FULLNESS OF GOD’S HOUSE

They are abundantly satisfied with the FULLNESS of YOUR HOUSE, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures – Psalm 36:8

The Fullness of God is profusely displayed in the FULLNESS of HIS HOUSE: “They are abundantly satisfied with the FULLNESS of YOUR HOUSE, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures” (Psa. 36:8). The NIV translation says: “They feast on the abundance of your house; You give them drink from your river of delights”! There is abundance to enjoy and fatness to feast on in God’s house. There is a river of delights to drink from. The theme of Psalm 36 is the loving-kindness of God (v.5,7,10). David first described the rebellious sinner (vv. 1-4), then the blessedness of the righteous person (vv. 5-9), and concluded with a prayer that the righteous man may be protected from the wicked (vv.10-12). Midway in the Psalm, he mused on the fullness of God’s house!

In the Old Covenant, God’s house was either the tabernacle or the temple. In the New Covenant, His house is mount Zion – the holy assembly of God’s redeemed people, gathered in the unity of faith and of the Spirit (Heb.12:22). Most importantly, individually and corporately, every born-again child of God is the house of the Lord: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1Cor.3:16). “You also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1Pet.2:5).

David was undoubtedly fascinated with the fullness of God’s House. His disposition towards the house of God offers positive lessons for New Testament believers. Hear few of his many testimonies about the beauty, bounties, and blessings of the House of the Lord:

• I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever (Psa.23:6b)
• LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells (Psa.26:8)
• One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: That 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 (Psa.27:4)
• How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! (Psa.84:1)
• I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD” (Psa.122:1)

The Bible assures abundant blessings – the Fullness of His house – for all who possess the right disposition towards His house:

• We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple (Psa.65:4b)
• Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising you (Psa.84:4)
• Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God (Psa.92:13)

In the natural there is something about abundance that captures the heart, how much more in the spiritual realm! Think of a large bouquet of perfectly arranged, fresh flowers, bursting with life and color, and oozing an amazing fragrance! Such natural sceneries of abundance remind us of the liberality of God. In His house, He makes our cup overflow: “My cup runs over” (Ps. 23:5). He “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20). His grace is sufficient for any challenge or difficulty that life may bring our way (2 Cor. 12:9). The psalmist enthused: “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house” (Ps. 36:7-8).

Our God is abundantly good and His house is eternally filled with abundance of blessings, grace, life, light, and love. Beloved, do not neglect the communion of the saints; do not forsake the fellowship of believers, “as in the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching” (Heb.10:25). Ultimately, the house of the Lord symbolises heaven, where we’ll enjoy unending access to an exhaustless fountain of delights and rivers of His pleasures, like that which watered Eden!