As we commemorate the 27th Anniversary of Pilgrim Covenant Church today, I thought it’ll be appropriate to consider a verse from the 27th Psalm. Verse 4 says, “One thing have I desired 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 behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”
Let’s consider three things from this verse. First, what did the Psalmist desire? Second, how strongly did he desire it? And third, why did he desire it?
1. What Did He Desire? or the Content of His Desire
We begin with the content of his desire. Verse 4 mentions three things. The first is to dwell in the house of the Lord. To ‘dwell’ is to approach continually and frequently. It speaks of residing or abiding in contrast to occasionally visiting. The word ‘house’ speaks of a place where you reside or inhabit. It is not one in which you visit infrequently or from time to time or rarely. David says that he desires to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his earthly existence until the day he departs from this world and goes to his heavenly habitation.
The second thing the Psalmist desired was to behold the beauty of the LORD. This means to behold Him by faith through the means of grace. God reveals and manifests Himself to us in these ordinances, and we behold Him or if you like, we know Him and experience His presence when we make use of the means in the right way.
The phrase “the beauty of the LORD” refers to the pleasant and delightful nature, character and perfection of God. We see the beauty of the LORD in all of scriptures both in the Old and New Testament. This means that to behold the beauty of the LORD is to have our minds informed and enlightened by the truth of who God is. It is to delight ourselves in all His glorious and beautiful attributes and to see how all His attributes combine together in a marvelous harmony.
The third thing the Psalmist desired was to inquire in the temple of the LORD. This means to seek His will and to consult His mind in matters of great difficulty and importance. It is to search after the knowledge of divine things and to obtain His guidance and instruction pertaining to all issues of life. It is to seek to know Him more deeply and to understand what He requires of us.
But you might ask – why is this inquiring and seeking of the LORD to be done in the house of the LORD? Can’t it be done elsewhere? It’s true that God is not limited to a particular time or place in which we may seek Him. But it’s also true that God has sovereignly appointed His house and especially His day for His people to inquire of Him. The commentator Albert Barnes wrote, “The Christian sanctuary or the place of public worship – is the place where, if anywhere on earth, we may hope to have our minds enlightened; our perplexities removed; our hearts comforted and sanctified, by right views of God.”
So what was it that the Psalmist desired to do? He desired to dwell in the house of the LORD, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in the temple of the LORD. We could say that what David really wanted was to draw nigh to God, to have constant communion with Him in the use of the means and to have the benefit of all the public ordinances in the fellowship of the church.
2. How Strongly Did He Desire It? or the Strength of His Desire
Next, we consider the strength of his desire. “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after…” The word ‘One’ is extremely important. It shows us that all his desires, all his affections, all his pursuits were bound up in just this ‘One’ thing. David was not distracted or divided but fixed and focused in his desire.
Now given his very trying circumstances as a fugitive being pursued by his enemies, we might have expected him to desire many other things such as deliverance from all his troubles, the defeat of all his enemies, a return to the comforts of his home and so on. Yet all these concerns and desires were put aside in light of his one overarching desire. He had only one desire, and only one request to make of the LORD.
The phrase “that will I seek after” sheds further light on the strength of his desire. David was resolved to seek after this One thing which he desired. He wasn’t content just to leave this desire within his heart but he would actively, constantly and fervently seek after it.
Finally, the phrase “all the days of my life” tells us that this desire of his would carry on for as long as he lived.
What is that one supreme desire which you have in your heart? What is that one thing you want and long for above everything else? What is your one thing?
3. Why Did He Desire It? or the Reason for His Desire
Third, let’s consider why did he have such a strong desire? And the answer is simply this – because he truly loved the Lord. This is not explicitly stated in the verse but we have little doubt that this was the reason. Notice the four references to the LORD in the verse. He desired of the LORD to dwell in the house of the LORD, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in the temple of the LORD. It was the LORD whom David loved and it was the LORD whom David was longing after and seeking to have communion with. To borrow the language of the New Testament, David was constrained by the love of Christ!
Why do you desire to dwell in the house of the LORD? Is it because you truly love the LORD Jesus, who is the true tabernacle or dwelling of God among man?
Many Christians come to the Lord’s house for all the wrong reasons. Some come to appease their conscience, so that they won’t suffer from a guilty conscience for not having performed their duties. Some come because they are interested in experiencing new things or in having their ears tickled. Yet others come because they want to please men or to appear godly before men.
But really, the chief and highest reason to come must be the Lord Himself. It is the Lord’s house we come to dwell in, it is the Lord’s beauty that we come to behold, and it is the Lord’s temple that we come to inquire in.
Conclusion
And so we have looked very briefly at Psalm 27 verse 4 and seen how precious and valuable the house of the Lord and the means of grace were to David. Though he was going through a time of trial and exile, yet the one thing that he desired above all was that he may not be disturbed or driven from the house of God. How he longed to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire of Him in His temple, i.e. to seek to have his mind enlightened; his perplexities removed; his anxieties calmed and his heart comforted and sanctified by a right view of God.
Many find excuses to be absent from the Lord’s house on the Lord’s Day. Some neglect it altogether while others find it very wearisome and burdensome. But not so for the Psalmist who preferred the habitation of His house above everything else because he loved the Lord above everything else. This was true of David, but this was especially true of the greater David, Jesus Christ, for did He not say to His mother when she and Joseph sought for him, “How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be in my father’s house?” (Luke 2:49)
So what is it that we most desire on this earth? Let us take time on this our 27th anniversary to seriously think about and consider this question. And may all of us, both young and old, be able to truly say with the Psalmist from the depths of our hearts, “One thing have I desired 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 behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” (Psa. 27:4)
Blessed 27th Anniversary!
—Linus Chua