continue in this series of the glorious reality that Christ is risen and dwells among his people. And this is not only a call to take up the work that Christ has begun in his resurrection, to be his disciples, to take dominion over all the earth, but there is a time when the work, the fighting, must end, at least for a short season. and we dwell in his presence in peace and rest. This is the day that the Lord has given to us, this high and holy day, such that we say that we are a congregation that does believe in holy days. We have 52 of them every year. Every first day of every week, we gather in the house of God to dwell in His presence morning and evening, not only to bless the name of the one who gave us salvation and made us, but also to bless Him and to be blessed by the Lord. It is this great holy transaction of doxology and benediction that prepares us for the life ahead. Psalm 134, just three verses. We'll sing it, even at the end, but I want to read it. Behold, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who by night stand in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord, the Lord who made heaven and earth bless you from Zion. Let me pray. O Lord, we ask that you would add your richest blessing to the preaching of your holy word. Even as you have not left us without a mediator, you have sent your spirit into this world to continue to teach and lead us in ways of righteousness. That this word would not return void and that it would be for us who are gathered here, we who confess your holy and awesome name, who trust that you are our redeemer Our constant companion would continue to use your word to promote in us spiritual fruit, a harvest of righteousness, hearts that are keen and committed to the work that you are doing on earth, that we might be your co-laborers, your disciples. We ask all this in your holy name. Amen. I think it is right for us to confess and think that there is no house like the house of our God. I remember many years it took after I moved out of my parents' house to find any other house as a home. While I was in university, I moved a number of different times, and it was always a comfort to me, even though I was endeavoring to sort of separate ideologically what it meant to no longer be under my parents' roof. I would still come home on a weekend or perhaps for a summer, and at least for a very short time, I would walk in the door and I would find comfort, relief, in the house of my parents. I knew all the smells. I knew I could walk through the house with my eyes closed. I probably still could. But it wasn't until I had a wife and children and a house of my own that those things became a home to me. We sang it this morning, Psalm 45. And one of the things that we see happening in Psalm 45 is that the woman who is finding herself married to the king, which is an illustration of Christ and his church, we are the bride, is that she is called to forsake, not despise, but to leave, as it were, one family and cleave to her husband. The call for the saints is no different. It is a call to the saints given in Psalm 45. to see that in our love and relationship to the King of heaven and earth, we have a new home. And this idea, this reality, this inescapable covenant fellowship is expressed by what we do and where we are on the Lord's day with God's people in communion with the Lord. And so even as we gather this evening, we find ourselves engaging in the blessed exercise of what we find in Psalm 134. We see first the call to the saints to bless the Lord, who His servants, where and when, by night in His house. What are we to do? Verse 2, we are to lift up our hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord. That's right, Presbyterians, you should be raising your hands more. It's okay. Nobody will look at you funny. In fact, I see a whole army of children raising their hands, parents. Lift them high. And then this service, as it were, as a conclusion to the Psalms of ascent that began in Psalm 120 and it concludes with Psalm 134, is a benediction of the Lord Most High poured out upon those who dwell in the heavenly city of Zion. Not just a place, but a people who are covenantally, unchangeably, everlastingly united to the Godhead, to the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. It is here that we find a place of rest and renewed recruitment. And I'm gonna look at that, this title that will sort of shape the whole sermon under these two headings. The first, A Song for Royal Priests. A song for royal priests. That song is called a bless. That's the first point. Second, ever-blessed, ever-blessing. You may know I've switched the lyrics to joy to the world. I think it's joy to the world. Ever-blessing, ever-blessed. Ever-blessed, ever-blessing. Let's turn to the first point this evening, a song for royal priests. As I said already, it's a simple psalm. I think the problem for a lot of pastors is the shorter the text, the longer the sermon. I hope that may not be the case this evening. The opening words of this psalm are an invitation. They're a call. Behold, look, people, as you gather in the house of God, as a call to worship, You are to bless the Lord. If you wonder why the liturgy of this church follows the pattern that it does, look at Psalm 134. It begins with a call from the Lord to His people, His servants, who are in the sanctuary of God. It could be anywhere, but as long as they are together for the purpose of covenant communion, it begins with a call. Now, the house of God has always been represented by some external structure. In the Old Testament, it began with a tabernacle, at least after Israel was called as a nation out of Egypt. Even while they were in the wilderness, God gave them instructions how to build that tabernacle. And as it relates to the nature of the house of God in the Old Testament, we confess in our creeds and confessions within the Reformed tradition that in the Old Testament there was greater outward glory but lesser inward glory. Now in the New Testament there is lesser outward glory and greater inward glory. That's a good trade. because what happened in transition from the Old to the New Testament is that the one who dwelt in the tabernacle or in the temple, served and ministered to by priests, of whom we are now, this was a select tribe, the tribe of Levi, their mission, their responsibility was to maintain and support the ministry of the house of God. And there they served all the time. In fact, the Levites, in the civil law of the old nation were not allowed to own property. Their house, their concern was the house of God. Their attention, their daily strivings, all that they did was to minister to the house of God. Now, that did not mean they did not have homes, but the other 11 tribes were required by God to carve out sections where the Levites could live. This is what ultimately led to the concept of the manse, or the rector, all of these things, the parsonage, where the church would buy a house and that's where the pastor would live. I will say that house back there, I'm glad that's not the parsonage, though there have been many jokes made in the past. This is the house of God. And though the priests ministered there for centuries, They were invited to come close, but not nearly as close as we are able to come today. And the transition element is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this is what the writer of Hebrews takes great pains to communicate to the church, that now through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, having answered, as a propitiation of God's wrath against the sins of men, has entered into the heavenly temple or tabernacle, and He has offered once, for all the sins of His people, that sacrifice that is worthy to atone for us. No more sacrifice is needed. This is, in fact, a polemic against the Mass, the Mass which is a celebration of the re-crucifixion of Christ. I've expressed already from this pulpit the problems with that doctrine and the practice that it's built upon, or that is built upon it. The problem with it is, is that Christ is always the suffering servant and never the triumphant finished high priest. But Christ's work is finished. And so even as we sing Psalm 134, it is right to have built within our hermeneutic. A hermeneutic is the science of biblical interpretation. How do we unpack the Scriptures and understand it? What must loom large in our lenses that help us interpret the Scriptures is the cross. And so, we must look back at Psalm 134 and account for Christ's finished work upon the cross. And this is why I say this is a song for royal priests. Not only is there this glorious reality that you and I in Christ Jesus are all priests, having direct access before the throne of God, but we are also, having been connected to the Lordship of Christ in His kingly office, future heirs of heaven and earth. We are the kings and queens of this world. Isn't that beautiful? It's ours. It does not belong to the devil, it does not belong to the world, it belongs to us. And one day we shall reap the full inheritance. Now, in as much as we see the ministry and the worship of the priests, we find a correlation to ourselves. We find ourselves being invited, drawn near. We see who it is, you servants of the Lord. What is a servant of the Lord? Well, everyone who is redeemed by the blood of Christ is called to service. Last week and the week before that, we were looking at the confession of faith on the topic of the communion of saints, that chapter. And one of the points that is made in that chapter is that you and I are drawn together, not as individuals. Simon and Garfunkel wrote, I am a rock, I am an island. We are woven together. We are knit by Christ as one body. And so we are to use our gifts and our abilities, our time, our energy, whatever we have, in service of one another. We are servants. We are, as Paul would say, I am a slave, I am a debtor to Christ Jesus. My life is therefore no longer my own. And the way in which we have been brought together, as I've already said, is the atoning work of that offering upon the altar. Now, for centuries, it was an animal of some kind, a clean, pure, spotless animal. Some of them were expensive, rams, goats, cows. Some were cheap, little birds. If you could not afford a larger sacrifice, it was still incumbent upon you to offer, but it could be a cheap thing, a small thing. Would not be cheap to you, but it would be cheap to another. But all of the blood of rams and goats, as we read in the book of Romans, could not atone for the sins of men. It had to be a greater sacrifice, a more worthy sacrifice, a sacrifice that is in type with man, a man himself, a man for mankind. And so even as we gather in the Lord's house, one of the things that we must remember is the price of our entry into the covenant community. And so when we gather for worship, what must always be at the front of our minds is the price that was paid to grant us access into the presence of God. Now, when we understand the costliness of the ticket, as it were, and the beauty of the house, it moves the saints in their hearts first, and then their feet, to gather when called to be in the presence of God. Now, one of those things that has fallen out of fashion in many churches is the very thing that is mentioned at the end of verse one. If God is present, and it is there in the presence of God that we remember our salvation, why would we not gather to remember, and not only remember, but really and truly be ministered out of the abundance of God's covenant mercy to receive from His hand the benediction that comes through his redeeming work. Where else can you receive this? Where else? If you were to pay a ticket to a concert and go to a band that you've always loved, you will be blessed. You'll enjoy the music, you'll sing along to the songs, you will find it a night to remember. Or maybe it's an occasion of fine dining, on the occasion of an anniversary or some other event worth remembering or celebrating. I remember many of those fancy dinners that I've had. As our kids get older, when they turn 13, we take them to a fancy restaurant and I want them to remember that steak or whatever it is they chose to have. Logan had ribs. I had ribs too. It was wonderful. I will not forget that night. A night of celebration, but for what? As much as I love my son, what exactly did Logan do on the day of his birth? I also took my wife. She did all the work. I was there helping, coaching, moral support. But when it comes to dwelling in the presence of God, we remember all of Christ and His benefits and all that He has done. And we do not gather to celebrate ourselves, we gather to celebrate the finished work of Christ. In some sense, it is a birthday. It is the day of Christ's rebirth. And this is why Christ is referred to in the New Testament as the firstborn of all creation. In Christ, He brings forth from the dead a holy and chosen people to worship and adore and honor and serve Him. And this is a time in particular, distinct from all the other days of the week, where we ought to, if we are able, except for works of duty and necessity, to devote our hearts, our attention to being blessed by God. Isn't that great? You can say to your employer, if you are able, strive to do it, no, I will be found in the house of God. It is far more value than the check that you can pay me, the employment. There is a gift that only God can give that we need more than anything else in this world. And it is the gift of salvation. And in response to this, the saints of God are to lift up your hands in this sanctuary and bless the Lord. Now, one of the beautiful, most beautiful points of instruction that we find in the gospels is when Christ was teaching a group of people, and little children were coming to the Lord, and even the disciples were preventing them from coming. And he said, don't prevent them, but let the little children come to me. One of the beautiful things about being a grandparent is having moved past the time where there were little children in our house who would often lift up their hands so that they could be picked up, is you get that all over again. The other beautiful thing is when they have a dirty diaper, You can just give them right back. I've done my due diligence. Now it's your turn. I've passed that baton onto someone else. Today, Stella was at the house having, not just Stella, but her father and mother were having lunch with us. And I said, Stella, Papa, hands up. Now, maybe she's asking me for something and that's okay. I'm happy to give her things within reason. Really what it is, is I want to be part of this relationship with this guy who has some significant role in my life, but what I know of him is that when I put my hands up, he'll carry me. When we prepare meals for our children, we sit down and we give thanks to the Lord, and in this we have a posture of lifting our hands and we are receiving from God the benefits and the blessings of His almighty hand. One of the things you'll often find in churches is when the benediction is given at the close of a service, there will be those, and this is not a rebuke, who close their eyes. Now, perhaps they're closing their eyes to concentrate. But the benediction is not a prayer. It is a declaration of divine blessing. And when God pronounces blessing, the posture, you don't have to raise your hands, but the posture of the Christian should not be one closed off, but opened up, looking to the one who gives the blessing to receive it with anticipation. And this, again, gets to the point of the principle of worship that it is dialogical in nature. God says something, we receive it, we say something, and He receives it. In fact, He demands that we pay honor and tribute and we exalt His holy name in His holy house. God delights in the two elements that we find then in worship. God worships over us, He blesses us, He doesn't worship us, but He delights in us, and we worship and delight in Him. And so there is this exchange of mutual affection as a father to a child and a child to a father. And this is what the psalmist means. In fact, is it not the greatest way to start the week? to set our disposition, our attitude and all things that we go forth into the week in this kind of posture, Lord, give me what you have for me. And sometimes those blessings are rich and sweet and easy. Sometimes those blessings are hard and painful. The beauty of Christ's resurrection is that the pain is redemptive. It is sanctifying. There is purpose even in hard providence, which is why we can come back on the next Sunday and say, Lord, everything you did, I receive it with joy and thanksgiving. It is difficult for soft Christians to do this. And oftentimes the blessings, even that come from God's hand, we use as a kind of, well, if this is the way it is now, then it will always be this way. And if God is giving me this today, will he not give me something even more pleasant the day that comes later? But sometimes on Monday, there is a feast. And then on Wednesday, there is famine. And the scripture speaks of our disposition in this. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, as Job would say, blessed be the name of the Lord. Shall I receive good? Job says evil, what he means by that is hard providence. And the confidence and the comfort of Job is this, this life has attending problems. And it is not evidence that God is not sovereign. In fact, the evidence of God's sovereignty is that those things are never wasted, but they are used by God to conform us more and more after the pattern of Christ Jesus. And so again, what do we do? Lord, whatever you have for me, I will receive it with thanksgiving. And then having received it between that Sunday and this Sunday, I will go into your house and I again will say, thank you for that diagnosis. Thank you for that hardship. This is the posture of the pious. And then I want to move to the second point. Having looked at the call to worship, who it is directed to, when and where, and what we are to do in response in terms of receiving it, having received the blessings of God, we are to turn in terms of theme and action, and we Well, we are to see this as his glorious blessing. We give it to God. You are worthy, you are worthy, you are worthy, and now we receive this from you. Verse 3, the Lord who made heaven and earth bless you from Zion. As I've already said, this is a glorious covenant dialogue. It is the nature or the reality of those who have followed Christ into the heavenly tabernacle and there we worship. And so in as much as we are gathered here at 203 Ryan Oakland Road, we are also present with the angels and the saints who have gone before in the heavenly places where Christ is now seated upon the throne. That is where we are. In fact, in Hebrews chapter four, I alluded to this in some summary fashion. This is what we read. Let us therefore strive to enter the rest so that no one may fall by that same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. No creature is hidden. from the Lord's sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account." We are creatures that wear down. We wear out. Not only our bodies, but our own longings and affections and groanings before the throne of grace. And so the vision that we are given by John in the book of Revelation of the worthiness of the one who is seated upon the throne, we find in Revelation 5, Revelation chapter 4. In Revelation 4, verse 11, we read, worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power and praise, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. In Revelation 5, 12, worthy is the lamb who is slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. As I've said already, we give these things to the Lord, but we also open our arms to Him and receive. In Zephaniah chapter 3, which is often read here in worship as an assurance of pardon, we read, Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion, that is, the generations of the people of God who will come before. Shout, O Israel, rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away the judgments against you. He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. You shall never again fear evil. On that day, when our enemies are cleared away, on that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, fear not, O Zion, let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love. He will exalt over you with loud singing. What a blessed reality this is. That through the very voice and presence and power of God, Even while we gather to worship Him, He is singing over us. Already I called this a holy transaction, but it is a transaction that is grounded upon the work of Christ, that in His work of redemption we might be reconciled and brought near. And because of these things, in light of all of this, that we gather to bless the Lord, As we are drawn into His presence by His voice, as we lift up our hands to receive the blessing of the Lord and to bless Him, it is here in His house that our hearts draw ever nearer to Him. and we are better equipped and prepared to go forth then into the world and do what God has called us to do. Now, the world can mean your house. I don't always mean the world by this place where there are only the wicked. I mean the daily attending of your vocations. Whether it is managing a home, or going to work for the boss man, or whatever it is. Maybe you're the boss man, but you got to work for the client because you got to have jobs. Whatever it is you do that you set your hand to Monday through Saturday, all of these things should be done in a state of liturgical devotion to God. And in as much as they themselves are liturgical devotion, all of it is set apart as holy to God as our offerings and gifts to build a kingdom that cannot be shaken, whether it is directly connected to the work of the church or not. We cannot do it apart from His blessing. And so it is not improper, nor is it selfish or indulgent in any way to rise in the morning and to direct honor and glory to God, and then say, Lord, bless the work of my hands today. And whatever I gain, be it money, or fame, or power, or the pleasure that I derive from the things that I do, all of this is to be done in service of the King and the kingdom. And it is here where our perspective is renewed, it's shifted. I will tell you, there are some weeks where I don't want to preach. My heart is not in it. It's just the way of things. I would imagine that you have often gone to your job and there has been a day, maybe just one in the five days you go to work where you're just not super excited about typing in data into a spreadsheet, maybe. Or you wake up and there's already stuff to do in the kitchen that was saved from yesterday. And you go, well, gee golly, I'm so glad the dishes were not done last night. I cannot wait to start them. The doors would say, whistle while you work, right? It's not always easy. In fact, it requires a different perspective. And it is the perspective that we are given here of all places. And that work always begins first in our hearts. That even as our hearts, our affections, our wills, all of us are drawn into the presence of God morning and evening, as we bless His name, and as He blesses us, we are filled. Our cup runneth over. This is the provision that we find at the end of Psalm 23. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. The psalmist speaks of his cup overflowing in the presence of God. Can you imagine going into this next week without an overflowing cup? It's hard, especially when you have to pour into others from an empty vessel. And so it is here in this house that our hearts are prepared. It is a house of feasting, of renewal, and lastly, of recruitment. I know, as we prepare for this three-week road trip, I am glad to go. I am happy. And I'm envisioning all the places that we will go and all the things that we will see as we enjoy God's creation. But the refreshment that is experienced in either such a holiday always excites me about getting back. And I'm always energized about being back in the pulpit. And as much as from one week to the next, my level of enthusiasm may wax and wane climbing into the pulpit, in the main, one of the great fuels the fire of my heart to do this, is that I get to communicate the truth of the true and living God, and to communicate to you the glorious Word that He has laid down in the pages of Scripture. That is the very means of moving us to acts of service and devotion to the King. And I have never once in my life While I may dread the Lord's day, am I ready? Going home on Sunday night saying, well, I wish I hadn't gone. That was a total waste of time. And it's even uncomfortable to say that, that last part. I have never once exited the house of God and said, well, I am poorer for it. I'm always richer for it. And in this, God extends his extraordinary patience. And not only have I been poured into sort of modern parlance, the power and the beauty of a present redeemer, but then I am better prepared as a recruit to communicate the glory of God to others, be it my wife or my children, my neighbors, whomever it might be. It is hard to be an evangelist if you've never tasted the goodness of the house of God. Right, as we prepare for travel, I'm looking for these little places to go and maybe eat along the way or even stay. How do you find those places? Well, you get on your device and you go to a website where you see reviews. And I would encourage you to do this. Don't just look at four out of five stars, four and a half out of five. Read what people say. The testimony of the goodness of the house of God is the joy of the saints. Not only when they're here, but when we're not here in our daily lives. And in this way, the house of God not only prepares our hearts, fills it with joy and satisfaction in His presence, but recruits us to communicate and to proclaim the goodness of this house that others might come in. Let's pray.