Psalm 84 - Strength to Strength

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0:13 The rest of us we're going to keep looking at the Psalms. I have mentioned the last couple of weeks that I'm like on these Psalms finishing the church You're looking at these Psalms and we're on Psalm 84 this week and It's worth saying this week I spent Several days at a little church conference for our district We're part of this little non geographic district in our denomination that When I started in 2008 had 54 churches in in this district

0:48 It's the remnant of an old Slovakian Lutheran church called the Slovak evangelical Lutheran Church So there's the churches are like from Racine, Wisconsin over to Yonkers, New York and down to Florida We got to Florida because Ovido was originally settled by Slavic Lutherans It was first called Slavia and so now several churches have started out of that church in Ovido When I started in the in the district in in 2008 there were 54 churches There are now 49 because several have closed. I found out that

1:24 That right now there are 49 churches in the district, but 20 of them Can't afford a pastor and don't have a pastor so there's maybe 25 churches out of the what was 54 that are still and And it was interesting to kind of it's always interesting to see the people that serve those congregations That was the conference that we were together with to hear what their challenges are It reminded me how much I appreciate the way we are church together

1:58 The way that it's how simple it is You can see this is a week where everybody has a lot going on And we always all have a lot going on and I like that. It's a place where Where hopefully it feels like there's not pressure to be something that you're not To do something that you don't want to do in a good way a place that you have to wrap For me these Psalms here at the end of the church here have been a place of rest a

2:31 Little bit of challenge, but like kind of challenging the way that reframes what I'm looking at So a place of rest and from that rest to reframe what I'm looking at And I appreciate the opportunity to get to do that look at that this morning with you all It's fun that this is what this is what church is for us people that care about each other reminding each other of what's important and Psalm 84 does that Remember that these are like the hymn book of God. We think they were used liturgically a lot

3:03 Psalm 84 is written from the context of somebody on like a pilgrimage probably I've said this before but One of the primary uses we think of the Psalms we think the Psalms had for the people of Israel Is that they would sing them together as they're going up to Jerusalem remember that in first and Second, I mean first century Israel In order to properly worship God you had to go to the temple where he was and they and God had prescribed a certain

3:38 Sort of way that you worshiped him that involved a certain set of sacrifices and we understood and knew in the first century that God's presence was actually at the temple and So if you wanted to go worship God several times a year you went up to Jerusalem to the temple There there were seven feast days where you would go as a group You would go with several families for safety on the road to make your journey the only way you could on foot If you are very wealthy you might have a donkey But most people walked in family groups on foot the several days journey

4:11 Stopping along the way as they needed to get to the temple and then if you had a specific problem Maybe you had someone who was specifically sick. Maybe you had some particular problem in the field Maybe you were particularly vulnerable Economically if you had a particular problem you might make a pilgrimage up to the temple to see the God to make a special Sacrifice for a special request you would go in a smaller group then in either setting Psalm 84 Could work as a pilgrimage Psalm as they're arriving in Jerusalem

4:45 Having made their journey through whatever they came through and are arriving at the place where God is Through the walled city up to the bustling kind of place Remember when Jesus after the triumphal entry comes into the temple courts and there's all the stuff going on Remember there's buying and selling they're like trading their money into the money that can be used in the temple Then they're using the money that they've traded at the temple to buy the animals for the sacrifices So there's a lot of people around there's animals mulling around they've come through the journey up to the to to the temple

5:22 And here we are at Psalm 84 verse 1 and the pilgrim the Psalmist or the pilgrim Rights how lovely is your dwelling place oh Lord of hosts my soul? Longs yes feints for the courts of the Lord my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God This is why I want you to think about a time you've been on a journey I think that the the temple of God was probably an impressive thing but also like my soul longs and feints to be there like

5:56 Anytime you go on a journey with intention and forethought Right the destination is amplified when I first started working I saw a guy talking about benefits like he came in to talk about the benefits that we had as the as the that were offered to us And he was talking about taking vacations He was trying to encourage people to take vacations and so he was talking about the science of an annual Vacation and he was relating it. He was talking about it in terms of preventative health

6:29 He said that an annual vacation was preventative health And he said that science had been done to find out why was it helpful? Why did people that take vacations live longer? And he found out that their hearts were responded better the science says their hearts were responded But so then they're trying to figure out what is it about the vacation that reduces heart rate and cardiac Incident that helps people live longer is it that they go to the beach and it's relaxed is it? the short version what they found is that actually it's the anticipation of

7:04 the vacation that translates to lower cardiac incident So what they found is that it actually didn't matter whether the person actually took the vacation Because by the time they got to their vacation they were planning the next one and it was the planning and the forward looking that Communicated the benefit so that as they were in their workday if they took a few minutes and sat to look at the screen and Plan the vacation it gave the same effect as if they were on vacation

7:36 can you imagine now when you were prepped for this place for a long period of time and you finally arrived there and Maybe you've done this where you like booked an Airbnb and you like got all the endorphins from planning it And you finally get there and it's a letdown it's like oh this is not as cool as it looked in the pictures Like they were very strategic and where they pointed it right or Like one time we were we were out as a family

8:10 in the in the northwest we were up in the in the national park Olympic National Park and I had scouted I like doing a day hike I had scouted a hike for us That was a little bit strenuous, but had a big payoff at the end With the incredible view You know and I like a hike with a destination where you arrive there and the whole families with me and you know

8:41 When I plan things I like get the overall picture But I don't often I don't always get every aspect right to be chooses But on the long hike with me that turned out a little bit longer than we thought really and this is the case with the family It was uphill the whole way very hard But don't worry There's a great payoff at the end and we get to the to the overlook and it's completely cloudy And you can't see anything you're standing in the cloud just the luck of the draw on that day

9:11 Can you imagine the pilgrimage the pilgrim who's on a several days journey and arrives at the temple and is not let down Encounters what they were looking for He says that this is exactly what I have been looking for and then look at verse three Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow and nest for herself Where she may lay her young at your altars Oh Lord of hosts the king my king and my god blessed are those who dwell in your house ever singing your praise

9:48 The pilgrim is arriving and sees the little birds and thinks wouldn't it be nice to just live here and you know that feeling too When you get up to the space and it's so perfect in your life Would it be nice just to stay here? You know the pilgrim is coming from all sorts of problems and Has arrived at the place they are looking for and the place they are looking for does not disappoint and then it Glances at the birds and it's like what problems do the birds have wouldn't it be nice to just be a bird nestled here in this

10:23 Perfect little place right you can imagine the feeling and And then it says Blessed are those who dwell in your house and so there are people obviously who live at the temple The priests and things and it's saying that would be nice too, you know And then Blessed are those whose strength is in you in whose heart are the highways to Zion now It's finally turning back to himself. I had to look up this phrase highways to Zion

10:56 I love the idea of Zion like that phrase Zion But now we're starting to turn towards something that could be experienced by the pilgrim and by us because he's saying that in your heart Are the dream of the pilgrimage to the place of God? It's not that there's actual highways in your heart, but that you are considering planning Thinking on hoping for making it to the place where God is This is where we start to get the the

11:28 Passing benefit right of the preparation the pilgrim is saying oh man This place is so good that the people who dream about making it here are blessed Just the dream of getting to the place of God is blessing oh The pilgrim is like this place is so good Blessed are the ones who think and ruminate and hope upon making it to the place of God to Zion and Then as they go through the valley of Baka they make it a place of springs

12:05 The early rain also covers it with pools they go from strength to strength each one appears before God in Zion This one I had to look up to And it's a little bit of a kicker because People translate Baka differently the valley of Baka You got to hear me over the rain It sounds like there's more rain than there is when you're in here

12:37 We don't know what the valley of Baka is we don't know where it is we don't know what it is But it's a place where there's not water and The pilgrim is saying as the people of God walk through the valley of Baka water appears He says two things springs come up and the rain pools and gives them what they need Which is nice that They get what they need but a kicker that they got to go through it

13:08 Just like kind of a thing for us here Last week we were talking about the refuge of God and It's like nice that God is always available for a refuge But it's a bummer that his people still find themselves in places where they might need the refuge Same thing here It's nice that in the valley of Baka in the place of dryness in the desert that springs come up and and the rain pools But it sure would be nice to not have to go through the valley of Baka at all

13:42 It sure would be nice to have not have to go through the dry place at all The blessedness for the pilgrim is that in the dry place. They still find water Okay, I Mean right, okay Oh Lord of hosts hear my prayer and give ear oh God of Jacob

14:18 Behold our shield. Oh God look on the face of your anointed For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere But the pilgrim is like they people debate how they translate this a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere

14:48 Some people say that the best Translation is like a it's better to be a beggar like the day at your courts is like Just there by the door see because he goes down and says I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness someone standing by the door like a beggar by the door But he's safe to say the pilgrim really likes it there it was worth the journey

15:21 For the Lord God is a son and a shield The Lord bestows favor and honor no good thing to see withhold from those who walk uprightly The Sun in the shield is a big deal because that's everything The shield is what you use to protect you from the Sun the Sun is what gives life and so the pilgrim is saying that God does all of it He takes care of everything He puts the Sun in order that you could have the life and protection sunlight and daylight that you need And then he gives you also the shield to protect you from the sunlight and the daylight. He's all encompassing. He does the whole thing

15:59 No good thing to see withhold from those who walk uprightly Oh Lord of Host blessed is the one who trusts in you and we're back to this idea of trust And so you can see how this song works in its first setting where the pilgrim is like going All right I was set out to go here and look not only this place doesn't disappoint that when I get here It has everything that I want is in fact so good that even those who dream about coming here are blessed in the act of dreaming

16:29 But then those who take the time to make the journey come through the dry place and the water attends to them along the way And then when they get here it would better be better for them to be a beggar here than any place else It's so good here because God is all encompassing and all providing the Sun and the shield Everything that we need which is really great except for like I'm not making a pilgrimage. You know what I mean like We don't have to make pilgrimages anymore

17:04 Maybe The pilgrim kind of could be cool Part of me thinks it actually would be really cool. I've said this before like I like the idea of Jesus deciding not to ascend and instead of giving the church to the 11 Just staying Like putting a throne on the hill of Galilee Be like I will now arbitrate all of the problems I will show you all the hands my hands and feet and my side and you come make your pilgrimages when you have a problem

17:37 Or seven times in years the guy the ancient of days upon the throne, you know, I like the idea of like, you know the Muslims make their hodge and everybody is there in it together and it's definitive. We know it's right there That's where God is We don't do that Jesus handled it differently. So How is this Psalm a comfort for me today? There's a couple of phrases what I mentioned last week about the Psalms part of how I use them is read them over and over and over again

18:14 Slowly and consider the words that stick out to me The first one was this highways to Zion The second was the strength to strength thing They move from strength to strength. I Looked it up a little bit to figure out what to try and figure out what was being said And the best they can come up with is the strength to strength is like the miracles along the road The encounter with God along the way are a strength

18:44 And then you go from that strength to the strength of being in his presence in the temple in the tabernacle from strength to strength And I thought about the phrase that Paul uses when he talks about the life to come and he says that we are moving from glory Into glory that we are not done That the that who you are becoming isn't complete That your notion your understanding your experience your application of the truth of the God isn't a hundred percent

19:17 That what you know and experience about God right now is just the beginning and Paul suggests that you will continue Moving from glory to glory and the glory is a weird word the best definition I like for glory is to become fully yourself So when we see God in all his glory will recognize him fully as he is the beginning and the end the source of all beauty wisdom and justice as soon as we see him will recognize Everything that we thought was beautiful had its origin in him as soon as we see the way he acts

19:48 We'll realize that every semblance of justice had its origin in him Glorious to see something is true and Paul says that when you move in God you become you move from glory to glory meaning you become more and More yourself that who got intended for you to be is kind of slowly Coming forward to the front so the old creation is slowly dying off and he says God will continue making you more yourself Forever from strength to strength from glory to glory and the

20:20 psalmist suggests that this is in a journey towards a destination that the strength to strength comes as you're moving towards the God Which has me starting to think about the life that I'm living When I pay her strength the strength with the psalmist and glory to glory in Paul And I begin to wonder am I moving towards the God myself? I'm not on a pilgrimage from Nazareth to Jerusalem, but perhaps I'm on a pilgrimage towards the God

20:58 Through valleys and needing shields and sun coming down perhaps I'm moving in a direction Perhaps the Zion that we thought was Jerusalem is the resting place of the God eternal Perhaps the psalmist has tasted something has seen something has grasped something in her his pilgrimage up to Jerusalem That's universal

21:29 Maybe this is why the psalmist the psalm has endured and might if you can ruminate on it give you hope for today because we don't know where the valley of Baka is But we know what it feels like to move through dry and perilous places We know what it feels like for life to be difficult and hard and the psalmist suggests that those who who have the pathways design in their heart who consider and ruminate and think about how do I move towards the place of God find blessings along the way and move from strength to strength

22:05 It's not that you won't go through Baka. It's that in Baka You will have the water that you need and he's saying that this is a fruit of moving towards the God not bad But gets just a touch better In Ephesians chapter 3, so I'm on this idea that Paul is picking up on That we're moving from glory to glory and I'm trying to get to this like idea that the the psalmist

22:38 if the pilgrimage of the Psalmist to Jerusalem is a Parallel to my pilgrimage to God then the pilgrims arrival at the temple is a Parallel to my arrival to God now consider when the psalmist says the Good words of arrival oh How lovely is your dwelling place? Oh Lord of hosts?

23:10 My soul longs yes Faints for the courts of the Lord my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God What does it feel like begin to consider that there might be a place that matches this description for you? There might be a time when the thing that your whole body was made for finds its home The place where you are fully yourself Where all the burdens you're like a bird nestled in its home

23:41 Where it has everything that it needs without a concern or a care for the future and a complete Rest in the provision and protection and a joy at the adventure that it flies off and finds Consider that there might be a place for you where your heart and flesh cry out. I have arrived And now consider that the psalmist says I move from strength to strength to get here and Begin to think that Paul says that you are changing from glory into glory. Okay now you're set for Ephesians chapter 3

24:17 I'm in verse 14 For the reason I know my I bow my knees before the father from whom every Family in heaven and on earth is named that according to the riches of his glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength To comprehend with all the saints. What is the breadth the length the height and depth and to know the love of

24:50 Christ that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God now to him who is able to do more Abundantly than all we ask or think According to the power and work within us to him be the glory in the church in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever amen. I was suggesting this because I got to this phrase because Paul says to him who is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine and the notion That I would be going from strength to strength that who I am now is not who I will be forever

25:26 But that I have begun to taste it Lines up with my notion of Paul's theology of how we continue to grow He suggests at several places that the joy that you know now is a foretaste of the joy that you will have That your capacity to love now is a small appetizer of your capacity to love in the future that God is working out your salvation With fear and trembling as you move toward him the encouragement today is that life is not easy

26:02 It's complex and confusing You don't know what's coming Who of you by wearing can I put an hour to go? You Don't have control You don't know if the job will work out. You don't know if the relationship will resolve You don't know if the kids will do what they're supposed to do You don't know how long your friends will endure the illness

26:36 You don't know how long the money will hold out or the inflation will sustain or the government will keep its head you don't know There's a lot life is complex and confusing The pilgrims suggests that it is buoyed by heading in a particular direction That you and I are not merely bobbing around Bumped around by the circumstances of life waiting for something to happen

27:09 But I want to suggest that your life is like a pilgrimage You are moving not bobbing around and waiting but moving in a direction Towards a home not plotting along with blinders on But moving around open To see the blessings that are alongside of you to invite people to come with you But clearly with the pathway in your heart and a hope for the future of what is to come and the

27:42 Psalmist suggests that as we are those people pilgrims on a way that we are blessed in the meantime and not disappointed when we arrive This to me is like one of the most powerful truths of the gospel The notion that my life has direction That I am going somewhere

28:13 On purpose for something that loves me and has prepared a place for me. This is true for you No matter what valley you go through no matter what hardship you encounter No matter what blessing comes there is more yet for you. I Want to pray that we might like the Psalmist Endure persist on the road until the day that we find ourselves at home. Let's pray together Hey, Lord. Thank you for the Psalm 84

28:48 And the parallel of the pilgrimage and our life set us on a pilgrimage of our own With blessings along the way and joy in its fulfillment teach us how to see the little pools in the valley and How to Lord secure the pathways design in our heart? That we might know like Paul what it feels like to have a foretaste of the feast to come To move from glory into glory now and forever in Jesus name we pray