After the brutal context of affliction that the psalmist describes in Psalm 22 (especially vv. 6-8 and vv. 12-18), the confidence and trust on display in Psalm 23 is refreshing. And the hope at the end of Psalm 23 is soul-stirring.
David had already declared the shepherding care of the Lord (Ps. 23:1-4), and he had described the role of the Lord as a host for his people at a table where there was the blessing of oil for the head and an overflowing cup for the hand (23:5).
The image of table-fellowship evokes a home where divine hospitality is on display. David is more than a guest at this place, however. He says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Ps. 23:6).
The “house” of the Lord is a dwelling place, and in the Old Testament storyline it would have recalled the tabernacle (built at Mount Sinai) and later the temple (built by David’s son Solomon). The Lord’s house is a sanctuary because a deity dwells in a temple.
Staying in the “house of the Lord forever” seems, at first, unexpected. When priests attended to their work at the holy sanctuary, they did not dwell there without end. They never entered the holy place and stayed. And the high priest never went behind the veil to abide. Though priests would not remain forever in the tabernacle confines, going to the temple and serving at the temple were still desirable because the divine sanctuary represented the presence of the Lord dwelling among a sinful people. God had drawn near to them, and they could draw near to him.
Coming to the house of the Lord was about communion, about fellowship with the Living God. The Israelites approached the sanctuary with sacrifices, and the priests mediated these sacrifices, but approaching the Lord’s dwelling place was nevertheless the major theological point. The holy and righteous God was receiving sinners to himself.
At the end of Psalm 23, here is a king—David—who was not a Levitical priest (since David was from the tribe of Judah) yet who nevertheless had a hope of dwelling forever in the presence of God in the house of God. He hoped for what the institution of the tabernacle (and later the temple) could never fulfill on its own. The earthly sanctuary pointed forward. It was a type, a shadow of something greater and grander.
In their important mediating work, the Levitical priests represented the Israelites. And the priestly work was temporary because the day would come when God’s redemptive plan would bring shalom to his world and to his image bearers. Sin would be pardoned, and everlasting life in the presence of God would be the daily portion of God’s people.
We have the same hope as David. In Christ, we can rejoice in the future of unending life with God. We shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Our perfect priest—the Lord Jesus—mediated an offering that put an end to the sacrificial system. He offered himself. We draw near to the table of the Lord to receive the divine hospitality that surpasses any earthly fellowship we’ve ever known.
Dwelling in the house of the Lord forever—this is what we were made for.