Alright Psalm 84 this evening and we're continuing this study, this journey through the book of Psalms and at this pastor-teacher conference that I went through we talked about, part of what we talked about was going through books and again one of the pastors taught on preaching Christ, preaching Christ-centered messages. And it was preaching Christ throughout the Bible. And one of the things that was mentioned was looking in the Old Testament and finding Christ in a passage of Scripture in the Old Testament. Because Jesus said, search the Scripture for them you think you have eternal life and they are they which testify of me. So when Jesus was speaking of the Scriptures, what was he talking about? He was talking about the Old Testament. And so the point was we should be able to find Christ in every passage in the Old Testament. And the guy said, I did a test. I opened up the Old Testament and I closed my eyes and stuck my finger in the Bible and whatever passage it landed on, I found Christ in that passage. And so we went through that exercise. So that's one of the things we're going to do as we go through this. That's one of the reasons to look in the Old Testament books is because we remember the entire scripture is about Christ. Whether it's in the book of Genesis or the book of Revelation, it's all about Christ and so we do want to find Christ. But as we look in these Psalms, it should be a little easier for us to find Psalms and we're on Psalm 84 tonight. They were talking about preaching verse by verse through the book of Proverbs and how difficult that may be because they're not interconnected. Some verses are not even interconnected. But anyway, here we are in Psalm 84 and if you remember, last week we said we were finishing up that group of Psalms that were Psalms of Asaph and now we're getting to a grouping of Psalms that it says, for the sons of Korah. And so when we're looking at this psalm, we're going to look at the sons of Korah. We're going to find out who the sons of Korah are, why this psalm is important. And for this particular psalm, we want to begin with looking at the title. So we'll read the entire psalm and then we'll look at the title to see if that title can give us a little bit of information to help us identify this psalm. As we read through the psalm, Just try to picture in your mind, what is this psalm about? We know that all the psalms are written for a specific purpose. As a matter of fact, these psalms are songs that are sung in Israel. And so there's a reason why the psalm was written and why the song is sung. See if you can find the reason for this particular psalm. It says, to the chief musician upon Gittath, A psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My song longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and to swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house. They will be still praising thee, Selah. Blessed is a man whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the ways of them, who, passing through the valley of Baca, make it a well. The rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength. Every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. O Lord of hosts, hear my prayer. Give ear, O God of Jacob, Selah. behold our God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand, and I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 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. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. You might not be able to recognize what we're going to discuss about when this psalm was used and what it was used for. You might get the idea that it is picturing the temple or the house of God. You also might think, well, I know a couple of those verses. We even have sung a song that says, I would rather, better is one day in your house than thousands elsewhere is the song. But notice, for the day in thy courts is better than a thousand, and I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. You probably have heard that verse of Scripture. More than likely. You probably don't remember where that comes from. And you knew it was probably in the Psalms, but you didn't know how it fit into the greater narrative of the Psalms. So we're going to look at that tonight. We said that we would look at the title. So it says, to the chief musician upon Gidath. Now we've mentioned those as we've gone all the way through. And we've mentioned the different styles of music and so forth. Well this particular psalm when it says, upon Gidath, it is not an instrument but an occasion. So this psalm is to be sung at a specific occasion. Three Psalms are given to use for this occasion. It was Psalm 81, Psalm 8, Psalm 81, and Psalm 84. Steve Lawson, in his book called Preaching the Psalms, explains what upon Gidath means. He says, these three Psalms were sung on the Feast of Tabernacles. Now I've mentioned something that maybe you know about, maybe you don't know about. But we know that the worship of the children of Israel was separated into feasts. And one of those was called the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Booths might give you a little more idea about that. So we're going to have to go back and talk about the Feast of Tabernacles a little bit to get a better idea about what this psalm is talking about. The Gidath, which it means wine presses, and so it recalls the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, the Feast of Tabernacles was performed at the harvest, and so when they would be bringing the grapes from the vineyard to put them in the wine presses, that's why the word Gidath signifying wine presses talks about the Feast of Tabernacle. The object of this feast was to commemorate God's great goodness to Israel in their pilgrimage through the wilderness. As the Passover reminded Israel that God was their Redeemer, the Feast of Tabernacles brought to mind that He was also their Keeper. Hence the Psalms illustrate reliance on God in times of adversity and that very plainly. So that's Steve Lawson. Also I want you to notice in verse number one it says, how amiable are thy tabernacles. So before we look at the tabernacles a little bit closer, I do want to mention the sons of Korah. Again, in another resource, it talks about these sons of Korah. It tells us that the sons of Korah were Levites. If you remember who the Levites were, they were the ones that were in control and responsible for the worship of God. If you remember, there were some that were supposed to carry the tabernacle. They were supposed to tear it down. There were some that were supposed to take care of the furniture and all that. I'll explain that to you. The Levites were one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Each of the 12 tribes a portion of the land of Canaan except for the tribe of Levi. The other 11 tribes were to bring tithes of all of their increase into the house of God except for the tribe of Levi. The 11 tribes were to bring all of their tithe into the storehouse and from the storehouse the Levites gathered their necessities. In other words, the Levites lived off of the tithes of the other 11 tribes of Israel. There were three sons of Levi. There were the family of Gershom which became the Gershonites. Their job was to carry the tent, the tabernacle itself. Then there was the family of Kohath which carried the furniture and the family of Morai carried the boards and the bars. Kohath had a son whose name was Korah. By the way, just for a little bit of information, Moses and Aaron both came from the family of Kohath. Remember Moses and Aaron were Levites. That's why that family was chosen to be the representatives of God. The family of Korah formed the singers and they were known as the sons of Korah. So when you see a psalm for the sons of Korah, you know these are the guys that it was their responsibility to sing in the tabernacle. Their job was to praise the Lord and this was a choir. David organized a great choir out of the sons of Korah. So these psalms are songs, they're choir specials that were sung by the sons of Korah and they were written for their use. And so these were songs that they sang during the Feast of the Tabernacle. Another job that we see that was done by the sons of Korah was that they were to be gatekeepers, keepers of the door. That might be making an allusion to something that we've already read in this psalm. So the first thing we want to do though, hold your place there in Psalm 84 and let's go to the book of Leviticus and we're going to see the institution of the Feast of Tabernacles. Now it's important for us to go back and look at all of this because, I mean, you say the Feast of Tabernacles, you might not know what we're talking about. And so we want to go all the way down to verse number 33. And in my Bible it has a big heading there, the Feast of Tabernacles. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be a holy convocation, and you shall do no servile work therein. Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you, and you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. It is a solemn assembly, and you shall do no servile work therein. These are the feasts of the Lord's which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offering and offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, everything upon His day, beside the Sabbaths of the Lord, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which you shall give unto the Lord. Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you shall have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days. On the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath. And you shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches and palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And you shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days, and the year it shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths seven days. All that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feast of the Lord. And so this was a feast during the during the time of harvest and it served a couple of purposes. It was to celebrate the harvest that God had given to them plentifully. But also, as we read the last thing, it was to remind them of when they were in the wilderness wanderings and when they were going through the wilderness and they had to live in temporary housing. They lived in booze. We'll talk a little bit about that a little bit later on. But this celebration, they were to build temporary housing, some on the roofs of their house, some in the courtyard, and some in the street. But they were to live for seven days inside this little tent they made out of, and it gives you the It gives you what they were to make this out of, the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of thick trees and willows of the brook. And so they were to go and they were to find palm trees and willow trees and they were to make this little hut out of it and to live inside of that for seven days. That might throw a cog in your wheel and your family arrangement but that's what they were to do. They were to do no work on the first day and no work on the eighth day. It was to commemorate. So Fawcett tells us that the booth was probably used at times in the desert when at certain places they made a more permanent stay during the 40 years. If you remember when they were led by the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day. When the pillar, the cloud moved, they were to move. And when the pillar of fire or the cloud rested, they were to rest. And sometimes they stayed for hours. Sometimes they stayed for overnight. And sometimes they stayed for days. The wilderness hot sun beating down on them, they had no protection. And again, remember this is 1.8 million people walking through the wilderness. I mean, it would take a large area to house that many people and so there would be no protection for them. And so God designed a way for them to make these little booths to protect them from the sun and to protect them from the weather. And so these booths were to commemorate that time when they lived there and it says they commemorated with Thanksgiving for the harvest which was the seal of their settlement in a permanent inheritance. Their transition from the nomadic to agricultural life. So when they came into their permanent residence inside the land of Canaan they now could celebrate this Feast of Booths, the Feast of Tabernacles. as a way to be thankful to God that they're no longer wandering through the wilderness, but now they have a life. They have a place to live. They have a dwelling place where they can gather in the fruits of their labor. And so they were celebrating that. Now inside of that, we recognize that this was one of those places where they made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Again, if we're in If we're in Jerusalem, we're saying that there was a permanent place for the tabernacle to sit. There was a permanent place for the temple to be erected. And so there was a permanent place for God to be worshipped. And so they would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This feast of tabernacles would be celebrated in and around the house of God. Now, you know, you guys have the opportunity to come here three times a week. You have the opportunity to assemble together with your brothers and sisters of Christ three times a week. And you know what? Some people take it for granted, don't they? I mean, it's not important for them to be here on Sunday night because it's just another service. I don't need to be there on Sunday night. I don't need to come on Wednesday night. I don't need to come, you know, all the time. I can just come when I feel like it. Familiarity breeds contempt. You know, I got something else going on, and that might be more important than church, so I'll just skip it. It's not going to matter. But what if you only were allowed to go to the house of God three times a year? What if you're only called to the house of God to have the capability of worshiping Him three times a year? Let's remember the days of the tabernacle and the temple, and in the days before the synagogue There was no place to worship God outside in the general countryside. The only place to worship God was in the house of God, which was in Jerusalem. And so it was a great privilege for them to get to go to Jerusalem. When it came time for, let's go to Jerusalem, let's bring our sacrifice, let's make this sacrifice, let's offer it to God, it was an exciting thing to get to go. Because they weren't accustomed to it. I'm sure that the young boys were, you know, they were left at home sometimes with their mothers because the mothers with small children might not be able to make the trip to Jerusalem. But now it's time for them to make their pilgrimage. And maybe the young boys were like, I can't wait until I'm old enough to get to go to the temple. Or to get old enough to get to go to the tabernacle to make my offering unto God. This worship, this pilgrimage to Jerusalem was an exciting event for the children of Israel. This song, this psalm was a psalm that was written to commemorate that event. And so that's why we're looking here at psalm, I better get back to psalm 84. remember this. So we're going to look at this Psalm in three divisions. We're going to look at, blessed are they who dwell in God's courts in verses 1-4. Blessed are those who journey to Zion, verses 5-9. And blessed are those who trust in the Lord. So another one of the things that we learned, that I learned while I was at the conference was about biblical visualization. It was trying to present the message in such a way that it forms a picture in someone's mind. Can you think about what it was like to be called to go up to Jerusalem? You're going to get to take your sacrifice. Maybe you have this lamb and someone's responsible for that lamb. And all the men of your city are going, and you're going to form a group of men, and you're going to travel together, and you're going to go up on this day, and you're going to take the fruits of the field, and you're going to take your sacrifice, your burnt offering, and you're going to take it to the Lord. And the men get together, and you start off on a trip. Maybe you had to make the plans beforehand. You had to get your supplies. You may have a 100-mile trip on foot. Think of the supplies that would take to make that trip. And then as you're converging upon the city, think about what it was like as you could see Jerusalem in the forefront of you. And you could see all of these different groups converging on the city. Think about what that was like. And think about when it says that that they had to gather their wood and their palm trees and all of that and they were either carrying that with them as they went or they would wait until they got to Jerusalem and they would begin to search the countryside, search the hillside trying to find the willow trees and the palm trees. You can probably think that maybe palm trees and willow trees didn't grow very large because people were cutting them down to go and to make these booths. But put yourself in mind of what it was like to walk. I can see this young boy walking in the gates of the city of Jerusalem for the first time. All the sights, all the sounds that he's experiencing new. You've not been to worship the Lord. You're the father and you've got your family with you and you're going and you get to come into the court of the tabernacle. You haven't seen it. You begin to hear the sounds around the tabernacle or around the temple. You begin to hear the sons of Korah singing this song. You see all the sacrifices. You see the buyers and the sellers in the courtyard selling the items that would be necessary to make the sacrifice. Put yourself in that place as we think about maybe you're hearing this song for the first time. Or maybe you're a dad who's thinking, man, these people who live in Jerusalem, around the tabernacle and around the temple, They've got it made. They can go to the temple anytime they want to. They can hear the sons of Korah sing every day. We out on the countryside, we don't have that opportunity. We don't have that privilege. And what rejoicing it would bring to their hearts as they begin to hear those songs. So here we are. We're thinking about that and the first way that we're going to look at this psalm, it says, blessed are those who dwell in God's courts. And again, here you see, listen to the man as he says, as he approaches the house of God. How amiable are thy tabernacle, O Lord of hosts. I so long for thee, yea, even fainteth. For the courts of the Lord, my heart and flesh crieth out for the living God. I've not got to be around the worship of God. I haven't seen the house of God for a long time. Now I come and hear and sing and I'm longing for the house of God. He goes on and says, Yea, the sparrow found a house and a swallow, a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. You see, the tabernacle, the place where the glory of God resided, and they weren't able to go, and they weren't able to experience that. But now here they are. And he's longing to be near the tabernacle of God, the place of worship, and hear the singing of the songs of Zion. And he says, I love the tabernacles. Listen, the psalmist is even speaking about the envy that he has for the sparrow and for the swallow. They're so fortunate. They can make their nest in the corner The house of God. They can hear the sights and the sounds and the smell. They get to experience the house of God every day. I'm envious of them. Listen, I'd love to be able to bring up my children in the surroundings of the tabernacle or the temple where the Word of God is and where feasts are and where the songs of Zion are sung. I wish I could bring my children up in the sound of the voice of the worship of God. But I can't. I wish I could, but I can't. You see, the pilgrim was not able to expose their children to the glories of the presence of the house of God. And he says, verse 4, blessed are they that dwell in thy house. They will still be praising thee. So a couple of things. Number one, you can see and you can hear and you can feel the just general member of the children of Israel as they're coming to the temple to worship. But also you can see the sons of Korah singing this song to remind the children of Israel how blessed they are that they live in the nation of Israel and they have the temple where the presence of God dwells and what a blessing it is to be able to be surrounded or involved in the house of God. Then it tells us blessed are those who journey to Zion. Verse 5, Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, and whose heart are the ways of them, who passing through the valley of Baca make it well. The rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength. Every one of them in Zion appears before God. O Lord of hosts, hear my prayer. Give ear, O God of Jacob, Selah. Behold our God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. Recently I read a book called The World That Jesus Knew. That book is a fictional tale about the last week of the life of Jesus and its whole point is to tell you about the culture in and around Jerusalem during the days of Christ. This book told about what it would be like as families made their way to Jerusalem. It even talked about the ends. When there was no room for them in the end, that would be a house on the way to Jerusalem. And it was really a stable with a house, just a deck over top of it. The animals lived in the bottom and it was just kind of like a hotel. They would stay overnight or a couple of days and then the people would stay upstairs and they would just basically you had a place to lay down on a wooden floor. And so when it says there was no room for them in the inn and Jesus had to be born in the manger, that was the place where the feed was in the bottom of the stable where the animals dwelt. It was so overcrowded in the top that there was not even a place to lay down and so down where the animals dwelt was where Jesus was born. in that book it tells you what it was like to be around on the day of the Passover. And it specified about the day of the Passover and what it was like when they took their lambs to be offered, to be sacrificed and all of that. But it talked about how the city was full of excitement as it made preparations for the offering on Passover. Now, in addition to that, not only would they be excited because like they were on the... at the Feast of the Passover, but in addition to this Feast of Tabernacles, we've got to think. They're getting ready to make a booth for seven days. They're going to be living outside. You're not going to be going in the house. You're gonna be going out and getting palm trees and willow trees and you're gonna make a little booth where you and your family are going to live outside for eight days Now JP would probably be excited or Hudson would probably that but Me probably not so much I'm sure that Stephanie and DJ would love having McKenzie out in a booth outside in the Elements living in a little tent that DJ had made out of palm trees and willow trees, sitting along the side of the road in the city of Jerusalem. Can you imagine that? Poor old Kimberly, she'd be stuck with a palm tree over her head. I have no ability to build, you know. But can you imagine what it was like in the city of Jerusalem when all of this is going on? And that's what these verses are talking about. It's talking about, look at verse 5, blessed is the man whose strength is in thee. whose heart are the ways of them. So this man is blessed because he knows that his strength is in the Lord and he's on his way to Jerusalem. And it says he passes through the valley of Baca. The valley of Baca really means a dry land. But he's going to worship God. He's going to put his trust in God. He's submitting himself to the ways of God and to the Word of God. And he rejoices in this long journey, this days of walking for us that would seem like such a drudgery to have to walk miles and miles and miles. To us it was drudgery, but to this man, He was rejoicing because he's going to the house of God. And he's rejoicing so much that when he walks through the dry place, the valley of Baca, he doesn't see it as a dry and dusty and destitute place. But he sees it as a well. The rain has filled it with pools. You cannot, you cannot depress this guy Because he's on his way to get to go to the house of God. And so he continues on his journey. And he's going to go, it says, verse 7, they go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appears before God. He's going to appear before God. And as he goes on his journey, he continues to gain strength because he knows that in just a few days or a few hours and just a few moments, he's going to see the gates of the city and he's going to be there where he can worship God. So he's strengthened by his journey instead of wearied on his journey. He is refreshed because he's refreshed on the inside because I'm going to worship God. So he rejoices as he walks through the valley of Baca. He's rejoicing because verse 8 says, O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer. Give ear, O God of Jacob. He knows he's going to go and make his offering, and he's going to get to pray to God. And God is going to hear his prayer. You see, the intercessor hadn't been crucified yet. And this prayer and this worship of God was not something that they were accustomed to every day. They were going to get to go to the house of God. And God was going to hear his prayer. And so he rejoices. He knows that God is going to look upon his people. See, behold our God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. He's going to look upon his people. The pilgrim knows this, that God is their shield and protector, and that God is going to look out for them. And so he's rejoicing as he's approaching the city. Finally, in verses 10 through 12, He says, Blessed are they who trust in the Lord. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Think of this man as he's approaching. And he begins to see those sons of Korah. He begins to hear their voices as they're singing songs of praises. And he knows That the sons of Korah, yes, they sing the choir specials, but also they're gatekeepers. They're doorkeepers. And he thinks, man, what it would be like to be a doorkeeper in the house of God. Just to be able to open the door and close the door. I could live here where the presence of God is. How blessed is that person? You see, I'm living out in the city. I'm living out in the wilderness. I'm living out in the wickedness. I'm living out. These guys, they live in the house of God. Yes, they're just doorkeepers, but they're doorkeepers in the house of God. I would much rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God. See, better is one day in your house than a thousand out there. I receive more blessings, I receive more strength, I receive more encouragement here in the house of God in one day than I spend in a thousand out there. One day is a good day in the house of God. See, the pilgrim understood what a blessing it was for these to get to live in the presence of God. enjoy living in and around the house of God and how difficult it was to live out in the world, to live around those maybe who know nothing of God. For the God, for the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Oh, Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. See, this man understands the blessings of those who are led by the light of God and are protected by the hand of God. Why? Because they experience the grace and the glory of God. God gives good things to those who walk uprightly. So the man is blessed who trusts in the Lord. So that's what this psalm was used for, to tell of the blessings of those who live in the house of God. But one thing we haven't discussed yet is can you find Christ in this psalm? How does this psalm point us to Christ? Well, first of all, let's think about the place of worship. Where are they going? They're going to the house of God. They're going to the place where God is worshipped. Why are they worshipping? Because God has promised them the coming Messiah. And so we see in the temple, we see the promise of the coming Messiah. The one who would be the very presence of God. God amongst them. So they see Christ in the tabernacle. How do we gain access to God? How do you and I gain access to God? Remember, they weren't able to go into the presence of God. The place between the holy place and the holy of holies was separated by a great veil, a hand breadth wide, a curtain that was about nine inches wide separated between The holy place, holy of holies. And they weren't even allowed to go into the holy place. They weren't allowed to enter the temple proper. They had to stay outside in the court. But you and I, when Christ said, it is finished, the moment He said it is finished, the veil went entwined from top to bottom and access to God was granted. So how do we see Christ? In this psalm, We understand that our access to God is provided to us through Christ. But what about those booze where they made their little tents outside for seven days? The protection in the wilderness. How are God's people protected in the wilderness? They were only protected by God. And let's turn to Malachi 4.2. You say, well, what's that mean? How does that point us to Christ? In Malachi, in chapter number 4, we're going to look at verses 1 and 2. For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. So the day is coming when the scorching power of God is coming. But listen, but unto you that fear my name shall the Son of Righteousness... Who's the Son of Righteousness? The Son of Righteousness is Christ. The Son of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings, and you shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall." What were those booze? Those booze were a picture of Christ protecting them from the wilderness that is in the world. How are we protected? We're protected by the blood of Jesus Christ. We're hidden under the shadow of his wings. The son of righteousness comes with healing in his wings. We know that speaking of Christ. So he's our protection. You see, Christ is all through Psalm 84. So what a blessing to understand of the privilege, the opportunity to worship God and to see how God provided for them and for our hearts to be stirred as we think about receiving the opportunity to worship God. Folks, we do take it for granted. Even those of you who come every time the doors are open, we still take it for granted that we have access to God any time we want it. We do not understand the gift of worship It should be dear to us as we worship God together. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time. We thank you for this word. And we thank you for the example that we find in your psalm. I pray that you'll bless your people. Thank you for them being here. And I pray they will understand what a blessing it is to have the opportunity to worship you freely. Thank you for the eternal life that we find through your son Jesus. It is in his name we pray. Amen.