Psalms 27:4 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Psalms 27:4
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.
a large public building · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 26:8 LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
Psalms 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Psalms 65:4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the go…
Psalms 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wicked…
Psalms 84:4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
Luke 10:42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Psalms 63:2-5 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 27:1-6
We may observe here,
I. With what a lively faith David triumphs in God, glories in his holy name, and in the interest he had in him. 1. The Lord is my light. David's subjects called him the light of Israel, Sa2 21:17. And he was indeed a burning and a shining light: but he owns that he shone, as the moon does, with a borrows light; what light God darted upon him reflected upon them: The Lord is my light. God is a light to his people, to show them the way when they are in doubt, to comfort and rejoice their hearts when they are in sorrow. It is in his light that they now walk on in their way, and in his light they hope to see light for ever. 2. "He is my salvation, in whom I am safe and by wh…
The secret of his confidence is his delight in communion with God (Psa 16:11; Psa 23:6), beholding the harmony of His perfections, and seeking His favor in His temple or palace; a term applicable to the tabernacle (compare Psa 5:7). There he is safe (Psa 31:21; Psa 61:5). The figure is changed in the last clause, but the sentiment is the same.
John Gill on Psalms 27:4
One thing have I desired of the Lord,.... Not to be returned to Saul's court; nor to his own house and family; nor to have an affluence of worldly riches and honours; but to have constant abode it, the house of the Lord; an opportunity of attending continually on the public worship of God; which is excused and neglected by many, and is a weariness to others, but was by the psalmist preferred to everything else; he being now deprived of it, as it seems;
that will I seek after; by incessant prayer, until obtained; importunity and perseverance in prayer are the way to succeed, as appears from the parable of the widow and unjust judge;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of…
Psalm 27:4-6
4. One thing have I desired of Jehovah, this will I follow after; that I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Jehovah, and diligently to survey his temple. 5. For he shall hide me in his tent in the day of evil: [581] he shall hide me in the secret place of his tent; he shall set me up upon a rock. 6. And now shall he lift up my head above mine enemies who surround me: and I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tabernacle; I will sing and praise Jehovah.
4. One thing have I desired. Some consider this as a prophecy of the perpetuity of David's kingdom, on which not only his own personal happiness depended, but also the happiness of…
The Church Fathers
Let us strive with all our strength of soul to arrive there. Let us make our way there by the inward affection of our heart. Let us long [to arrive] there. Let us beg all together, and let us beg individually, of the Maker of that house, that we may dwell in his house all days of our life.
Having enjoyed such beneficence, he is saying, I seek from my benefactor not wealth or influence, royalty or glory, but constant attendance in the divine temple, contemplation of the divine beauty there and inspection of everything happening in accordance with law. I have … already secured salvation from that source and escaped the hand of my pursuers. This the mighty David both asked for and received from the munificent God: he brought back the divine ark, erected another more wonderful tabernacle and assembled the different choirs of singers. You could gain a more precise knowledge of this from the books of Chronicles.
"One have I asked of the Lord, this will I require." For one petition have I asked the Lord, this will I require. "That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life" [Psalm 27:4]. That as long as I am in this life, no adversities may exclude me from the number of them who hold the unity and the truth of the Lord's faith throughout the world. "That I may contemplate the delight of the Lord." With this end, namely, that persevering in the faith, the delightsome vision may appear to me, which I may contemplate face to face. "And I shall be protected, His temple." And death being swallowed up in victory, I shall be clothed with immortality, being made His temple.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Access To God · In his temple — In his temple
Affections · 29:3; — 29:3;
Affections, The · Should be set: Upon the house and worship of God — Should be set: Upon the house and worship of God
Assurance · .Preservation — .Preservation
Beauty · SPIRITUAL — SPIRITUAL
Church · HOUSE OF THE LOR — HOUSE OF THE LOR
Missionaries, All Christians Should Be As · In dedicating themselves to the service of God — In dedicating themselves to the service of God
Privileges Of Saints · Secure during public calamities — Secure during public calamities
Worship · Loved by his people — Loved by his people
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
There is only one thing, that he desires, although he also has besides full satisfaction in Jahve in the midst of strangers and in trouble. The future is used side by side with the perfect in Psa 27:4, in order to express an ardent longing which extends out of the past into the future, and therefore runs through his whole life. The one thing sought is unfolded in שׁבתּי וגו. A life-long dwelling in the house of Jahve, that is to say intimate spiritual intercourse with the God, who has His dwelling (בית), His palace (היכל) in the holy tent, is the one desire of David's heart, in order that he may behold and feast upon (חזה בּ of a clinging, lingering, chained gaze, and consequently a more sig…
Searching for and enjoying the Lord’s presence provides the psalmist’s foundation for confidence and security. He lives in the assurance of God’s protection and looks forward to offering sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise (see 18:6).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 27:4
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.
One thing. Divided aims tend to distraction, weakness, disappointment. The man of one book is eminent, the man of one pursuit is successful. Let all our affections be bound up in one affection, and that affection set upon heavenly things. Have I desired —what we cannot at once attain, it is well to desire. God judges us very much by the desire of our hearts. He who rides a lame horse is not blamed by his master for want of speed, if he makes all the haste he can, and would make more if he could; God t…
