Would you now turn with your Bibles to Psalm 84. I want to read the entire Psalm with you this morning. Psalm 84. Psalm 84, and here we hear God's word as follows. 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 to the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home in 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, blessed are those who dwell in Your house. They are ever praising You. Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs. The autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty. Listen to me, O God of Jacob. Look upon our shield, O God. Look with favor on your anointed one. Better is the day, one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked, for the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You. And our text for this morning is framed in the verses 5 through 7. I want to read that again for a moment. Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage, As they pass through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs. The autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion. Thus far, the reading of God's holy word. May he add his blessing to the hearing, the reading and the preaching of his word again this morning. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the psalm we have before us this morning breathes a spirit much different from much of contemporary Christianity. What I mean is that the author speaks of a longing, a longing for the house of God, and we don't see a lot of that longing among much of contemporary church members. For many churchgoers, church is little more than a physical place to gather on Sunday mornings out of custom, perhaps even superstition. And oftentimes the second services are so sparsely attended, and some churches have even taken the drastic step of canceling their second service altogether due to a lack of interest. Many church members have summer cottages and winter havens, which make regular church attendance inconvenient, if not even impossible. And yet that home away from home seems to have a greater appeal to them than God's home. And then also many times televised sports events or fellowship with friends and family. Those things take precedence over fellowship with God and his family in this house. And for the most part, there is not. a burning desire or a genuine love or that longing for the church in contemporary Christianity. How different the spirit of the ancient hymn writer who wrote, I love thy church, O God. Her walls before thee stand dear as the apple of thine eye. For her, my tears shall fall. For her, my prayers ascend. To her, my cares and toils be given till cares and toils shall end. Beyond my highest joy, I prize her heavenly ways, her sweet communion, her solemn vows, her hymns of love and praise. And now Psalm 84 speaks of that kind of love and that kind of longing. How lovely is thy tabernacle, says the psalmist. And the adjective lovely used in the opening verse can properly also be interchanged with the word loved. In other words, the psalmist not only declares God's house to be lovely, but he also expresses his love for her. We could say then that the psalmist, the psalmist Loved the lovely tabernacle, even though it was only a simple tent like structure with earthen courtyards and in a simple bronze altar. And he loved it because because he knew that it was God's house. He knew that the special presence of the Lord was there. Everything about the tabernacle reminded him of God. The brass altar on which the altar, which the animals sacrifices were offered, reminded him of that lamb that would be sacrificed for his sins. And the blood of the sacrifices reminded him of the need and of the cleansing of sin. But not only was the house of God precious to him, but so were his fellow worshipers. The sight of the company of worshippers praising God together was also most lovely to him. But when he writes that he was envious, he was envious of the swallows and the sparrows that could could freely build nests in the grounds of the tabernacle. It suggests to us that there was now or at least there had been a time when the author was unable to attend the feasts of the worship. And we don't know what it was that prevented him. It could have been illness or perhaps he had been banished. We just don't know what the but the psalmist fondly remember those times when he could join. He could join the thrice yearly pilgrimages to the to the tabernacle with with hundreds of other like minded Jewish brothers with and with fondness and gratitude. He remembered the joy of their fellowship as they journeyed towards Jerusalem for worship together. And he longed for that time. And David expresses very similar sentiments in Psalm 133, where he says that the company of those, the company of those who share a like precious faith, is good and pleasant. And the author of this psalm would agree that spiritual fellowship with fellow Christians is one of Earth's greatest pleasures and treasures. And in the context of our text, the joy of traveling together or gathering together to God's house. The thought of sharing and caring together, the blessedness of learning from role models and being encouraged and warned by one another. The joy of working together, walking together and being encouraged and warned by one another. Together, while marching on their way to Zion was something for which he longed. And the words of our text then are set in the context of a picture of the Old Testament pilgrims on their way, on their journey up to the earthly Jerusalem. And this morning we're going to follow those pilgrims on their way. But, but, but we will see in them. We will see in those Old Testament pilgrims. We will see the representation of all true pilgrims as they make their way to the heavenly Jerusalem. I administer God's word to you this morning, using as my theme, the Christian's journey through the Valley of Bucca, the Christian's journey through the Valley of Bucca. And we will, first of all, examine the journey itself. We will then see how God provides for the journey. And then finally, we will consider the glorious end of that journey. Congregation, our text begins with speaking of the blessedness, the blessedness of those whose strength is in God. Blessed is the man whose strength is in God, says Korah. And just what does that mean? Well, verse 4 speaks of the blessedness of those people who dwell in God's house. And now in verse 5, by a natural transition of thought, the psalmist moves from those people who love and attend the sanctuary to the blessings that flow from that life lived in fellowship with God. In other words, the author wants to make it clear, first of all, that it's not the sanctuary as such. It's not the building as such, which is the chief object that was being adored by those pilgrims. They had not made an idol out of the tabernacle, nor rather, they loved the tabernacle indeed, but they loved the tabernacle because, because, because it was God's house. The Lord himself had promised to meet his worshippers there, and that was what made the tabernacle so lovely. That's what made God's house so appealing, so important to the psalmist. That's what made God's house so precious to him. God was there. God's presence was in God's house. And at the appointed times, the Jews had the solemn obligation and the blessed privilege to make that journey to the tabernacle to meet their God. And they looked forward to that pilgrimage. Blessed are they whose strength is in God, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. Three times a year, the Jews made their way to the tabernacle in Jerusalem to worship. the to worship the Lord and that pilgrimage, that journey from their homes in Palestine to Jerusalem, that was a blessed time of fellowship. But and this is crucial for our interpretation. It wasn't an easy road for these Jews as they were traveling to the house of God, because as we read in verse six, in order for them to get there, they had to travel through the Valley of Baca. And I'll follow this with me. The Hebrew word Baka simply means weeping. So literally translated, they had to pass through a place called the Valley of Weeping. And now some translators think that Baka can also mean a dry, arid wilderness, a wasteland valley, a desert where there was no water. And that could also be correct. It really doesn't matter. Crucial for our understanding is the fact that in order for the Jews to get to the place where they were going, for them to get to the place where God was, they had to pass through Baca, a valley of weeping. And our scripture gives us very little information about this valley. Most scholars and commentators agree that the valley of Baca is the same valley referred to in Judges chapter 2, except there it was called the Valley of Bohemia. And if we read the narrative in Judges, then we find there the story, perhaps you remember it, the story of how the children of Israel were met with an angel sent by God, with a message from God. Israel had disobeyed the Lord. God had told them to conquer Canaan completely. They were to destroy all the false idols of the people, and they were to drive the people out, to kill them all. They were to make no covenants or agreements or political alliances with any of them. But you know the story. They disobeyed God. And now in the valley of Bohemia, there is an angel who stands before the people of God, who tells them that as consequence of their sin, God will no longer go before them to drive out the nations. He will not drive out the enemy and neither will he clear out the Canaanites for the people of Israel. But instead, the enemy will now become a thorn in their side forever. And the Israelites got the message and they were horrified at the thought. And then we read that the people of Israel broke out into uncontrollable weeping and sobbing. And so the valley was called the Valley of Bohemia, or as we have it in our text, the Valley of Baca. It was a valley of weeping, or if you will, it was a veil of tears. Life now would be hard for the Israelites because of their sin. My dear people of God, some of the pieces are beginning to fit together already, aren't they? If you've been listening carefully and thoughtfully, you can begin to see the parallels. You know what I mean, especially those of you, those of us who are older. You know what I mean. Because of sin, a veil of tears awaits every true child of God. Baca has become sort of a byword for difficult experiences that all of us must go through in this life. These Jews were traveling toward their earthly worship and they had to go through hardships. Oh, indeed, they delighted in the place where they were going to go and where they're going to be. And they long to be there. But getting there was hard. And so, too, for every Christian. Indeed, we're sanctified, we're serving the Lord and we're looking forward to the day when our worship will be absent from the body, but present with the Lord. But it's not so yet. We are still in the church militant, and that term is well chosen. The Christian congregation, the Christian is at war. The Christian is at war spiritually with the world, the devil and his own fallen flesh. And that road from this life to the next life is often is difficult. It is a veil of tears. The road to glory goes through Baca. The road to heaven involves so many tears. My dear people, God Baca is figurative of the valley of tears through which God's people must pass on their way to glory. You may count on it that during your Christian life, there will be many circumstances that will cause you to actually physically weep. And if it's not so for you, perhaps you're on the wrong road. Many are the sorrows of the child of God during their life on earth. Life is full of sorrows for every man on earth. But the people of God, they seem to receive a double portion of sorrow and strife. The children of God, they share in the sorrows common to all men as consequence of sin in the world. But in addition, the children of God, they have burdens peculiar to themselves because they are Christians. You know what I mean? Certain jobs are not available to Christians because of Sunday labor. Certain career promotions cannot be accepted because it requires moving to a community without the necessary church and school. Christian friends must certain friends must be avoided because they worship a different God. Certain dating partners, as appealing as they are, are forbidden because Christians may marry only in the Lord. And some Christians endure persecution and ridicule because of their faith. And then yet Christians, Christians are heavenly burdened with sin in their own lives. Christians have to do with a heart deceitful above all things. And they have the temptations of the world, the devil in their flesh. And they have they have spiritual trials that far outweigh the burdens common to all other men. Christians struggle with doubt. Christians are burdened with what appears at times to be a frowning providence of God. Christians suffer persecution both from within and from without. Oh, the worldling knows nothing about these things, but Christians, they are assaulted constantly. And Christians in particular are the objects of the fiery darts of the evil one. I never tire of telling you, congregation, that the devil is not interested in the world. The world belongs to him already. The devil is after you and me. He's after the church. We are the special objects of the fiery darts of the evil one. And the Christian, and only the Christian, struggles with grief and guilt and sorrow on account of being personally and communally part of an idolatrous, adulterous generation. And these burdens bring the pilgrim to tears. And my dear people, if you check your Bibles, you will see there on almost every page the tears of God's children. Think with me, for example, of Joseph as he went through so many valleys. In the book of Genesis, we read eight times that he wept. We read of David, though a king blessed of God and reigning in majesty, yet despite his royal estate, his heart ached. And seven times we read that the king wept. Think with me of Jeremiah. He's known as the prophet of tears. And the whole book of lamentations is filled with how he wished that his whole head were a river of waters that he could just continually weep for the breach of God's people, Israel. We read of David's men that on one occasion they wept sorely to the extent that finally they had no more strength to weep. And in Psalm 6, David says that he himself wept so much that his bed was swimming with tears. Remember also Peter, after he betrayed the Lord. And as the Lord Jesus gave him that glaring look, guilt entered into his soul and overwhelmed him. And it says that Peter went out and wept bitterly. We read even about our Lord that he wept standing over Jerusalem, impenitent Jerusalem, unregenerate Jerusalem, Jerusalem who stoned the prophets. Jesus wept and cried out, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks, but you would not. And standing by Lazarus's tomb, he contemplates what sin has done to men and women. And then we read, And Jesus wept. And then we see him in Gethsemane that says that he is nigh even unto death, sweating, as it were, great drops of blood. And he is weeping for sin and for what sin will do to him on the cross. You see, even our Lord and our Savior had to go through the valley of Baca. But then capture this with me now. The psalmist says, blessed are they, blessed are they who pass through the valley of Baca. How can that be? How can someone burdened with grief and sorrow? How can they be blessed? How can it be that the persecuted Christian can be blessed as he's driven to walking in Baca? Well, listen to the text. Blessed are they who pass through the valley of Baca, for they make it a stream. That's the distinguishing feature. Every man passes through Baca, but those whose strength is in God, they make it a stream. they may get a spring congregation. That now is the distinctive characteristic of the true pilgrim, not that he is journeying merely through the valley of Baca. Not that his eyes are drowned in tears. Not that his heart is filled with sorrows. Not that his soul is troubled with temptations. Not that his mind is tried by suffering. Oh, no. Oh, no. His distinctive feature is that he makes his suffering a spring. And mighty people, God, the worldling knows nothing of that either. The godly and the ungodly, they both travel equally on that road through Baca, but the godly They made Baca a spring. Follow this with me. One feature of that valley of Baca was that at the time of year when the pilgrims traveled, the burning sun above and the parched ground beneath made the whole valley arid and dry. But the pilgrims, they made it a spring. What does that mean? Well, there were there were wells dug in this valley of Baca where the pilgrims could refresh themselves. And the psalmist looks at these wells and he applies them spiritually as the refreshment that God provides for all of his people as they travel on their road to Zion. And my people, the analogy is a very good one. It's a beautiful analogy. God's people in this life. They can indeed be likened to sunburned, weary pilgrims, all parched and dry as they journey through this valley, this veil of tears, which we call life. The cost of discipleship is great, and as Christians seek to follow the Lord at all costs, life becomes difficult, painful even. It's a valley of tears, and to use the analogy, as they travel through this veil of tears, As they travel through this life on the road to the next life where God is, at times their very tongues cleave to the roof of their mouth with thirst, and then, and then, because the Lord is their strength, As needed, the Lord himself opens up in this dry valley a refreshing spring. Isaiah captured it so well when he wrote in chapter 41, the poor and the needy. They seek water, but there is none. Their tongues fail for thirst. And I, the Lord, will hear them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I, the Lord, will open rivers in desolate heights and fountains in the midst of valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land I will make into springs of water." Mighty people of God, do you hear it? What the text is saying is that as you are hard-pressed on every side by your own baka, As you travel through this life, as you are tormented by strife and sorrow and sin, because God is precious to you, you will experience demonstrations of God's gracious presence. As the dark night and the raging storms of life surround you, some precious promise of God will come with power into your soul. Some sudden smile of God's countenance will come upon you in your time of despair. And that's what the psalmist meant. The psalmist reminds you that as you walk through the valley, as life becomes difficult, when life becomes perhaps almost unbearable, then suddenly, suddenly you will hear that still small voice saying, This is the way. Walk in it. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will never forsake you, even to the close and the end of the age. The Holy Spirit says to us in the psalm, in this fallen world, in this veil of tears, you will have burdens and sorrows and tears and afflictions of various kinds and trials. But you have more. You have God's own presence. Listen with me to the text again. As they pass through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring. The rain also covers it with pools. Literally, it could be translated passing through the valley of weeping. They make God the fountain. As they pass through the valley of weeping, all the waters they have is tears. There are no fountains. There are no pools. There is no oasis. But by faith, God, God is their fountain. They drink of God, who is the overflowing fountain of all good. for these believing Jews on their way to Zion. As the day becomes hot, unbearable almost, they knew that just up ahead there was a refreshing well, and so too for the Christian today. In this life, congregation, there is no misery too great. There is no ground so barren. There is no night so dark. There is no storm so fierce that it cannot become a spring of comfort. My dear people of God, we drink at the fountainhead, and therefore the most gloomy situation becomes the most brilliant. The most hopeless circumstances become the most hopeful. The most trying becomes the most glorious, because we walk through that wilderness by faith, trusting God to supply those soul-refreshing streams. We read in verse 6 that the valley of Baca will be made a well, but it goes on to say that the rain also fills the pools. Capture that with me. The wells were the water from beneath. The pools were filled from rain from above. In other words, in places where there were no springs, God still supplied showers of blessing. To say it another way, in all of life's difficulties, God will provide. God will intervene with blessings from above and blessings from below. How do I describe such blessing for you? I struggle for words. Surrounded by the love of God, ever safe, ever secure, safe and secure from all alarms because because we're leaning on those everlasting arms. Mighty people, God, through the eyes of our faith, we can almost see those God-fearing Jews marching on their way to Zion, struggling along, plodding along perhaps, perhaps even bruised and bleeding and beaten, suffering danger along the way. But they are kept by the power of God. And finally, finally they arrive in God's presence in that earthly Jerusalem, in that house of God where God was. But my dear precious saints of God, we see more here. We see more than simply these God-fearing Jews in Palestine. Through the eyes of our faith, we see also the throng of people from every tribe and every tongue and nation, from the East and from the West and from the North and from the South. Multitudes as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Red and yellow, black and white, and all of them precious in God's sight. And all of them winding their way through the Valley of Baca. some bruised and bleeding, all of them in tears, marching on the road to glory, winding its way through Bucca, and that road at times was oh so painful, and oh so dangerous, but they pressed on, they pressed on through that earthly veil of tears, From strength to strength they went on, from spring to well, from pool to pool they went on, until at last, we read, until at last they all appeared before God in Zion. Oh, capture that with me. These pilgrims, all it says, appeared before Zion. They loved the house of God, we've read. They longed to be in the presence of their God. And they set their hearts and mind on that pilgrimage, marching on to Zion. And see, they all appeared before God in Zion. In other words, because they had made Him the object of their love, none of them perished along the way. None were devoured by wild beasts. None were snatched away by the roving bandits. None fainted on the road. Oh, perhaps some struggling in the rear and others coming in late. But when that final company is counted, none are missing. Old men and men in the strength of their youth. young children even, maidens fair and women dear, the entire company of pilgrims, when they are counted, as we have sung it together this morning in a priest service song, when they are counted one by one, when the roll is called up yonder, all will answer to their names, because every one of them appears before God in Zion. Does that surprise you? Why is that? Have you forgotten our Lord's promise that it would be so? Did you not believe him when he said to his father in Gethsemane, Father, those whom you have given me, I've kept them all and none of them are lost. And when he presents his innumerable host of redeemed souls before the throne of the almighty God, will we not hear him say, Father, behold, behold me and the children whom you have given me. Yours they were, Father, and mine are yours and yours are mine. And I am glorified in them. And will our hearts then not burst with joy? And will we then ourselves then not burst into song with all of the company of the redeemed to sing, kept by the power of God through faith until salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time? No spiritual pilgrim will ever fall and die in the Valley of Baca. Every one of them will appear before God and Zion. My dear precious people of God gather here in Willempoort. What a tremendous comfort is found for us all here, but as in the words of our text, but especially for the Glasbergens, the Sikkens and the Defries families this morning. Their loved one has completed their earthly journey, and for each of them, that journey was not always easy. But in God's grace, because of that reciprocal love between them and their savior, and their love for the house of God, because that's where God was. They pressed on, even as that journey wound its way through Baca. And now and now. They worship with us today in the church, triumphant in the presence of God. My dear people, God, we began this morning with the observation that there was, for the most part, among contemporary Christianity, no longer a real longing for the house of God. And then we listened as the psalmist explained that that longing translates into a longing not so much for God's house, but a longing for God who lives in that house. In other words, then, a lack of desire to be in church stems from a lack of longing for God himself. It could be no other way. Tell me now, how is it with your own personal longing for the house of the Lord? Can you hardly wait for the Sunday so you can be with your fellow pilgrims, so you can be with your fellow pilgrims in the presence of God in his house? Will you be here again this afternoon to bask in God's presence? Hear me well. According to the scriptures, a lack of longing for the house of God betrays a lack of longing for God. We need to understand that. But as we saw from our text, those who do long to be with God and those who strike out on that pilgrimage to his house will find the road that leads to life eternal. Oh, indeed, at times that road from this life to the next life will be rocky, rough, steep, and painful. But, but, but, because the longing is an all-consuming longing to be in the presence of God, then the journey, though difficult, will be graced by pools and wells and springs of God's gracious presence along the way until, until safe in glory at last. Jesus said, Seek and you shall find. May it be that our souls, too, will long, even faint, for the courts of the Lord as we together make our way to Zion. Amen.