“I Will Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever” Psalms 23:6

Psalms 23:1 The Lord is My Shepherd
Psalms 23:6 And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The beginning and the end of the psalm are great bookends. David introduces us to the Good Shepherd. He shows us the greatness of the character of the Lord. Throughout the psalm, David has helped us to see how the shepherd takes care of his flock. The good shepherd provides, he leads, he restores, he protects and now we have come to the end of the psalm and we see that He has a place for us to live with him forever. The sheep have been so taken care of and are so satisfied with their life that they are completely contend to stay with the shepherd forever.
From the beginning, God has provided a place to dwell with His people. In Genesis, he provided the Garden of Eden. In the wilderness, it was the tent of meeting where he met with the people. Later he gave David plans for a temple to dwell in and meet with the people. David gathered materials and planned for it, but Solomon built the temple. In 2 Chronicles 7, we find that after Solomon prays to dedicate the temple God’s Shekinah Glory came down as fire from heaven. One of the saddest stories in the Old Testament is told by Ezekiel when the glory of the Lord departed the temple. When God’s glory left it was because of the nation’s sins and particularly the sins of the nation’s leader, God would later revealed himself and His glory through His Son, Jesus. God with us. Now we have the Holy Spirit who is in us when we come to Jesus in repentance and accept that there is only one way to dwell with our tender, compassionate, caring, Shepherd. That way is through our Savior, the Lord Jesus.

Thank you Father that you have prepared an eternal place for your people to dwell with you in your household.

Psalm 90:1 “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.”

Psalm 26:5-6 “I come to your altar, O Lord, singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders. I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where your glorious presence dwells.”

Deuteronomy 33:26-27 “The eternal God is a dwelling place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms”

Psalm 90:8-9 “For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.”

Psalm 132:13-16 “This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her needy with bread.”

Psalm 27:4 – “One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.”

2 Timothy 4:18 – “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

2 Corinthians 5:1 – “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

David in Psalm 23 ends with the assurance and desire of every true believer. Dwelling in His Presence forever is our longing.
“Better is one day in your courts (presence) than a thousand elsewhere.” Psalm 84:10

As Christians, we long for our eternal home in the presence of our Savior. We sometimes forget that we have His presence continually with us now. We can walk and experience His presence now but we are to busy, to rushed with life.  If only we could slow down and live with his presence now.  (sigh….)
For now we are watching and waiting.
For soon He will return and we will forever live with him.

Treadin on,
Freda Reynolds

In His Presence by Sandi Patti