As we look at this psalm, and this is an interesting psalm because rather than written by David, this is a psalm of one of the temple workers. This is a priestly psalm. So for the most part, his whole life has been dedicated to serving God in the tabernacle and to serving the people of God. And therefore, he's not worked in the fields, he doesn't go to battle, but he understands what God has provided for his people in the place of worship. I want to look at four main thoughts as we look at these twelve verses. First, we will look at the significance of physical temporal structures as it relates to serving and knowing God. Secondly, we will look at the substance or the symbols and the rituals associated with that physical place. Thirdly, we will look at what is communicated to the people of God when they are away from this physical structure. And then fourthly, we will see how all of these things point to Christ. The substance of it is fulfilled in Christ and what is portrayed in the temple. And therefore, it is the comfort of God's people even as they are away from physical structures. So let's first look at the significance of the tabernacle. Not just the tabernacle, but the physical structures because the tabernacle itself was the place that had been prescribed by God as the place of worship. It was not only the place of worship, but it was also the resting place of the ark of the covenant which itself was a physical symbol of God's presence among his covenant people. Now, of course, we know that both the ark and the tabernacle itself were waiting for a greater structure. There would eventually be a temple that would be built, but what is true of the temple later is also true of the tabernacle. One of the reasons that's important is even to correct or not to correct, but certainly it fleshes out something that David need to get an understanding of. Remember, when David desired to build a temple to the Lord, he was concerned because he saw that the ark of the covenant was dwelling in a mere tent as he saw it compared to his own palace as the king. And the idea was God certainly deserves the best. And so if therefore the dwelling place of God ought to reflect the grandeur and the greatness of God, and the Lord says that's okay and he does allow his son to build the temple, but one of the things that is repeated throughout in the New Testament because the trap of thinking that David himself fell into was that God is a one-to-one correlation to physical structures in God. Apart from the fact that God called the place his dwelling place, and apart from the fact this is the place that God designated for his people to meet with him, somehow there was this idea that if in this place we are safe, there's no harm that can fall before us, and this is where God lives. This is the reason both Stephen and Paul in the New Testament make the point in the book of Acts that God does not dwell in temples. The ontological God does not dwell in temples made by physical hands. However, he does allow physical structures as a meeting place for he and his people. And I say that's significant because certainly during the final years of Israel's reign as a theocracy, part of their failure was to think that they could live any kind of way outside of the temple and then just run to the temple as a safe place. Because no one would get them in the temple and so the Lord even through the prophets, he says, you say the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, we're safe, no one can do us any harm. And he says, you don't understand. Remember Shiloh and his point there, of course, Shiloh was the place where the Lord first allowed the covenant to dwell and eventually he allowed it to be overthrown. And likewise with the temple, God does allow the Babylonians to overthrow the temple and later in the after the New Testament period God allows the Roman Empire to overthrow the temple. So with all of its structure, with all of its beauty, with all of its splendor, the later the temple is still not the dwelling place of God. And so therefore the temple and the tabernacle are physical structures that God allows his people to meet with him in. Now I point this out because even though God gives us these structures, one of the things that we will see is that the writers of this psalm are not saying that they long for a physical place as much as they are really longing for the presence of God and recognizing the presence of God. In other words, when he says that he would rather dwell in the house of the Lord, it's in the presence of God. It's not just the physical house, it's the idea that God who is everywhere, that's what the temple portrays, that the invisible everywhere God who is, his presence is all encompassing, he chooses a particular place where he meets with his people. He sees his presence, the expression of his greatness is manifest in his creation but in the tabernacle, in the holy place, in the place that God has designated, he reveals something about himself that is not revealed in the rest of the created order. Therefore the psalm opens with that wonderful statement how lovely is your tabernacle. He is not, the admiration is not so much for the physical structure because as we pointed out, David acknowledges that the tabernacle itself was what we would call a mean structure, it was not, it wasn't a place of beauty and comparison to what the temple would be. Rather his adoration, when he says how lovely is your tabernacle, his admiration is really for, and his admiration and awe is really at the presence and person of God, whom he says in verse 10, or in verse 10, he says, for a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord when the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. So he is not, again, referring to the security and the comfort of a physical structure because men are certainly ingenious. We know that for every physical structure that can't be broken into, made by men, some men is finding a way to break into it. And certainly even as we have seen in our own experience, we saw it even most recently in Pittsburgh that in the synagogue, in a place of worship, there is not necessarily physical safety, there is great harm that can come to the people of God. And the same thing we saw a few years ago in South Carolina, in the house of God, there can be even in that physical structure, there can be physical threat. So the writer, when he talks about the safety and the security of the temple of the Lord, he's not talking about a physical structure as much as he is talking about the presence of the God who meets with his people in that structure. The idea is there is comfort, there is encouragement in the house of God as it reminds us of God's tabernacling among and with his people. So therefore, rather than speaking of the comforts of God's physical house, the point of reference is the comforts that are experienced by God's covenant people in His promises, in His faithfulness. And in those things that are communicated by the furnishings, the rituals, and all of those things that are associated with the temple. The temple was of great significance to the people of God because as the Psalmist says in verse 2, he says, my soul, longs, yes, even thanks for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh cry out to the living God. And it is actually the presence of the living God that he is longing for more than just a physical place. And so the idea is that there is something of great significance that should be taking place in the temple of God or in the tabernacle of God reminding people or His worshippers of the real person of God. Brothers and sisters, I think that this is a problem, as we see in the New Testament, it's a problem that is still with us with people. That somehow we have a false sense of security because of our fixation on location. But what the writer is speaking of here is not, I just want to be in this sanctuary, but this sanctuary is supposed to communicate to me, the presence of God, the continual presence and protection of God for His people even when they are not in the sanctuary, which brings us to the second thing. And that is what is actually conveyed in the sanctuary or in the tabernacle. And so we will therefore look at three things that are really communicated in the sanctuary of the tabernacle and later the temple. And these three things are really expressed through rituals, through furnishings, through offices and so forth. But three things that are really conveyed here. Number one is the justice of God, the justice of God. The justice of God is on display in the tabernacle because of the altar. I love that I often cite this when Dr. Bob Gottfrey spoke here. I think, no, not here, it was someplace else we heard him preach and he was preaching on Psalm 73, the Psalm of ASAF, where he says, my feet almost stumbled. I know that God is good to Israel, but for me my feet almost stumbled. And he says, because I looked at the wicked and they were prospering and I looked at the people of God and they were suffering. And he says, and how could this thing be? And then he says, and then he says, and I almost said, I almost let it come out of my mouth. He says, but then I went to your temple. And in your temple, he says, you know, then I understood that the ways of the wicked are on slippery ground. And Bob Gottfrey, as he opened up that passage, he says, why is it that, what is it that he saw in the temple that let him know that the wicked will be judged? And he says, all these probably saw was a bloody altar. And the altar was a statement that, yes, as God has received the sacrifice of his covenant people, it will not be the blood of the covenant people that will demand it, or will be demanded on the day of judgment, it will be the blood of the wicked. So certainly we ought to, and I think when we speak of the justice of God, we're talking about his law. And so in the sanctuary of the temple, in the sanctuary of the tapernacle, in the sanctuary of the people of God when we gather in that place that he is designated to meet with his people, certainly something about God's justice ought to be on display. It's carried in the law of God, that God is a just God. And there is nothing that he will not judge. Everything that he has required, he will have people, people will have to give an account. And so certainly the just justice of God is on display in the tapernacle, but not only the justice of God, but also the holiness of God. Look at everything that has to take place, even in Old Testament rituals and worship, everything that had to take place. The priests didn't just get up in the morning and say, oh, it's time for me to go and start the service. No, they had to go through cleansing rituals. They had to dress themselves in a particular way. The people were separated by courts. The women at one place, the men at another. The outsiders, later with the building of the temple, there was a court for the strangers. And then they could go no further at a certain point, where only the priests could come in. And then behind the veil, only the high priests. And he couldn't come in any day of the week. He could only come in one day out of the year. And even that one day, he had to, there were rituals that he had to perform because the God who is just is also holy. And so we see even after the dedication of the tapernacle, the sons of Aaron, they dab in a bayou. You remember them that when they offered the initial offerings to the Lord and the Lord received their offerings and their dedication, they were excited and the people were excited. And they poured out their hearts before the Lord in worship and in tears as their worship was received by God. And they dab in a bayou. They saw how the people were moved. And a few verses later, then we see this wonderful statement or a terrifying statement actually. And they dab in a bayou offered strange fire. Or as some translations put it, they offered unauthorized sacrifice. And why did they do it? Probably because they liked the effect. They liked the effect of the people that, hey, if I push this button, that happened. It happened once. I'll push it again. You know what happened to them, right? They went into the hall of fame of worship. No, what happened to them is God struck them dead. And then when Aaron, this was the father, he was getting ready to say something. And Moses's brother intercepted, hey, hey, hey, easy, easy. And God says through Moses, he says, I will be holy. And I will be presented as holy by those who represent me. And so there was something in their activity that somehow upskilled all that God had given in terms of the regulations, that portrayed the holiness of his own character, as well as the holiness that he requires of his covenant people. Somehow it got lost in translation, and they got stuck in just doing stuff. So God's justice should be on display in the tabernacle. And certainly God's holiness is on display in the tabernacle. God's holiness is on display in those things that he portrays, in those things that he allows the rituals that take place, those things that the purifying, the offering's God's holiness is holy character is on display. Every time we see a glimpse of the heavenly presence, even especially in the Old Testament, what is signaled is the holiness of God. Isaiah 6, Moses, when they institute the Lord's supper, or they confirm and ratify the covenant, and the Lord takes the elders with Moses up to the top of the mountain, and the scripture says that they saw God. And what is portrayed, the ultimate holiness of God, they saw something that ordinary human eyes don't see. And so God is portrayed in should be portrayed. The tabernacle is the place that he chooses to meet with his people, and you can substitute that with temple, and you can substitute that with church sanctuaries. But God meets with his people in these physical structures, and these physical structures are places, points of contact with his people. The unseen God allows himself to, allows access to himself through these places, these portals, if you would, in time and space where he meets with his people. Yes, the heavens declare the glory of God, but the sanctuary shows forth his justice. Yes, the heavens declare the glories of God, but the sanctuary declares his holiness. But not only is God's holiness on display in his sanctuary, God's grace is also on display in his sanctuary. The same altar that portrays God's justice as the place where the victim will be judged is also the place where the sinner is pardoned. You see where the animal dies, and the offering and the sacrifice is accepted, then that means the sinner is accepted. And we see this even in the Psalm, because the Psalm is declared that I can pray to you. He says I can, I come to you, and then later, well, in fact, in verse 8, he says, oh, Lord, God of hosts, hear my prayer. And why should the God, the Lord of hosts, why should he hear the prayers of the sinner? Because of that altar where the justice of God of God has fallen upon a victim. Because of the rituals that God has appointed, where he has not only allowed us access into his holy presence, but also he cleanses the people that he accepts. So therefore, God who is holy and the God who is just is also the God who is gracious. So he says, hear me, and then he says, behold our God and our shield, oh, God, look on the face of your anointed. Remember Moses, when after the golden calf, he asked, go, and he asked the Lord, Lord, let me see your glory. And Lord says, Lord, you Moses, you know no man can see my glory and live. Well, what we get in the tabernacle, what we get in the designated place through the symbols, the rituals that he has appointed, is a glimpse of the glory of the most high God. We don't see it full on, but we see it in that designated place by God himself. So therefore, the significance of the tabernacle is that it's the place that God decides to meet with his people. But having considered the significance of the tabernacle, what takes place in the tabernacle, what makes it significant, what makes it a place of healing is what God reveals in it. And what God reveals is His holiness, His justice, and His grace towards His people. And hold in mind all of those things that are in there, which by the way, the writer of Hebrews says that all of these things that were in the earthly tabernacles were types and shadows or following the pattern of a heavenly reality. So therefore, this sanctuary of the most high God, the authors, the rituals, all of these things. And in addition to that, also the mediator, because he says you're anointed one. And here, probably referring to the office of the priesthood, since the author himself is of the tribe of Levi, that it is probably referring to those. In fact, he not only speaks of those who, of his anointed, but he also speaks of singing before the Lord. In fact, in verse 4, blessed are those who dwell in your house ever singing your praise. And that certainly is a picture of heaven, isn't it, where we are told that the angels are crying out before the author of the Lord. Holy, holy, holy is Lord. So who is it that's singing the praises of God forever in His presence? Well, we know that all of the rest of the tribes are in the fields, they're in their homes, but they are represented by the tribe of Levi. And so therefore, there's always someone in the presence of the Lord, ministering to Him on behalf of His people, and ministering to the people on behalf of this great God. So we see not only the significance of the structure, but the furnishings, the rituals, and everything that takes place in the structure are also intended to be a source of encouragement, and a source of instruction for the people of God about the God who is worshiped in this structure. But that brings us to a third thing, and that is the stabilizing and edifying effects of actually worshiping in the tabernacle. What should come if we know that the tabernacle or the temple or the sanctuary is the place that God has appointed for worship, and we know that in it through the rituals and the furnishings and the things that take place that God's holy character, God's justice and God's grace are on display, then what effect should these have on the people of God when they are not in the tabernacle? Three things in particular. One, we see this in verse five, that the people of God should be strengthened by knowing God. The people of God should be strengthened by knowing God, and the inference is, you know God through what is communicated about Him in the place that He is designated to meet with Him. In verse five, He says, bless it or those who strengthen is in you and whose heart are the highways of Zion. So something about being in the very presence of God should strengthen the people when they are outside of the sanctuary, if for no other reason they are reminded that unlike the pagans. Remember the pagans, they were teasing the Israelites because they said, your God is a God of the lowlands, but He can't reach us up here in the highlands. That's one of the reasons the Israelites continue to have a problem with the high places. They were just not convinced that because where they dwelt was in a lower place, even though we talk about Mount Zion, which was really sort of a hill, not really a huge mountain, but the city of Jerusalem was not on top of a mountain. And so therefore they felt they needed, oh, we have the God of the highlands. And so the people of Israel sometimes they would forget that He's the God of everywhere. And so therefore they fell into the trap of building altars in high places, trying to influence God, not knowing that if you know Him as He's revealed Himself in the sanctuary, then you know that He's in everywhere God. That's what David gets. In Psalms 139, he says, where can I go to escape your presence? You are in everywhere God. He says, if I took wings and flew to the uttermost parts of the heaven, you are there. And if I made my bed in hell, you are there. So what should be communicated in the services, in the tabernacle, through the symbols, through the rituals, in the place that God has designated, what should be communicated to His people for their good is they are strengthened by the knowledge of God, strengthened by the knowledge that there is no place that we can go that He is not. So if we encounter difficulties along the way, if we encounter trials, if we encounter storms along the way, the fact of the storm is not because of the absence of God. This is what Job's friends needed to get. Oh Job, you need to get the Lord back in your life. God never leaves the lives of those that He's in covenant with. So the knowledge of God is communicated and that should be a strengthening for the people of God. That's why we can be encouraged. That's why we can be comforted when we face various trials. If we have the right thing communicated from the sanctuary, then we know that there is no place that we can go that He is not. The way that Paul puts it in the New Testament is that he would not put any trial on us that we are not able to bear. The knowledge of God, knowledge of God is communicated in the place that God is dedicated for His worship and His service and the knowledge of God is the strength of the people of God. Secondly, we see that what is also communicated through these rituals and through these ceremonies is not just a knowledge of Him that strengthens us but also an awareness of His providence. In verse 5, it talks, let us be strengthened by your knowledge, but in verse 6, He says, and they go through the valley of Baca. This place, this desolate place, He says, and they make it a place of springs. Here's what he's talking about a desert in a forsaken place. And when they are in it, it's not that all of a sudden turns into lush palm trees and water all over the place, but what it is, what is being conveyed here, is that the people of God, even when they travel through the valley of Baca, they know that God is there. That He is able to supply whatever they need even in that desert experience. It is the providence of God that is communicated and conveyed through the means that He has appointed to worship Him. So God's people are strengthened by the knowledge of Him and God's people are comforted by an awareness of His providence. That's why we don't believe in luck, we don't believe in fate, we believe not, and I hate the way a lot of people are using that term destiny, destiny. I believe in providence. I believe that God puts the people in our path, that we need whether we recognize it or not. I believe that God is directing our paths day by day. I believe that God distributes to each person whatever they need in that day, however they get it, He has appointed it. So when Elijah was crying and having his pity party for himself under the juniper tree when he was isolated and he just happened to see a raven with food, it wasn't that raven, it wasn't by chance. It wasn't by chance that the raven happened to be there and happens to have gotten the food, we don't know where the food came from, but we know where the raven came from, came from God. That's the point, that's the point of reference when he says even the sparrow, wasn't it providential that Nadine was so beautifully saying about his eye being on the sparrow even as we look at this passage? Because the people of God are reminded that the sparrow, the sparrow is received into his presence, where does the psalmist get this notion that the sparrow is okay in God's house? No doubt in this place, this ancient place, this tent in the middle of the desert, it didn't have the kind of protection that we have and birds flew in. And at some point he's looking up doing the bidding of the Lord and the house of the Lord and he sees the sparrow and he sees the swallow just comfortable and he's reminded, boy, isn't that how we are? Isn't that how God's people are, that in his presence in the midst of dangers we can lay our eggs? Because God takes care of those that he brings to himself. Jesus uses the same point of illustration in the New Testament. He says, listen, Solomon with all of his, with all of his riches, he says, look, look, look at all of, look at the lilies of the field. He says, and your father has taken care of them, who dresses them, your heavenly father has. And then he mentions that sparrow. He says, look at the sparrow, look at the sparrow and there is not one that will drop from the sky, that the father is not aware of. Brothers and sisters, there's no accidents. There's no chance with our God. Whether he puts us on a road of adversity or whether it's sunshine all the way, he's still our God and he's with us. That's why I love that statement in Psalm 23. And ye, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because thou art with me. By rod and by staff, they comfort me. And my cup does indeed run over and you prepare a table for me. I love this about God. God is in your face, kind of God. He doesn't have to hide to do anything. I love what David says. He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. And you know all the enemy can do is just look because God provides for his people. The idea of providence is that God is in control. And God being in control is what Joseph says to his brothers, you minute for evil, but God minute for good. God intended Joseph to rule and reign in Egypt so that there would be a reason for his people to come to Egypt. Now, in order to get in there, he got sold as a slave. He got thrown in jail. He was falsely accused. His reputation was gone. He was thrown in prison. And then God called him forth to be the king's advisor. You minute for evil, but God minute for good. So God's people are not only strengthened by the knowledge of him, but they become aware of his providence. Thirdly, we also see that a proper use of the things that are appointed by God should cause us to be confident in his promises. In verse 11, in particular, in verse 11, he says, for the Lord is a son and a shield. The Lord bestows favor. And he bestows honor. There is no promise that God has made that he will not keep. And we need to be reminded of what he has given us in his sanctuary that in spite of circumstances, his promises will not fail. And here's where he says his promises find their end. He says in verse at the end of verse 11, no good thing does he withhold from those who walk up rightly. Now, here's where we end up making that a law that if you just walk up rightly, God will bless you. But remember the blood on the altar. The blood on the altar is the reminder that you can't walk up rightly. And you have it. So therefore, the anointed is the one who has walked up rightly, which leads us to the fourth and final thing, that everything that the psalmist declares about the house of the Lord is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. In other words, brothers and sisters, it is as the writer of Hebrew says, a God who in sundry times in diverse manner spoke to the fathers through the prophets has in these last days spoken to us through his son. And it goes on to say that he is the very brightness of the image of his glory, that the glory of the father is reflected in the face of the son. And so therefore, the justice of the father is portrayed in the righteous life of Jesus Christ, because if the justice of God reflects the law of God, then who has kept the law other than Jesus? Not only is the law of God kept, but even the holiness of God is reflected in Jesus, in his portraying the holiness that God has required of his image bears and responding to and respecting the very holiness of God. That's what he tells the woman at the well, that God is desiring a spiritual worship from his people that recognizes and responds to his holiness that has the right attitude towards God in worshiping him in spirit and in truth. So the father seeks to worship him. And so later in Hebrews, I love the way the writer of Hebrews takes this the Old Testament and puts it in the mouth of Jesus where it says, here am I in your sanctuary, O Lord, here am I and the children you have given me. So therefore our ability to worship God with holiness is that we are able to worship him through the holiness of Jesus. But certainly Jesus is the fulfillment of God's grace because all of God's grace is in Christ and what should be on display in the tabernacle of God in the sanctuary that he is designated as the meeting place between he and his covenant people. Wherever God is truly worshiped, his grace is understood and wherever his grace is understood, it is Jesus that is at the center of it. Now that being the case, if that is truly the case, if Jesus is the one who is upright, then here's what we know that everything that he needs and requires and ask for. The father indeed will give it. And here's the good news for the saints. As Jesus said of Peter, I think it's true for everyone else that comes to him by faith. Remember when he told Peter and Peter was boasting, Lord, I'll never deny you blah, blah, blah. And then Jesus says, that's okay, Peter, I've already prayed for you. And Jesus has indeed prayed for the souls and the well-being of the saints. So when we are in the valley of Baka, when we are in the valley of the shadow of death, when we are worn out or when we are showing out, here's the confidence that we have, that the God who was worshiped in the sanctuary of the tabernacle, remembers the righteousness of his anointed one. And whatever he does will not, everything that he does will prosper and his leaves will not wither. So therefore, I love what the writer says, how lovely are your tabernacles, oh God. And the reason your tabernacles are lovely, because they communicate to us the fullness of God's holiness, God's justice, and God's grace. And it portrays to us what Jesus is and what Jesus has given to those that look to him by faith. And our confidence is not in our ability, but our confidence is that everything that he requires and everything that he asks, the Father will truly give to him. So therefore, he says no good thing does he withhold. And everything his children need, the Father supplies through Jesus. How lovely are your tabernacles. Even the sparrows find a place and are at home. And the comfort of the sparrows and the swallows in the very sanctuary of God are the comforts that we have resting in the gift of God. Jesus says in Matthew 11, come unto me, all ye who labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Oh Lord, oh God, how lovely are your tabernacles. And that we know right well. Let's pray. Gracious God, we do thank you, we thank you for the reminder that you in the sacred place that you have called us to meet with us. You have communicated to us something of your character that we are not able to fully comprehend and grasp even as we see your splendor in the created order. You tell us more vividly, more explicitly of your holy character. You tell us more explicitly of your unfading justice, but certainly in your tabernacle and your sanctuary, you convey and communicate to your people, the fullness of your grace in your anointed one. Let this be our comfort when we leave here and go to our homes, we go to our jobs, we go to our families and deal with difficult and trying situations, let your people be comforted by the truth that is conveyed in your sanctuary for your glory and for their good. We ask these things in Christ name, amen, amen, would you please stand.