The Home of Endless Praise
How blessed are those who dwell in your house! They are ever praising you.”
Psalm 84:4
True blessing and happiness is found only in the presence of and in fellowship with God. This blessing is for those who dwell in His house. I hear the language of John 15 and 1 John 4 in Psalm 84:4. In John 15 Jesus tells us that we need to abide in Him if we are to bear fruit. To abide with is to take up residence with or to dwell with. In 1 John 4 we are reminded that those who have God’s Spirit and love God’s people are the ones who abide in Him. So how is this accomplished? Dwelling and abiding in God through Christ comes by faith. We enter in by faith; we dwell by faith; and we keep abiding by faith. Again, it becomes clear that the psalmist isn’t speaking of a physical building as much as a relationship with God, one that comes through faith.
To be with God, to dwell with Him is to know Him for who He is more than only what He’s done. To know God for who He is is to delight in Him and thus to praise Him forever. The only way we will be ever praising God is if we dwell with by faith. Abiding in Him will grow our knowledge of Him and will overflow in praise to Him. Just as a husband and wife who have lived together for years have come to know each other until they know what the other is thinking. So will we know God, if we dwell with Him. To come to the point to be ever praising God is to add days to years of spending time with Him, appreciating who He is, and knowing what He wants and what He’s thinking. This is also the source of wisdom. As we dwell with Him, we will learn to navigate the road of life with His Spirit and Word as our compass.
