I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Eight plus one equals nine, subtract nine, leaves zero. That is the first thing Guy Robinson taught me, more than 23 years ago. It was the first thing, but by no means the last.
Guy was at the time I came here the chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee, a role he was to hold any number of times over the years. That means that he had responsibility for the operation of this building, including its security. And so, the first week I started here, Guy issued me a set of keys and taught me the security code. Eight one nine zero. It is forever engraved on my memory, because Guy taught me a way to remember it. He said, “Add eight plus one, get nine. Subtract nine, leaves zero. Eight one nine zero. Easy to remember.” It was and it is; the only reason I feel comfortable sharing it now is that I know you have changed security systems and it won’t work any more!
Security was important to Guy. The protection of property that belonged to the house of God was important to him. Keeping things safe was significant to him. To use the Biblical language, he was a true doorkeeper in the house of [his] God, and preferred that to dwelling in the tents of wickedness.
There are two spiritual issues implied in that verse from the 84th psalm, and Guy’s life will instruct us in both of them. As I have said, the formula for the security system in this building is the first thing Guy Robinson taught me, but by no means the last.
I
Security is important to us all. We do not want our property vandalized. We do not want our things to be stolen. We do not want our privacy compromised. And, above all, we do not want to feel that we are adrift, without direction or purpose. We do not want to feel insecure. We need a strong sense of security.
When Mr. Robinson was in the military, many years ago, he suffered a serious accident. The injuries to his back were such that he had to be discharged as disabled. To be called disabled would have been a blow to the pride of a lesser man. We males of the species have been socialized to think that we have to be strong. We think that we have to be up and busy and successful, as the world knows success. Disability might have sent Guy into depression or doomed him to laziness. But there was something in Guy Robinson’s mind and heart that assured him that he would be all right. There was something in his character that told him that disabled just means “differently-abled.” And so not until his later years did I ever see Guy shrink back from work, nor did I ever see him expect to be treated as if he were unable. There was that certain something in him that pushed him to stand up and do his part.
What was it? Security. Secure in himself, secure in his family, secure in his friendships, and, most of all, secure in his faith in God. Here was a man who did whatever he did with pride, devotion, and duty, and with confidence that the God who had brought him through injury and rehabilitation would also keep him secure. Guy believed that God will keep the doorkeeper.
Think about some of the things he gave himself to. Not only his volunteer work here at the church, seeing to it that this facility remained useful, but, Gwen, I remember when you hired him to be the doorkeeper at the Metropolitan Health Services Center. You gave him something useful to do, and did he ever take that seriously! He would stop by here occasionally on his way to and from the clinic and would pretend to complain – “Oh, Gwen’s got me over there again; got to go open up for somebody.” Don’t worry about it; he loved it. He loved every minute of it. He loved taking care of that place, as well as this place, as well as your home on Underwood Street. He loved it all, because he was secure. He knew himself, he trusted his family, he believed in his abilities, and, again, most of all, he was secure in his relationship to the Lord. God will keep the doorkeeper.
Denson, you asked him to provide transportation for your clients at We Care. Again, he pretended to complain, but we were not fooled. He would come by here, stand in my door, and say, “Phew, they got me going all over the place.” But the truth is, it did not matter how far away they lived or how far it is out to Mitchellville. He loved providing for those whose disabilities were far greater than his. He was most careful to keep them safe and secure. For he knew who he was. He knew that he was serving his family. He was confident he was helping others. And he was secure in that most intimate, that most important of all relationships. He was secure in the Lord, for God will keep the doorkeeper.
II
But the Scripture has another side to it. And, as I said a moment ago, there are two spiritual issues that are reflected, not only in this psalm but also in Guy’s life. It is not only that the psalmist had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of [his] God; it is also that he did not want to “dwell in the tents of wickedness.” It is not only that Guy felt secure, for God will keep the doorkeeper; it is also that Guy despised dishonesty. Guy Robinson had a problem with you if you did not tell the truth. I have heard him, after one church meeting or another, shake his head and say, “That wasn’t true, that wasn’t right.” He cared about truth and honesty.
At this church the practice used to be, and perhaps still is, that when a wedding is going on, there must be someone on security detail. Someone needs to protect the building and give directions to strangers, handle the lights and the heat, and so on. Normally we asked our sexton to do that, and the bride and groom were to pay for it. Well, one time there was a couple who came here to be married, and started pleading poverty. As I recall the story, they asked if they could use the church building for free; that was referred to Mr. Robinson and the Building and Grounds Committee, and they agreed to at least a reduced cost, though not entirely free. Mr. Robinson then volunteered to do the security work without being paid. We thought we had done this impoverished young couple a real favor.
Came wedding day, and they were late. They were not just a few minutes late, they were nowhere to be seen. And when they did arrive, they stood around on the front lawn, laughing and talking and hanging out, for at least forty-five minutes. All of that is time, and time represents money. If they had been paying, they would have been paying for all that wasted time. But, remember, these were “poor people.” These were people who had no money. We – the church, the pastor, and most of all, the security man – were helping them out.
Finally, the wedding, and time to leave. Guy came running to get me. “Come out here, I want you to see this.” And what he showed me was a stretch limousine that took up practically the entire block from Aspen to Butternut, shiny and liveried and staffed with a driver and a coachman. So that’s where all their money went! Guy Robinson was beside himself. He could not believe that we had been so cheated. He could not accept such a flagrant violation of truth. He profoundly disliked “the tents of wickedness” – even when, especially when, it was a stretch limo tent.
God keeps the doorkeeper who loves the courts of the Lord, and who will not dwell in the tents of wickedness. God secures the man who cares for the safety of others and who refuses to compromise truth. Is not this Guy Robinson, “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness”? God will keep the doorkeeper who is careful for the safety of others and who stays away from dishonesty and untruth.
III
And so, today, celebrate the doorkeeper, but celebrate also Him who keeps the doorkeeper.
For this same psalm says, “no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” And God has indeed withheld no good thing from Guy. Christine, your devotion to one another has been an inspiration to us all. You were always in his thoughts, and you have cared for him so well. I have in my memory an image from one day, as Margaret and I drove down Georgia Avenue, we saw you taking him by the hand to lead him across to safety. His mind was slipping, but your love for one another never failed. We celebrate that.
Gwen, how precious you have been to him! What pride he took in you, as a student and as a professional woman! What excitement as you married and became a mother! All these little “guys” in your household! No good thing has the Lord withheld from you and Denson and from Guy.
Gary, I used to get clippings about you! Citations at your work that made him proud. And as you and Kimberly became parents, and as you took on church leadership – if I heard it once, I heard it a half-dozen times – “They’re making Gary a trustee!” No good thing has the Lord withheld.
And even though his memory faded and his body rebelled, the Lord left him a special gift – the capacity to play that piano, in his own inimitable style. Never mind the disability, never mind the memory lapses, never mind the disease. Music was in his heart, piano-playing was in his fingers. No good thing will the Lord withhold.
Today I remind you that the Lord will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on him. The Lord our God has prepared a place for Guy, a secure and safe place. No good thing will the Lord withhold.
Today I bring to your attention afresh that once death thought he had a stranglehold on us all, but the Lord Jesus, on the third day, broke the bands, shoved aside the barriers, and rose from the dead, the first-fruits of them that sleep. Today I announce again that God so loved the world – God so loved Guy Robinson – that He gave His only Son, so that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. Life without disability or pain, life without lapses or struggle, life without intrusions from the dishonest or the untruthful. Life, abundant life. No good thing will the Lord withhold.
Eight plus one equals nine. Subtract nine, leaves zero. Thank you, my good friend, for caring about my security and the church’s. I have another formula. Eighty-two years of life on this earth; add to them the Lord’s three days in the grave; take away the door to the tomb, leaves eternity. For you have trusted Jesus Christ, and now you are safe and secure from all alarms.
