- Dwell in House
Psalm 23.6
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
[Twelve different unconditional promises are enclosed in this One Great Psalm. Psalm 23 is worth memorizing and meditating on to help make these promises my own. One could weeks on this one Psalm, but life goes on, and 127 more Psalms go on with 100’s more promises to believe. Dwelling on only one promise can change a mood and brighten a day. Today we finish Psalm 23.]
The simple, straightforward promise for the NT believer in Jesus Christ is that after this life we will live in the palpable presence of God for eternity. We have the Promise of Heaven, to be “with the Lord” forever. This promise of eternal life through faith in Christ renders death nothing more than a door into the eternal bliss of a perfect paradise. A strong hope and a powerful joy is expressed in these words: “And I will dwell.” “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” (Philippians 1:23).
After a long, and blessed, and happy life lived with my Shepherd and Host all the days of my life I am climaxed with this eternal promise of a blissful afterlife, forever. Life is not only more than good; it is forever.
I love the fold of the Good Shepherd, where I abide continually. At the banquet I rejoice to present myself as an invited guest. I choose Him as my portion and serving Him is my delight. To crown it all, the last of all the blessings is to dwell in his house: this implies intimacy and friendship. This loving relationship begins now and goes on forever. The happiness of “dwelling in his house” is without interruption and without end. The house is the dwelling place of the Lord God where I deal with Him on an intimate level. Times of refreshing are experienced from the presence of the Lord.
“Dwelling in the house” is a present experience, as well as a future hope. When we look beyond the narrow scene of this present world and fix our eyes on the eternal house in the heavens we dwell in His house. Here goodness and mercy surround us on every side. We are now in actual possession of a perfected spiritual nature, perfect in love, peace, holiness, thought, feeling, judgment, knowledge, and in spiritual energy. This possession exists in us alongside the evil enemies, so that possession is obscured but nevertheless real. We enjoy a state of spiritual glory such as eye has not seen nor ear heard, and our physical eyes and ears still cannot comprehend it.
A beautiful place is prepared for us, a wonderful house. Our highest conception of beauty and blessedness, purity and perfection is woefully imperfect to adequately grasp is glorious promise.