The Joy of Living in the Lord’s Presence
In this ongoing series, the Psalms have shown us numerous vital truths about our happiness. Your happiness starts with the forgiveness God provides in Jesus. You daily receive joy from meditating on God’s word instead of listening to those who do not love the Lord. Living in obedience to God’s word by practically loving and serving others also is a source of lasting happiness.
Of course, there are always the false paths to happiness which tempt us daily: money, power, fame, success. All these false paths to happiness are centered around you. The Psalms, on the other hand, attach your happiness completely and entirely first and foremost to God and your relationship with Him.
It is not enough to merely seek for your own happiness: you must seek the God of happiness first.
And today, I want to emphasize this point by looking at Psalm 65, focusing on verses 3-4 in particular:
When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
Psalm 65:3-4, ESV emphasis added
It is living in the Lord’s presence that brings lasting blessing and happiness. There are three points I want to emphasize.
Point 1: God chooses who lives in His presence
The blessing of being near to God
The first reality I want to draw your attention to is God chooses who lives in His presence. Now, in the Psalms, God’s presence and dwelling place are referred to as places of blessing:
- Psalm 16:11 “In your presence there is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore“
- Psalm 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.”
- Psalm 140:14 “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.”
There are other passages, but the point to see living in the Lord’s presence is something the Psalmist desires. Certainly God is “omnipresent” as Psalm 139 describes, but there is a special blessing of intimate closeness with God. Indeed, Psalm 65 verses 5-13 describes God’s care for all of His creation. But here in Psalm 65:3-4 the focus is on “God’s courts”.
This is referring to the temple, the dwelling place of God, where His presence rested. Although God is always present, the Psalmist here and in the other Psalms above are making the point that closeness to God is where joy is found. So, if there is a special joy in knowing God, in closeness with God, in worshiping the Lord in His presence, the question follows “how do I get close to the Lord?”
Psalm 65:4 answers us: it is the one God chooses and brings near that experiences the blessing of His goodness. I have written before about the blessing of belonging to God. It is a similar point here: the one God chooses has a special privilege and happiness. It is not enough to merely “know God exists.” James says the demons know that much about God. To experience the blessing of living in the Lord’s presence you must first be admitted by the Lord himself.
Ephesians 2:13 makes the exact same point:
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:13, ESV emphasis added
Because God is holy, no one can force their way into God’s presence. It is in Christ and His blood that anyone is brought near to the Lord’s presence. Therefore, it is only those who the Lord has saved that experience that happiness Psalm 65 presents.
God must choose you and bring you near to Himself in order for you to experience true happiness
Application: You cannot force or earn your way into God’s presence
If Psalm 65:3-4 is true, your happiness starts with your humility: humility in recognizing you cannot achieve joy by your own effort or will. God alone holds the happiness you desire. You cannot approach Him by your own efforts or just because you want to be happy. God must choose you, God must act if you are to be truly happy.
The rest of Scripture, especially Revelation, reveals that those who ultimately will live in the Lord’s presence forever are those who are saved by Jesus’ sacrifice. It is not those who work the hardest, who do the most good works, who want it the most. The humbled person who recognizes they have no claim on the Lord’s presence, who knows they cannot approach God by their own efforts are those who end up eternally happy. Why? Because they see Jesus is the only way God provided for them to approach God’s presence.
Point 2: God satisfies with His goodness and holiness
God’s presence and the temple
The second important truth to see in Psalm 65:3-4 is God’s goodness and holiness satisfies. The joy of living in the Lord’s presence is not tied to what God gives us. It is tied to who God is. God’s temple was the place where God dwelt in Old Testament Israel. Everything in the temple was centered around the worship of God: singing, sacrifices, and everything else prescribed in the Old Testament law. The Psalms don’t see this activity as mere “obedience for its own sake”. Worship of the Lord in His temple is seen as the highest privilege a person could have.
For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Psalm 84:10, ESV
By comparison, no other place on earth is better than where the Lord dwells. Why is this the case? Psalm 65 answers: God’s goodness and holiness satisfies. You didn’t go to the temple to get “stuff”; you went to the temple to get God Himself. Now, one of the greatest truths of the New Testament is God now dwells in His people, not in a building built by human hands. But God Himself has not changed, nor has the reality Psalm 65:4 gives us:
It is God who satisfies, not material things God gives us
Application: Satisfaction cannot be found in anything apart from God
You will never be satisfied if you only ever want God to give you more things, solve more of your problems, or make your life easier. Non-Christians want these things same things, they just seek them without attaching “God” to it. The amazing thing about the Biblical worldview is everything in the universe centers on God. Including your happiness, your satisfaction, your lasting peace.
For the Christian, every happiness starts and ends with who God is. The Christian enjoys all the good gifts God gives because it is an avenue to thank and praise God for who He is.
- Enjoying a walk outside? Christians see God’s power in creation and worship God for it.
- Eating a good meal? Christians thank God for His provision and for the ability to taste.
- Love your family? Christians are humbled that God would provide them with the warmth of the love of others, knowing it is a small picture of His love for them.
I could go on. Living in the Lord’s presence means seeing Him and enjoying Him above all things. That means you connect all things back to Him and His glory. Nothing you have or hope to have will bring you any joy unless you connect it to God.
Point 3: God alone atones for rebellion
What atonement means
The final point I want to emphasize is found in Psalm 65:3. God alone atones for His people’s transgressions. Why is this important in the context of living in the Lord’s presence? Psalm 15 gives a hint.
Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
Psalm 15:1b-2, ESV
and speaks truth in his heart;
It is only those who are holy that can approach a holy God. But no one walks blamelessly, no one always does what is right or always speaks truth in his heart. Humans transgress the law of God every day. So how can God forgive? How can sinful humans approach the Lord if He is just?
The answer is “atonement”. This word means “to cover” or “to reconcile”. God must deal with our transgressions against Him. As we saw in the first point, it is God who chooses and brings people into His court. How God does this is by providing atonement. In the Old Testament, this atonement was through the blood of rams and goats as prescribed in the sacrificial system.
However, the blood of rams and goats could not actually take away sin. The sacrificial system was a picture of the ultimate reconciliation Christ would bring. This reconciliation is explained most clearly in 2 Corinthians.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God
2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV
Christ bears our transgression, we receive Christ’s righteousness. The result? Reconciliation with God.
Application: God has provided all you need for your happiness now and forever
The logic of Psalm 65:3-4 could be summarized as follows:
- Satisfaction and happiness is found living in the Lord’s presence.
- No human can enter the Lord’s presence because of their rebellion.
- God alone can atone for a person’s rebellion and choose to bring them close to Him.
- Therefore, God alone provides what you need for your happiness and you cannot get happiness by your own effort.
What good news! You need not wear yourself out to be happy. Long hours at work, more money, fancy vacations, comfort and health all won’t provide you with happiness. But God can. And God has. God has, at infinite cost to Himself, made a way for you to enter His presence.
Jesus said to him “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.”
John 14:6, ESV
Living in the Lord’s presence is impossible by our own effort. But all things are possible for God. And God has chosen to provide us with a way to lasting joy, a joy not based in circumstances and not dependent on our effort. It is a joy bought by the blood of Christ.
Any path to happiness that does not go through Jesus and the cross will disappoint.
This post is part of an ongoing series called “Happy?” Follow The Average Churchman on Instagram to get more content. Subscribe and share below.