Psalm 23:6b
6b And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
David was a man who always desired to be “in the house of the LORD”. In the house of the LORD, he rejoiced in the goodness and mercies of the LORD. Worship, songs, testimonies, meditation of His Word, prayers, and all suchlike activities in the LORD’s house granted him the greatest joy he had experienced in this world. In Psalm 5:7, he uttered, “But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.”
In his psalms, David often spoke about his desire for the LORD’s house. He prayed in Psalm 26:8, “LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth”. In Psalm 27:4, he wrote, “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.” His pious heart could not find a greater, nobler, sweeter experience than hearing the praise, honour and glory of God in the place of worship. No wonder the psalmist exclaimed, “How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God” (Psalm 84:1-2).
David counted being “in the house of the LORD” as the most blessed experience of a man’s life. So he wrote in Psalm 65:4, “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.” In the same vein, he said in Psalm 84:4, “Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.” He also said in the same psalm, “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” (v. 10).
It was David’s irrepressible desire to rejoice in all the activities that were being done in the LORD’s house in worship of His name. Being with God’s people in His house to think of the LORD’s goodness and mercy and to serve Him was his heart’s most cherished ambitions. The desire for the LORD’s house was so great that he wanted to dwell there for ever. It is obvious that nothing would fully satisfy his longing heart except heaven, where he would dwell for ever with the LORD.