Psa 15:1 O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
Psalms 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalms 27:4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.
Psalms 61:4 Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!
Psalms 84:4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!
Psalms 92:13 They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.
Mat 22:37-40 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
John 3:3-5 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Mat 23:27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.
Luke 11:44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”
Acts 23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?”
Psalms 58:1-2 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.
Micah 3:8-11 But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.”
The psalmist poses two heartfelt questions in this verse: “Who may abide? And “Who may dwell?” These are questions that every believer should ask of God. The words “abide” and “dwell” are similar in meaning in the Hebrew language, and when applied to the believer, they become a permanent state of mind. According to the whole psalm, the reality of who enjoys this intimate, ongoing fellowship is determined by their character lived out daily.
The Bible tells us that our access to God’s throne in heaven has been thrown wide open because of His grace. But we must never forget that with grace comes a responsibility: “…love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” And “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
The believer who consistently seeks out and enjoys God’s presence will begin manifesting His character toward others—mercy, patience, longsuffering, faithfulness, gentleness, and kindness. Their words and lifestyle will not contradict one another because to live otherwise is hypocritical and runs the risk of becoming cold and pharisaical, “beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27). The Pharisees were clinically religious, yet their lives were duplicitous. And Jesus condemned them for it.
There is no better, safer, or more expansive place to dwell than with the Lord. May you and I be counted among the “who”—those saturated with love for God, as revealed in the love for others. (Gibbs)
