Sermon
delivered on November 30th, 2014
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Text: Psalm 23:6
As we close our series on the 23rd Psalm we end up with the best passage of
all.
6: Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of
the LORD for ever.
There were two specific times where
David was driven out from the temple where he was unable to experience the
fellowship with the Lord. The first time was, when he was running away from
King Saul and second was when he was running away from his son Absalom who
sought to dethrone him. On both these cases David was forced to withdraw from
the temple into the wilderness. He knew the pain, the frustration of not being
able to go to the temple.
I - David's one great
desire
What is the house of the Lord? What
is the house of God?
6: Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of
the LORD for ever.
1. Temple or Church
In the OT, the "house of the
Lord" always refers to the Tabernacle or Temple. In
the NT, it refers to the the Church.
David has fixation with the temple.
Not a fascination with the building itself but what it represents. It is the habitation of God on earth.
Ephesians 2:19 Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the
saints, and of the household of God; 20: And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21: In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an
holy temple in the Lord: 22: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God
through the Spirit.
1 Timothy 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou
oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the
living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
The Church as a temple is the
dwelling-place of God. It is here where He is please to exhibit His fullness,
the manifold glory of God. It is the place where God is pleases to manifest
Himself and His presence. The house of the Lord is the place where God is
pleased to meet with His people. It is the abode of His family. It is the place
in particular where the Lord meets and communes and have fellowship with His
people. A living fellowship and communion with God meant to David more than
anything. This is what separates the sheep from the goats. This is what
separates the true child of God from the child of the devil. This is what
separates the saved from the lost.
A lost person may come to the house
of God and say a prayer, and hear a sermon, sing hymns, and many other things,
but a saved person will dwell there forever. He must dwell. He longs to be in
the presence of God.
John 8:35 And the
servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Dwelling in the house of the Lord is
a pervasive, recurring theme in the Bible,
Psalm 92:12 The
righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in
Lebanon. 13: Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in
the courts of our God. 14: They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they
shall be fat and flourishing; 14: To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my
rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
The place where the righteous take
root and grow into strong trees in the context of God's truth, fellowship of
the people of God.
David had one desire and that one
desire is to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 27:4 One thing
have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; 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 enquire in his temple.
One thing that he desires is to meet
with God, to commune, to fellowship.
Psalm 84:1 How amiable
are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! 2: My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth
for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living
God. 3: Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for
herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my
King, and my God. 4: Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be
still praising thee. Selah.
10: For a day in thy courts
is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God,
than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11: For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace
and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 12: O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
David would rather be a doorkeeper,
because it is here that God comes to His people.
Do we love to be in the house of the
Lord? Is it our joy and delight? Oh, that we all would have this as our
greatest desire! Lord, give us this desire. By Your Spirit, cause us to seek
You more than anything else.
2. Heaven
The "house of the Lord"
also has a reference to the life to come ultimately.
This "house of the
Lord," observe, is on the other side of "the valley of the
shadow of death"; and therefore it is just a description of Heaven.
Heaven is the ultimate house of God.
It is there in Heaven that God dwells in the fulness of the splendor and
majesty. It is the place of ultimate beauty, truth and human flourishing. It is
a place of beauty, harmony, rest, and serenity.
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens.
David has the assurance that he will
dwell in the house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens, Christ's
Father's house, in which are many mansions, sure dwellings, and quiet resting
places for His people, and that to all eternity.
II - Desire realized
for eternity
6: Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of
the LORD for ever.
Forever, not just for a day or a week
or a month or a year or decades, or century but forever. We are not there to
drop by and make a visit, or make a call, but to dwell there to stay, to abide.
We will live there with God, to fellowship and commune with God, to live
forever in the dwelling place of God.
Our Great Shepherd is preparing a place
for us...
John 14:1 Let not your
heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2: In my Father's
house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you. 3: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
This is where the journey ends. This
is our final
destination as children of God. Some are almost
there, standing at the very threshold. Others still have a long ways to go. We
are not there yet. But some day we will be.
There is coming a day when no
heartaches shall come
No more clouds in the sky, no more
tears to dim the eye.
All is peace forevermore on that
happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will
be.
There'll be no sorrow there, no more
burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain, no more
parting over there;
And forever I will be with the One
who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will
be.
Chorus:
What a day that will be when my Jesus
I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised
Land,
What a day, glorious day that will
be.
What a day, glorious day that will
be!
The journey and pain and sorrow and
struggle and sacrifice are worth it all. Goodness and mercy shall follow His
children and they dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
May God grant us grace to dwell in
the serene atmosphere of this most blessed Psalm!