Loving The House Of God

Loving the House of God

By. Rev. Saumiman Saud*)

Psalm 5:1-3, 1 Chronicles 22:7-8, and Psalm 26:8

Reading from Psalm 5:1-3: "For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David. Give ear to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly."

Now let's turn our attention to what David said about the house of God.

Psalm 26:8: "Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells."

2 Samuel 7:2-3: David said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent." Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you."

1 Chronicles 22:7-8: "David said to Solomon: 'My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. But this word of the Lord came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.'"

When David wrote this Psalm, there were no Temple buildings as we have today. Yet David already had the desire and longing to dwell in the courts of the Lord. The Bible notes that David wanted to hear the voice of the Lord. In the morning, David wanted to speak to the Lord, as well as during the day and night. The attitude of someone who loves the house of the Lord cannot be shown by how much we offer, nor through our busy ministry, but our attitude must be through a heart full of love for the Lord. A heart that loves the Lord cannot be fabricated.

The question arises, how did David practically demonstrate his attitude of loving the House of the Lord?

1. For David, the House of the Lord was not just a building, but the people.

Loving the House of God means loving the people in it. Remember, at that time there was no Temple and no Bible, but the Israelites were taught from childhood to study the word of God. Note Deuteronomy 6:5, the Lord's command: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." May I ask; Today we have the Bible, even on our phones and laptops, so may I ask how much do we love the Lord, how much do we love His words?

David loved the House of the Lord, he always longed for it, read Psalm 84:10 "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked."

The Lord's command to love Him must even be practiced and taught repeatedly to our children and discussed when sitting, when traveling, when lying down and when getting up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Now, the word of God was so absorbed in David's life because it was learned from childhood and experienced every day. Our lives need to be guarded and led by the Lord every day, so that we do not walk in the wrong steps.

If God's word adheres to our lives then "When we want to get angry, remember God's word that love is patient, when we want to complain, remember God's blessings, when we are tempted by lust, remember God's word that we must control ourselves. We must humbly let God's word govern our lives, not us governing God's word.

Even David, who was so close and intimate with God, could fall. David took Uriah's wife to be his wife. David could not control himself when dealing with Nabal. But one advantage of David, he repented again, see Psalm 51 David's confession of sin.

Psalm 37:23-24

The Lord Establishes the Steps of Those Who Please Him

"The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand." (Psalm 37:23-24)

2. For David, the House of the Lord Must Be the Best

David's concept was correct - everything we have is from the Lord, as Job also said, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." That's why when we say we love the House of the Lord, it means we must give our best for the Lord.