Sermon Notes: Psalm 84

   "I have rather - though the expression may seem harsh to some - called this the 'appetite for God' than 'the love of God.' The 'love of God' too easily suggests the word 'spiritual' in all those negative or restrictive senses which it has unhappily acquired...[The appetitie for God] has all the cheerful spontaneity of a natural, even a physical, desire." C.S. Lewis

 

Qualities of those with a hunger for God:

 

   I.  They long to remain in the presence of the Lord.

-yearns = to come to an end, be finished

-Matt. 10:29 

   "It is a psalm of people who were present in the temple, who served in God's house, and who are expressing here how intensely their very souls yearned and even fainted for God. They are saying that their souls yearned for God's house not because they were separated from it, but becuase that is where they were and wanted to be. It was why they were serving."James Montgomery Boice 

 

  II.  The joy of the Lord strengthens them on their journey.

-Phil. 3:14

 

 III.  They depend on the Lord to protect them.

-glory = abundance, honor, riches 

 IV.  They realize how greatly they are blessed.

 

Sermon Notes: Psalm 46

I.  The Lord is our fortress. 

    a.  He is the secure place to flee to.

         very present = abundant, exceedingly, muchness

    b.  He is the source of strength in the face of distress.

 

II.  The Lord is our peace.

-Eze. 47:1; Rev. 22:1

   when morning dawns" = at the turning of the morning

"Nations with their armies may clash, but peace reigns among the people of God, because the Lord Almighty is with us and if we are threatened, the God of Jacob is our fortress."

 

III.  The Lord is our victory.

    a.  He brings conflict to an end.

    b.  He is to be exalted.

         cease = stop

    c.  He is with His people.

        Lord of hosts = Yahweh Sabaoth

   "The God of Jacob is the Lord of Hosts. More wonderous still, the Lord of Hosts is the God of Jacob."  Alexander Maclaren