Where Did King David Go To Church?

4 Psalm 27:4-5

 One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

 We see in this Psalm the true desire of David's heart.  It was to be in God's presence, which for the Jewish faith started in a tabernacle, moved to a tent and finally the house David desired for His Lord. This was the temple that King Solomon built after King David's death.  David's life long passion was to bring the Ark to Jerusalem and build a house for God.

 So with that background in mind, you can see why David uses so many names for the house of the Lord.  It was in God's house David saw the beauty of the Lord.  It gave him a sense of confidence and safety during times of trouble. Being in God's presence felt like a shelter for David.  He felt safe there and he felt loved there.  

 Today we talk about "going to church".  I think today we lose a sense of the house of the Lord where we come into God's presence and find a shelter from the storm. Although we meet in a building when we come to church, it is really just a house for God to dwell. And when we come together as the body of Christ, God dwells in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why God' says in 1 Corinthians 6:19, "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit."  

 So in one sense we worship in a sanctuary or a building,  but true worship is as Jesus says in John 4:24, 

 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 So we might say, "We do not go to church, but we are the church."  At the least we would say, "We go to worship together as the body of Christ".

 What is the "one thing" you would ask of the Lord? Is it something you want from him, or to be in His presence?  We see what David wants, and I want more of that, don't you??

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