(Psalm 84:1-3) "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 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, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God."

Introduction

When we think of pilgrims in our culture the imagery is of the Mayflower departing from Plymouth with 102 people seeking a new life. Their religious convictions made them outcasts in England. Geneva Bible and its Puritan commentary, infant baptism, refusal to celebrate Christmas and Easter and two sacraments of baptism and communion did not include marriage (seen as a civil contract). So they were outcasts. But in Jewish culture pilgrimage was a joy for the whole family. Traveling from anywhere in Palestine, Judea and Samaria under Pontius Pilate or Galilee under Herod families would pause for night like sparrows and swallows seeking a place for their young.

Looking for the Altar

That place they were looking for was the altar of God. (Psalm 84:3) "...a place near your altar…" Why? Because their soul yearned even fainted for it. The Psalm captures what the altar of God are like - lovely. (Psalm 84:1) "How lovely is your dwelling place…" We think of 'lovely' in terms of a newborn child, virgin bride, well manicured garden, tapestry, works of art in all their textures. But lovely as it is implied here is almost fathomless in its meaning:

" Rebekah: Abraham gave his servant instruction to find Isaac a wife sworn by placing his hand under Abraham's thigh by his seed on pain of his own death. One night he was captured by Rebekah's beauty. (Genesis 24:24) "Whose daughter are you?" What the servant saw was lovely.
" David: King Saul is literally head and shoulders above every man surrounded by Israel's finest men. But a young man called David has the depth of character to face Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:35) "…whose son is that young man?" What the King saw was lovely.
" Solomon's wisdom: The Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon and the mystery that drew nations to his throne with untold riches. (1 Kings 10:4-5) "When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon…she was overwhelmed." What the Queen saw was lovely.
" Jesus: Christ was a carpenter from Nazareth with no beauty or majesty of his own. (Mark 9:15) "As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him." What the people saw was lovely.
" Beloved: There is a pursuit of the beloved for her lover in the City of God. The daughters of Jerusalem ask a probing question why the beloved was faint with love. (Song of Songs 5:16) "…he is altogether lovely!"

Conclusion

These mysterious, overwhelming, captivating and breath taking examples all compounds to give us an idea of how 'lovely' the altar of God was. By no means is it just a place to pray.

#1 - A place to know God

How can we know God? At the altar of God. The father of each family took his wife and children on the journey to the altar of God in Jerusalem at the temple. The driving force behind it all was the soul that yearned for the living God. It was a place that every man could find a resting place for his wife and children. All that this man could teach his family about God was found at the altar of God where a lamb, sheep, bull, pigeon or dove was slain. But at the altar we find the cross. (John 14:6) "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." It's not that we just come to God through Christ but that we come through his broken body and shed blood. It is still a sacrifice we find except this time we did not bring it but God gave it. (Hebrews 10:19) "…enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus…" The loveliness of the altar is like an eclipse. One side is terrible but the other has never changed in its glory. John saw on one side a lamb as though it had been slain but he also saw the lion of the tribe of Judah. Christ himself saw the shame of the cross but on the other side he saw the joy that was set before him. The altar of God in the journey with our families has a sense of brokenness and completeness to them at the cross. When Christ said 'I am the way' we cannot ignore the eclipse of what God has done for us in Christ. (2 Corinthians 7:10) "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." It's not that the cross makes us upset or sad but sorrow that is godly unlike the sorrow of the world. The man who is bankrupt is sorrowful and vows to give generously to God if things turn around. But when they turn around he forgets God. The man who cheats on his wife vows to her that he will never do it again if she forgives him. But he does it again. The man who is addicted to something vows to stop with the help of God. But when God helps him he returns to his addictions. But Godly sorrow will lead to repentance. The altar is a place where the cross brings sorrow but also deliverance that leaves no regret.

#2 - A place of rest

The imagery of this psalm appears to be feminine and delicate but a closer look will reveal a family that is in desperate need of the altar of God. It is a picture of sparrows and swallows. (Psalm 84:3) "…the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near the altar." Your children are the image of a vulnerable sparrow and your wife is the image of a swallow with instincts for her young. The overriding theme in the image of these birds is that they are restless, hopeless and certainly homeless looking for a place to settle and rest and raise their children. There is only one answer the Psalm gives to find this rest and that is the altar of God. There is a great sense of homelessness families have in a world they did not make but each family member finds themselves in the world restless and homeless. Families are like homing birds. They try a number of solutions that include a dream home, hobbies, sports, activities and the collection of many unaffordable toys that are only used several times a year. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children." The incredible rise in restlessness caused by stress shows that we have not found the altar of God where our families can find rest where we can raise our young. Blood pressure in the young; nervous disorders; chronic fatigue; sleep disorders; severe depression and many more illnesses can come from flying around looking for a place to rest. We feel that our need of the altar of God is minimal at best until someone gets ill, has an accident, and cannot find work or the death of a loved one. Something forces the family to find a place of rest flying in all directions. We look for it socially, in a sporting activity, intellectually, on vacation or a long weekend break but the restlessness continues. Sparrows and swallows flying around looking for rest in all the wrong places. (Psalm 62:1) "My soul finds rest in God alone."

#3 - A place of protection

A sparrow and swallow do not understand intellectually but they do instinctually and intuitively. I have a literal bird house in my back yard. When you observe a bird that comes to feed their eyes are everywhere because they know cats and larger birds are out there. There is nothing more nervous that a sparrow. Zack was upset the other night and came running into our bedroom afraid. Outside his bedroom widow there had been an all-out fight between a cat and a bird. Even with this instinct the sparrow will drop his guard and in a moment be devoured by a local cat. The Bible tells us we have three distinct enemies looking for a fight:

" The flesh: John Owen made a statement 'However strong a castle may be, if a treacherous party resides inside, ready to betray at the first opportunity possible, the castle cannot be kept safe from the enemy.' A castle is strong in its fortification and ramparts with a deep mote surrounding it. Nothing can approach and attack without being defeated. But the history of England shows castles that fell do so because of a traitor within the security of the walls. We are secure in our salvation but until our bodies are glorified we have this flesh that can betray who we really are. We are not told to crucify the heart but the flesh. This is why we need the altars of God.
" World: The world is not geographical but the collective sin of fallen man and the way it lives. If you want to see the world up close stand up for Christ and do say something, do something or be something. In the movie Jerry McGuire the character played by Tom Cruise stands out and suggests they treat athletes with respect not as cattle. He is commended then fired for it. His so-called friends pounce on his 'A' list of athletes. You are not a friend of the world and it is not your friend. This is why we need the altars of God.
" Devil: There is a phrase repeated in scripture 'that the devil put it into the mind of…' Who put into the mind of the Chaldeans to destroy Job? Who put it into the mind of Judas to betray Christ? Who put it into the mind of Ananias and Sapphira to lie about themselves? It was the devil. This is how it plays out: (devil) 'you deserve better than this' (you) 'I deserve better than this' (devil) 'it's your wife and kids that are the problem' (you) 'my wife and kids are the problem' (devil) 'start to build your own life without them' (you) 'I'll start to build a life without them'

The flesh, world and devil are the neighborhood cats looking for a fight to the death. The Nativity story has Mary, Joseph, Christ, shepherds, wise men, animals and a few singing angels around an eastern star. But what was happening that is never included in the Nativity scene according the book of Revelation was a big red dragon ready to devour the Christ-child at the birthing stool whose tail swept away a third of the stars. Then Michael bursts into the scene with a drawn sword and slays the dragon after an all-out fight. The dragon is thrown over the city walls banished forever with a promise that one day he will be cast into a lake of fire. 'Away in a manger' I don't think so! You have enemies that lurk in life to devour you. This is why we need the altars of God - they are lovely.

#4 - A place to come home

This is a phrase made famous by Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz but it was first made famous the Word of God. Since the eviction notice was given in the Garden of Eden we have sought through history to find our way back home. (Philippians 3:20) "…our citizenship is in heaven…" The joy of coming to a church family as a family is the journey we make every week to find rest at the altar of God because it is lovely. It is the reminder we have that Christ dies for us and that through his broken body and shed blood we can know God for ourselves. (Psalm 84:3) "…the sparrow has found a home…" Your children will come to know God for themselves. (Psalm 84:3) "…the swallow a nest for herself…" Your wife will come to know God at the altar. (Psalm 84:1) "My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord…" But do you want to know God as the head of your family? When an invitation is given to come forward we invite you to the 'altar.' There is no physical altar but an act of faith that the Psalmist tells us is 'lovely.' It is where you know God, rest in God, find safety in God and the sparrows and swallows feel home.

" When Noah came out from the ark on dry ground the first thing he did was to go to the altar and worship.

" When God promised Abraham a family that would outnumber the stars in the sky he went to the altar to worship.
" When Abraham moved his tents to Hebron he went to the altar to worship.
" When Abraham, Isaac or Jacob was at the altar God always spoke with them. And whenever God did speak they named the altar.
" When God met Moses at the altar he called it 'The Lord is my Banner'
" When God met Gideon at the altar he called it 'The Lord is my Peace'
" When Samuel met with God at the altar he called it 'The Lord has helped us'

Conclusion

God calls you as a family to the altar. Bring your sparrows that they may find a resting place and your swallows that they may find a place to raise their young.

If you would like to see previous transcripts you can find them here: Teaching Series