“Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You.” (Ps 84:4)
Dwelling in the house of God means dwelling in the grace of God and abiding in His love. “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young” (vs 3). The ‘home of the sparrow’ and the ‘resting places for the young swallow’ are built at the altars. This teaches us to build our dwelling house in the grace and love of God. As David said, “I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.” (Ps 27:4).
“Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple.” (Ps 65:4)
Being Found in Lord Jesus Christ (Php 3:9) means to be baptized into Jesus Christ and to live in Christ, abiding in His love and commands. Jesus called Himself the true vine, using the vine and branches as an analogy to show how a believer must abide (live or remain) in Him (Jn 15:1). When a believer fails to abide in Jesus, he withers and dries up. Those who abide in Jesus and who allow His words to abide in them, have a blessed promise that Jesus Christ will perform whatever they ask. They will be fruitful and glorify God. Jesus remained in the Father’s love because He obeyed Him. We also remain in Christ’s love because we obey His commandments.
The church is the body of Christ and also the house of God. We come to the church with the primary focus and expectation of meeting with the living God. In His house, we worship and serve God together with our fellow church members. As living stones, we are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The chorus of hymn, “A Place in His Kingdom”, serves as a good reminder for us. It reads, “If you hope of a place in His kingdom, Hope to sing, with His saints, songs of praise; Keep His Word, ever loyal and fearless, And your footsteps will lead to His grace”.