 Psalm 84
Verses 1-4 How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah. Question: Do you long for the courts of God - the place where He is worshipped? The psalmist remembered the place of worship - i.e. here the temple. He LONGED and YEARNED for God. His heart and flesh sang for joy to the living God! He considered those who were there blessed as they were ever praising God there! Does this describe us as we consider worship - as we consider gathering with God’s people each Sunday. Yes, I know this referred to the Temple and to worship there - but is not worship with the saints the nearest equivalent to it? Do we LONG and YEARN for those times? Do we consider those who are singing and praising God to be so very blessed? I don’t know about you as you read this - but I was rebuked and realized that this did not - and even now does not describe how I approach worship with the saints. But by God’s grace - and some serious repentance it WILL NOT be how I approach this coming Sunday with all of you as we meet to seek God. Verses 5-7 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion. Question: How do you walk out of and back into the place of worship? The psalmist speaks of how we walk out of the worship of God - and how we walk through the world as a result of it. What the psalmist is saying here is that as we walk through worship - God makes our hearts strong so He can walk through us into our world as we depart. There are “highways to Zion” in the true worshipper’s heart. The worship of God in the temple led to a heart where there was a highway to God. Zion refers to Jerusalem - the place where they went to corporately worship God - and seek Him - and know Him - and even be made right with Him when they sinned. Here is how practical this gets. The worshipper of God passes through life - here it is called the “valley of Baca.” The word “Baca” means weeping or troublesome place. What is said about it is that the one who worships God - and in whose heart a highway to Zion is laid as a result - they take the valley of trouble and weeping and turn it into a spring where the water wells up and bubbles out of the earth. Does your worship lead you to walk through your week with a highway to God in your heart. Does it lead to a highway where you can see God take even your most troublesome moments - your weeping moments - and turn them to a spring of water? Does your worship lead you to go from “strength to strength” as you walk in the world? The picture here is that of God strengthening you for the week ahead - that you may face difficulty and sorrow - even trials and troubles - but you go from event to event in God’s strengthening. That highway to Zion is there so that you can run to the Lord and receive His strength to handle these things. Is this true of you? The end of this section is that as they go from strength to strength - they eventually appear before God in Zion again. This is a picture of that HIGHWAY again - we are learning to live a life that turns to God! And - even as we walk it - we are led again and again to return to seek God afresh and anew. Is this true of us? When I looked at this - again I was reminded to repent and return to Him. That IS what I want - a worship so focused that I turn to Him for strength to strength as I walk through this world - and that I return to Zion again to worship Him all over again - because He is so good and so faithful. Verses 8-12 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah. Behold our shield, O God, And look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You! Question: Do we consider a single day with God better than a thousand anywhere else? The psalmist prays and desires God’s answer. He desires to see God’s face (know His favor). He states that a single day in the courts of God in worship and seeking and hearing Him - is better than a 1000 spent anywhere else. If the place of worship and seeking God with His people is a 1000 times better than anywhere else in the world - how do you think we would think about worship? The psalmist also considers God as the sun which shines on him - the shield which protects him - He recounts God giving him grace and glory. He contemplates the good that God has given him. His eventual thought is that God does not withhold any good thing from the ones who walk with Him uprightly. His finishing statement is that the man who trusts God - is indeed blessed. Do I walk away from worship corporately with the saints - and think - HANDS DOWN THIS IS A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE! I had to face this psalm with a good bit of red-faced embarrassment. But it was not something that happened that was bad - it was wonderful! I was reminded of how it should be - and what it can be if I come and approach worship with the saints before God as an amazing - wonderful - amazing thing. My hope is that with the repentance this psalm has offered me from God - I will respond - and that my view of the worship of God with His people in the church will be greatly elevated. It is my hope I will see it as a thousand times better than anything else imaginable.
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 Question #1 - Who is God?
Psalm 8 is one of the psalms that just rises above others. This is not because it is more important than others, but probably because the economy of language which it uses to express the greatness of God. This psalm is such a blessing as it helps us to answer three important questions. Who is God? O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! The first question the Psalmist addresses is the one, “Who is God?” He answers it by addressing God Himself. O Jehovah, our Lord, is how he begins. Jehovah of course is the name by which God made Himself known to Moses and to Israel. The name is actually the statement, “I am that I am.” It is a statement of self-existence that is dependent on nothing or no one. God is! He has always been and He will always be. He is the self-existent One Who reveals Himself. When we speak in theological terms - and seek to describe an infinite (limitless) and eternal (timeless or outside of time) God, we almost instantly become a little uncomfortable. Ours is the day of self-expression and the ultimate autonomy of the self. One might even say the deification of the self. But there is a huge problem with our enthroning of self over ourselves. We are utterly dependent on other things. Our autonomy is an infinite overstatement. Take away air - we die. Take away water - we die. Take away food - we die. Alter the placement of earth either a little closer to the sun - we burn up. Alter it further away - we freeze. Allow something as microscopically minute as a virus (invisible to the naked eye) - we die. We are anything but autonomous. But our arrogance boasts of an imaginary independence. Would we like to know true autonomy? Jehovah, the self-existent One comes to mind. He has always been - and indeed is completely outside of time. He made time - and then chose to step into time (though utterly unaffected by it) so that we could grasp what He was doing as He created all that there is. He does not require anything to exist and to thrive. He is life and existence. Consider any of the millions of things we need to exist and thrive - and none of them apply to Jehovah. He exists in an infinite present tense viewing all of time and space as He is in it, through it, and unaffected by it. But He is referred to as more than just Jehovah in this passage. He is Jehovah our Lord. The word used here is Adonai. Adonai means Lord, Master, Maker, Owner. The self-existent God is also our maker, master, and owner. Here is where an understanding of God definitely will separate from how our culture views things today. It is hard to declare your own autonomy when you are just a creature made by God - owned by God - and in rebellion against the fact that you are ruled by Him as well. I can hear the howls, “I am not ruled by anyone! I am my own person, and I make my own choices!” Such as statement is as ridiculous as the claims made by the Jews to Jesus when He said if they sinned, they were slaves of sin. They cried then (as we do now), “We are Abraham’s children and not slaves to anyone!” If I were making of movie of this, I’d have a small contingent of the occupying Roman military walk by. They had been slaves to just about everyone! Babylon, Assyria, Persia, Greece, and now Rome. The fact is that we are owned by God. We should submit to His rule and reign - but we continue in Adamic rebellion even to this very day. What we may perceive as God’s inaction as to His rule and reign is actually mercy. We should be consumed for our rebellion - and yet mercy reigns daily - as well as grace, which is given so that rebellious sinners may come to repentance and faith and be delivered from the current status as “children of wrath.” The psalmist exclaims, “Oh Jehovah, our Master, Maker, and Ruler, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!” Saying that God’s name is majestic means that He is excellent, lofty, and above any other. There is no other name on earth - nor will there ever be one - that can match His name. They all fall infinitely short. His majesty is not even completely describable by appealing to the vastness and power of the heavens themselves. God has displayed His splendor above the heavens themselves. The word displayed means to set something somewhere - to place it. God, being the creator of all things, set the heavens and all their contents in place. But His own splendor (Hebrew word “hod” meaning vigor, authority, and majesty) is above the heavens. But this is not a stretch as the maker of something is always far greater than the thing made. Thus God’s vigor (physical power), His authority to set things where and how He commands, and the majesty, excellence, loftiness of it all is beyond the heavens themselves. The heavens are the scene where His splendor is seen - because earth is not a sufficient gallery for such things to be displayed. 2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease. Another way that the question, “Who is God?” is answered is by examining His strength. When you are omnipotent (all-powerful), which God is, you can display your strength any way you want. Yet, according to the psalmist, God manifests His strength through one of the weakest things on earth. Consider the following scenario. A battle royal is set between God and the greatest champions the world can gather. All the enemies of God, as well as all who desire revenge against Him for some perceived wrong are gathered. From the midst of this sea of earthly greatness and power the most muscular, the most powerful, and the most gifted of all fighters emerge - all ready for the ultimate fight of their lives. What an astounding crew of humanity stands before us. That is the corner of the enemies of God and those seeking revenge against Him. Then we turn our eyes to God’s corner. We can only imagine the colossus that will greet our eyes that is representative of God’s power. Then in shock we see a group of infants and nursing babies. They lie on the canvass and wiggle their hands and feet - unable to even get themselves upright. Yet what will shock us even more is the beat down that will be imposed upon the champions of mankind. God has established strength from the mouths of infants and nursing babes. Their dependence upon God is total and absolute. Yet it is this very weakness and utter dependence that will win the day. God will make the enemy and revengeful cease via the power He will display through absolute weakness. For God chooses the weak things of the world to shame the wise. He chooses the things that are not to shame the things that are. In the end when the bell rings - it will be the babes and nursing infants who will prevail. Why? Because God’s power is infinite - and He can and will win the day with the very weakest of things imaginable. This answers another aspect of the question, “Who is God?” He is the mighty and powerful one - infinitely mighty and powerful. There are none who can stand before Him. They are like chaff, which His wind blows away. All of mankind gathered together with all their strength and might are nothing - in fact - less than nothing before Him. Good to remember when we take flight into the fancies of our own autonomy and ability to establish our own will opposed to His. This is why later in the Psalm the writer seems to be gazing into the night sky and suddenly realizing how very small he is in light of this incredible God. Who is God? That is actually the most important question that we will ever ask. As A. W. Tozer so eloquently stated, the most important thing about us is what we believe about God. The psalmist in this 8th Psalm has not be exhaustive on such matters, but his brief praise of God goes a long way to dispel many false concepts and notions of just Who God is.  There are times when what you truly need is to take your eyes off of all the mess that is happening on earth and just focus on Who God is. A. W. Tozer said that the most important thing about any of us is what we believe about God. This is why Psalm 29 is such a gift to us from God Himself. It is a Psalm that has no other focus except God alone. With that in mind, let’s dig in and put our eyes on Him for a while.
David begins with a call for God to be praised in the highest realms. Here are his words. Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array. (Psalm 29:1-2, NASB) David wanted Jehovah God to be described in reference to His glory and strength. But he is commanding that the “sons of the mighty” do this. Who are these “sons of the mighty?” The Hebrew says that they are sons of El – which is the Hebrew word for God. Sons of God in the Old Testament Scriptures is another name for angels. But why would David be calling for angels to praise God? It is because he knew that his own praise would not be sufficient for such an infinite, glorious, and mighty God. Therefore he calls for angels to join him in his praise of Jehovah – a thing that they would be more than delighted to do. He asks for them to describe God in reference to His glory – the brightness and heaviness of Who He is. He also asks for them to describe God in reference to His strength. The word used here is “oz” and it refers to strength both outward and inwardly. God is mighty in power as well as mighty in the glorious inward strength of character and inward perfections that are infinite as well. Jehovah’s name is also to be given glory. He is the self-existent One who reveals Himself – the great I Am – God Who knows no bounds or limits – infinite and eternal. Finally, David requests that the angels wrap themselves in God’s holiness and worship Him. The word worship means to fall on one’s knees or to lay totally prostrate before another in praise and adoration. Our God is so great and awesome that all the holy angels should give Him worship, adoration and praise for how glorious, strong, and inwardly perfect He is! Next, David begins to speak of God’s power experienced in a storm that he describes as it moves from the Mediteranean Sea through Lebanon and then over Israel. He calls for Jehovah God to be praised for His works on the earth. One of the things we need to grasp in Psalm 29 is that this is poetry. It is meant to be read and felt. It was fascinating in my research to learn that often this Psalm was read both in the synagogue and the church during a raging storm. Charles Spurgeon wrote this about how we should approach the 29th Psalm: “'Just as the eighth psalm is to be read by moonlight, when the stars are bright, as the nineteenth needs the rays of the rising sun to bring out its beauty, so this can be best rehearsed beneath the black wing of tempest, by the glare of the lightning, or amid that dubious dusk which heralds the war of elements. The verses march to the tune of thunderbolts. God is everywhere conspicuous, and all the earth is hushed by the majesty of his presence.” The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic. 5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire. 8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, "Glory!" (Psalm 29:3-9, NASB) As David describes this approaching storm, He refers to the sound and effect of it in reference to the “voice of Jehovah.” He first speaks of the approaching storm with two references to “waters.” The first is a reference to the clouds and it speaks of how they are boiling and how the thunder resounds through them. He speaks of how the God of glory thunders. Then he speaks of the Lord over many waters – a reference to how the Mediteranean Sea was driven and tossed as waves crashed and the wind drove the waters toward the shore. Jehovah’s voice is majestic in the midst of the storm. Storm imagery is common in Scripture. God revealed Himself often in them with Moses and Israel at Sinai, with Samuel, Elijah, Job, and many of the prophets. The arrival of a major storm can be an astounding and intimidating thing. I find it fascinating that when storms hit even today they are described by insurance companies as an “act of God.” Indeed! When the storm arrives in Lebanon and then Israel David’s descriptions continue. Mighty cedar trees in Lebanon are broken and shattered in pieces. Other trees are stripped bare. The entire country of Lebanon and their highest peak Sirion (which is another name for Mount Hermon) are described as writhing, bucking calves and wild oxen. As the winds blow and surge through the mountainous region the mountains themselves seem to writhe and twist and turn as the trees are whipped around and even destroyed by the power that is unleashed in the storm. The wilderness shakes and shudders under the blast of God’s nostrils as the storm continues through Israel and then into the wilderness to the south. Deer give birth in the tempest and entire forests are stripped bare. And as they watch and hunker down in the temple – all those who see the power of God cry, “Glory!” as they are given a front row seat to the power and majesty of God. Man prides himself on his accomplishments and feats. Yet there is nothing like the humility that a storm brings to mankind. We cannot stop them – and we cannot adequately prepare everyone for them. As I wrote this piece the Caribbean was still trying to put things back together after Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane on record. She pounded the island nations of the Caribbean with sustained winds of 185 miles an hour. Several meterologists came together to try to describe the power unleashed by this massive storm. Their estimate was that as this hurricane was at a Category 5 level – she packed 7 trillion watts of power. They went on to say that this was greater than the equivalent of all the bombs dropped during World War II. When I read that I gasped. I remember watching footage of Flying Fortresses dropping hundreds of bombs at a time – leveling entire cities. I remember the pictures of the fireball that enveloped Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And yet, all that power manifested in WWII was matched by God with one storm. Kind of puts man in his place doesn’t it? David puts a fitting close to this Psalm of praise to Jehovah God. He has spoken of glory to God in heaven – glory to God on the earth – and now he will speak of glory to God among men. Here are his words, “The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever. The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.” (Psalm 29:10-11, NASB) The God of the storm can seem terrifying. Some might even thing the storm is out of control – but that is not the truth. David continues by telling us that Jehovah sat as King at the flood. Of all the storms ever experienced in the history of mankind on earth – none was as great and terrifying as that of the flood of Noah’s day. We were awed when a hurricane was stranded over southeast Texas and dropped 50 inches of rain over certain areas. But we are not talking about a measly 50 inch rain storm. We are speaking of enough rain and water to reach far past the highest peaks of the earth – thousands of feet of water. If there ever was a time to think that nothing and no one was in control – that would have been it. Yet God sat as King over the flood. His sovereignty knows no bounds or limits. He also sits as King forever, according to His revelation here through David. That is a very comforting (although I agree, also terrifying) thought. There is NOTHING that has happened (i.e. the flood) or ever will happen (i.e. what you are currently freaking out over) that is beyond God’s sovereignty and control. He is in, through, above, and beyond every storm, whether it is physical or emotional or spiritual. There is no financial storm – no personal storm – no national storm over which He is not Lord. Therefore, there is nothing or no one I should fear or honor more than Him. David ends Psalm 29 on a beautiful note of praise. This praise is in reference to this mighty, all-powerful God and how He deals with His own people. Jehovah God will give strength to His people. This is the word “oz” again which, if you remember, refers not just to outward strength – but also inward strength. This God who can make earth itself writhe and buck like a wild ox is there to grant to you the strength you need every day! What a glorious thing to know – especially after seeing a God Whose glory and might is seen in terrifying and humbling ways in a major storm. There is nothing you will ever face in life that is beyond Him. There is nothing you will ever have to walk through for which He does not have not just adequate – but super-abounding strength (both inwardly and outwardly) from which you can draw. Lastly, David reminds us that Jehovah will also give His people peace. He will bless us with peace. The word here is the Hebrew word “shalom” which refers to a wholeness, a soundness, a completeness from God. It is also a reminder that the sweet peace that guards our hearts and minds is a gift from Him. Let me end this look at God with this. The greatest storm you and I will ever face is to stand before this infinitely powerful God on the day of judgment to give an account before Him of our lives. The storm that has been and is still currently gathering that will be unleashed on that day is far beyond anything can ever describe. It will be the full unleashing of the fury and wrath of God against sin. On that day, if we have nothing that will speak for our sins – and that will make us acceptable to God with a perfect righteousness – we will face that storm with nothing to protect us. Only two times in history will this wrath and full measure of God’s holy fury ever be released. One is after the final judgment on that final day. The other happened about 2000 years ago outside Jerusalem. You see that storm gathered in all its full rage as Jesus gave Himself to be crucified on the cross. He then bore the full brunt of the wrath of God against sin – a storm infinite in its power and passionate ferocity. Jesus faced that storm and paid the full price for sin for us. It is a thought that is beyond our comprehension as to the love that was given. But the fact remains – He gave it. We do not have to face that storm alone or unprotected. God offers us life and the only shelter from it – which is found in Jesus Christ. Jehovah God Himself will give His people peace! What a glorious fact! Oh that we would hear the sirens – heed the flags that warn of this impending storm. Oh that we would awaken to our utterly unprotected state – and flee to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for refuge. The very One who revealed Himself to us in the storm – bore the full brunt of that storm – so that we might have life and shelter from it. What will you do? How else can you prepare? What other Shelter is there than Christ Jesus our Lord? |
Pastor John LawrencePsalms for Life . . . God moved on several people to write the Psalms. This is a book of songs and poems written by people who were seeking to be devoted to God as they walked though their lives. This is a collection of songs and poems that express the true, wonderful, and often raw emotions that we have as we journey through life with God. I hope you will be blessed and encouraged as you read. But more than that I hope that these expositions and writings will help you to seek Him in the midst of the life you live in this world. It will be at times comforting and encouraging, while at others it will be challenging and awkward. Regardless of where you find yourself on this spectrum as you read, it will be a reminder that God invites us into His presence to truly walk with Him, know Him, and at times, pour out emotions of joy, sorrow, frustration, anger, and everything else you can imagine. He not only invites you to do this - He delights in it too! Hope you enjoy your journey! Archives
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