Who Needs to Be in the House of God?

All right, well, please follow along as I read Psalm 27.

We receive God's word trusting that it is inspired by him.

! It's breathed out by the Holy Spirit.

And it is the sword of the Spirit in his hand, so to speak.

It's sharper than any two-edged sword, and it pierces through to man's heart.

We ask that he will do that today.

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life.

Of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh,

my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell.

Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.

Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.

One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek.

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion.

In the secret place of his tabernacle he shall hide me.

He shall set me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies, all around me.

Therefore, I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tabernacle.

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice.

Have mercy also upon me and answer me.

When you said, seek my face, my heart said to you,

your face, Lord, I will seek.

Do not hide your face from me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger.

You have been my help.

Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.

When my father and mother forsake me,

then the Lord will take care of me.

Teach me your way, O Lord,

and lead me in a smooth path because of my enemies.

Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries.

For false witnesses have risen against me

and such as breathe out violence.

I would have lost heart unless I had believed

that I would see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord.

Be of good courage,

and he shall strengthen your heart.

Wait, I say, on the Lord.

The word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Please be seated.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of the Lord stands forever.

Lord, please pray with me.

Oh, Lord, we pray that you will please give us

a glimpse of your majesty,

your glory, your goodness.

Lord, by the ministry and the intercession

of Jesus Christ,

whose body was torn like the veil,

please give us access into the secret place

of your tabernacle,

into the holy of holies,

where your glory dwells, Lord.

Teach us to receive you by faith today.

We ask this, Lord, for Christ's sake alone.

Amen.

A father's house is where he rests,

where he retreats with his family,

where he protects and teaches his children,

and where he welcomes, serves,

and feasts with his close friends.

The house is a special place.

When you get invited over to someone else's house,

it's a sign of love, trust, and honor

to be invited as a guest,

to be in the place where your close friend dwells.

We read in Psalm 27 another Psalm of David.

We don't have any other firm indications

of the exact occasion,

but we do know from our study of 1 Samuel

that David was often homeless,

and we could imagine when he was in the cave

and hiding in darkness,

outside of the kingdom,

on earth,

he was very homesick,

and his heart was not there,

not in the land of the Philistines.

His heart was in the land that God had promised

to be in the presence where God promised

to rule over and be with his people.

Psalm 27, David confesses

that homesickness in his heart.

Would you look at verse 4?

He's homesick for one thing

above all others.

He says in verse 4,

One thing I have desired of the Lord,

that I will seek,

that I may dwell

in the house of the Lord.

We'd never dream of asking for that

if it weren't for the Spirit

breathing those words out.

But this is so fitting,

this revelation

of who God is

according to all of his word.

You and I, like David,

we are weak, aren't we?

We're broken.

And Jesus said,

I came exactly for you,

for you who are sick

and weak.

He came for those who are fatherless

and hopeless.

We who are most needy

in that moment of our greatest need,

we best reflect

the mercy,

the grace,

and the power

of God

who came to seek

and save us

who were lost

and hopeless without him.

So my prayer today

is that the Spirit

will help us

as we walk through

verse by verse

Psalm 27

with four encouragements

for people like you and me

answering this question,

the title of our sermon,

Who needs to be

in the house of God?

Who needs to be

in the house

of God?

Number one,

we whose hearts

tend to fear,

we need to be

in the house of God.

We whose hearts

tend to fear

need to be

in the house

of God.

Look at verse one.

The Lord is my light

and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is

the strength

of my life.

Of whom

shall I be

afraid?

I loved how Jeremiah

pointed out

in our Bible study

this morning,

the Lord is my light

and he exposes

all that we are

and we should be afraid

but we know also

in that the same

holy God

whose light is so bright

exposing everything

in us,

he is also

our salvation.

And that great fear

of God

and reverence

and trust in him

as our Savior

leaves no room

in our hearts

to fear man.

Of whom shall we

be afraid

compared to God?

Confesses our weakness.

God himself

is the strength

of my life.

I have no strength

on my own.

God is all my strength.

Who shall

I be afraid of?

He says next,

when the wicked

came against me,

he's referring to this

in the past tense,

looking back,

the wicked

came against me

and he says

something very surprising

in Hebrew poetry,

they came

to eat my flesh.

We don't know

historically

of cannibals

in this land

but that's how it felt.

They're coming like

ravenous wolves

or beasts

and jackals

that are going to

try to devour

and eat up his flesh.

That's what the enemies

were like.

It's a terrifying thought.

Saul,

my enemies,

my foes,

looking back

against God's power,

they stumbled

and fell.

Saul was one

of those enemies

and he couldn't

lead a campaign

against David

without stumbling

all over themselves

and looking foolish

and ultimately

that's how the kingdom

of Saul

is described,

a fallen kingdom,

echoing the fallen

state of mankind

under the first king,

Adam,

pointing to our need

for a much greater king

who will not fall

and that's our Lord

Jesus Christ.

In verse 3 he says,

though an army

may encamp against me,

now he's looking forward.

It's a hypothetical threat

in the future.

This is a terrifying thing

for someone

who's going to be receiving

the responsibility

of protecting

as king over a people

and to encamp

against a nation

is to besiege them.

It's like a cold war.

We're going to bring

our troops

all the way around

the walls of their city.

We're not going to let

anything come in

or anything come out

until they starve.

They're under siege.

And he says,

if that were to happen,

my heart shall not fear.

Well, what if it gets out

of that cold war?

He says,

though war may arise

against me.

And so now they're

no longer just waiting

and watching us starve

and get weak.

Now they're attacking us.

It's war that's broken out

against God's people.

David says,

in this I will be confident.

The same truth about God.

God remains the same.

He is still my light.

He is still my salvation.

My heart shall not fear

even then

because the Lord

is the strength

of my life.

David's describing

the fear of his heart

in a very real way.

He sensed this fear

welling up.

The wicked are coming

after him

and he can even fear

things that haven't even

happened yet in the future.

But what truth

did the Lord minister

to David

in the midst

of those fears?

He said,

David,

I've been strong

for you in the past.

I've protected you.

I've caused your

enemies' plans

to falter

before

and I will do this again.

And then what did

the Lord lead David

to respond with?

He said,

David,

when your fears

are welling up

and you're wanting

to look out there

at the world,

at men,

remember

who I am.

Look at me instead.

And the response

from David then

of this truth

of who God is,

he says in verse 3,

my heart

shall not fear.

To me,

it reads like he's saying,

I do fear now,

but the Lord

is leading me

to trust

him

and who he is

that my heart

at least eventually

shall not fear.

I will trust

in the Lord's

victory

and I will find

comfort

in the presence

of God.

I will be reminded

over and over

of who God is

and what he has done,

his wondrous works

and the Lord

will work into me

a confidence

in him

that pushes out

my natural fear

of man.

Where is it

that David

would get these

reminders

of who God is

and the great works

of God?

The language

in this whole psalm

is,

it's like a man

in exile

pushed out,

but he's,

at least in his mind

and his soul

and his heart,

he's remembering

the worship

in the house of God

that's the theme

of the psalm.

He's approaching

the Lord

as if it were

through the old

covenant ceremonial laws.

Richard Sibbes,

one of the Puritans,

made this comment,

for the Jews,

there was one

national congregation

and only one place,

only one tabernacle,

only one holy of holies

where you could have

communion with God.

But now,

through Jesus Christ,

God has

has made Jesus

himself

the holy of holies,

the place where God

meets with sinners

and calls us

righteous and clean

and pardoned

and safe in Christ.

And Jesus said,

where you gather

in my name,

in me,

there the Lord

dwells with you.

God has erected

tabernacles

all over the world,

particular churches.

Richard Sibbes

went on to say,

the tabernacle

or house of God

now

are the visible churches.

These same places

are where

the means of salvation

are ministered

over and over again.

This is where

God's people

in the new covenant

receive Christ

through his word.

It's where we hear

reminders of the

wondrous works of God.

We hear reminders

of who God is

and what he promises

to us as people.

It's where

the church gathers

and we picture

the gospel

through baptism

and we celebrate

the gospel

visible at the Lord's

Supper

when we gather

in his name.

Every true

local church

is now

a house of God

where God dwells

with his people

and where he meets us.

So like David,

we whose hearts

also tend

to fear

in this world,

we love to be

in the house

of God.

We love to be

reminded together

of who God is,

what he has done,

and what he promises.

Number two,

who needs to be

in the house of God?

Not only we

who tend to fear,

but also we

who experience

times of trouble.

We need to be

in the house of God.

We who experience

times of trouble

need to be

in the house of God.

In verse four,

David goes on to say,

One thing I have

desired of the Lord

that I will seek,

that I may dwell

in the house

of the Lord

all the days

of my life.

Why, David?

Why do you want

to be there?

To behold

the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire

in his temple.

Verse five,

For in the time

of trouble,

he shall hide me

in the pavilion,

in his secret place

of his tabernacle.

There he shall hide me.

He shall set me

as up high

upon a rock.

This is describing

a man who's been hunted

in the wilderness,

away from home.

He has no place

where he can go

that he knows

he will be safe.

But yet he's trusting

that if God

had nowhere else

to tuck David away

and hide him

from his enemies,

the Lord would put him

in the Holy of Holies.

That place where

a sinner like David

has no right to be.

The Lord would do that

to keep his servants safe.

And think of this

wonderful foreshadowing.

David is reflecting

upon the pavilion

of the Lord,

the tabernacle

that is lifted up

according to the regulations

God gave through Moses

and Mount Sinai

to all the people

of Israel

for them to follow.

This is how you will

worship the Lord

and this is how you will

approach the Holy God.

And we're told

that Moses was given

these instructions,

every detail

about the tabernacle,

following the pattern

of heaven.

It's the pattern

of God's plan

to redeem his people

from all time.

The tabernacle

was a shadow,

the book of Hebrews

tells us,

of the future work

of Jesus Christ.

It's a pattern

of the Lamb of God,

Jesus Christ.

The book of Revelation

said Jesus was slain

as that Lamb

before the foundations

of the world.

This is what

the tabernacle

was ministering

by faith

to men like David

and Moses

and all those

who would worship

the one true God

under the old covenant

ceremonial law.

And in David's

times of trouble,

that's where

he wants to be.

He wants to be

in the tabernacle

of the Lord.

He says there

in verse 5,

He shall set me up,

up high upon a rock.

That will be my fortress.

That spiritual meeting place

where the Lord

himself

and his presence

will be my shield.

Verse 6,

he says,

now my head

shall be lifted up

above my enemies

all around me.

He feels hunted down now.

He feels like

he has to be like,

you know,

like a beast

of the field

that goes into hiding

and finds a hole

in the ground

to not get devoured.

But there,

the Lord will

lift him up,

head above

all of his other enemies

that want to kill him.

And his response,

it comes next

in verse 6,

I will offer

sacrifices of joy

in his tabernacle.

I will sing,

yes,

I will sing praises

to the Lord.

Verse 7,

Hear, O Lord,

when I cry with my voice,

have mercy also upon me

and answer me.

All of this,

David is crying out

to the Lord,

at least spiritually.

He's with the Lord

as if it were

in the Holy of Holies

in the tabernacle.

But it's in the midst

of times of trouble.

Times of trouble

are moments

when we feel

so overwhelmed

that we start

to misinterpret

current frustrations

as if they are going

to be permanent

threats on us.

We've been through that,

many of you,

maybe even this week.

I feel like

I cannot go on

one more day

with this level

of intensity,

this much trouble

and frustration.

And in my mind,

I can start to think

there's no light

at the end of this tunnel.

There's no end to it.

We can see this

sometimes more easily

in others.

If you work with children,

you'll notice a child

that's,

they're just stuck

in that mode of despair.

Fight,

flight,

or freeze.

And they just

can't get out of it.

Nothing seems to be able

to pull them

to a place of safety.

Maybe you know a person

and just seems stuck

in that for a while

like a doom loop

where they just,

you know,

one answer is going

to be met

by another refutation

and there's no hope,

there's no good answer

that I can give this brother

or this sister.

They're stuck.

Those are times of trouble

that we understand as well.

Verse 6 implies

that David's head

was drooping down.

And in this trouble,

when he's low,

what did the Lord

minister to David?

He says in verse 5,

the Lord shall hide me

in his pavilion.

Come to my house, David.

Come within my walls.

Come be in the secret place

of my tabernacle.

It will be your rock,

your fortress.

In the holy of holies,

a place of intimate proximity,

communion with the Lord.

Not only will David

be kept safe there,

what's more,

we're told in verse 4,

while you're safe with me

in my presence, David,

you will behold

my beauty there.

There, David says,

I will behold

the beauty

or the delightfulness

of God.

God.

This commentary

was helpful to me.

The beauty

of the Lord

to be seen

in his house

in this life,

in the tabernacle,

in the old covenant,

in the church today.

It is not the beauty

of the essence

of God

as if we could see

God who is spirit

with our own

physical eyes.

No man can see God

and live,

Exodus 33 tells us.

And it's before

this essential glory

of God

that the angels

have to cover

their faces

with their wings

as Isaiah 6 describes.

So what is

the beauty

of the Lord?

The beauty

of the Lord

is a revelation

of who he is

and what he has done

through his word.

It's the truth

of God

as our redeemer.

This is ministered

to us

through the word,

through the sacraments,

baptism in the Lord's Supper

within his church,

within the house

of God today.

There with the eyes

of faith

by the ministry

of the Spirit,

he enlightens to us

his goodness,

his justice,

his love,

and his mercy

in Jesus Christ.

This is the beauty

of God

that he ministers

to us by faith.

And when God

brings David there

for safety

and to behold

his beauty,

how does God

lead David

to respond?

In verse 4

we read that

the Lord

replaced David's fears

with this great

overriding desire.

That one thing

above all others

that I desire,

that I will seek,

it's to dwell

here

in the house

of the Lord.

The Lord

led David

to inquire

in his temple,

to be around God,

to hear

more of God,

like wave

after wave

from the ocean,

like all of the

sand of the shore,

the beauty of God,

it's immeasurable.

We'll never get

to the bottom of it.

I want inquire

of the Lord.

I want more

and more of him

in his house.

In verse 6,

the Lord led David

therefore to respond

with sacrifices

of joy

in God's tabernacle.

He says,

I will sing,

yes,

I will sing praises

to the Lord.

The Lord

leads his people

like David

to cry out,

desiring this

from God

and praying

that God

will hear us

in return.

Verse 7,

Hear, O Lord,

when I cry

with my voice,

have mercy upon me,

answer me.

It's a communion

with God

that's reciprocal.

The Lord reveals

who he is to us.

We respond

with joy.

He says,

Hear me, Lord,

when I cry to mercy

and let me know

that you have heard

my prayer.

In times of trouble,

in Jesus Christ,

according to Hebrews 10,

we need to remember

that through the ministry

of our Lord Jesus,

we too approach

with boldness

our holy God

in the holy of holies

by the blood of Jesus,

by a new and living way

which he has consecrated

for us

through the veil

that is his flesh

and we have him,

Jesus Christ,

as our high priest

over the house of God

and so through Christ

we draw near

with a true heart

in full assurance

of faith.

In Jesus Christ,

brothers and sisters,

we find the mercy of God.

In Jesus Christ,

we behold the beauty

of our creator.

Our Lord Jesus

heals his people

from our fear

and he stirs in us

a response of joy.

So we who know

times of trouble,

we love to be

in the house of God

in the midst

of those troubles.

There's nowhere else

we want to be.

This is the one place

we desire

because here

God's people

celebrate Christ's

sacrifice for us

with joy.

When we gather

in his name

as a church,

we shout

and we sing

like we do

nowhere else.

we remember

our Lord

in praises

and songs

that magnify

who he is to us.

In our trouble,

we need to be

in the house

of the Lord.

Who else needs

to be in the house

of the Lord?

Number three,

we who know

what it is

to feel abandoned,

we need to be

in the house

of the Lord.

We who know

what it is

to feel

abandoned

or rejected,

we need to be

in the house

of the Lord.

In verse 8,

David says,

When you said,

seek my face,

my heart said to you,

your face,

Lord,

I will seek.

Do not hide

your face from me.

Do not turn

your servant away

in anger,

for you have been

my help.

Do not leave me

nor forsake me,

O God of my salvation.

In verse 10,

he describes

what it would be like

if God were

to forsake him.

We know that David

had a father,

Jesse,

who seems to have

feared the Lord,

so David was not

a literal orphan,

but David knew

rejection.

And many of us

know rejection

and abandonment.

Even some of the

physiological symptoms

of trauma

or rejection

that a person

has suffered

in childhood

still affect us

as adults.

The pain of

rejection

lingers.

David compares

the rejection

that he had

experienced

to the most

powerful imagery

available,

to being an

orphan child.

And he cries out

in verse 9,

Do not

turn your servant

away,

Lord,

in anger.

Do not leave me

nor forsake me.

He had seen

Saul rise up

against God

and Saul

rejected God

as the king

over the people

and the Lord

rejected Saul

as king.

David says,

Lord,

please don't do

that.

Don't reject

or forsake me.

He said,

when my father

and mother

forsake me,

I know that

even then,

Lord,

that's not who

you are.

You will still

take care of me.

The Lord

ministers

to David

in that time

of abandonment

and feeling

rejected.

in verse 8,

God says,

seek my face.

It's like God

says to David

and to you

and me,

dear child,

like we would

to one of our

own children

that we love,

look me in the

eyes.

Turn your face

to me.

Seek my face.

I remember

as part of

training to

become a

foster parent,

you learn

about the

powerful connection

between a

child and

their parent

or an

adoptive parent.

And the

child that's

been abandoned

or neglected

has serious

trauma that

they've experienced

even on their

whole nervous

system.

But when a

parent holds

that child,

no matter the

age of the

child and

lets them

have face-to-face

communication

and connection

with the

parent,

the Lord

somehow ministers

a healing

there.

Through eye

contact,

facial expression,

warm words,

warm tone,

the parent

contributes to

the healing

of a

profoundly

traumatized

person.

The face

of the

adoptive

parent,

it helps

to regulate

the nervous

system of

that orphaned

child.

Face-to-face

connection

reassures

that person

they are

safe,

they are

loved,

they are

cared for.

You see,

the kindness

of God

in calling

David,

calling you

and me,

seek my

face,

commune

with me.

And how

does David

respond?

See,

God initiates

it,

seek my

face,

David,

and then

David responds

by saying,

Lord,

your face

I will

seek.

I love

Thomas Goodwin's

comment here.

God speaking,

telling us

to seek

God,

to pray

to God,

is such

as his

speech first

was.

Think of

the very

first words

God ever

said when

he made

the world.

He said,

let there be

light and

there was

light.

So here

God says,

let there be

prayer and

there is

prayer.

That is,

he pours

upon a

person,

a spirit

of grace

and supplication,

a praying

spirit.

He heats

up and

enlarges

our affections

with a

longing

to be

alone

with God,

to pour

out the

soul to

God.

And God

does this

in his

children

that he's

adopted

until you

and I

commune

with him

in prayer.

His

encouragement

is when

the Lord

is doing

that to

you,

through

whatever

means it

takes,

causing

you to

seek

the face

of your

creator.

Observe

such times

and do

it.

Don't

neglect

it.

Strike

while the

iron is

hot.

This is

a special

opportunity.

God

has called

you to

seek his

face.

It's

God's

fatherly

love and

care that

lead David

to desire

and to

ask for

more of

this

communion

with God.

In

verse 9,

he asks

do not

hide

your

face

from

me.

The

Lord

has

taught

David

that

he

is

trustworthy.

The

Lord

has

taught

David

that

he

will

not

abandon

him.

Instead,

the

Lord

does

for

David

what

he

does

for you

and

me.

As a

loving

father,

he

causes

us

to

commune

with

God,

to walk

with

God.

And

the

response

in

verse

11 is

David

says,

teach

me

your

way,

Lord.

Show

me

how

so

when

you

and

I

also

feel

abandoned,

rejected,

or

forsaken,

Jesus

Christ

draws

near

to

us.

Remember

his

words

in

John

14

18

that

we

read

a

moment

ago.

Jesus

said,

will

not

leave

you

as

orphans.

I

will

give

you

my

Holy

Spirit.

He

will

keep

you

near

me,

near

my

father

until

that

day

when

I

come

back

for

you

again.

Our

Lord

calls

us

his

children.

He

reminds

us

that

we

belong

in

his

family.

He

is

near.

We

are

safely

held

by

him,

our

loving

father,

and

he

leads

us

on.

Our

Lord

teaches

us

his

way,

and

he

does

this

through

his

church,

through

the

house

of

God.

1

Timothy

3

15,

the

house

of

God

is

the

church

of

the

living

God.

It's

the

pillar

and

ground

truth.

We

who

know

what

it

is

to

feel

abandoned,

we

love

to

be

in

the

house

of

God

for

this

reason

too.

It's

here

in

the

house

of

God

where

his

people

seek

his

space.

It's

here

where

the

Lord

stirs

up

our

hearts

to

pray,

to

hear

from

him,

and

to

commune

with

him

as

his

children.

Well,

fourth and

finally for

today,

we

who

know

that

on our

own,

we

would

lose

heart.

We

need

to

be

in

the

house

of

God.

We

who

know

that

on

our

own,

if

left

to

our

own

strength,

we

would

despair,

we

would

lose

heart,

we

would

give

up

on

this

Christian

walk.

We

need

to

be

in

the

house

of

God,

don't

we?

Look

at

verse

13.

David

confesses,

I

would

have

lost

heart

unless

I

have

believed

that

I

would

see

the

goodness

of

the

Lord

in

the

land

of

the

living.

David

says,

I'm

weak.

My

faith

is

weak.

But

it's

this

promise

from

the

Lord

that

what

my

soul

experiences

now

by

faith,

I

will

get

to

know

this

fully

one

day.

I

will

see

the

goodness

of

the

Lord

in

the

land

of

the

living.

But

he

says,

I'm

not

in

the

land

of

the

living

yet.

So

what's

the

opposite

of

the

land

of

the

living?

It's

the

land

of

the

dying.

There's

either

this

age

or

the

age

to

come.

We're

not

yet

in

the

age

to

come,

the

land

of

the

!

We're

still

in

this

present

evil

age,

what

scripture

calls

it.

And

in

this

time,

verse 14,

David

instructs

God's

people

under

the

inspiration

of

the

Holy

Spirit,

wait

on

the

Lord,

be

of

good

courage,

and

he

shall

strengthen

your

heart.

Wait,

I say,

on

the

Lord.

David

is

confessing

that

the

people

of

God

are

weak

people,

but

the

Lord

loves

to

minister

his

strength

to

weak

people

like

you

and

me.

Here's

the

truth

that

David

receives

and

preaches

to

us.

Unless

we

believe

that

we

will

see

the

goodness

of

the

Lord

one

day

in

the

eternal

state,

we

will

lose

heart

in

this

life.

There

will

be

no

hope.

We

should

despair

if

we

don't

have

that

promise

and

we

know

it's

ours

in

Jesus.

You

will

see

God

in

the

land

of

the

living

one

day.

And

the

Lord

will

use

that

promise

to

strengthen

your

heart

and

mine.

How

did

the

Lord

lead

David

to

respond

in

these

verses?

be

of

good

courage.

Wait

on

the

Lord.

The

Lord

will

strengthen

your

heart.

You

wait

on

the

Lord

believing

in

this

hope.

Believe

in

this

one

thing

for

which

God

is

preserving

you

until

the

very

end.

You

wait

until

you

get

to

the

top

and

you

can

look

back

and

see

all

of