Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalm 23:6
One sermon can’t do this great verse justice! What does it mean to dwell with the Lord? How do we experience this today? This verse sums up Psalm 23 and the experience on offer to every Christian.
Our passages: Psalm 23:6 & Hebrews 13:20-21. Preacher: Ian Bayne (12th July 2020).
Watch the sermon
Recap
Last time we considered that this verse can be thought of as a recap of one of the greatest psalms in scripture.
We reflected on:
- How the shepherd is good to us
- His loving kindness towards us
- His promise to always be present with his sheep
- The promise made to us (his sheep)
We can see Jesus being the fulfillment off the Good Shepherd psalm.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:20b ESV
And we can be confident in His rest.
Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
Psalm 116:7 ESV
Further explanation
One sermon was never going to be enough for this verse. There’s still questions to answer. For instance what does it mean for God to always be in our presence?
We want to go a little deeper to answer two questions that arise:
- How is it that the sheep may come into God’s presence?
- What are the consequences and benefits of dwelling in God’s presence, now and forever?
Our passage in Hebrews helps us to understand this:
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, [21] equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21 ESV
Interpreting the Old Testament
When interpreting the Old Testament, it’s good to remember that it’s all fulfilled in the New Testament. The gospel is veiled in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Hebrews 1:1-2 ESV
The writer of Hebrews recognises that the New Testament helps reveal more of the Old.
In the person and nature of Jesus we can see God:
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” [9] Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
John 14:8-9 ESV
How can we come to dwell in the House of the Lord?
1. As Christians we experience peace
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 ESV
This peace is both:
- with God (the fall (when humans sinned in Gen 3) caused a rift with God that needs healing)
- with each other
Peace with each other
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
Ephesians 2:17 ESV
We are all familiar with the phrase “Black Lives Matter” – there is a great truth to this. The gospel goes further saying that every life matters.
Paul describes how the great racial divide in the Old Testament between Jew and Gentiles no longer applies. The barrier has been broken.
Last time I checked there were 16 different ethnicities in our church, which demonstrates this point: the gospel is for everyone. We don’t look at what colour people’s skin is, what language they speak or where they come from.
A peace exists between us all. The barriers are broken: every life matters to God.
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
Revelation 7:9 ESV
2. We participate in Christ’s victory
He’s taken our sin and given his righteousness.
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
1 Corinthians 15:55 ESV
Death is just the start of an eternity in the true presence of God for believers.
3. We have become beneficiaries of the eternal covenant
In the first line we looked at “The Lord is my shepherd”. He enters into a covenant with us to supply all we need. As we come into his presence we participate in his covenant: he is our shepherd and we are his sheep.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 3:15 ESV
This is brought together in the last chapters of Revelation.
4. As we dwell in his presence we are being changed
We’re not static: we don’t want to be as we are. Even Paul considered his righteousness was worth nothing; and I find that scary. I don’t have part of the righteousness Paul had.
When we dwell in the house of the Lord, we hear the word of God spoken. Meeting together is part of this: when we keep the company of God and dwell in his house we are changed.
Summary
From amazement to intimacy
A few weeks back we saw how half-way through the psalmist changes the language from soaking to another person (“He guides me”), to speaking to God (“You are with me”).
This is the transition we want to see in our lives.
Firstly the psalmist wants to tell everyone about God, then he moves on to declare an intimate relationship. It’s a wonderful privilege to be able to know and speak to God. Do you know him? Is it personal?
From metaphor to actuality
There’s also another shift: from metaphor to actuality.
At the beginning, the psalmist begins with a picture of the shepherd and the sheep, but the psalmist doesn’t leave us with the metaphor, he brings to an actuality.
“I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalm 23:6b
We’re taking about believers: about actual Christian experience.
In our studies we looked at Christ – the lamb standing as if slain. We know that no lamb stands after being slain: only Jesus can stand because he’s been raised.
When we make a sacrifice we take a lamb from the flock and sacrifice it, but in the New Testament, it’s the other way around: we sacrifice the shepherd for the lambs!
A freely given gift
The Christan gospel turns our life view on its head: the Christan faith is not about working to please God. Jesus’s sacrifice is a freely given gift which allows us to come into God’s presence: the holy of holies.
even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:28 ESV
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29 ESV
From now to forever
To close, we can see the theme of Psalm 23 played out in the book of Revelation:
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” [14] I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. [15] “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. [16] They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. [17] For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 7:13-17 ESV
How amazing!
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