Notice, this is a double promise. First, "the righteous shall inherit the land"; second, they shall "dwell therein for ever." They do not buy it, discover it, merely take possession of it, claim it, see it, hope for it; but they inherit it, and their dwelling in it is never to be disturbed.
What is the land that they inherit? God promised Abraham the land of Canaan (Gen. 13:14-17), a land that He would afterward show him. But this land of Canaan was a type, a symbol, of the entire world, for we read in Romans 4:13 that the promise to Abraham was "that he should be the heir of the world," and that this promise came through faith. This promise was not only to Abraham and his seed, but to all those who are of faith through Christ. So the promise is by grace. "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all" (Rom. 4:16).
So all Christians have inherited the right to a part of Abraham's farm, or to a part in all of it. They are heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17) to the inheritance of the land, the entire world. With this promise we remember the words of Christ, "Blessed are the meek: For they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5). This is really a parallel to our promise text for today.
The usurper still claims authority in this world, but Jesus came that "he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14). The earth will be renewed and brought back to its Edenic beauty as the eternal home of the saved. It is by faith that we become citizens of God's spiritual kingdom now and are assured a place in His kingdom of glory soon to come.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed" (Ps. 74:2).