Psalm 84: “HOW LOVELY IS YOUR DWELLING PLACE!”
The last time I was here in LaPorte, this place where I am standing right now was just a muddy spot on the ground. There was an open field here, and the place where you’re sitting right now – can you picture it? Just mud, dirt, some grass. It wasn’t a very pleasant place – no shade, so it was hot in the summer. Cold and windy in the winter. No place to park your car. Desolate. No people. The last time I was in LaPorte, this wasn’t my favorite place.
But now, by the grace of God, things are different. There is a building here. A house of God. And it is beautiful. As the Psalmist says, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, Almighty.” Today we’re going to look at Psalm 84, a psalm written about the beauty of the temple, a psalm that we can apply as we give thanks to God for this building, this dwelling place of God, that he, by his almighty power and love, has given to us.
Many people believe that the person who wrote this psalm was trapped in a place where he couldn’t go to God’s temple. The writer may have been in captivity, or separated from the temple because of war, and that’s why he wrote, “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord, my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.” I wish I could be there, the writer was saying. I wish I could be in God’s temple, because that’s where God lives. That’s where God dwells. Even the birds can go there, as they build their nests in the eaves of the temple. And those who are able to go, are blessed – “Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are ever praising you.”
As we dwell in this modern house of God today, we also can praise God for all the good things that He has done for us. Just seeing this building is a reminder of the power and love that God can show to his people. As we look into the past, just think of all the things that God did, to make this building possible. Was it just luck that this small group of Christians was able to purchase this prime piece of real estate? Or was it the hand of God, that one of our members, talked to the right person, who knew the right people, at just the right time, and for just the right price, Beautiful Savior was able to purchase this property? Was that luck, or was it the hand of God?
And what about finding the right person to build this church? The right person to design, to coordinate, to work with members of Beautiful Savior – the right skills, the right price – was it just luck, or was it the hand of God? Did you see the hand of God as the money for the downpayment was raised? Did you see the hand of God as the Michigan District Mission Board and the WELS Board for Home Missions both gave their approval and support and guidance? How thankful we are for those people. And how thankful we are, that the WELS Church Extension Fund gave Beautiful Savior the loan needed to build this building. And what about all the members who donated their time, who donated their effort, who made sacrifice after sacrifice, so that this house of God could stand here today. Can you see the hand of God working through all of these people?
And now, as it stands completed, we can say with the Psalmist, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty.” Notice how the Psalmist called temple God’s dwelling place – the building belonged to God. And this building belongs to God as well. It was built and paid for and financed by people, and we are truly thankful for every single person who participated in the construction of this building. But ultimately, all credit belongs to God. And ultimately, this building belongs to God. His name should be on the deed. It’s HIS dwelling place – he lives here.
It’s true that God is not limited to a building – he lives everywhere. But it’s also true that wherever the Word of God is preached, God is there. Wherever two or three gather together around the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God is there. Wherever water and the Word come together in baptism, God is there, causing a rebirth and renewal by his Holy Spirit. Wherever bread and wine are shared in the same way Jesus shared on Maundy Thursday, the body and blood of Christ “given and poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins” – God is there, forgiving and strengthening his people.
Through his Word, and through his Sacraments, God dwells here. This place is where the message of Christ crucified for the sins of the world is proclaimed. Here is where people can receive comfort when they sin, and strength when they are weak. This place is where a young couple can stand before God and promise to love each other for the rest of their lives, and receive God’s blessing upon their marriage. Here is where a family can mourn the loss of a loved one, and receive comfort that their loved one is in heaven, and that someday they will see him again at the resurrection. “Blessed are those whose strength is in you,” the Psalmist says. This place is where you can receive strength from God, that special divine strength you need as you face all the problems of today, and all the unknown challenges of tomorrow. “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty.” Here is where God dwells through Word and Sacrament, and speaks to our hearts, and strengthens our souls.
And as you listen to God in this place, you can also speak to him: “Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty. Listen to me, O God of Jacob.” God promises to listen to you as you pray. And you can pray to him anywhere. But there’s something special about joining together with other Christians in prayer. As Jesus said, “If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). Come to this place, and join with your fellow Christians in prayer, and watch how your Father in heaven will answer every single one of your prayers, at just the right time, and in just the right way.
For the writer of this Psalm, God’s temple was his favorite place: “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” One day in God’s house is better than a thousand days in a resort on the beach. “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” A doorkeeper isn’t a very prestigious job, even today. But to live in someone’s tent, to have people wait on you and serve you – now that was a nice existence. But not for the writer of this Psalm. To dwell in the tents of the wicked might be comfortable. But to stand in front of the house of God, where God lives and blesses and strengthens – nothing is better than that.
The temple was the Psalmist’s favorite place in the world. It is my prayer that this house of God would become your favorite place as well. There are many places to go, and many thing to see and do, especially on the weekends. It is my prayer that you would rather be a doorkeeper, or a greeter, or an usher, or a Sunday School teacher, or a janitor, or a singer, or a listener, in the house of your God – I’d rather be here, than in any other place in the world, because this is my favorite place. This is the dwelling place of God.
And as you enjoy God’s blessings here, as you hear the message of Christ crucified and risen for the sins of the world, as you receive comfort and strength from the Sacrament, you will be motivated by God to share your favorite place with others. You see, the construction of this physical building – the wood and the drywall and the brick and the plumbing – that’s all done. But the construction of the Christian Church – the people who hear the Gospel and offer their praise to God – that’s not done. God isn’t finished building his church, his people, in this place.
There’s another new family that God wants sitting in the row of chairs behind you. There’s another new couple that God wants sitting in the two chairs next to you. There’s a new baby that God wants baptized at this font. There’s a young man who just moved into the area, that God wants you to stand next to at the Lord’s Supper. God wants a problem to develop in this church – a lack of places to sit, as more and more people come to this place.
What is it that would bring them here? The Psalmist gives you the answer: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield.” He shines in your life, and he shields you from trouble. “The Lord bestows favor and honor.” He blesses your life. “No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” None of us are blameless based on our own good works. But every single one of us is blameless because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God withholds nothing from those who place their trust in Jesus: “O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.”
It is my prayer that this building would become a favorite place for more and more people. Through your life, your witness in words and actions, others will see the blessings that God is pouring you’re your life. And they will want to learn more. By the grace of God they will come here, because this is God’s dwelling place.
What will things look like here, a couple years from now? Only God knows. He will determine the future of his dwelling place. He will determine what will happen on this plot of ground, which used to be a pile of mud and grass, just a couple years ago. Only God knows what things will look like a few years from now. And he’s not going to tell us. He just wants us to trust him – to hear his Word, to live it, to share it – and to trust in him.
Today we dedicate this building to the work of God. We dedicate this building with hearts that our thankful for all the grace that God has shown to us in the past. And we dedicate this building with hearts filled with faith, as we look forward to all the blessings God will give to us in the future. Amen.
