Stay in the Sanctuary: Praising God

What started out as one post, Stay in the Sanctuary, has turned into a series.  I did not intend that, but God keeps teaching me what it means to stay in His sanctuary. This helps me to gain His perspective on the events in my life and the world around me. The latest area that He has been teaching me is in the area of praise. God’s sanctuary is a place of praise.

As we spend time in God’s sanctuary, we see that “Honor and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.” (Psalm 96:6)  As we begin to see these things, it is only fitting that we should “Lift up [our] hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.” (Psalm 134:2) 

Matthew Henry says of Psalm 150:1, “Praise EL, or the strong one, in His holy place…Praise begins at home. In God’s own house pronounce His praise.”  While it is important to praise God in His house or what we call the church today, we mustn’t forget that we are His temple.  (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) 

Matthew Henry goes on to list ways that we can praise God.  “Praise God with a strong faith; praise God with holy love and delight; praise Him with an entire confidence in Christ; praise Him with a believing triumph over the powers of darkness; praise Him with an earnest desire towards Him; and a full satisfaction in Him; praise Him by a universal respect to all His commandments; praise Him by a cheerful submission to all His disposals; praise Him by rejoicing in His love, and solacing yourselves in His great goodness; praise Him by promoting the interests of the Kingdom of His grace; praise Him by a lively hope and expectation of the Kingdom of His glory.” WOW!! How on earth can I do all that? By staying in the sanctuary of His Word! 

In the days ahead I want to spend more time meditating on each of these areas so that I can praise Him. One area in particular that stood out to me is to solace myself in His great goodness. God is taking me to another level in understanding His goodness.  It’s not enough to know that He is good.  To show true praise for this attribute of God, I must find comfort in it! I am looking forward to seeing what God will do in the days ahead as I continue on my quest of staying in the sanctuary and gaining more of His perspective from His Word!

Stay in the Sanctuary: God’s Ways

In a previous blog post, I wrote about staying in the sanctuary.  This is where God speaks to us and we can gain His perspective about the world around us.  As I have studied this more, I realized there is a whole lot more for me to learn about God and His sanctuary.  While a sanctuary can be a place, there is also the aspect of God’s way and His holiness.

God’s Way 

“Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?”
~Psalm 77:13 

The Hebrew word used for ‘thy way’ means a road or manner.  Spurgeon defines it as a mode of action.  Derek Kidner in his commentary defines sanctuary as holiness.  In other words, ‘thy way is in holiness’.  I love how Kidner explained this.  “Holy in such a context, is a formidable word, conveying the aspect of God as one who ‘dwells in unapproachable light’; fearful as an enemy but glorious as a friend.” 

In verse 19 of Psalm 77 we read, “Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.” We don’t always understand what God is doing.  We can’t always see His footsteps and know the path that He is taking. We can’t see His footprints in the sea. We do know that God is holy.  Because of this, we can be sure that whatever He is doing is just and right.  Spurgeon says “…it is rich consolation that we can trust [His way], for it is in holiness.” When we are staying in the sanctuary “all is light, all is clear” even though we may not understand exactly what He is doing.

As we seem to be watching the world fall apart around us and we face our own daily trials, may we stay in the sanctuary of God’s Word.  It is there that we can learn of His ways and find the peace that we crave. It is there that we learn of His holiness so that we can gain the perspective that whatever He does is just and right.

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I like to use the Blue Letter Bible app for study.  It is easy to look up the meanings of the words in the original language.  There are also commentaries available in the app to use.  I do have a set of Spurgeon’s Treasury of David, but it is also available in the app. 

The photo is of Matsumoto Castle.

Perspective

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen,
not only because I see it,
but because by it I see everything else.”
~C.S. Lewis

Stay in the Sanctuary

My word for the year 2022 is perspective.  This isn’t something that I just draw out of a hat.  I’ve heard some say that their word for the year chooses them.  I’ve said that myself, but in truth, God gives me my word.  I usually know what it is by October or November of the previous year.  It always comes about through my study and work on the word for that year.  God is pealing back the layers and has something else for me to learn.  Some things take a year, some take longer.  For the past three years, I had three different words: hope, abound and believing. All are from Romans 15:13.  Sometimes I am a slow learner!  

As the last two years have unfolded, there have been unprecedented things going on in our world.  Living abroad, I may have a little different perspective on those things than others in my peer group.  There are times when my perspective becomes blurred.  I don’t know what to think.  There are times when that blurred perspective can turn into discouragement and a sense of hopelessness.  It was during one of those times that I realized I needed to gain God’s perspective on what is going on in the world around me.  

I searched on a Bible website for the word perspective in the King James Version.  The response I received was, “Sorry, we didn’t find any results for your search.”  As I dug a little deeper, I found that while the word might not be there, the idea is.  I’ve also realized that there is only one way to gain God’s perspective on the world around us.  That is to stay in the sanctuary.

What exactly does it mean to stay in the sanctuary?  

In Psalm 63:1-2, the psalmist says, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.” The ESV says, “my flesh faints for you…”  The psalmist needed His God!  According to my study Bible, this was written by David while he was in the wilderness of Judea.  He was either running from Saul or possibly Absalom.  He was desperate in His need for God!

Webster defines sanctuary as a consecrated place, the room in which general worship services are held.  A secondary meaning is a place or refuge and protection.  Strong’s defines sanctuary as a sacred place that is set apart.  So a sanctuary is a consecrated place that is set apart and provides a refuge and protection.  Spurgeon* said that the sanctuary was “where God met [David] and manifested Himself to him.”  

Where is the sanctuary for us today?  

It could be a place.  Maybe it’s in a comfy chair.  Maybe it’s in a quiet room.  When I had small children at home, I often asked my husband for an afternoon to go to the library.  There I would find a table in a far corner away from everyone.  The place is not as important as what you do while you are there.  Our true sanctuary is God’s Word.  It is here in His Word that we can hear His voice as He speaks to us.  It is here that we gain His perspective on world events, what is happening in our private world and even what is going on in our own heart.  It is here that we have a refuge and find protection.

I want to write more about this in the future. For now, I encourage you to stay in the sanctuary of God’s Word.  Instead of sinking in discouragement and hopelessness from yet more bad news, run to Him in the sanctuary and be encouraged as you begin to look at life through the lens of His Word!  As Spurgeon said, “There is no help like that which is of God’s sending, and no deliverance like that which comes out of His sanctuary.”

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*Spurgeon’s Treasury of David has proved to be invaluable as I study through some of this for myself.  I have the three volume set, but you can access his notes here for free.

One Word