“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” -Psalm 23:6
To eat at someone’s table in the ancient world was to form a real covenant bond.
“And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.”” -Exodus 24:8–12
“In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”” -1 Corinthians 11:25
“Then,” he said, you are an old friend of my father’s house. Great Oeneus once entertained Bellerophon for twenty days, and the two exchanged presents. Oeneus gave a belt rich with purple, and Bellerophon a double cup, which I left at home when I set out for Troy. I do not remember Tydeus, for he was taken from us while I was yet a child, when the army of the Achaeans was cut to pieces before Thebes.
[224] Henceforth, however, I must be your host in middle Argos, and you mine in Lycia, if I should ever go to that district [dêmos];
Homer, The Iliad of Homer. Rendered into English Prose for the Use of Those Who Cannot Read the Original., ed. Samuel Butler (Medford, MA: Longmans, Green and Co. 39 Paternoster Row, London. New York and Bombay., 1898).
These quotations serve as examples of the covenant bonds formed when one hosts another. David is acknowledging that having been a guest at the Lord’s table (vs. 5), he will enjoy the full communion of the Lord for the rest of his life—even for eternity. The Lord’s goodness and mercy would literally pursue him all the days of his life.
Of particular interest is Hebrew word translated dwell in verse six. It is the same word translated restores in verse three. It means to “turn back again” or “be renewed again.” To dwell in the house of the Lord forever gives the idea that he will be perpetually returning again and again, forever, or be abiding the house of the Lord as long as he exists.