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.
When Trouble Comes
King David was adept at finding and creating trouble. Regardless of his situation, he knew to turn to God for help when he was in over his head. It was his faith that turned his eyes to the Lord, and he begged God to keep his heart and mind pure so that he might glorify God with his life. Like most people, David fell far short of his intentions to live a pleasing life for God, and he lost the privilege of building the temple because of it. Murder and infidelity have a way of interfering with blessing. Even still, David longed to know God with his whole heart.
David wrote Psalm 27 as a song of confidence in the Lord’s delivery from trouble. His ultimate goal was to find himself dwelling in the house of the Lord, gazing at His beauty, and meditating on the precepts of YHWH. The order of actions in this passage appears to be in reverse. While the end desire is dwelling, inquiring and gazing come first.
One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek ( שָׁאַל;šā’al ) after
The word translated “seek” here is an earnest petition. The repetition implies urgency: I’m asking, I’m begging for this one thing. In the middle of threats, trouble, and war, David focused on one request: He wanted to be in the center of God’s hand.
that I may dwell (יָשַׁב ;yāšaḇ)
in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
To dwell is to remain, stay, or better still, inhabit. It is a belonging to a place and a people of like minds and hearts. It is an invitation to be fully present and included in the dwelling place. But inhabiting a place, being at home in it does not happen all at once. There are steps that precede being fully absorbed into a dwelling. It’s like David said, “This is what I desperately want” and working backward he developed the process of how to get there.
to inquire ( בָּקַר ; bāqar) in his temple
The first step to belonging is seeking out what it means to belong, to ask where a place to dwell in peace and safety might be found. It may be like arriving in a new town without any connections, looking for a place to be where like-minded people already are. The only way to find such a place is to ask for direction. Asking people is one way to learn. Asking a search engine or social media platform may also be useful. Seeking is intentional, not accidental or serendipitous. There is purpose in looking for a place to dwell. These days, looking for a church home requires intention because there are so many choices, and not all of them are good ones. Even among the good churches, not every place will feel like home. On a deeper level, finding faith is rarely accidental. People are searching for Jesus even when they don’t realize that’s who they need. Nabel Qureshi wrote about his experiences searching for Truth and finding the One True God in his book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. C.S. Lewis had a similar journey. He did not want Jesus to be the answer to his own troubles, but in his pursuit of Truth, he had to admit that his inquiries were only satisfied in YHWH. Looking for a place to live in Truth and safety always points to Jesus.
Upon arriving at the doorstep of Truth and belonging, there is a time of looking and watching and gazing. There is activity in view. Worship and music and angels and hosts of all nations and tribes and tongues, all looking at the great majesty of the Creator of all things.
to gaze (חָזָה ; ḥāzâ) upon the beauty of the Lord
This word “gaze” includes not just seeing, but pondering, beholding with awe and wonder. To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord is to perceive with both intellect and experience how magnificent God at the center of all things truly is. Gazing upon God changes the gazer as God’s glory begins to radiate and compel the gazer to step forward into fellowship. David’s poetry creates vivid images of God as the Rock, a Strong Tower, and a Hiding Place. John’s Revelation reveals the holy city to be “like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear and crystal…the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel…and the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (Revelation 21). And then the throne:
a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne, there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
There is a lot to gaze on at the gate to heaven. It’s overwhelming and awe-inducing and magnificent beyond imagination. And then, the Lord beckons, “Come.”
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It’s an invitation to dwell, a call to come and join the people in fellowship and community. “Come,” Jesus says, “inhabit this place upon which you were gazing. You belong.”
One thing I desperately plead for, one thing I beg of You:
Bring me to Your holy place.
Cause me to search for You.
Allow me to stand in awe of You.
And invite me to come and be with You forever.
And the Lord says, “Come.”
Defaulting to Grace 