The Valley of Tears

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This is a sermon that was based on Psalm 84:6.

Written excerpts:

Psalm 84:6 ^(NKJV) As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools.

Introduction:

A little earlier in the service we heard Psalm 84 read. I want to draw your attention specifically to verse six as we begin the message this morning, and I want to read it again from a more recent translation. In this translation, we discover one of the probable meanings of the name “Baca” which appears in the KJV.

Psalm 84:6 (NLT) When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings. 

Several weeks ago this passage caught my attention, and I felt the Lord directing me back to it for our consideration today.

I dare say that nearly everyone in the congregation today has had the personal experience of “walking through the valley of weeping” at some point in your life. There may be some of us who have experienced that valley multiple times in our lifetime. There may be some of us who are walking that valley today and have been for some time.

If you notice the wording of this verse, it indicates that the people referred to here have not only endured the time of weeping, but they also experienced the delight of watching their sorrow produce blessings they couldn’t have imagined. With the help of the Holy Spirit this morning I would like to consider three observations about this text.

I.    Consider the original meaning of the text.

II.  Consider the optimistic outcomes from the valley.

III. Consider the reason for the outcomes described.

I.    The Original Meaning of the Text

Various scholars agree that verses 5-7 seem to indicate that the Psalm is about those who are on a pilgrimage to Zion (Jerusalem) where God chose years earlier for His name to be established and known. Thus, the temple was to be built there and was completed by King Solomon. The Temple was more than just a building for the performance of sacrifices and offerings required by God. It was the place where God would meet with His people. 

The Temple was only a “token of God.” (Willem A. VanGemeren, Expositor's Bible Commentary, Revised Ed.)

The pilgrimage very well could have been travelers on their way to the City of Zion and the temple courts for one of the several festivals that were celebrated throughout the year according to the word of the Lord. On any such pilgrimage, the travelers would have literally experienced difficulties represented figuratively as the “valley of weeping” in verse six.

But, as we also notice in verse six, these travelers witness their adversity and sorrow turn into what one writer describes as “life-giving springs and rains.” He goes on to say, “As they move through the Valley of Weeping it turns fertile as they near the holy place. Indeed, the closer they get, the stronger they become [v.7]… until they finally arrive at the sanctuary.” (Tremper Longman III, Tyndale O.T. Commentaries)

So the Psalm appears to be describing how the tiring, sometimes dangerous, and sorrowful journey turns into blessing and joy as the pilgrims approach the place where God meets His people.

II.  The Optimistic Outcomes of the Valley

The wording of verses 6-7 indicate very positive results arising out of adversity. 

(VanGemeren, Expositor's Bible Commentary, Rev. Ed.) It is not unlikely that the psalmist also speaks of the highway, the Valley of Baca, and the water as metaphors of the experience of fellowship and blessedness after a prolonged period of adversity. The strength and joy of the godly stem from their hope in God. Faith in God is ultimate and transforms weak people into those who “go from strength to strength” (v.7) and the Valley of Baca into springs and pools, as expressive of God’s blessings (v.6). 

What are the outcomes?

Unexpected fellowship (draw closer to God and His people)

Unexpected blessings (gifts and benefits we never dreamed we could experience)

Unexpected strength (the ability to not only endure, but to rise above the very things we thought would surely destroy us)

Should we not “expect the unexpected” when we consider our God?

Listen to several similar verses that God gave to the prophet Isaiah.

See Is. 35

Isaiah 41:17-20 (NKJV) ¹⁷  "The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the LORD, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. ¹⁸  I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water. ¹⁹  I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together, ²⁰  That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it. 

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NKJV) ¹⁸  "Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. ¹⁹  Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. 

While Isaiah was commissioned by God to let the people of Judah know of judgment and punishment for their sin, yet He wouldn’t completely abandon them. He would save a remnant and would perform the unexpected and miraculous – such as: streams of water in the desert, highways in the wilderness, and fountains in the valleys.

Dear friends, I know that it doesn’t happen 100% of the time, but many times I have witnessed God doing marvelous things in the lives of people who have gone through some of the severest trials and sorrows. That’s what God specializes in!

III. The Reason for the Outcomes Described

As I read through this Psalm, I detect two reasons for the unusual outcomes from the “Valley of Weeping.”

1.   The kind of people they are.

2.   The kind of God they serve.

If we read through verses 1-4, we discover that these are people who love the presence of God, the house of God and the people of God. They find their greatest joy, not in the pleasures of the world, but in the fellowship and communion with the Lord. See verse 10. They “envy” the very birds that build their nests and raise their young near the altar, because those birds are continually close to the place where God “dwells.”

Dear friends, if you want to have the ability to experience unusual blessings from the valleys of weeping, become more and more acquainted with God, and His house, and His people!

Secondly, the reason these results come about is because of the kind of God they serve. (See v. 11)

Tyndale Commentaries - God, after all, is the provider of life and illumination (sun) and a protection from threats (shield). He gives all good things to those who follow him obediently, as the opening of Psalm 23 also asserts (‘The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing’). 

Conclusion:

(Tyndale Commentaries) - God chose Zion as the place to make his presence known among his people, so Solomon built the temple there. Thus, that place and that building were holy, or set apart from all other places, because of God’s presence. To be in Zion is to be close to God and his benefits.

The New Testament announces that God makes his presence known in Jesus Christ: ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us’ (John 1:14). God sent his Spirit to dwell in us so that we, as individuals (1 Cor. 6:19-20) and as a church (Eph. 2:19-22), are called the temple of God.

Whatever valley you may be going through today, use it as a motivation to seek God and draw closer to Him. Use your valley as a motivation to seek to be in God’s house with God’s people. If you and I gain no other benefit or blessing from our valley other than getting closer to God, then it will be a valley well worth the sorrow and trouble. The best news of all is that one of these days, if we stay true to the Lord, we will experience our last trial, our last valley and our last sorrow.

As a reminder of these truths, I want to close the service by singing the hymn, Until Then.