Have you ever wondered if you could ask the Lord for one thing what would it be? Would it be good health, fame, money, wisdom or even peace and joy. Well here David asks for none of these. Instead, he simply says, “…that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life…” (Psalm 27:4). I believe that David would wholeheartedly agree with the psalmist when we read in (Psalm 84:10): “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere…” David understood that it was in the house of the Lord that he could participate in corporate worship and, “gaze on the beauty of the Lord.”
When David penned (Psalm 37) he understood that only in the Lord can we find true peace and fulfillment. When we read in (Psalm 37:4): “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart,” we begin to understand that delighting in the Lord means that our desires will match up with His will, and His desires will become ours. Imagine that delighting in the things of the Lord, both temporal and eternal, can become our new treasured possessions and bring us maximum joy in the present! No wonder David proclaims: “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4).
And one of the best ways to stay delighted in the Lord is to cultivate the wonderful practice of meditating daily in God’s precious word – the Bible. If you want to truly be blessed then read the following words in (Psalm 1:1-3) and put this timeless advice into daily practice: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”
David also knew that in the house of the Lord he was free to “seek” the Lord in an atmosphere of praise and worship and where he could devote his entire attention to meditating on the Lord. I also believe, David knew in his heart what we read in the Westminster Shorter Catechism that: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” And what better place to glorify God and to enjoy His presence than in the house of the Lord.
Corporate praise and worship with God’s people are one of the most delightful activities a soul can ever be engaged in. So, the next time you are in the house of the Lord take time to seek Jesus by just delighting in His presence – I guarantee you will be blessed!