protected at the temple, so is he.

c)      The birds raise their young there, and the psalmist sees himself doing the same thing.

2)      The other figure simply says that just as the swallow and sparrows have a home, so does the inspired writer.  His home is at the altars of the Lord of host, a being who is also the King and God of the author.

2.      This writer is inclined to take the literal interpretation.  The psalmist longs for the courts of the Lord.  As he thinks of them, he is jealous of the birds whose permanent home is there.

 

II.                THE PROMISE OF BLESSINGS (Ps. 84:4-7)

 

A.    The Laudation of God (Ps. 84:4)

 

Blessed are they that dwell in thy house:  they will be still praising thee.  Selah.

 

1.      The psalmist longed for the house of God.

2.      Part of that which satisfied the longing was his being able to laud the God of heaven, “they will be still praising thee.”

3.      In praise he found fulfillment. 

a.      Man humbled before the presence of a holy and powerful God.

b.      Man admitting his dependence on God.

c.       Man offering thanksgiving for the blessings of Jehovah.

d.      Man locked in fellowship one with another for a spiritual purpose.

e.       Men blending their voice in a unified sacrifice of praise to God.

f.        Man doing what he was truly created to do.

 

B.      The Lifting Up in Strength (Ps. 84:5-7)

1.      The attainment of strength (Ps. 84:5)

 

Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

 

a.      The blessing of strength:  “Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee…”

1)      This strength is not human strength.

2)      No, this is the strength that comes from the omnipotent one.  It is divine strength.

3)      It is a strength that can easily overcome our enemies.

b.      The basis of strength:  “…in whose heart are the ways of them.”

1)      At the house of God, the servant is taught and reminded of the ways of God.

2)      These teachings fill his heart and make him strong. 

3)      Remember:  “For as he thinketh in his heart so is he…” (Prov. 23:7).

2.      The attestation of strength (Ps. 84:6)

 

Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

 

a.      The “valley of Baca” could be translated the valley of tears.

1)      Tears are shed in the difficult times of life.

2)      Tears are shed when the enemy wreaks havoc in our lives.

3)      Tears are shed when our weaknesses are exposed by the evil one.

b.      However, because we have the strength of God, we are able to make within the desert a well.  We are able to dig pools and fill them with water.

c.       Instead of our struggles leading to death, we flourish and prosper and bring forth fruit because the strength of God sustains us.

3.      The assurance of strength (Ps. 84:7)

 

They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

 

a.      God’s people do not just have one victory because of the Lord’s strength.  They go from strength to strength, from one victory to another.

b.      The reason is because they are part of God’s faithful. 

1)      They are part of that group who appear in the presence of God in Zion.

2)      God always blesses His faithful over and over again.

 

III.             THE PRAYER OF THE PSALMIST (Ps. 84:8-11)

 

A.    The Lord Petitioned (Ps. 84:8-9)

1.      The asking to be heard (Ps. 84:8)

 

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer:  give ear, O God of Jacob.  Selah.

 

a.      The psalmist uses a parallelism in this verse.

1)      Hear and give ear correspond.

2)      Lord God of hosts and God of Jacob correspond.

b.      The Lord has commanded us to pray.  Therefore, it is not rude to ask God to hear us as we offer our petitions before His throne.

2.      The aspiration to be seen (Ps. 84:9)

 

Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

 

a.      Here, the psalmist addresses God as his protector, a shield.

b.      As he bows in the presence of his heavenly Father, he asks God to see him.

c.       If the Lord will look upon him, it is confirmation that he is also being heard.

B.      The List of Affirmations (Ps. 84:10-11)

1.      An affirmation about attendance (Ps. 84:10a)

 

For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand.

 

a.      You may have read this bumper sticker:  “A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work.”

b.      The psalmist has a similar view of a day in the courts of the Lord.  One day therein is better than a thousand days elsewhere.

c.       That one day is a day spent in the presence of God.

2.      An affirmation about assignment (Ps. 84:10b)

 

…I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

 

a.      The keeper of the door is a position of servanthood to others.  He would open and close the door to the guests who would come and go.  It was a lowly, menial task.

b.      But, the psalmist preferred it to “then tents of wickedness.” 

1)      These individuals were not servants.  They were the ones served by others.

2)      Their status was not lowly in nature.  They held lofty positions.

3)      They were not poor.  They were rich with goods.

c.       The psalmist preferred even the lowest position within that which is holy to the lofty positions among the wicked.

3.      An affirmation about abundance (Ps. 84:11)

 

For the Lord God is a sun and shield:  the Lord will give grace and glory:  no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

 

a.      God was his guide (sun)

b.      God was his guard (shield)

c.       God was his grantor (giver)

1)      Grace

2)      Glory

3)      Good things

 

IV.             THE PROMISE OF BLESSING (Ps. 84:12)

 

O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

 

A.    The word “blessed” has been used previously.  It simply means happy.

 

B.      The promise of happiness is for any, and all, who will trust in the Lord of hosts.

1.      Blessed is the man who has confidence in God.

2.      Blessed is the man who is secure in God.

3.      Blessed is the man who is sure in God.

4.      Blessed is the man who is bold in God.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    The psalmist gives us some insight into how a faithful Jew viewed the tabernacles of Jehovah.

1.      They were lovely.

2.      They were deeply desired.

3.      They were seen as places of tremendous blessing.

4.      They were held in the highest esteem.

 

B.      Who was the writer?

1.      Some believe it was David.  If so, a king longs for a doorkeeper’s job in God’s house.

2.      Some believe it was a priest or Levite.  If so, his brief stays during his circuit were not enough.  He was jealous of the birds left behind that nested in and around the temple year round.

 

C.     Application

1.      Today, there is a temple of God that exists.  It is the church (I Cor. 3:16).

 

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in?

 

2.      This church is more lovely that the physical temple of the Jews.

a.      It has been purchased with Jesus blood (Acts 20:28).

b.      It has Jesus as the chief cornerstone (I Pet. 2:6-9).

c.       It is composed of the saved (Acts 2:47).

d.      It is pitched by the Lord, not man (Heb. 8:2).

e.       It is a heavenly sanctuary (Heb. 8:2).

3.      Question:  Do we feel about this sanctuary as the psalmist felt about the physical temple?

a.      Do we believe it to be a lovely place?

b.      Do we esteem it highly?

c.       Do we long for it?

d.      Do we seek the blessings of this temple?

4.      If our answer to these questions is:  “No,” we need to go back and seriously study and contemplate and come to understand this magnificent building of God.