I'm going to read from Psalm 84. I'll read the first seven verses and you can follow along. We're only going to focus on the first verse today. And I know many of you are sad for what our family went through this past week, but I want you to think about Jesus today, not about me. This is about him and it's much bigger than our individual challenges. The Word of the Lord, Psalm 84, to the chief musician on an instrument of gath. young, even your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, they will still be praising you. Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the valley of Baca, They make it a spring. The rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength. Each one appears before God in Zion. The word of the Lord, the wonder of worship, beauty. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, for the typical North American, without doubt, worship has been relegated to something they do if they have nothing else to do. Or for some, worship is something you do for special occasions. So you go to church on Good Friday, on Easter Sunday, and at Christmas time. And what a tragedy that is, that we view worship as something we do if we have time or for special occasions. Because man was made in order to worship God. More than that, man needs worship with God. That's what Adam and Eve did with the Lord Jesus in the evening of the day when they were there. That was worship. A problem today is even if man goes to worship, he wants worship to change, to satisfy his needs. So worship becomes entertaining. Those of you who were at the funeral yesterday, you've seen all the lights and things they have in that place. It's like you could go to a rock concert there, the way it is set up. Because that's what people are longing for, something to entertain them. It's got to be the 30-minute sermon with 7 minutes of comedic illustrations. You got to be funny, you got to come with weird illustrations to pull people's attention. And they can't stand more than 23 minutes because the sitcoms were designed that way. And that is fashion, how we want worship to be. Well, that is contemptible worship. Whether it is something you do only when you have time, if it's something you do only for special occasions, and if it's something you do that has been reimagined to how you would like it. You will learn today many reasons for contemptible worship, and you'll find solutions for this problem of contemptible worship. And I know this is an area, you will find one or two areas, as I will, where we need to make changes to our lives. Our headings are four. First, there's a background to the psalm. Second, you worship Yahweh only. Third, you worship in Yahweh's tabernacle. And then fourth, you worship Yahweh because He is beautiful. And our goals today are that knowing you have been brought back to God through the blood of Jesus Christ, you've been restored to that worship that was lost in the Garden of Eden, that you will long to be in worship, number one. Two, you will support the worship of God by your presence. And then third, that you will promote the worship of God all around the world, including promoting the worship of God among delinquent brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. Let's first talk about the background of the psalm, the background of the psalm. Well, the psalm was sent to the chief musician. It was not sent to the least musician, but to the chief musician, so he would be the best one prepared to use this. these words and put them to music so that they would be sung for the glory of God. You see, for the psalmist, worship was a priority. It wasn't the ordinary. It was the focus of his life. Worship was valuable. More, this psalm was sung on an instrument from Gath, notable. There was musical quality that was being emphasized. Gath was one of the capitals, one of the five cities of the Philistine territory, and it was written by the sons of Korah. What we know then from this, that we're getting different instruments with different kinds of sounds. They wanted to put a priority to worship. It was not taken lightly. So they had excellent words inspired by God, but they also wanted excellent music, so that the worship will be pure and good. They weren't going to wing it, as we'd often say. Make it up as you go along. They planned what they were going to say. It was a psalm likely written by David. When he was running away, we don't know for sure from whom, whether he was running from Saul, when Saul was trying to kill him before he became king, or from his own son Absalom when he was king and Absalom tried to take over the kingdom. And he was, as he was running away, he's thinking, I'm running away from worship. I'm running away from the people of God. and his heart is pained from it. And so he penned this psalm to describe his absence from worship. What do we learn? First of all, there was always music in worship, whether it's the Old Testament representative worship when the Levites were singing for the people. or in the New Testament, or today. Music was always part of the worship of God. Second, you must take care that you have good music. Good music to sing. To sing with sound doctrine to accompany the good music. Why? This is about the glory of God. You know, some of the Christmas times come, people will come to your house. That's when the nice plates and things come out and you have all the good food and you want it to be good because it's something you're celebrating. And so it is when you come to the worship of God that you are always, wherever God may take you in life, that you're looking for a church where worship is taken seriously and in particular the singing. Singing the Psalms, you already have the beautiful words and it's sung well. People take the time to learn the Psalms to sing them well. And why do we sing? Because singing makes things easier to remember. That's the first thing. It's also more beautiful. You know, you can talk, you ever hear people saying, I will say a lullaby to my baby? they'll sing it because there's a beautiful quality to that. You've got the words and you've got the music to go with it and so it's more effective and so it is with God. And so it is with God. So don't take singing lightly. Think of the words that you sing. I know sometimes when you're learning a new song, it's a little bit more difficult, but take the time to look over the songs. I try to send, if I'm singing a new song, that I will give you a heads up so you can look over the words before you come here for that reason, that you're not just trying to figure out the words, but you see the priority of worship and you get those songs ready even in your head, listening to it a few times. Learn the tunes so you can sing properly. Second point. That's the background psalm written by David as he ran away and he longed to be with God's people and he put the priority in music and good quality music. Second, you worship Yahweh only. We're looking now at reverse order or a little bit mixed up for easier instruction. The psalmist is unequivocal He was worshiping, not God generically, but Yahweh, the covenant God. He knew God interacted with men covenantally. That's why Adam was saying, if God told him, if he obeyed, all his children would be blessed and conformed in righteousness. If he failed, all his children will be conformed in wickedness. Because God is a covenant God, and this is the God who had to be worshipped. Second, the psalmist is unequivocal. He was worshipping not just Yahweh, but Yahweh of hosts, God of hosts, God of armies. This is the God who judges the wicked. How important is this? Let's look at a few passages. First of all, let's read from Psalm 18 verse Together, a psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke the words of this psalm on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said, I will love you, O Lord, my strength. God delivered him from the trap that he was in and so he celebrates. So one of the things we see that worship is a celebration of the victories of God. that he brings to Christians. Psalm 27, verse 1 through 3, together. A Psalm of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and my foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, in this I will be confident. Why? Because the Lord is the Lord of armies, the Lord of hosts. But there's a secondary meaning to Lord of Hosts. While host means armies, and that phrase pictured God's judgment against those who fight against him, by destroying them with his angels. Host also refers to angels who join with God's people in worshiping. You see this in the angelic host came down when Jesus was born and they were singing glory to God in the highest and to earth peace and goodwill toward men. The angels then were participating in worship. And in fact, in the holiest place of the back of the tabernacle and then the temple, there the angels were watching over the affairs of men. They were over the Ark of the Covenant, joining with the priest as they made petition for the people of God. And maybe there's a combination of those two reasons. Not just fighting. Not just joining us in worship. It's not reminding us of it in worship. There is a spiritual battle that's taking place. The devil would like to stop this from happening. and the angels are there with us to help us to bring our minds back when our minds wander away and thinking about the troubles that we are experiencing in life so that we can focus there is that spiritual battle so when he is saying Yahweh Lord of hosts he's saying something very deep You're here, one, there's a reality of spiritual and all the battles against you, and two, you have the angels of God on your side. What can we learn? First, being estranged or separated by providence from the worship of God was painful to the psalmist, and so it should be for you. Here in worship, you're reminded of God's work for you. You're joining with the angels in heaven to fight battles. You're here to sing his holy praise. You're nourished in grace by his word and his sacraments. Here you're encouraged by God's people. Does visiting grandma on Sunday instead of church sound the same like what happens here? Does your child's piano competition sound the same like gathering with God's people to receive his blessings? Surely not. Second, worship is not about you. It's not about your nice dress or the tasty refreshments or the church's influence and wanting to be a part of a powerful church. Worship is not about superstitions. Worship is about Yahweh and Yahweh's glory. Even when God blesses you here with his grace, it is so that you can fight the spiritual battles around us. So we move. We worship Yahweh only, the Lord of hosts, the one who has his armies joining you to fight battles for you, to help you to worship him. But specifically, you worship in Yahweh's tabernacle. The word tabernacle really should be translated tabernacles. It's in the plural in the Hebrew. Not because there were many tabernacles, there could only be one. But the word is used in the plural to show the greatness of the place. That's one way the ancient peoples would describe the greatness of a place by using the plural form, as if there were many. Here's an example of how that word is used. In Psalm 68, verse 35, we read together, Oh God, you are more awesome than your holy places. The God of Israel is he who gives strength and power to his people. Blessed be God. Now, there's only one holy place. And yet it's described that way because the wealth of what happens there. The tabernacle was that most special place. There one could be because the people there specially met with God. And to make this point stronger, the psalmist noted that it was God's tabernacle, it was God's meeting, it was God's house, not man's. What did we see in the holy place? Now the holiest places are at the back, the back one third. But in the front part of it, there were three tables that were there. Those three tables remind us of the Trinity. And those three tables describe the guidance we get from God, the food we get from God, and the prayer that we could raise up before God. And then in the back part, the back one-third, the holiest place, the priests made petition for God directly. Ordinary men, priests, they were just ordinary sinners like we are, who were able to go directly to God with a picture of the blood of Christ, pictured by the blood that they killed on the altar outside of the tabernacle, and to go in. and they would have communion with God. That's the communion we have today because we go with the blood of Christ. And so they would be able to meet with God in the tabernacle. You know, that's the place you knew because of the sacrifices were made. If you sinned, your sins were forgiven. In fact, the French Protestants call this place paradise. That's what they call worship. The early word for the Jews was paradise. Why? It was a restoring to that time that Adam and Eve, remember how they were kicked out of paradise, and this is a return to paradise. Do you get the sense of what they were saying? This is where there's communion with God again. And the psalmist had a strong desire to go to the tabernacle, even to remain in that place. Look again, Psalm 27 verse 4 and 5 together. One thing I have desired to the Lord, that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble, he shall hide me in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle, he shall hide me. He shall set me high upon a rock. This was one of the things that my sister and I talked about this week, and she said, I want to take her to church one more time. Now it was a dead body, of course, not the same. But you see the thing that drives us is to be in the house of God. In fact, if you read Psalm 72, one of the songs I pick quite often to sing, the psalmist says, I want to be an evergreen tree that's planted in the house of God. I want to stay there. I want to be where worship is taking place. Because that's where you become rich. Rich in the things that really matter. Psalm 43 verse 3. Let's read together. Oh, send out your light and your truth. Let them bring me to your holy hill and to your tabernacle. Where does he want to go? The hill where the tabernacle was and to go up to the tabernacle of God. That's his desire, not to any other place, not to the job site to get overtime, but to the temple or the tabernacle of God. What can we learn? from this worship of Yahweh in his tabernacle, that specific place where they would meet with God and be equipped. What you do here in worship is rightly called by the church fathers the heavenly exchange. You know, you think of money exchange where they buy and sell things? Well, this is the heavenly exchange. God gives grace to you and men give praise to God. That's why this is so special. Second, in the worship of your triune God, you have light. You know, the first table they would see in the holy place was the menorah, the seven-headed candlestick. That light represented the blessings we have in Almighty God, the light, the guidance. You have light, you see where to go. On the other side of the tabernacle was the table of showbread. What was that? It was a picture of the nourishment you need for your body and soul that were pictured in the work of Christ who said, I am the bread of life. And he also said, I will give you water that you will drink and never be thirsty again. And just before they enter into a holy place, there was the altar of incense where the Holy Spirit was pictured as praying for the people. That incense was always going up. So there was always communication. The one who gave you guidance, the one who gave you food, you pray to him with the help of the Holy Spirit. That's what you do here. That's what you do here. That's how God feeds you. He feeds you with the bread of life. He gives you guidance through those who lead you. So it's shocking, number three, that some treat worship with contempt. Don't miss from God's greeting to God's benediction. It's not mine. I can't bless you. God can. Don't come late. without a reason. Now, I understand sometimes things happen, but you see how you have to value this because of what is taking place here. You know, if you don't show up for worship or you don't show up on time for worship, it's self-robbery. It's also wife-robbery. It's also child-robbery if you do. And God help you if you train your children to rob God. If you train your children to rob God, what a horrible thing. Fourth, you only worship through the blood of Jesus. To go into worship here as we are called to do, you can only approach God because you have the blood, just as they had the blood of the animals that were killed on the altar coming before. God. Even so, we are called to come with the blood of Jesus Christ. So know that. That's why only Christians are able to worship. Non-Christians dare not approach God. Remember what happened to a priest if he went into the holiest place without having sacrificed an animal for himself? Well, they pulled him out with the rope that was tied on his foot because God would kill him. We come with the blood of Christ, the atoning sacrifice. And that's why the veil of the temple was torn in two when that happened. Five, does it hurt you if you can't get to worship? Last week, some people were not able to come. And so, because of the snow. Did it hurt you? I hope it did. I trust it did. Because you want to be with God's people. And even if providence stops you, and sometimes God does, it should hurt. Oh, I miss seeing brother so-and-so or sister so-and-so. I miss seeing those kids and talking to them. I miss being in the worship of God. That's an important thing to remember. It's hard to be away from God's people, isn't it? Talked about being at a funeral yesterday. When God's people were there, it made it easier. Because you know you have hope in Jesus Christ. But there's one more lesson. And it's this. The final tabernacle is coming. Long for the final tabernacle. That is heaven. You know the Bible says in heaven there's a great mansion. Now I know sometimes we like to think in terms of mansions. Everyone having a mansion on a hill separated from everyone else. One will be in the country. That's not what this is. It's one big mansion with many rooms. You know why? The mansion belongs to Jesus, and you'll be right close to Him. It's only in our selfish minds we think, I need to be away from everybody, and I'll enjoy my big mansion somewhere. You're part of the family of God, and you are near each other, and you like each other, and you're singing the praises of God together, because you are in God's house. Look at John chapter 14, verse 2, together. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. We use the term many mansions, but the word really means rooms. That's a whole lot nicer when you're close to each other. And you like each other. Now it's difficult to grasp it because everyone's got some relatives you think, well, if you don't see them too often, that's okay. But this is where you will love each other. So we come to our final point. You worship Yahweh only because he's the true God, Yahweh of hosts. Second, you worship Yahweh at his tabernacle. And then third, you worship Yahweh because he is beautiful. That's the second part. How lovely is your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts. We see Yahweh, Lord, host, meaning the armies. We see tabernacle, the place where we worship, but how lovely it is. Lovely is often translated amiable. And maybe even a better word, because it carries a sense that the tabernacle was easy to love. You know, from the word, the French word, amour, you have ami, Latin as well. There is that, you look at the temple, they looked at the tabernacle, and it was easy to love. You know why? Because of what was taking place there. It was lovely. Everyone wants to be around beautiful people, special things, notable places. And since the church of God is the most special thing, the most beautiful thing on earth, David longed to be there. He didn't say, man, I want a really big banquet with lots of dance and music. He said, I want to be with the people of God, the church of God. And this view is set in contrast to those who attended worship and were not prevented like David was because he was running away. But they're there, but they're not enthralled by the wonder of worship because they do not see it as a lovely thing. They see it as, well, I guess people will think poorly of me if I'm not there, or this is our tradition. We do it. Why do you do it? Like most Canadians, they can't explain. They have a tradition of going to church, Christmas and Easter, but they don't really know. They just think it's a nice thing to do. It's a beautiful thing to do. Well, don't miss the worship of God because it is a lovely thing. What did the Bible say then about this worship of God and its beauty? The Bible says, and the word became flesh and what? dwelt, the word is tabernacled, because the Lord is there, and that's what makes it beautiful. The tabernacle represented the Lord and His presence, and in fact, three tribes would be on the four sides of the tabernacle, so the tabernacle was right spank in the middle when they would go to worship. And that's what Jesus said, John chapter 1, and the word became flesh and tabernacled among us. He was the center of their lives. But here's the thing. If you looked at the tabernacle that was here, it was kind of ugly. They had dolphin skins on top or some creatures. It didn't look remarkable. Because it was a picture of Jesus. Remember how they said, you're from the backward part of town. He wasn't good looking, as Isaiah said. But what was happening on the inside was what was most remarkable. That was the thing of beauty. We'll talk about this in Easter. We talk about Christmas time and Easter time. There's not much about him that we should desire, because he didn't look right. And so was the tabernacle. But this was the place where you would meet to fix man's problems. And so Jesus is the one that you meet to fix man's problems. You see, at the tabernacle, man found all the answers to be saved and live after meeting Jesus. You have all the answers. Remember when the disciples asked him, well, what are you going to do? Jesus asked, what are you going to do? He said, where can we go? You have the words of life. You are the source. That's why we come to you. The world might not look at you that way, but we do. What can we learn here? First of all, after reflecting on the beauty of worship, don't you long to be here? Seeing a distant picture isn't enough. You know, I've looked at lots of pictures of the Parthenon in Athens, and it's such a remarkable thing, but it's nothing like being there yourself. And being fortunate to be there, you see the size of this thing. You see the beauty of this thing. You can physically touch some parts of it, and it brings the awareness to a whole higher level. And so it is with the worship of God. You can't worship otherwise than being with God's people. Job chapter 19 verse 27, together. That's the picture of the gospel. That's where he wanted to be with Jesus, to learn of truth, to be nourished. And then, of course, he's ultimately pictured in heaven. He said, in my flesh, my body will die, but in my flesh, my renewed flesh, I will see God. We're in his holy house in heaven. So second, if you are longing to behold the beauty of God on a regular basis, you will see If that good theme, that message of salvation is really, you will know that that message of salvation is really in your hearts, because you know the joy that it brings in being with God's people. I mean, look at this, ordinary chairs, we don't have luxury chairs. A pulpit metal thing, got creaky floors under my feet. Sometimes the audio cuts out because the internet is not good. But you know what's happening here? We're meeting with the angels to worship God. Psalm 45 verse 1 says together, a contemplation of the sons of Korah, a song of love. My heart is overflowing with a good theme. I recite my composition concerning the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are writing songs of praise to God when you are singing them here. And this is the longing that he has, the desire to be with God. Let's conclude. The psalmist declared he worshiped Yahweh only, the maker of heaven and earth, the remaker of those who had fallen to sin, and he brings them back to that Garden of Eden again. For there, as now, Man's soul is nourished as he gazed upon the beauty and the grace of the Lord Jesus. Brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ, one, recognize who God is. Know him well. He's not like the other gods of this world. Know his church. If you know the man, you want to know his wife, his bride. Get into and become a part of the church of Jesus Christ. See the wonder of his creation and his recreation. When you recognize who God is, reflect on who Christ is to you. The greatest thing of beauty you can ever find is Jesus Christ. Did he look good? No. When he was bloodied and beaten, stripped naked, Was that attractive? No. But what he did surely pleased the Lord for you. And that makes him beautiful. Return to passionate worship. That communication you regularly have with him. And then remind yourself that the day will come when you will worship Him in absolute fullness again. You're here and sometimes your mind wanders off. You're thinking of someone who has some problem and your mind gets distracted. But the time is coming when you will not just return to the church of Jesus Christ on earth, that's militant, but in the church triumphant, when there will be no more distractions, and your heart will be focused, and your communication will be pure and sweet with Almighty God. Job 19.27 says, Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another one. how my heart yearns within me. That's his longing. Finally, you can't worship God unless you've been made pure. You can only become pure if God forgives your sins because you claim Christ's death as your own. What is stopping you from surrendering to God and being brought into his garden again? I hope nothing. Let's pray. Forgive us, Lord, for treating your worship with contempt. Maybe you didn't mean to, but life just happens and we become busy with things and we rob ourselves, our families. Lord, when you think about it, we rob our children. If we don't treat worship with the attention, with the longing, with the desires to praise you, Help us, Lord, as the redeemed of God in Jesus Christ, that we will be able to do so. Hear us, for we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.