[0:00] Good morning. A warm welcome to everyone on Lord's Day. Welcome to any visitors who are with us. And I pray that our time together would be blessed by God.
[0:15] There's an edict to read out, but after the service there's tea and coffee as well. So everyone's warmly invited to stay behind for that. So Gordon's going to read out an edict before we begin our worship.
[0:27] Just before I read out the edict on behalf of the Kirk session, I'd just like to thank everybody that was involved in the congregational Thanksgiving meal last night.
[0:38] It was good to see so many out and joining together. And maybe get a wee video that we can show during the tea and coffee. Just to remind us to give thanks.
[0:51] But it was a great evening last night, so thanks to everybody that organised and prepared food for it. Edict to be read on the Lord's Day, 17th November 2024.
[1:03] Notice is hereby given that following a resolution by the Kirk Session of North Harris Free Church on the 6th November 2024 to add two new elders to the Kirk Session by way of a congregational meeting, which resulted in the following names duly elected and approved by the Kirk Session.
[1:22] Stuart King, Kylas. Richard Killer, West Harbert. Notice is further given that if there is any person having any objection to the life or doctrine of any of the aforementioned persons, they should present these objections along with substantiation of them to the Kirk Session, which will meet at 10.30am on the Lord's Day, 1st December 2024, in the church building.
[1:50] If no objection is then, there, and there submitted, the ordination of the aforementioned persons will take place at the close of the morning service on the same day.
[2:02] He rendeth the edict. Thank you. Thank you, Gordon. We'll now begin our worship of God by singing to his praise in Psalm 84.
[2:16] Psalm 84. We'll sing from the beginning of that psalm down to verse mark 10 for the moment. We're going to sing the whole psalm today, and we'll sing the verses 11 and 12 in Gaelic later, and we're going to look at this psalm today, but for the moment we'll sing Psalm 84 from the beginning down to verse 10, and I think with the tune we'll repeat verse 1.
[2:42] That's right. How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts to me, the tabernacles of thy grace, how pleasant, Lord, they be.
[2:53] My thirsty soul longs vehemently, ye faints thy courts to see, my very heart and flesh cry out, O living God for thee.
[3:04] So down to verse 10, and then repeat verse 1. So we'll stand to sing to God's praise. How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts to me. How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts to me.
[3:27] The tabernacles of thy grace, how pleasant, Lord, they be.
[3:40] My thirsty soul longs vehemently, If inside courts to see, My very heart and flesh cry out, O living God for thee.
[4:04] Behold the spiral findeth out, An house willing to rest, The swaddled also for herself, At purchase said an end.
[4:27] In thine own altars, Where she stayed, Her young ones forth may bring.
[4:39] O thou almighty Lord of hosts, Who art my God and King.
[4:51] Blessed are they in thy house that dwell, They ever give thee praise.
[5:03] Blessed is the man who strength thou art, In whose heart are thy wings.
[5:15] Who passing thorough pick as veil, Therein do dig up when.
[5:26] O soul the rain that falleth out, The pools with water fills, O they from strength and weary go, Still forward unto strength, Until in Zion they appear, Before the Lord of them.
[6:02] Lord God of hosts, My prayer here, O Jacob's God, dear dear, See God our shield, Look on the face of thine anointed dear.
[6:26] For in thy courts one day expel, A thousand brother in.
[6:38] My God's house will I keep adore, Thine dwell in tents of sin.
[6:50] How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts to me, The tabernacles of thy grace, How pleasant Lord they be.
[7:16] Let us now turn to God in prayer. Let us pray together. Our Father in heaven, we give thanks for this day that you have given to us.
[7:27] We give thanks for the opportunity to come and worship you and your name. And we give thanks that it is a day that reminds us of your resurrection. Where the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
[7:39] Death could not contain him. And so he has ascended to glory to dwell at the right hand of the Father in heaven. And so he is the saviour that has promised to prepare a place for all those who will trust in him.
[7:56] And as we sung there of a dwelling place. And Lord, when we think about it, We are left with so many questions of how lovely that place will be.
[8:08] But Lord, as we come to consider the psalm today, We pray that you would open our eyes and ears of understanding. To understand even in measure what it would be like to dwell in this place.
[8:22] What it would be like to stand in the outer courts of heaven. And to get a glimpse into that wonderful dwelling place.
[8:33] So Lord, we pray as we gather in your name. As we gather to worship and praise you. As we gather around your word as your church and your people. That you would be pleased to bless us in your gathering.
[8:46] That we would know the power of your word. Convicting and converting souls that lie in sin. Encouraging and helping souls that are cast with doubts and anxieties.
[8:58] And lifting our hearts to you in praise, O Lord. You know us better than we know ourselves. And so Lord, go before us and go before us in our words and thoughts.
[9:10] That we may stand in wonder at all that Jesus Christ has done for us at the cross in Calvary. That he has washed our garments white from the stains of our sin.
[9:23] And that we can be presented pure and blameless before the throne of God. What a wonder it is that Christ would love us. Even when we are so filthy and full of sin.
[9:38] And so Lord, we pray that the message of the gospel would go out today with power and clarity and conviction. With the accompaniment of your spirit.
[9:50] Knowing that all those who pronounce your gospel will be relying on that power of your spirit. And so our words would be empty without it.
[10:02] And so we plead and pray that your spirit would accompany our words this morning. And accompany all those who preach the immeasurable riches of Jesus Christ this morning and this day.
[10:18] Lord, we pray for this church. We thank you that we can be together. We thank you for David and Mary and their ministry in this place.
[10:29] And we pray that you would encourage them. Amen. We thank you for our evening last night. Thank you that we can return praise and thanks to you, our Lord and our God, who has done so much for us.
[10:45] And that we wonder why you fill our cups so much. And our cups are truly overflowing when we give ourselves to you. And so, Lord, we return thanks for all that you have done.
[11:00] And Lord, we pray that you would open eyes to see how gracious you are. How loving and kind you are.
[11:11] That you would send your only son. And that you would send forth from the best, from the greatest of your throne.
[11:24] Your only son into this world. To redeem a people to yourself. Lord, we pray. That our nation would hear this message.
[11:38] And receive it with warmth and gladness. And that you would speak to hearts that are lost this morning. That you would speak to people who see no meaning in life.
[11:51] People who feel empty. People who do not know where to turn. Lord, place a sign in their life. That will turn them to the Bible.
[12:02] That will turn them towards Christ. That will turn them to follow your ways, O Lord. And so, turn us in your ways. Show us your paths, we pray.
[12:15] What you offer us and keep us, we ask. We ask that you would be with the young. We ask that you would be with them as they go to Sunday school shortly. We pray that they would grow up to believe and trust in you.
[12:29] We pray for those who are elderly. We pray for those who cannot make it out this morning. We ask that you would bless them where they are. And be with them in spirit.
[12:41] And Lord, we just ask that you would be with those who are suffering. Those who are worried. Those who have concerns for their health.
[12:52] We pray that you would give them peace. We pray that you would be with those who mourn. We pray that you would be their comfort to them. Be near to the broken hearted, we pray.
[13:04] And wrap your loving arms around them. So, Lord, as we come to praise and worship you. We ask that you would be with us in all things. With the confession of our sins.
[13:17] Seeking your forgiveness. Through that precious name, Christ Jesus. We ask all these things. Amen. I would ask the young ones to come down and take a seat beside me here.
[13:33] It's good to see you all today. Not everyone.
[13:45] I'm going to talk to you today about a pencil. This is a pencil. I got. I actually got it from my Sunday school when I left.
[13:59] And you can see there's something written on it. It's got Scott McLeod written on it. That was my leaving present from Stornoway.
[14:12] I got a few of them. So it wasn't just one. But it belongs to me. And it can't get lost. So. And there's a story in that itself.
[14:23] But that's not what I want to say to you. You'll all use pencils in school, don't you? You'll all write a story with it. Yeah. That's what pencils are for. Now.
[14:34] This is my name on it. And imagine if Scott McLeod. This was Scott McLeod. And he was writing a story every day of his life.
[14:46] Every day when he went out to school. Or to work. Or to study. He was writing a story with this pencil. This pencil was writing a story about his life. And all the things that he did.
[14:58] Scott went to church. Scott went to pick up the girls from school. Scott was nice to someone. Scott was bad to someone.
[15:09] And everything that Scott did was being written down and recorded. And this pencil was writing a story all about what Scott had did.
[15:20] Or was doing. And imagine if you all had a pencil with your name on it. It could be a pen, pencil. But it had your name on it. And everything you did was just like it was writing a story.
[15:35] And I wouldn't like my story to be a bad story. Would you like your story to be a bad story? If Scott McCloud was being naughty. Scott McCloud wasn't listening to his parents.
[15:48] Scott McCloud was saying bad things. And not being nice to people. That wouldn't be a good story would it? No. So when you write your life.
[15:59] Just like the pencil. If you're a pencil. And you're writing a story about all the things you've done. You'd want it to be a good story. Okay. But we'd want it to be the best of stories.
[16:14] And the best of stories is one that writes about Jesus. And the best of stories is one that says, Scott McCloud or your name.
[16:29] Listened to his parents. Because the Bible told him to listen to his parents. Scott McCloud was kind. And you are kind. Because the Bible told us to be kind.
[16:41] To love one another. To help those who are poor. That would be a good story. The best of stories would be one that writes, I believe in Jesus.
[16:56] And every day it was writing all about what Jesus had done for them. Some of you were here last night. And it was a way of saying thank you to God.
[17:09] And to Jesus. For all that he has done for us. And so I hope that your lives will write a story that is good. But not only good.
[17:21] But one that writes about Jesus every single day. Because Jesus has done so much for us. And that you will be able to write one day, I believe in Jesus.
[17:34] Because he died on the cross for them. Okay. So remember that everything you do is like writing a story. And they want your story to be one about Jesus.
[17:48] Okay. So remember when you are doing your stories in school. Everything you do in your life is like a story. And they want it to be about Jesus. Because that is what will be pleasing to God.
[18:02] So I pray that that will be blessed to you. Let's say a prayer before we sing and go to Sunday school. Father in heaven. We thank you for everything you have done for us.
[18:15] And we pray that we would write a story in our lives about what Jesus has done for us. And that each and every one of us will be able to say that I trust in Jesus and I believe in Jesus.
[18:29] And every day we will be able to have a bit in our story about what Jesus has done for us. And that our story will be good in the sight of God.
[18:41] He will be with us every day of our lives. And be with us in everything that we do. Everything that we say. We ask that you would help us to do things that are pleasing to you.
[18:54] Amen. So we will now continue in our prayer. We are going to sing now a hymn 10,000 Reasons. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
[19:08] O my soul, worship his holy name. Sing like never before. O my soul, I worship your holy name. So we will stand and sing this hymn together.
[19:21] Sing like never before. O my soul, O my soul, I worship his holy name. The Son of the Lord, O my soul, I worship your holy name.
[19:33] The Son of the Lord, O my soul, I worship your holy name. Sing like never before. O my soul, O my soul, I worship your holy name.
[19:45] Sing like never before. Sing like never before. Oh my soul, I worship your holy name.NING!
[19:59] NINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNING O my soul, worship His holy name.
[20:32] Sing like never before, O my soul, I worship Your holy name. You're rich in love and you're slow to anger.
[20:49] Your name is great and your heart is kind. For all your goodness I will keep on singing.
[21:02] Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul.
[21:14] Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul, I worship Your holy name.
[21:30] And on that day when my strength is failing, the end was near and my time has come.
[21:40] Still my soul will sing your name. Ten thousand years and then forevermore.
[21:53] Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul, I worship Your holy name.
[22:14] I'll worship Your holy name. I'll worship Your holy name.NING!
[22:35] !NING!!! Psalm 84. We'll read the whole of that psalm.
[22:53] Psalm 84. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
[23:05] My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, for she may lay her young at your altar, O Lord of hosts!
[23:26] My King and my God, blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion, as they go through the valley of Becah, they make it a place of springs.
[23:47] The early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength. Each one appears before God in Zion.
[23:58] O Lord God of hosts! My prayer here. Give ear, O God of Jacob. Behold our shield, O God. Look on the face of your anointed.
[24:11] For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
[24:23] For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord bestows favour and honour. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
[24:36] O Lord of hosts! Blessed is the one who trusts in you. Amen. May the reading of God's word be blessed to all who have heard it.
[24:48] We'll now sing in Gaelic in Psalm 84. We'll sing there in verse 11 and 12. Psalm 84, verse 11.
[25:04] I'll read it in English. For the God, the Lord's a sun and shield, his grace and glory give, and will withhold no good from them, that uprightly do love.
[25:15] O thou that art the Lord of hosts, that man is truly blessed, who by assured confidence on thee alone doth rest. And we'll remain seated for this sing.
[25:26] Amen. O thou that art the Lord of hosts, and will not be blessed, and will not be blessed, And we'll remain seated for this sing.
[26:04] And we'll remain seated for this sing. O thou that art the Lord of hosts,NINGNINGNINGNING!
[26:30] NING!NING Come, O Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and O'er Hearnes, again, and slow.
[27:01] Come, O Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, and Gloshes, good kid, of God, andNINGNING SONG EN MUZIEK
[28:31] Now we turn back to our reading that we had in Psalm 84. We'll think through the words of this psalm. And we'll use verse 10 as our text.
[28:47] For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
[29:01] Have you ever had a longing to be home? Have you ever been away from home for whatever reason? If you're on your travels, on your holidays, if you're in hospital, and you just feel like, I wish I could be home.
[29:20] We've probably all been there. I don't want to be in this hotel. I don't want to be in this B&B. I don't want to be stuck in this airport. I just want to be home.
[29:33] And that's kind of the longing that we get coming through from the psalmist as we read through this psalm. He has a longing to be in this special place, the dwelling place of God.
[29:44] This is where he wants to be. And this would have been the temple for him in his day as he wrote this psalm. The temple was like a home for him.
[29:57] And today, as we sing it, we don't have a temple, but it directs our minds to that great heavenly home that is prepared for all who believe in Jesus Christ, a home that we all long to be in.
[30:17] Calvin and Luther would agree that this psalm was written by David, although it doesn't state it. But we have as an introduction to the psalm, there's a subtitle to it, and you may see it in your Bible.
[30:31] It may say something like, to the choir master, according to the Gittith, a psalm of the sons of Korah. It's interesting to note that, and just to state where that's coming from, the bit according to the Gittith, it seems that that's just an instrument that would have been used in temple worship.
[30:52] That was a common thing in temple worship to use instruments. But it also mentions a psalm of the sons of Korah, or for the sons of Korah.
[31:03] And they were instrumental in the temple worship. They were important people in the days of the tabernacle, when the tabernacle was a tent, and they would move it around from place to place.
[31:17] They were important people. But you may remember that a man called Korah, and he's infamous for leading a rebellion against Moses and the people.
[31:32] And you can read about that in Numbers 16. But it seems that all his sons were not like him. And they did not follow in their father's footsteps.
[31:47] Korah, the sons of Korah, they were called Kohathites. They were from the tribe of Levites. They were Kohathites. And in Numbers 3, it tells us all about the Kohathites, and what their job was in the role of the tabernacle.
[32:04] This tent that they would move around, they had an important job. They had to move and handle all the holy things. The things that had been set aside.
[32:16] The lampstand, the table, even the Ark of the Covenant. They were the guys that transported these items. And they couldn't touch these items.
[32:26] They had to put poles into the items to lift them and carry them. They weren't allowed to use any form of wheels. It was all manual.
[32:37] It had to be carried by them. But when the tabernacle settled as a temple in Jerusalem, there was nothing then to move.
[32:50] So these people became keepers of the temple entrance. They stood on the threshold at the door, guarding the temple. They stood outside.
[33:05] And you can read about that in 1 Chronicles 9. So these people knew, it's almost like they knew God's house in a special way.
[33:16] They had carried these items historically. They stood at the door. They stood protecting this place. What a fearful thing for them.
[33:28] What a fearful job that they had. But on the other hand, so also what a blessing these men had. So this psalm is for them and about these men that handled these holy things, that knew God's house in a special way, that stood at the outside courts of the house, protecting it.
[33:50] David writes this psalm. And we can break it down into three sections. From verse 1 to 4, it speaks about the longing that they had to be in this home.
[34:05] Verse 5 to 7 speaks about the way in which they would take to get to this home. And verse 8 to 12 speaks about the members of this home.
[34:16] So the longing that they had for this place, the way they took to this place, and the members of this home. So the longing that they had, verses 1 to 4.
[34:30] When he writes this psalm, he says, How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts. He does not say, It is a lovely place, but he says, How lovely it is.
[34:47] It's almost as if there's not words to exclaim just how lovely it is. But he asks each and every one of you who reads this psalm to think about just how lovely it is.
[35:01] He's not making a statement. He's asking you to consider yourself and to think about the dwelling place of God and how lovely it is to you.
[35:11] And when we think about that, it should instinctively lead us into praise and worship and thankfulness.
[35:23] And it is a place that is for the Lord of hosts. A dwelling place for the Lord of hosts. And that phrase is repeated throughout the psalm. Verse 3.
[35:35] I got it in verse 1. Verse 3. You'll see it in verse 8. You'll see it in verse 12. The Lord is a Lord of hosts to him. A people.
[35:47] A great multitude. The Lord of all heaven and earth. The Lord of angels. The Lord of all who gather together in his presence.
[36:00] A Lord of a heavenly multitude that no one can number. And who sing Worthy is the Lamb. Hallelujah. For the Lord God almighty reigns.
[36:14] And such is his longing to be in this place. It is an earthly place to him. And he longs and it says that he faints to be there.
[36:30] It's almost as if that longing and desire to be there it's tiring him out. It's exhausting him. He wants and longs but it's exhausting.
[36:42] Where he would be with the hosts that worship God. Where he would be in the praise of Lord. The Lord of hosts. This is the home.
[36:53] This is the home that he longs for. And as it is a heavenly thing in many respects it is also something that speaks of the church today.
[37:06] Let me ask you did you have a longing to come to church this morning like this man? Did you desire to be here or were you just dragged along? Is it just a routine thing that you do every Sunday that is good to do?
[37:21] Or was it your longing in your heart mid-week after last week to be back in this place to come to be with the people of God to praise his name?
[37:37] Is this place like a home to you? Well it's a homely place to him. And you think about what is a home?
[37:48] What makes a home? It's not the bricks and mortar. That makes houses. But home is really where your people are. Where your friends or even better if you can say it's where your family are.
[38:03] Home is all about people. Home is all about their presence their company. There is the phrase where thou art that is home.
[38:14] Where someone is that is home. Where people are that is home. And where we come as a host before God.
[38:26] Where the church gathers to praise God. It should be a home like nowhere else to his people. It should be a place where we gladly come.
[38:38] And where it should be a place where the people are glad to see us come. every single one of God's children rejoice to be and to come to this place where they worship God.
[38:55] And David then goes on to speak about birds and different birds. He speaks about the sparrow. He speaks about the swallow. Even these birds make their nests in verse 3.
[39:07] They dwell in your house. You can almost imagine these sons of Korah being at the entrance of the temple and seeing the birds disappearing in and making their home in the dwelling place of God.
[39:25] And they look and it's almost as if they're jealous of them. But they can enter into the presence of God. Into that sacred space.
[39:37] Into that dwelling place. and be so close to him. That they could constantly be in that place of worship and praise. And he says what a blessing it is to be there.
[39:50] What a blessing it is to be in the dwelling place of God. If only I could be like the swallow or the sparrow. Spurgeon and Boyce, the commentators, will say that the sparrow is an insignificant bird.
[40:08] Almost a worthless creature. That's what it's represented as in the Bible. Something that's worthless. The swallow is a bird that flies high and crosses vast lands.
[40:25] But that bird is represented as something of restlessness in the Bible. So you have this bird that is almost worthless entering into this special place.
[40:38] You have this bird that is restless actually then finding its rest in the dwelling place of God. Each and every creature finds its rest and dwelling in the presence of God.
[40:55] It is a home for them. And just like it is a home for these different birds. It is a home for each and every one of us. Each and every one of us here should find a rest in the dwelling place of God.
[41:13] And it is a home that is like nowhere else at all. Where nothing else can compare. These men knew it who stood at the entrance of the temple.
[41:28] Let me ask you what is your greatest longing this morning? What is your greatest desire? Who are the people that you want to be with?
[41:41] I hope your desire is to be in heaven. And I hope your desire is to be in this place where we come together and worship God. And I hope your desire is to find rest in the Lord of hosts.
[41:59] Maybe you're not at rest, but are you longing to have a home like this of rest in your heart? Are you restless today?
[42:13] And the psalmist here is calling you to come and find your rest in this home. The dwelling place of God, they long to be close to him.
[42:29] And so as their heart desires this place, the heart leads them to this place. That takes us to a second point, the way home, in verse 5 to 7.
[42:45] The way home. If you're ever working away from home, or maybe you've been away from home studying, you've been away from home for a while, your heart's desire will be to return home at some point.
[42:57] You want to be home and you'll start thinking about how you're going to get there and making arrangements to make it home. You think of the way and you may think of maybe the unfavorable things of what you'll have to do to get there.
[43:11] you may be a windy munch that you'll have to pass through. Maybe something that's unpleasant to you. Maybe you have to sit in a bus for hours. Something that maybe you find is very difficult for you.
[43:27] But knowing that you're going home makes all the difference. It's worth it experiencing this in order to get home.
[43:39] And David there says in verse 5 that blessed are those whose strength is in you. Whose heart are the highways of Zion.
[43:50] They long to get to Jerusalem. They think about the ways in which they'll get there. But it means going through the valley of Beka. So what was the valley of Beka?
[44:04] What does that mean? How is that so significant to mention it in the passing? people are unsure as to where it is but many think it is a valley on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
[44:19] It's a place that they would have to pass through. Jerusalem was a mountainous area and this valley was one that they would come through before this ascent to Jerusalem.
[44:36] It was famous for mulberry trees in the area. Mulberry trees would grow well where the soil was dry. So it is believed that this was a very dry area.
[44:50] But it's a place where they just kind of had to stop before they made that last final ascent to Jerusalem. But Beka can also mean a place of weeping.
[45:01] such as this valley is a valley of weeping. It's a difficult place. It's a sad place. It's a dry place. And though it's so dry and barren on the surface, it says that they find a pool there.
[45:21] They make it a place of springs and the early rain covers it with pools. Some theologians will say that there was actually physical pools there for them to drink from.
[45:35] And they say that there would have been pits that would have been dug out by long-gone pilgrims who had already travelled this way in years gone by. These pits would have been dug out to catch the rain that would have fallen from heaven.
[45:50] This would have been their physical refreshment in this dry and arid place, what these people had prepared for them on the way. Spurgeon reckons that it is an entirely spiritual thing.
[46:07] But this host of people as they travelled their way came into this valley as they would spend time together and talking to each other about their Lord and their God.
[46:21] As they would speak about their longing to be at home with one another in the dwelling place and come to this dwelling place that would feed their souls. The conversation that they would have with one another, speaking about their Lord and their home, would encourage them through what would be the most driest and difficult of experiences for them.
[46:45] And they would be filled with joys that would be unspeakable, almost as if it was rain falling from heaven to their soul. When they spoke to one another about their Lord, it refreshed them all together.
[47:04] But strangely as they travelled and desired to get to this place, they don't get weaker and weaker as you would expect. As we travel, we generally get weaker and weaker if we keep going.
[47:19] But it says in verse 7 that they go from strength to strength. Each one appears before God in Zion. The pools increase their strength.
[47:33] They go together as a host and finally each one individually appears before God in Zion. And there is of course great spiritual truth in this.
[47:49] verse 5. And the Christian does not travel by their own strength. Verse 5 tells us, blessed are those whose strength is in you. The Christian relies on the strength of God each and every day in their lives.
[48:05] They rely on Jesus Christ. They rely on the word of God. As this heavenly spiritual refreshment for them.
[48:16] Maybe even as they travel through the most driest of places in their circumstances. But it is a path that the Christian must walk in order to get to their dwelling place.
[48:32] In order to get to their home. They know they have to pass through days like this. They know they have to pass through places like this. but knowing where they're going makes all the difference to them.
[48:49] They may pass through the valley of Beka but they know they're going home. They did not walk alone. They travelled this way together.
[49:02] And if it is right that past travellers dug these pits, then there's something of an encouragement there. When you think back of the remembrance of many who have walked the Christian life before you, when you read about people's experience of trusting God, you find encouragement and refreshment in it for your own soul.
[49:27] When you feel like you don't have strength for the day, often we find encouragement and strength when we read about others who have travelled this way before us.
[49:39] Others who have reached for themselves this heavenly home. But it gives encouragement to us as we travel this way. It can be difficult.
[49:53] It can often be unpleasant. There can often be times in our lives when it seems it is just a place of weeping to us. But they rely on the strength of God each and every day.
[50:08] and the funny thing is that this place and this experience, what seems so difficult on the outset, that seems like a place where they'll get nothing from, it becomes a place of springs.
[50:28] It's a great place of refreshment. And you may know that in your own life. life. Or you may have heard it of someone who has gone this way before you.
[50:41] Or you may have seen someone who has gone through the most difficult of experiences, and yet they speak so wonderfully of their Lord. They find that they have been refreshed in the most hardest of places and the most difficult of experiences.
[51:00] They find that they have been encouraged in a way that they wouldn't have been encouraged in anywhere else. When they travel this way, they know what it's like to receive that rain that pours down from heaven and fills them with spiritual nourishment.
[51:20] This is a God that can turn your brokenness into blessing, that can turn the dry valleys into springs of water when we think about him.
[51:33] And we've kind of seen that the last few weeks when we've looked at the Joseph story, when he was in so many difficult experiences. He trusted in God and he came to a place where God honoured him.
[51:52] The commentator Plummer has a commentary on the Psalms and he just makes a comment saying that you would never think that Paul wrote his letters while he was in prison.
[52:04] You would never think that Bunyan wrote his pilgrim's progress while he was locked up. Out of these most driest places comes a place of springs and encouragement for the believer as they walk this way.
[52:19] people that long for the dwelling place of God the people that travel this path rely on the strength of God and they find blessing in the most surprising of places.
[52:57] And in many ways it is his preparation for us that each of us would appear before him in Zion. They travel together but they travel themselves to meet with God because each and every one is a member of this home.
[53:19] The final point. A member of this home from verse 8. The member of this home is someone that prays. A member of this home is someone who knows their prayer.
[53:34] It will be heard that the Lord is the Lord of that host. A host that they are a part of. the Lord God of Jacob who is their shield who protects him.
[53:51] A home of protection. A shield that he mentions again in verse I can't see it at the moment. Behold a shield.
[54:02] He mentions it there in verse 11. Twice. Because a home is a safe place for him. the Lord is like a shield to him.
[54:15] And he says behold our shield O God. Look on the face of your anointed. There is one that is anointed in this home.
[54:28] And that is of course the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who is anointed. The king of the home. The one whom all people belong to in his kingdom.
[54:42] The anointed one that hears our prayers. Eric Lane says that at those times of festival when they came to Jerusalem they would always make special thanks and prayers to the king.
[54:56] And so when we come to the dwelling place we give our special thanks and prayers to our king. The anointed one. The Lord Jesus Christ who is the hearer of our prayer.
[55:12] To be a member of this home is like nothing else. To have made this journey is not a bother to them because they know of this home and dwelling place.
[55:25] This is a place I cannot compare and he speaks about that there from verse 10. For a day in your course is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a door keeper in the house of my God than dwell in tents of forgiveness.
[55:43] Even if it meant for him to be standing outside at the door, he would prefer that to anything else. To stand and taste things from a distance.
[56:01] To experience things from a distance. to be that's what the door keeper here means. The door keeper is an important job to welcome people to the house of God.
[56:13] But the door keeper here is implying that he's standing outside. He's protecting the threshold just like the sons of Korah did. They stood in protection at the doors of the temple.
[56:26] But to be there, even there, was a blessing to them. they would rather be there than experience the dwelling of wickedness.
[56:43] Even for a thousand years, they'd rather taste of things, of this dwelling place of God, than be inside a tent of wickedness.
[56:59] I believe the tents of wickedness would have been very comfortable for them. But even the thousand years had its end.
[57:16] The dwelling place of God is a place that shall never end. God is something that the Christian in measure knows.
[57:32] The Christian knows that to stand even outside of heaven, to experience even a taste of heaven, to be with the Lord's people and experience something of heaven, heaven, where we are refreshed and fed from the hand of God.
[57:57] The Christian knows it as something that cannot compare in this world. It's a thing that they will not give up for anything in this world.
[58:12] And although it's almost as if they're not, we don't enter right into the dwelling place of God, but we taste it from afar. We experience it in measure.
[58:24] We stand at the door, but even to stand at the door here, to taste of the heavenly things that is prepared for his people who trust in him, it's far better than anything that this world can offer them.
[58:43] To be a member of this home, to be a part of this host is a precious thing. It is the greatest of privileges, because that is where the Lord bestows favour and honour.
[58:57] It is a place where no good thing is withheld from those who walk uprightly. he who did not withhold his own son.
[59:10] He gave us of the good things of heaven, his ultimate good, which was his own son, Jesus Christ. The immeasurable riches of his grace grace to those who trust in him, to those who live uprightly and live according to his word and his ways.
[59:36] It's a blessing. But the dwelling place of God today is in the believer's heart.
[59:48] You read through Romans 8. Christ comes to dwell within the heart of the believer. And so the loveliness of the believer.
[60:00] You may know Christians that are very lovely. But it's not them solely. It is because the Lord of hosts dwells in their heart.
[60:16] That's what makes them lovely. The beauty of Christ is shining through in their lives. It takes us right back to the beginning.
[60:28] How lovely is your dwelling place. Where the believers gather. It is the dwelling place of God.
[60:39] Where he dwells in the heart of each and every one of his believers. It's the people that make this home so lovely.
[60:53] The people that come and praise to God. The people that long to be together and know the loveliness of being in this place.
[61:06] It is a precious thing. It's a desirable thing. That the church is not a place of bricks, mortar, timber.
[61:19] But to be together is our home. And though we in measure are at the door, we're standing outside.
[61:31] We long with great longing to be a host that joins together in heaven. before his presence, to enter into his courts like the swallow and the sparrow.
[61:47] Nothing else can compare to that. We long to be in the dwelling place of God. Where is your longing today?
[62:00] Do you long for the dwelling place of God? Do you long to find your rest in God? Then come to him.
[62:14] Come and receive the blessing of the one who trusts in him. Verse 12. Blessed is the one who trusts in you.
[62:25] The man that trusts in the Lord will know the blessings of this place, know the blessings of traveling, this way, and know the blessing of the favor and honor that God will bestow upon them in the greatest of dwelling places.
[62:44] The Christian longs to be whole. The Christian is a traveler in this world through many different experiences. The Christian is a member of that place today.
[62:59] are finished by saying there's no place like hope. Amen.
[63:13] We'll conclude by singing to praise of God by singing in the hymn 694, Emmanuel's Land.
[63:24] hymn 694, Emmanuel's Land. The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks, the summer morn a side fall, the fair sweet morn awakes, dark, dark hath been the midnight, but dayspring is at hand, and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land.
[63:54] We'll stand and we'll sing this hymn together. hymn 694, the dawn of heaven breaks, the sun of time are singing, the dawn of heaven breaks, the sun morn I sighed for, the fair sweet morn awakes, dark, dark hath been the midnight, but day spring is at hand, and glory, glory dwelleth, in
[64:58] Emmanuel's land. O Christ, he is the fountain, the deep, sweet well of love, the streams on earth have tasted, more deep I drink above, there to an ocean fullness his mercy doth expand, and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land.
[65:53] With mercy and with judgment, my web of time he woes, and day the Jews of sorrow!
[66:13] sorrow, were lusted by his love, I'll bless the hand that guided, I'll bless the heart that plans, when thrones glory dwelleth, dwelleth, in Emmanuel's land.
[66:45] I've wrestled on towards heaven, in storm and wind and tide, now like a weary summer that leaneth on his guise, amid the shades of evening, while sings my spirit sun, I hail the glory dawn in Emmanuel's land.
[67:34] Our Lord and our God, as we may we upon loveliness dwelling place, that means for each one of us.
[67:49] Lord, part us with your blessing, watch over us, we pray in Jesus' precious name. Amen.