Table of Contents
Date: SUN 11:30am 25th January 2026
Preacher: Rev. David Priestley
Bible Reference: Psalms 84:11
Podcast
Sermon Summary
David’s Affection for the Temple
The preacher explains that David’s profound love for the temple stemmed not from superstition about the physical place, but from the reality of meeting God there. David had experienced the joy of dwelling in God’s presence and the pain of separation (as when exiled or in distress), leading him to declare he would rather be a mere doorkeeper in God’s house than dwell in the tents of wickedness. The temple was special because it was where he beheld the beauty of the Lord and sought His face.
Main Exposition: Three Key Truths from Verse 11
- The Comparisons – “The Lord God is a sun and shield”
- A Sun
The preacher draws out the immensity of the sun as a picture of God’s infinite greatness: its vast size (900,000 miles in diameter), its distance from earth, its unchanging endurance over millennia (shining on Adam, standing still for Joshua, beating on Jonah). The sun’s glory pales beside God’s (Isaiah 24:23).
It also speaks of illumination — without the sun the world would be dark and lifeless; likewise, God brings His people out of spiritual darkness into marvellous light (Psalm 27:1).
Finally, the sun’s impact revives nature after winter, causing flowers to lift their heads; so the church needs the reviving, quickening work of the Holy Spirit (Psalm 85:6). The preacher quotes G. Campbell Morgan: we cannot organise revival, but we can set our sails to catch the wind when God blows. - A Shield
A shield is close at hand, providing immediate protection. God is likewise ever-present as a shield for His people (Psalm 125:2). Examples include God reassuring Abraham after battle: “Fear not…I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1).
The shield is invincible against every attack of the enemy. The preacher recalls Joshua facing Jericho, where the pre-incarnate Christ appeared as a man with drawn sword (Joshua 5), and urges believers to take up the shield of faith to quench the fiery darts of the wicked (Ephesians 6:16), trusting God for victory over sin and spiritual strongholds.
- A Sun
- The Comfort – “The Lord will give grace and glory”
- Grace
Grace is undeserved favour and strength. The preacher notes its constant necessity: we are inadequate for trials, temptations, and tasks. Examples include Paul’s thorn in the flesh, where God declared, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9) — grace exactly matches every need.
Grace keeps from sin (as God kept Abimelech), sustains in manifold temptations (1 Peter 1:5–6), and enables abundant good works (2 Corinthians 9:8). One Puritan prayer is quoted: “Lord, ever lighten the load or strengthen my back.” - Glory
God gives present glory — a reflected divine brightness in the lives of believers (like sunlight on broken glass or a diamond). This glory attracts others, as seen in Zechariah 8:23 and Paul’s experience in Galatia (Galatians 4:13–15).
He also gives future glory — an eternal inheritance in heaven, a house not made with hands (2 Corinthians 5:1). Grace and glory are inseparably linked: only saving grace fits sinners for heaven’s glory.
- Grace
- The Confidence – “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly”God alone judges what is truly good. He turns even life’s burdens and buffetings to ultimate good for His people. Those who walk uprightly (like Noah, who “walked with God” amid a wicked generation — Genesis 6:9) receive His blessing.
The Lord has all good gifts at His disposal and can do “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” The preacher prays for the arm of the Lord to be revealed, His church built, the gates of hell defeated, and His name exalted.
Closing Application and Appeal
The sermon closes by returning to the psalm’s final verse: “Blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.” The preacher urges self-examination: Is your trust fixed in Christ? Is it well with your soul? Are you saved by grace alone? He prays that the Lord would bless His word to every heart, that believers might know God as their sun and shield, receive His grace and glory, and experience His promise of withholding no good thing from the upright.
