The Pilgrim’s Progress

“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.”

Psalm 84:1-2

 Overview

Psalm 84 could be titled, “The Pilgrim’s Progress to the Heavenly Rest.” Spurgeon called it “the pearl of psalms,” one of the sweetest of the psalms of peace. It expresses the believer’s intense longing for and delight in the house of God. The author appears to be suffering from homesickness, reminding us of John Bunyan, whose heart was longing for the Celestial City of God as he wrote Pilgrim’s Progresswhile confined in prison.

We are told in the superscription that this is one of the psalms of the sons of Korah. Numbers 16 describes how the Levite Korah was killed by God for his sinful ambition of wanting to be a priest. The earth opened up and swallowed Korah and all who joined in his rebellion. But his children humbled themselves, trusted in God, and escaped that divine judgment, as Numbers 26:11 tells us: “Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not” (KJV).

As Levites, the sons of Korah had responsibilities in the tabernacle, but it appears that the author of this psalm was denied access to it for some reason. Nevertheless, he longed to be in the house of God. So the psalm begins, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!” “How lovely” would be better rendered, “How beloved” or “How dear.” This psalmist loved the house of God. He was fascinated, not by the structure, but by God himself, who was pleased to manifest his glory in the temple.

He continues, “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (v. 2). We find the same earnest longing for God in Psalm 42, another psalm of the sons of Korah: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (vv. 1-2). True children of God always yearn, long, and even faint to worship the living God.

Then he says, “Even the sparrow has found a home, 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” (v. 3). Here he envies even the little birds who dwell near God’s tabernacle! A sparrow is worthless; a swallow is restless. Yet they find a place near the temple where they can live and raise her young in the presence of God.

Verse 4 says, “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.” Today we want to examine several characteristics of believing pilgrims as they progress toward the heavenly Sabbath rest.

The Faith of the Pilgrim

Faith comes first. No one will begin a pilgrimage to God unless he believes in him. No one will long and yearn for the living God unless he has been made a new creation. By nature we are dead in sin, enemies of God who have transgressed his commandments. God must first make us alive in him so that we can join the company of those who are moving toward the Celestial City.

Abraham was an idol worshiper in Mesopotamia when the God of glory appeared to him and said, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Abraham believed God and left, and we are told God credited this to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). But no one becomes a believer unless God first comes to him and makes him a new creation, granting him the gifts of repentance and saving faith.

Abraham became a pilgrim and journeyed to the land of Canaan. But his true destination was the city of God, not Canaan. No real estate in this world can satisfy the deepest longing of a believer’s heart. As St. Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in God.”

Hebrews 11 describes this faith of Abraham: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise” (vv. 8-9). Why was Abraham a stranger and a sojourner on earth? “For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (v. 10). Hebrews 11:15-16 speaks of faithful pilgrims throughout the ages who shared Abraham’s vision: “If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

The psalmist tells us in 84:12, “O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.” One becomes a believer by trusting in the living God of Israel. What does this trust entail? Verse 3 spoke of the swallow finding a nest near God’s altar. The altar stands for sacrifice. We cannot be saved unless a sacrifice is offered on the altar. And verse 9 says, “Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one,” that is, on your Messiah.

What, then, is the psalmist saying? “O God, look upon your Messiah, the One who will die as a sacrifice in our place, as our substitute upon the altar.” In the same way, each of us must say: “Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner. I trust in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who died in my place on the cross.” When we trust in the Anointed One, he shields us from God’s wrath by suffering that wrath himself on the altar. But if we do not trust in him, God’s wrath will fall on us.

The Longing of the Pilgrim

A true pilgrim longs to worship God both in this world and in the world to come. Nothing else will satisfy him. Especially on the Sabbath, his greatest desire is to worship God together with God’s people.

This longing is expressed often throughout the book of psalms. David says in Psalm 23, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (v. 6). In Psalm 26:8 he declares, “I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells,” and in Psalm 27:4 he says, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

In Psalm 122:1 we read, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” And Psalm 84:10 says, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” This is the longing, the yearning, the supreme desire of a true believer—to be in the house of the Lord worshiping God with the people of God.

Those who are backslidden and double-minded will find no delight worshiping in God’s house. They would rather play golf, go fishing or skiing, watch football, or just sleep in. To such people, worship is a pain. Malachi 1:13 says of them: “And you say, “What a burden!” and you sniff at it contemptuously,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?’ says the Lord.”

Amos 8:5 also speaks about those who hate worship and the Sabbath. They say: “When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?” They are just waiting for the Sabbath to end so that they can carry on with what they delight in, which is making money. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts such people: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (10:25).

What about you? If you find the Lord’s Day boring and burdensome, then it is possible you are not a pilgrim. Those who are born of God will delight in worshiping him. If we do not delight in worship here, how can we expect to enjoy heaven?

Luke 4:16 tells us it was the habit of Jesus to worship God: “On the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.” It was also the habit of the early church: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42); “All the believers were one in heart and mind” (Acts 4:32). This was their greatest joy—to worship God together with the people of God.

In Luke 10:42 Jesus told Martha: “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” What is that one thing? To know God and have fellowship with him, to gaze upon his beauty, and to be in his presence.

Do you delight in the Lord’s worship? Do you enjoy fellowship with the people of God? Do you love to sing God’s praises? Do you value the preaching of God’s word? If so, then you are a pilgrim journeying to your eternal home.

The Strength of the Pilgrim

Verse 5 says, “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage,” and verse 7 says, “They go from strength to strength.” A believer is weak in himself, but strong in God. Having trusted in Christ, he is united with him in faith as a branch is united to the vine; therefore, Christ’s virtue, strength, and resurrection power flows into him. He is a new creation, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who gives him this power to live a life pleasing to God. As Jesus promised, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8).

Several New Testament scriptures speak about this strength of the pilgrim. In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Paul says, “But [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” And in Philippians 4:13 he declares, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (KJV). In 2 Corinthians 4:16 he says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day,” and in Ephesians 6:10 he exhorts us, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Finally, in Colossians 1:29 the apostle tells us, “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” Our strength is God’s strength; it is the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Old Testament also speaks of this strength. Isaiah 40 declares: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (vv. 28-31).

The pilgrim’s strength is found in God’s ever-sufficient grace. So when we are tired and worn out and feel like complaining, we must remember the promise of 2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

The Trials of the Pilgrim

Every Christian pilgrim must go through the Valley of Baca (v. 6), which is a metaphor for the hardships we experience as we go to meet with God in heavenly Zion. Jesus calls us to follow him, but also warns that we shall be persecuted: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He requires his disciples to deny themselves, take up the cross daily, and follow him. And in Acts 14:22 Paul says, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” We all must go through the Valley of Baca; we cannot avoid it.

The vast majority of Christians today embrace a Christianity that promises freedom from sufferings. They do so because they have only nominal, not saving, faith. Only saving faith will endure through the fire of affliction. It is a false gospel that promotes health, wealth, power, and fame while denying persecution and problems. Consider what Paul said about himself in 2 Corinthians 11:23-25: “Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen . . .” and so on. If this is the experience of Paul, how can we expect anything different?

But fear not, pilgrim, for we are not alone in this journey. God is with us, and God’s people are with us. Yes, we must all go through the Valley of Baca, but God’s grace will transform it into a valley of showers of blessing. Thus, a true believer can rejoice in tribulations.

God will never forsake his pilgrims nor leave them as defenseless orphans. David was aware of this when he affirmed, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Paul was in prison several times, but the Lord was with him. John was held captive on the island of Patmos, but the Lord was with him. The three Hebrew children were thrown into the fire, but the Lord was with them. Daniel was cast into the den of lions, but the Lord was with him. So too the Lord will be with us until we arrive in Zion and see him face to face. No prison, no fire, no sword can destroy us as we go along the way. It is utterly impossible.

Consider God’s gracious promise in Isaiah 43: “But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze’” (vv. 1-2). He who delivered the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery and led them through the sea as though on dry land, he who gave them water from the rock, will also guide us through our life in this world.

Therefore, let the storms come! No storm can come upon us unless God permits it and ordains it for our good. The Lord is in our boat; he shall calm all storms and bring us safely to the other side.

The Hope of the Pilgrim

The reason for the pilgrim’s great hope is given in verse 11: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (KJV).

The pilgrim’s hope is not in riches, fame, or power of this world. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet forfeits his soul? The devil offered all the glory of the world to Jesus if only he would worship him. Jesus refused, for his pleasure was to do the will of God and be seated at God’s right hand. So too, all true pilgrims reject the cup of soup the world would give us if only we would deny Christ. We are not double-minded. We long to be with God forever; thus, we fix our eyes on him and let nothing hinder us.

The Lord God is the pilgrim’s sun, meaning he is the source of all light and life. Without the sun there is no life. God is our life, our light, and our guide. He is the source of all goodness. That is why we reject the things of this world and seek God alone.

God is also our shield. That means he is our guard, the one who protects us from all our enemies. Romans 8:39 tells us that nothing in all creation is able to separate us from the love of God. Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:28-30). We are kept safe by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; thus, we shall never perish.

Not only that, verse 11 says that God gives us grace. He giveth and giveth and giveth again. There is no end to the outflow of God’s all-sufficient grace. Grace is all the benefits that come to us from the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (PGM) We merited hell, but God gave us heaven; that is what grace is all about. By grace we are forgiven, redeemed, and justified. By grace we are being sanctified and shall be glorified. By grace we shall overcome all temptations on our way to heaven, and by grace we shall arrive in the very presence of God. This is not through our own merit; we are saved by Christ’s merit alone. But how do we receive God’s grace? Through humility and repentance. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

God not only gives us grace, he also gives us glory. Satan dragged us down into the mire of sin: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But God has an eternal plan to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). The recipients of his grace shall in due course be glorified; when we see the glorified Christ, we shall be like him. He who foreknew us, predestinated us, called us, and justified us, will also surely glorify us. Thus, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:2). And Paul says in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” In 2 Corinthians 3:18 he tells us we are “being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory.” Even now Christ our Bridegroom is cleansing us and making us holy and blameless, without spot or wrinkle.

Verse 11 also says, “No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” Romans 8:32 is applicable here: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” God will not give us everything, but he will give us every good thing that is necessary to promote our spiritual welfare in our life journey. The Bible does not say he will give us gold and silver, fame and power, but he will give us grace and glory.

Why does God give us every good thing? To promote our Christlikeness. Scripture says that God alone is good, so “good things” are those things that make us more like him. Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that in all thing God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to this purpose.” Do you believe this? If God did not give you something you earnestly desired, perhaps it is because that thing was not good for the ultimate goal of your becoming like Christ. Paul prayed three times that God might remove the thorn in his side. God told him, “No.” But he also said, “I will give you grace.”

The Heart of the Pilgrim

Verse 11 says God gives these good things to those whose walk is blameless. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (KJV). That is speaking of the will of God, the narrow way.

Verse 5 says, “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.” Literally, it means, “in whose hearts are the highways,” meaning the highway to Zion. If you are a Christian, your heart will delight in the way of God and you will walk in it.

We are told about this highway in Isaiah 35:8: “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.” In New Testament times, Christianity was known as “The Way,” and Christians were called the people of the Way because they walked in holiness. Jesus Christ said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). He is the way to the Father.

This highway can be clearly seen and identified. We do not have to work hard to find it. If we want to know the will of God, it can be easily discerned through his word. But those who are proud and self-centered will not recognize the will of God, even if it is shouted from the hilltop. The Bible says, “Hearing, they will not hear; seeing, they will not see.” God refuses to speak until we completely surrender ourselves to the Lord as his servants. It must be one hundred percent surrender, not ninety-nine percent. Only then we will discover the will of God.

Notice, it is called the highway of holiness. Many today say that one can be a Christian yet practice sin at the same time. But Isaiah 35:8 says, “The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way.” God himself foreordained from all eternity that a people will look for that highway and walk on it. They are his people, the redeemed of the Lord, and their hearts will delight in the narrow way.

Thus, we can understand our own hearts by whether or not we want to get on the highway. Isaiah 35:8 says, “wicked fools will not go about on it.” Those who have no interest in holiness are addressed here as wicked fools. Isaiah continues, “No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there.” In the heart of all true pilgrims is the highway to Zion. They know it, they delight in it, and they walk on it, led by the Spirit and the word of God.

How is your walk? Do you strive to be holy? Do you walk in the will of God? If you do not walk in holiness, then no good thing is going to come to you. God gives good things only to those who live obedient lives.

The Perseverance of the Pilgrim

Verse 7 says of pilgrims, “They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” This teaches the doctrine of perseverance of the saints. No pilgrim will be lost on the way or destroyed by enemies. Though they will have opportunity to do so, no pilgrim will go back to the City of Destruction. All will persevere to the end. They trusted in God who saved them, and they shall never perish. They have been united with Christ, and nothing in all creation can separate them from him, for he will not let them go. Led by the Spirit, the elect of God shall come through all storms, all rivers, all deserts, and all enemy territory. Not even one shall be lost. The Good Shepherd who laid down his life for them shall guide them and bring them safely to the Celestial City in glory.

In one sense, every believer is already in the presence of God spiritually. Hebrews 12:22-24 tells us, “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Spiritually we are seated with Christ, and as we worship, we join with all those spirits who have already been made perfect, those who died in the Lord and are with him.

So in the spiritual sense, we are already worshiping in Zion, in God’s presence, with the heavenly hosts. Yet in another sense, we have not arrived, but will do so in God’s good time. Some of us may get there sooner than we reckoned. But every child of God will arrive in Zion to behold God forevermore.

In Philippians 1 Paul speaks of his intense longing to be in the presence of God: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (v. 21); “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (v. 23). In 2 Corinthians 5:8 he also says, “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” And in 2 Timothy 4:6-8 he says, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” This is the same longing of the psalmist—a yearning and fainting for the living God. I hope each of us will develop such a deep love for God that we too yearn for the day when we appear before him in Zion.

The Happiness of the Pilgrim

Martin Luther once said, “Let the world have their rich ones, their powerful ones, and their wise ones, and their consolations in this world; let them trust and glory in their wisdom, their might, their wealth, and their possessions,—my heart triumphs in the living God.” (William S. Plumer, Psalms [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975], 799)

We are told three times in Psalm 84 about the blessedness, or happiness, of the pilgrim: “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you” (v. 4); “Blessed are those whose strength is in you” (v. 5); and, “O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you” (v. 12). The goal of the Christian life is this beatific vision—to see God and experience fullness of life and joy in his presence. The biblical definition of blessing is to hear Jesus Christ say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness.” To be cursed is to be cast away from the presence of God and to hear the Lord say, “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity!”

Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” That should be the goal of our lives. As we draw near to the city of God, our hearts will throb with greater and greater anticipation and delight: Soon we will arrive in God’s presence! That is eternal life.

The apostle John had a preview of heaven, as we read in the book of Revelation. He was in prison on the island of Patmos on the Lord’s Day. God called him up to the heavenlies, and Christ appeared to him and revealed to him what would happen in the future.

Paul also had a preview when he was caught up to the third heaven, to paradise. Paradise is where God is. Jesus himself used that language: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” So even a prison can be paradise for God’s people. Paul heard inexpressible things, but I am sure they were delightful. Paradise, the third heaven, is waiting for us pilgrims.

As he was being stoned, Stephen looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God. He cried out, “Look! I see heaven opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Like Stephen, we must also look to heaven, not to this world. We must not let anything hinder us in our journey. Move on! Soon we will be in God’s presence with all the saints who have gone before us. And what are they doing there? The book of Revelation tells us they are singing, worshiping, and praising God. Psalm 84:4 says, “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.” Worship is not boring for the people of God. No, it is absolute ecstasy and great blessing.

The word “blessed” means indescribable happiness. It is inexpressible, inexhaustible, immeasurable joy that cannot be put into words. No one can fully recount or explain the blessings bestowed upon a person when he trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ.

How blessed we are! We dwell in the house of God even now, and the Sabbath is the great joy of our week. Our blessedness began the moment we trusted in Jesus Christ; it continues as we travel on in the highway, going from strength to strength; and it will engulf us when we arrive in heaven to live for eternity in God’s presence, ever praising him. This is pure delight. This is infinite and inexhaustible pleasure. What the devil offers is a counterfeit; it is death veiled as pleasure. May the Spirit of God open our eyes to see what true blessing is all about.

I invite you to become a blessed man, a blessed woman, a blessed teenager, a blessed child, by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I invite you who are already believers to find your highest joy and delight in the worship of the living God. Even now God in his great mercy gives us a foretaste of that joy which in its fullness we shall enjoy when we arrive there. So let us together journey in God’s strength through the Valley of Baca to heavenly Zion, the place of everlasting joy. Amen.