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Sermon Notes

August 18, 2024

Better is One Day

Psalms 84:1-12

This morning we are going to be looking at the 84th Psalm and I want to start by looking at one of the last verses rather than the first. The Psalmist here makes a seemingly absurd statement when he writes in Psalms 84:10 that “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere”. He is speaking of God when he makes this huge statement. I mean think about it for a moment. Imagine your favorite place in the world, think about the people who would join you there, and maybe even think of a time that it would be in. The Psalmist is saying better is one day in the courts of God than 1,000 days in a place like that. Now either the Psalmist is delusional and doesn’t get out much, or there is something deeper to what he is saying. I believe it to be the latter, because look at what he writes in the first verse of this Psalm. 

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.  

The Psalmist begins the Psalm with a proclamation about the affection he is feeling. If you just look at the first verse and the first half of the second one, it seems that he is speaking of his affection and longing for heaven. This sort of goes along with the claim that the Psalmist makes in verse 10 as well and from what we are told in scripture, heaven is a wonderful place. In John 14:2-3, Jesus said in heaven there will be many mansions that have been prepared there for His followers. Revelation 7:15-17 tells us it’s a place of praise, joy, and peace, a place where every tear will be wiped away. Later in Revelation, it tells us that it’s a place of unimaginable beauty, with gemstones at its foundations, gates made of pure pearl, and streets of gold. Everything is illuminated in a way we have never experienced before. It's going to be the most beautiful and relaxing place we have ever experienced. However it's not the location that the Psalmist is looking forward to in this Psalm, but rather it's the One whose throne is in that location. We see Him clarify this when he states that his heart and flesh are crying out for the living God. He is literally saying like a hungry lion desperately searching for food, so does his soul seek after God. He is stating that it’s not the place (as wonderful as the place might be) that he wants to dwell at, but rather it is the one who dwells there that he wants to dwell with. That’s the reason he tells us that his body is physically sick because he is desperately seeking after the presence of God. But why? Because the presence of God is the greatest reward we could ever seek. It’s something God said about Himself to Abraham in Genesis 15:1, It’s what Paul understood when he declared in Philippians 3:7 that “but whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ” and it’s what is expressed here by the Psalmist. I want to look at this Psalm to see how we can have this same perspective when it comes to life and the blessings God has given us.  

We Must Find our Rest in God. - Psalms 84:3

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

The Psalmist continues from his declaration of his deepest desire to painting a picture that helps us understand how he came to that yearning. His picture starts off at the altar in the temple where sacrifice was taking place daily. Amidst the sacrifice there are some birds who have not only taken shelter there, but they feel so safe that they have made a home there. He’s almost envious of the birds in their proximity to the Holy of Holies and the presence of God and the rest they have found near the presence of God. Just as these birds, we must find rest in the sacrifice of the Lord as well. 

There are two ways we can do this:

The first way is by understanding the 3 ways in which the Psalmist refers to God.
  1. The first is the Lord Almighty. This means that God is the one who can level any threat that comes your way. He is greater than any and every obstacle you will ever face. We can rest in Him.  
  2. Secondly, He refers to God as My King. Not only is there a sense of ownership happening in the last two of the titles he uses for God, but the idea of the King here is that He is not just the King over the life of the Psalmist, but He is the King of all Kings.  That means that no matter who is in governmental authority over you, ultimately, they will have to answer to the King of all Kings. There is no earthly authority that is or will ever be greater than God, we can rest in Him.  
  3. He finished off these verses with the title My God. With that title comes almost more than we can comprehend. In it is everything that God is, everything that God has chosen to reveal about Himself in scriptures, every attribute, every truth, everything. When we study God’s Word and learn more and more about Him, we see that we can rest in Him because He is God alone!  
The second way we can find rest is by resting in His sacrifice. Like the birds finding rest amongst the sacrifices that were meant for God, we are to find rest in the sacrifice of God. That is Jesus laying down His life for us on the cross and the promises that it brought for us. It’s God’s promise of Salvation to all who call upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13).

It’s God’s promise that all things will work out for good (Romans 8:28). It’s a promise for comfort during those hard times (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), a promise the old sinful life is gone and we have a new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), a promise to finish what He started in us (Philippians 1:6), a promise of rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30), a promise of an abundant life in Him (John 10:10), a promise that no one can snatch us from His hand (John 10:28). Lastly, a promise that He will return to us, His church (John 14:2-3). These are just a few of the many promises that the death and resurrection of Jesus brings to those who have made Jesus the Lord of their lives.  It’s in these promises and in who our God is that we must grow in understanding of and relationship with and as we do, we will see that we will yearn to be with Him more and more in our lives.

We Must Praise the Lord Daily. - Psalms 84:4

Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.

The Psalmist moves on to speaking about those who dwell in the house of the Lord. This could be either those who work in the temple or those who are in heaven. It seems like he is envious of them as well because he not only calls them blessed, but he uses the plural of blessed which means they have the fullness of blessing. This blessing is partially because of their proximity to the Lord, but because of the inclusion of the act of praising that they are continually performing, so I think it’s fair to say that it is a blessing to praise God. We bless God with our praise, but we also bless ourselves. It blesses us because we are being obedient to the commands all through scripture to praise the Lord! It blesses us because it reminds us of why we are praising Him, because He deserves it, because of what He has done and because of who He is (just like we saw in the last verses). It’s how we are to enter the presence of God. It's through the blood of Jesus that we can boldly approach the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). In Psalms 100 we are told to enter His presence with praise and thanksgiving. Psalms 69 tells us that while we praise, we magnify God. That means He becomes bigger and bigger to us. Again these are just a few of the blessings that we receive when we praise God daily in our lives, and because we praise Him the way we should, we start to see why the psalmist is so adamant that better is one day with God than a thousand elsewhere.

We Must Understand our Position. - Psalms 84:5

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

The Psalmist continues and is again speaking of a blessed person who has two attributes, both of which I will speak of in the next point. For now I want to speak about the position of the pilgrim he mentions here. Warren Wiersbe said it best when it comes to this verse. A vagabond is someone who has no home; a fugitive is someone who is running from home; a stranger is someone who is away from home; but a pilgrim is someone who is heading home. This is the position of every follower of Christ. We are on our way home. We are not there yet, so just like Peter says in 1 Peter 1, we need to set our eyes not on the things of this world, but on the things above. When we embrace our position as mere pilgrims who are headed home, the things we cling to in this life start to seem mighty foolish and we begin to find it easier and easier to let go of the things of this world and no longer yearn for those things. Instead we yearn for the things and the promises of life that are to come.  

We Must find Strength in our Journey. - Psalms 84:5-9

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob. Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.

Life is marked with suffering. All along our paths in life we will suffer. This is true of followers of Jesus and those who don’t. We all suffer because of the sin that is in this world. There are those who think that this Psalm was written in a time of suffering, because they believe this was a Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom. No matter the case, we can see that the Psalmist is saying that the one whose strength for these trials and suffering is in the Lord are blessed despite their troubles. The Psalmist goes on to make this point by speaking of the Valley of Baka or the Valley of Tears. It’s not known if it’s a real place or just a figurative place, but either way it’s a point worth making that those who find their strength from the Lord in the midst of tears will turn those tears to joy. Because of God’s grace that is shown in those who follow Him. What the enemy meant for evil, God can use for good. Then the Psalmist goes on to say those who find their strength in the Lord go from strength to strength in their lives instead of problem to problem. This is exactly what Paul is speaking of at the start of his second letter to the church in Corinth when he said “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And He did rescue us from mortal danger, and He will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us.” This portion of the Psalm was played out exactly in the life of Paul and his companions. They thought their problems were going to lead to their demise, but it was through them that they learned to trust God and draw their strength from Him instead. Now they know He will continue to rescue them, so they are going from victory to victory instead of problem to problem in their ministry as well as their lives. This isn’t the ultimate victory. That occurs when we get called home or Jesus returns for the church and we will be at the marriage feast of the Lamb. It’s at that moment that we experience ultimate victory on our journey. The more we experience the victories Jesus gives us through our weakness and His strength in this lifetime the more and more we yearn to be with Him once and for all.

We Embrace the Truth. - Psalms 84:10-12

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose  walk is blameless. Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.

We are back to the statement we began with. While the statements that the Psalmist made were full of emotion that might cause this statement to be misconstrued as just his opinion. These statements are not just his opinion, they are absolute truths. The Psalmist reminds us that it’s better to be just on the fringe of heaven than to be the guest of honor elsewhere. Everything the Psalmist has mentioned so far should be enough for us to embrace this truth. He also mentions that the Lord is the sun. He is the source of life for us all, and the light by which we see and understand all the things in our lives and the light that provides guidance. Then the Psalmist calls the Lord a shield. He is the one who provides protection from our enemies. Then he finishes off with a reminder that God will not withhold any good thing from those who follow Him.  

The Psalmist has made a wonderful case:
Rest that is only found in God.
Praise that is only due to God.
As followers we know He is the source of our strength.
We can embrace the truth no matter what we are holding onto in life. 
No matter the blessing God has given us here on earth, that they do not compare to what lies ahead for us.
The only way to experience this truth is to put your faith in Jesus!
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