Please stand with me this evening to Psalm 84 and verse 11. And you shall find that on page 634 in your church Bible, page 634. Psalm 84, verse 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. My friends, my message is taken from this psalm, and especially this verse here that we just read, the seeker longing after Christ, the seeker longing after Christ. The writer of this psalm was a Jew, and he wanted to be in the house of God to attend the tabernacle or the temple, but he couldn't get there. He was in exile. He wanted so much to be in that place. It seems to be a place he preferred above all other places. But it seems that he's in exile, and as a result of his current circumstances, he's unable to get there. We think it's David, King David, who is the writer of this psalm. And he doesn't say, I wish I was in the palace. I'm so missing my palace. I'm so missing the place of my home, my residence. He says, I'm longing to be in that dwelling place where God is. He is longing to get back to that place where God is worshipped in a public way, either in the tabernacle or in the temple. He loved it. Every year the pilgrims would come from different parts of Palestine and they would make their way to Jerusalem to worship. The journey was a treacherous one for some, difficult one. They had to go through valleys, dry valleys, difficult places to get there. But it was a joy to them to go there. It was hard. It's painful for some of them, but they were willing to make that arduous journey because they know the end point where they're going to be is in the house of God, where God is. And they wanted to be there worshipping Him and in the presence of God, adoring Him. They knew that to be in that place was to be in a happy place, to appear together before the living God. And so here the psalmist says, how amiable, verse 1, are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts. How lovely are your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts. What's he doing? He loves the dwelling place of God, isn't it? How lovely is it, he says. He's in exile. He wants to join them. He's looking on from afar. He sees the pilgrims possibly even making their way to Jerusalem, and he longs to be among them, going to that place where God is, going to God's house and being with God's people. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Here is a man almost in desperation, in earnest, longing to be in that place. He sees these pilgrims on their way. They're happy. They're not going with mournful faces. They're not dragging their feet. Oh, we have to go to Jerusalem. Oh, we have to worship God there. Oh, we have to do this and that. That's not the way, the spirit in which they're going. Look at what he says about them here in verse 4. Blessed are they, happy are they that dwell in thy house, they will be still praising thee. Happy, blessed, happy is the man whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the ways of them. There are happy people who are going to Jerusalem. there are blessed people, there are joyful people, there are rejoicing people, they're going there because they want to be in that place. In verse 8, he pours out his own heart's desire, O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer, give ear, he says, it's an earnest prayer that he too may it may be restored to him, this joy, this privilege of being in God's presence. He says, let it be come back to me to approach God, to be near to you, to be with those pilgrims that I, this amazing statement, verse 10, for a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I'd rather spend one day in your house than a thousand in the palace or a thousand in any other place. Just give me one day in the house in comparison to these other things. It's much better. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God. and to dwell in the tents of wickedness. One day here is better than a thousand elsewhere." Well, obviously, friends, as we see this psalmist and we capture something of his feeling, we can see that he is not a passive man, but he's a man who is full of longing and earnest desire, and he's longing for God. This is what he wants. It's the language, you could say, of a believer who has found God and his chief joy is in God. And sometimes he cannot find God. God seems to be absent from him, but he longs for him. He longs to come into the house of God. Sometimes through sickness, he's unable to get to God's house, but he longs to be back in the place where God is found and his people are. So this is a man who obviously is earnestly longing for the Lord. And tonight, I want to turn him, instead of a believer, I want to turn him into a seeker. And here is one who is, we could say, seeking the Lord for salvation. One who has a sincere but an earnest longing in his heart to be right with God, to have a right relationship with him. He wants God to be his, and he wants to be the Lord's. He doesn't have that access at the moment. He's like the psalmist in exile, cut off from God, cut off from the privileges of God, cut off from the blessing of God, and under God's judgment because of his sin. And he knows that, and he feels that, and he's uncomfortable in that position. And he says, I don't want to be in this position. I want to be in a position where I'm under God's blessing. and in His favor and in His presence. And this is, he wants to be near to God. He's lived a life apart from God, but now as a seeker, he's begun to seek the Lord and to seek to be reconciled to Him. He sees other believers and he says, they have something I don't have. They have an inner strength that I don't have. They have an inner peace, but they're not smiling all the time. But they have something which I don't have in my life. They have an inner joy that seems to come through them, even in the midst of their difficulties and the troubles that they have. They are happy people. They seem to be a happy people. I don't have this. And he envies them. And he wants what they've got. And he wishes to have the same thing. And so he's seeking the Lord, and he's seeking earnestly. Now, you may look at this kind of a person, this seeker after God, and you may think to yourself, well, that's a very strange phenomenon. He's seeking after something he cannot see. Something must be wrong with the man. He must be out of his mind. Seeking so earnestly, longing for something. If he's longing for some material thing, I can understand that. If he's longing to progress in his career, I can understand that. I can feel for that. If he's longing to be a great person in the world, yes, I can understand that. But he's longing for God. Something must be wrong with him, isn't it? He must be mad. That's the conclusion I can only say. He must be deranged. He's praying to find God. He's in God's house. He's earnest about seeking the Lord. This is the thing that seems to consume this man. He is not living in the real world. Something's gone wrong. He's gone cuckoo in his mind. He's out of his mind. He's a madman. Yes, that's my conclusion. This man needs help. Actually, friends, there's nothing wrong with him at all. Nothing wrong with this man at all. This man who's now seeking God in this earnest and longing and desirous way, he once stood exactly where you stand today, criticizing him. He once criticized other people, but now something has changed in him. Now he's seen something, and he's been drawn to something, and that's what's made all the difference. I say something, I should say someone, He's caught a glimpse of the Lord. He's caught a glimpse of God. God has come into view. Christ has come into view. And something has drawn him. Something attractive about God, even we could say, has come into his view. And he is allured towards him. He wants him. He desires him. He's not being coerced. He's not being pushed. No one's twisting his arm to say, you've got too long after this. It's something that springs from his heart in response to what he has seen. This is what he has seen. It's dawned upon him, I need Christ. I need to be saved. I need to be saved from hell. I need to be saved from my sins. I need Christ, and I cannot rest content until I have Him, until I own Him, until I possess Him, until I have His blessing. And this is what he has realized. and come to. That's why he is seeking, he is seeing. It's a response to what he has seen in God. And I'm going to mention three things here, friends, that the seeker has especially realized. Three things that have turned his world upside down. three realizations that have created in the seeker this longing after reconciliation with God and nearness to him. And they're all found actually here in verse 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? Well, the first thing that this seeker has seen, the first thing that he has realized is that the Lord God is a sun and a shield. Well, the sun, you don't need me to tell you this, but the sun gives light. And without the light of the sun, we would be in total darkness. We wouldn't be able to see anything. A shield, of course, also, it's obvious, gives protection. You place yourself behind the shield, you're safe. In a place of danger, you're safe. It offers protection and safety for you. Well, the Lord is a sun and shield, as a sun and shield. He throws light upon me. He makes me see what I'm really like. Friends, you know, we go through life, and we really, we go through life with a distorted view of ourselves. You know, you go to the funfair, is it? I don't know if they still do it. I've never been to a funfair for years and years and years. But you go to a funfair and you go into some places where they've got these mirrors. and all different mirrors, and some of them make you look as tall as anything, and some make you look as wide as anything, and they give you a distorted image of what you're really like. But we go through life like that, with a distorted view of ourselves. We think we're wonderful. We think we're good. We think we're great. We think there's nothing wrong with us. But when God shines his light upon us as the sun, we begin to see our distortions. We begin to see what we're really like. We begin to see ugly things we don't want to see. It's like looking in the mirror. You look in the mirror and you wish you hadn't looked in the mirror because you see things you don't like about what you see, the warts and all. And when God shines, we see some ugly things about ourselves. There's that ugly pride, that boastful words that we speak. There's that rebellion and unbelief, the unclean thoughts are all shown up to us. The violent temper, the way we treat other people, all our sins, we become aware of our sinfulness and we know that We're under God's condemnation as a result of what we see because of our sins. But then the Lord has a shield. He tells me that there is cleansing in Christ from all sin, that there is power to oppose and conquer sin, that if I am in Christ, there is a safe place where my sins can all be forgiven, where that righteous anger of God which is due unto me because of my sins, how can I escape that? How can I be saved from that? How can I be protected from the righteous anger of God against my sins? It's only by getting behind the shield of Christ. Then only the anger of God will not penetrate to us, will not touch us. As a son, God discloses my guilt. my guilt of my sin, and that it's no small thing what I do. I can't just brush my sins under the carpet and say it doesn't matter. I can't just smother my conscience. My guilt keeps returning. We all know this. We all feel this. But as a shield, God shows me that the guilt of my sin was laid on another, was laid on the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary. And if I am in Christ and if I put my trust in Christ, I am safe. He protects me. He takes away my guilt. As a son, the Lord more and more makes me sensible of the impossibility of saving myself. I think I can do it myself before the light shines. I think I can manage to please God. I think if I just try my best, that will be enough for God and He will accept me. But then the light of His Word shines and says there's nothing that we can do that is acceptable with God. That even the good things that you do, you think are good, are unacceptable to Him. They're polluted in His sight because you didn't do it for God, you just did it. You didn't do it for His honor, for His glory, you just did it. Maybe even to help other people, but he didn't do it for God. It's polluted even the very things that we do, friends. And we think, well, I don't need a Savior. I can do it myself. But the light shines upon us and shows us we can't. Without a Savior, we are hopeless, helpless, doomed, damned. And we must have a saviour. But as a shield, he points me to Christ. He points me to the righteousness of Christ behind which I can hide. That perfect righteous life that Jesus Christ came and lived for all who trust in him. He imparts that righteousness to them. This is your safe place, not your own righteousness and your own words, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is what will be your protection in the day of judgment. Oh, friends, as a son, God shows me myself. But if he left me there, then I'm undone. I'm in the most dreadful place and a condition. Who can help me if all that he does is to show me my sins and my shortcomings? But he so kindly, he so graciously also shows himself to me as my shield in Christ, as a shield for me to give me that security and a protection that I need. Oh friends, this is why the seeker is so earnestly seeking God, because he knows the danger that he is in, he knows the dreadful position that he is in, and yet he knows that there is a place of safety he can run to in Christ. He's not going to stand still. Nobody in their right mind would stand still in such a situation. Would they? Do you? Knowing that God's judgment is upon you, knowing that you are unforgiven, you are still in your sins, you're still depending on yourself, and that God rejects it, do you still say, the gospel says, here is Christ, run to him, you'll be saved. I'm not going to do that. That's crazy, friends. I'm sorry to be so direct. I've heard of a thing. You want to run from danger, don't you? You want to run from difficult places. Well, here you are. You're asleep. The fire, the house is on fire and you're asleep. You know it's on fire. Do you want to carry on sleeping? Oh, run to Christ, friends. and find a shield in him. The second realization that this seeker has come to is that the Lord will give grace and glory. Grace, free forgiveness of sin, unearned, unmerited, unworked for, the Lord will give that and the Lord will give glory. a place in heaven, eternal life, eternal happiness. Oh, that's all I need. He thinks to himself, that's all I need. I need grace, the forgiveness of my sins. I need glory, a place in heaven. Oh, if I can get this, that's all I need. And the seeker realizes this, and that God has these things. You can't buy grace and glory in the supermarket. You can go to the best store, you can go to Harrods or wherever you go, you shop. You can't find grace and glory. These are only God's possession. You must obtain it from the Lord. Grace, friends. Oh, but God, I have to say, is so willing to give the grace and glory to whoever asks for it. No discrimination. Age is no discrimination. Color is no discrimination. Your sins will not count against you. You come and you ask him for grace and glory, and he will give it to you. These are two tremendous gifts, grace and glory. Oh, and I could feel the weight of these gifts, the value of these gifts. Grace and glory, grace to cover all my sins, said the hymn writer, a free pardon unearned without any contribution in the least from me. Is such a thing even possible? The forgiveness of all my sin without one iota, 1%, 0.5%, 0.001% of contribution from me, yes. This is grace, friends. But my sins against God, they must be punished. Yes, you're right. They must be punished. God's justice demands that your sins are punished. He would be unholy if he overlooked your sins and just pardoned you without executing judgment upon the sins. But somebody else has paid the penalty for your sins if you trust in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has done that. Christ has paid the penalty for his people's sins. God's justice fell upon him for their sins. And that's why God can freely pardon you and give to you grace, his unmerited favor. God will give grace, friends, to all who feel that they need it and ask for it. He will not give grace to a man who boasts of his own goodness, who says, I need 50% grace or 80%, 90% grace, but 10% will be my contribution. That man will get no grace. If I come before him acknowledging I deserve nothing, acknowledging my guilt, I'm a terrible sin, I'm an awful sin, I'm a vile person. God will meet me there. You know, our brother was talking to us about a hymn book today, and he was saying that one of these hymns which speak about our vileness was actually removed, unfortunately, from that hymn book, that stanza, because people don't like to hear about us man and mankind being vile and fallen. We like to lift ourselves up. We like to promote man. He's so great. He's so wonderful. He's tremendous. He's, you know, he's on top of the world. He's everything. But the reality is we're not. We're sinners, morally corrupt. and in a bad state, really. And if I come before the Lord, God, as this sinner acknowledges, yes, Lord, everything you say is all true. God will meet with me there and give me grace, give me what I desire. Isn't that what you desire, friends? The forgiveness of all your sin? And on top of that, glory. Not the vain glory of this world. The seeker doesn't desire these things. His eyes have been opened to see through the world and its glory, all that it offers. He says, no, no, no. I once was after those things, but no longer, not now anymore. I don't want those. Those are meaningless to me. Let other people have them. I want the substantial things of God. That's what matters to me. That's real glory. the glory of being his child, the glory of being called after his name. The glory of being accepted with God and known by God and loved by God and God having His eye upon me. The glory of having a connection with Him. Oh, that is glorious to me. The glory of having a sure and certain place in heaven forever and forever. Oh, that will be glory to me. This is what He wants. And this is what God offers, friends. The seeker has realized this. This is what the Lord will give to all who yield their life over to him and trust in Christ. And a seeker has realized this and he wants it. He desires it. Who wouldn't? Who wouldn't want grace and glory? These are the two essentials, friends, that we need in life. If we have nothing else in life, if we are bereft of other things and even other relationships and possessions, yet we must have grace and glory in our lives. And they are offered to you. God himself. is offering them to you. God is willing. He is, the Lord will give. It's a promise. The Lord will give grace and glory if we ask him for it. The question is, do you want it? Do you want grace and glory, friends? No, I prefer material things, maybe you'll say. I hope not. But if you say, oh no, I want my earthly toys, then your earthly toys you will have. But you won't have both. You won't have grace and glory. But let me come very quickly to our third point, or the third realization of the seeker. He's seeing how the Lord is a sun and shield. He's seeing how God is so willing to give grace and glory, those inestimable blessings, and he wants it, but now also he sees that no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. The seeker realizes that in order for God to bless him, he must, with grace and glory, he must be in a right relationship with him. He must be walking uprightly, not by his own words, but because he has been brought through simple trust in Christ and repentance of sin. He has been brought into that right relationship with God, and therefore God is going to bless him with no good thing, rather will he withhold from such a one. That's what's in his mind. He knows that outside of Christ, If he continues to walk contrary to him, the blessing is withheld. He knows that if he continues to be rebellious and stubborn and say, I will not repent. I will not believe. I will not give up the reign of my life to Christ. I will not yield to him. I'm going to hold on to my own life. He knows that if he continues in this way, he's going to be the blessing is going to be withheld. He knows that I'm not going to believe the word of God. I'm going to believe what I think in life, my own way, my own philosophy. This is what I think. He knows that if he goes along that path, God is not going to bless him in any way. My life is my own. Why should I live for God? No matter how many times that person may pray, God bless me, the Lord will not bless that person. He cannot if he's living outside of Christ and walking contrary to God. But if I'm seeking to be right with God and I come and repentant, then not only will he give me grace and glory, friends, but look here, he will give me no good thing will he withhold from me. But Lord, it's enough. It's enough. Grace and glory are wonderful, tremendous in itself. I don't need any more, but I'm going to give you more. I'm going to give you all that you need for life. I'm going to give you an abundance of good things, an abundance of blessings. No good thing will I withhold. Is there any limit to that? No good thing. Of course, we have to redefine what good thing is. It's not the material things. But it may include the material things. If I need material blessings, if I need material things, if I need money even, and I don't have enough to survive, yes, it includes even that. The Lord will give them to me. What are other good things? I can only mention a few. He'll give me the good thing of power. so that I have something in myself with which to fight against my corruptions, to fight against my evil tendencies. I will have within me by His Spirit the power to subdue my corruptions, my temper. He'll give me power to be gentle. He'll give me power to resist temptation, power to be kind, power to be courteous, to be generous. to open my hand, to help other people. This is what He'll give me, the good thing of guidance in life. I don't know which way to turn. I don't know which way to go. Should I go left or right? I don't know what to do with my life. You come to Christ. He will give you guidance. He will give you understanding in His Word, understanding in life. All that you need for this life shall be given to you. No good thing shall he withhold." He's not a God who is withholding back, and the sinner realizes this, and that's why he's seeking Christ. And he knows that through faith in Christ, he is brought into a right relationship with God. And this is what he desires. He desires not even the other things we could say, these are the extras, but his main desire. is to have Christ the person dwelling in him by faith. Let me close. Actually, I said three realizations. There's actually a fourth here in verse 12. Oh, Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. He's seen, he knows, the man who trusts in Jesus Christ, he's a happy man. He's a happy person. As I said, you won't see him smiling all the time. Sometimes you'll see him going through difficult times. You'll see the weight of trouble even upon his brow. But deep down, he's a happy, contented soul. Oh, friends, have you seen this? What do you think of God? What do you think of when you think of God? What is your concept of God? Has Satan whispered in your ear, oh, God is a withholder. God is keeping things from you. God is unwilling to bless you. God is unwilling to give you all that is good for you. Look, I will give you all that is good for you. I will give you whatever you want. And he gives you many things, but they're not good things. Often there are bad things that destroy us. Here the devil comes and he whispers these things in our ear. It's the old lie, friends. That's what he said to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Hath God said you can't eat from all the trees in the garden? He's planting doubts. Perhaps he's got into your mind. Have you not seen, he says to you, that those who follow Christ, look at them. They're miserable. Look at their lives. They're unhappy people. Look at them. They're restricted in what they can do. They have no freedom. They're limited people. You want to go to church. They have no joy in going to church. It's boring. All these things will be whispered in your ear. You're young now. You've got your whole life ahead of you. What are you doing? Going to church and thinking about God. Put it off. Put it off. Later, later. Be happy now. Be serious later. Be happy. Blessed is the man that trusts in thee. Happy is the man who puts his hope in thee. Happy is the Christian. This is what our text is saying, friends. Oh, don't listen to the devil. Don't let him deceive you. He only says these things because he wants to keep you as one of his own slaves. He doesn't want you to be a Christian. These verses tell us the complete opposite of what he's saying. God, the psalmist says, is amiable. His tabernacles are amiable because he is amiable. Happy are those people, those pilgrims, going up. God is to be desired. God is the giver, not the withholder. He does withhold those things which are bad for us, but he gives us grace and glory if we just ask for it. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O friends, seek the Lord. Seek the Lord with all your heart. Seek the Lord, and ye shall live. The Lord looks down from heaven to see if there are any who are seeking Him. And if you are seeking Him, He knows you. He knows what is in your heart. He knows the prayers that you're praying to Him in secret. Nobody else knows. He knows the desire of your heart after Him, and He will meet you. and He will come and He will bless you with grace and He will fulfill His promise and give you grace and glory. Oh, come to Him, friends. Don't delay, but come to Him. Blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee. Let's pray together. Oh Lord, our God, we thank you for your word which gives us these views of thee and we pray that even tonight our hearts may be drawn to you and we may feel our need of Jesus Christ and may long to be in that privileged and blessed position of a right relationship with you and of knowing your grace and your glory in an experiential way in our own lives. Bless us, Lord, we pray, for we ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Let's close by singing our final hymn, number 418. Come, O thou traveler unknown. 418.