This document provides a summary of a sermon given at First Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi titled "Psalm 84 – 'Lord, I’m Coming Home!'" The sermon discusses various interpretations of Psalm 84, describing it as either a pilgrimage song, a prophecy, or a glimpse into heaven. It describes heaven based on passages from the New Testament, highlighting that it will be a place without sadness where believers will be with God and continually praise Him. The sermon concludes by outlining the plan of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

1. Psalm 84
“Lord, I’m Coming Home!”
A Glimpse of Heaven
July 2, 2017
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
What’s the number one thing?
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The Glory of God!
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1 Corinthians 10:31
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
July Memory Verse:
Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

2. References
• Phillips, John, Exploring The Psalms, Volume One, 1-88 (Loizeaux Brothers,
Neptune, NJ, 1988), pp 690-698.
• Morrow, Barry, Heaven Observed (Navpress, Colorado Springs, 2001).
• The ESV Study Bible, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Publishing, 2011).
• Unless otherwise stated, scriptures are quoted from the ESV.
Introduction to Psalm 84 (Subtitle)
To the choirmaster: according to the Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
• Gittith – a striking (string) instrument fabricated by the people of
Gath (Philistine city).
• Also referred to as a “zither”.
• David spent time in Gath while fleeing from Saul.
Gittith (Zither):
Introduction Psalm 84 – A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
• Sons of Korah – Wrote 11 Psalms recorded in Bible.
• Descendants of Levi and son named Kohath.
• Descendants of Kohath rebelled and challenged. Moses and Aaron in
Number 16.
• God had them and their family swallowed alive by the earth.
• A remnant survived and became important musicians and “doorkeepers”
in the Temple for King David.
Interpretations of Psalm 84
1. A Passover Pilgrimage Song.
• During Hezekiah’s reign, the Passover Pilgrimage was reinstituted after
the Assyrian invasion (700 BC).
• The Sons of Korah were returning to Jerusalem as the doorkeepers of
the Temple.
• This Psalm was penned and sung by them as they traveled back to
Jerusalem.

3. Interpretations of Psalm 84
2. Psalm of Prophecy.
• Describes the arrival of millennial reign of Christ
• Ezekiel’s Temple has been built.
• Tribe of Levi given back their inheritance.
• Young Levites are coming to Jerusalem on first pilgrimage.
3. Personal Application.
• Describes our praises to God during Worship.
• Mental picture of joyful feelings while worshiping in God’s house.
4. A Psalm of our home in Heaven.
• A glimpse into Heaven.
• The place where believers will spend eternity.
• The writers did not have the descriptions given in the New Testament.
• Assumption – Words are not really adequate to describe the
indescribable!
The Word of the Day:
Our Love is Centered in the Sanctuary:
Psalm 84:1
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
• “lovely” or any other adjective is inadequate to describe Heaven.
• John 14:2-3
2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I
have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and
prepare a place (spiritual and physical) for you, I will come again
and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Paul’s Description of Heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:1-9:
• Paul says he was caught up to the “third heaven”.
• He was prohibited from describing what he experienced there.
• What Paul saw and heard was so magnificent that God gave him a “thorn
in the flesh” to keep him from being conceited.

4. John’s Description of Heaven in Revelation 21:10-27:
• The Lord is the only light needed.
• The “glory of God” is present in Heaven.
• It is filled with brilliant glowing stones or jewels.
• The paradise of the Garden of Eden is restored.
• The tree of life bears fruit that heals the nations.
The Best Thing About Heaven:
• Jesus will be there with us.
• Jesus will be the “Center” of Heaven.
Our Longings Are Centered in the Sanctuary:
Psalm 84:2
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
Our longings will be satisfied:
• Our longing will be not just for His house, but for Him!
• Our desire is to be with Jesus.
• Our home will be with Jesus, our Living Savior.
Our Looks Are Centered in the Sanctuary:
Psalm 84:3
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Lessons From The Birds of The Heavens:
• Sparrow – reminds us of the Lord’s care for us.
• Matthew 10:29
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to
the ground apart from your Father.
• Swallow – reminds us of the Lord’s coming for us.
• Swallows are known for swiftness of flight, love of freedom and faithfulness
to mate and location.

5. “…my King and my God.”
• The Psalmist mentions the sovereign.
• These are titles of glory.
• Revelation 11:15
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in
heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of
our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."
Our Life is Centered in the Sanctuary:
Psalm 84:4
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah
• Blessed translates to “Happy” or “Fulfilled”.
• There will be nothing to make us unhappy in Heaven.
• We will continually sing praises to God.
• Selah – (Definition debated) – “Pause and Meditate”.
Our Heart Is Right:
Psalm 84:5
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
• Our hearts are focused on the pathway to Heaven
• Jesus promises that we will not get lost on the highway to Heaven
• John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus Leads Us On The Highway to Heaven:
• John 10:27-28
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give
them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them
out of my hand.
Our Highway is Rough:
Psalm 84:6
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.

6. Weeping In The Valley:
• Baca derived from a root which means “to weep”.
• Valley of Baca was a waterless valley through which the pilgrims passed
on their way to Jerusalem.
• Morning rains would fill the pools in the valley to refresh the travelers.
• God brings us through the dry weeping valleys of life to provide us
blessings.
Valley of Baca:
Walking on the Mountain:
Psalm 84:7
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.
• The building blocks of sanctification (spiritual maturity).
• We keep finding new levels of strength on the journey.
Our Hope Is Real:
Psalm 84:8
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
• Our real resource on this journey is prayer.
• Our prayers are heard by our creator.
The Holy Spirit Intercedes for Us:
• Romans 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to
pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings
too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind
of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the
will of God.

7. Psalm 84:9-12 (Final Verses):
Delighting In Our Service Of God
“Glimpses of Heaven”
We Are Here, Lord:
Psalm 84:9
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!
• The first thing we are going to do in Heaven is resign all our worries!
• There will be no fear or enemy in Heaven.
• “I Can Only Imagine”.
Glimpses of Heaven:
• The second thing we will do in Heaven is realize all our wants!
• We will be complete in heaven with all needs and wants fulfilled.
• The things we thought were important on earth will have a different
perspective in Heaven.
We Are Home, Lord:
Psalm 84:10
10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Time Takes On A New Dimension:
• 2 Peter 3:8
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is
as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
• Heaven has a different clock, if it has one at all!
• We currently say, “I was, I am, and I will be.”
• God says, “I am, I am, and I am.”
Tasks Take On A New Distinction:
• We will have an occupation of service to God.
• There will be no menial tasks in God’s service.
• No more pain – glorified bodies will have perfect teeth! (I will have a new
job.)
• Dwelling in the tents of the wicked is a temporary freedom in sin with
permanent dire consequences.

8. Will we work in heaven or just rest?
• Matthew 25:21
21 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have
been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your
master.
• Revelation 2:26-27
26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I
will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of
iron,
We Have Been Helped, Lord:
Psalm 84:11
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
“The Lord God is a sun and shield”:
• This is the only reference in the Bible to God as the “sun”.
• The coming Messiah is called “the sun of righteousness” in Malachi 4:2.
• Malachi 4:2a
2a But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with
healing in its wings.
Light in Heaven:
• Revelation 21:22-23
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the
Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to
shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
“No good thing does he withhold…”:
• Psalm 23:6
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I
shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
• Romans 8:28
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for
good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We Are Happy, Lord:
Psalm 84:12
12 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!
• We will have true happiness in Heaven!!!

9. C. S. Lewis:
• If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the
most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of
my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a
fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only
to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. I must keep alive in myself the
desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death.
Happy July 4th
The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me.”
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second death explained in
Revelation 21:8.
Revelation 21:8
8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

10. Romans 5:8
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us.
Romans 6:23b
23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Revelation 21:7
7 "The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will
be my son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to be conquerors.
Romans 10:9-10
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 10:13
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
If you have questions or would like to know more, please, contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/