Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere

This was a sermon given at Christ's Chapel, as part of a series on the Pslams. I was particularly struck by the idea of pilgrimage, of journeying towards the New Jerusalem, while writing this. I hope it encourages you to keep travelling, or to start off on your journeying.

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

The psalms put feelings into words. They express the experience of a real relationship with the living God. Psalm 84 is no different. It recounts the experience and feelings associated with pilgrimage: a journey towards the temple in Jerusalem.

When this song was written, centuries before Jesus was born, God made his presence known in the temple, in Jerusalem or Zion as it is also known. God made a home among a sinful people, in the middle of their city. It’s hard for us to grasp the staggering grace and kindness of that. Even King Solomon who built it could hardly believe God would be so close to his people. Solomon Said "Will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet, the Holy God said "My eyes and my heart will always be there.” And he filled the whole inside with fire as a physical sign of his holy, consuming presence. God almighty, maker of a million galaxies, was willing to make his home in a cubic box, about the size of this chapel. The temple was a miracle of grace. No wonder the psalmist sings- how lovely is your dwelling place!

But what does this text say to us now? We don’t have a physical dwelling place of God to visit. But do we have hope in the risen Jesus, who spoke saying Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.. Even more, we have the hope of his coming. As we heard last week, the bible ends with a great vision of another Jerusalem coming from heaven. In the new Jerusalem God dwells with a people purified by faith in Jesus’ death in their place. People like you and I who by grace are citizens of a city where There is no temple, because the Lord God almighty and the lamb are its temple. A city where is no longer a barrier of sin between the people and God. No burnt offerings or ritual washing that the old temple needed, rather the whole city is a temple! So if we have put are trust in Christ, then we are like the psalmist on a journey, not to the old Jerusalem, but to find our home in the new Zion. We’re on a pilgrimage. So lets apply this travelling song to our journey together. What was it that kept the psalmist going on the road, and how can we learn from him?

Firstly, the psalmist longs for the temple courts. He faints with homesickness for them, that is what motivates his journey. Of course, Solomon coated the temple in gold and made every effort to make it beautiful, but it’s not the fine architecture that the psalmist longs for, rather it’s the presence of God. In verse 2 my heart and flesh cry out for the living God. God is what makes this place worth visiting. The courts are special, because they’re the courts of the LORD. Even the birds in the temple courts are worth a mention, because they have a home near HIS King and HIS God. How much more blessed and at home are the people who get to dwell in God’s house! The psalmist longs to join them, to have again the experience of God. Knowing his awe-inspiring goodness, sensing his beautiful holiness, seeing his unexplainable loving kindness. He faints for that.

Can you relate to that longing? A desire for more of the experience of the beauty of God- maybe you can recall a time when the cross of Christ was made wonderfully clear to you, or a piece of music that emotively expressed the love of God or a mountain top view that spoke of his creative power. Normal experiences made lovely and blessed by glimpses of God’s presence in them. Glimpses of life in the new creation.

But perhaps like me you struggle with a cynical old heart, and are often numb to the joy that God has promised in Zion. The psalm reminds us that preparing our emotions for a pilgrimage is as important as packing our map and bags. We need to be wary of forgetting the loveliness of Gods dwelling place.

Wonderfully God has provided many great helps for revitalising our longing for him, arguably the most potent is thankfulness. E.g. People, Word, Gospel, Everyday blessings. We can take this psalm as an encouragement to check up on our longings- to make sure they are placed in the God who can satisfy them.

And so, with this longing for the courts of God, the psalmist is on the road. His heart set is on pilgrimage. Yet it’s not an easy trip, they pass through the Valley of Baka- evidently a dry and barren place. We can imagine the pilgrims walking though the desert, in scorching heat with sand in their eyes and parched lips. But for them, because of where they’re going, even this dry valley is a like place of springs. They aren’t phased by appearances or momentary troubles because their strength is in God. We see a hint of God’s faithful care in the autumn rains to keep them going. Every pilgrim is safely brought to Zion

There are great parallels here for us. The pilgrims pass through a dry and barren land, they somehow make it a place of life and joy, and are strengthened on their travel. In the same way- as we pass through a world marred by sin, looking forward to a perfect one, we can still bring joy here and now, and expect to grow in spiritual strength. Our passage subverts false ideas of the Christian life. Maybe we think the hope of heaven would take the Christian away from being of practical use? The springs in the valley of Baka tell a different story: the real change is brought about by people who hope in God’s future city. We might also be tempted to view the Christian journey as stoically bearing life until we are suddenly brought into holiness and joy that we never tasted on earth. But verse 8 testifies otherwise. We should expect to go from strength to strength. We can trust God to work in us even en-route, preparing us for life with Him through the trials of our pilgrimage to Zion.

In our last section, the psalmist again focuses our attention on the destination. This time, he focuses on the tangible, on universals truths as well as personal feelings. He calculates, and considers. Verse 10 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. A 1000 times better than anywhere else! Nothing else compares to being at the dwelling place of God. Maybe you think that sounds like hyperbole, just exaggerating. But this is not without qualification, but there is proof behind this figure, he cites his reasons: For the lord God is a Sun He provides light in a world of shadowy half-truths, and a shield he is able to protect us from a hostile situations and circumstances. God withholds no good thing from those who love him. And so why would you want to be anywhere else but his presence. Why would you waste your time living in the tents of wickedness, which as we heard last week are on very shaky ground. The tents are temporary structures, but the house of God endures.

We also, as we head towards Zion need to remember the facts. We need to measure the weight of Glory, and test for ourselves how light any worldly pleasure would be by comparison. If we are to keep going in our pilgrimage, or even set foot on the road for the first time, we need to remind ourselves of what God is like. The psalmist sees the faithfulness of God, the way that he is a Sun and a Shield to those who follow him, and concludes he would rather be a doorkeeper in Gods house than have anything the wicked could offer. How much more can we! God did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? By faith in Christ we are adopted as Sons and Daughters, we can have an inheritance that will never spoil or fade! So why would we want to stay anywhere but Zion?

The one of the best things about being a citizen of Zion is that we have nothing to lose now, we are only resident aliens in our current time and place, the best is yet to come. Maybe our friends will worry that we’re not getting the most out of life, wonder why we seem to be settling for obscurity rather than academic fame. Why we are content with hardship while sharing Jesus and showing his love. Why are we happy as mere doorkeepers in the house of God? The psalmist knows why. He can testify that a day in God’s presence is better than a thousand elsewhere. Completely incomparable to every passing thing. Truly: Blessed is the one who trusts in you!