ONE THING…

Psalm 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 inquire in his temple.

Spurgeon:

“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 affection 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 takes the will for the deed with his children.

“Of the Lord.”

This is the right target for desires,

this is the well into which to dip our buckets,

this is the door to knock at,

the bank to draw upon;

desire of men, and lie on the dunghill with Lazarus:

desire of the Lord, and be carried of angels into Abraham’s bosom.

Our desires of the Lord should be sanctified, humble, constant, submissive, fervent, and it is well if, as with the Psalmist, they are all molten into one mass.

Under David’s painful circumstances we might have expected him to desire repose, safety, and a thousand other good things, but no, he has set his heart on the pearl, and leaves the rest.

“That will I seek after.”

Holy desires must lead to resolute action.

The old proverb says, “Wishers and woulders are never good housekeepers,” and “wishing never fills a sack.” Desires are seeds which must be sown in the good soil of activity for they will yield no harvest.

We shall find our desires to be like clouds without rain, unless followed up by practical endeavours.

“That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”

For the sake of communion with the King, David longed to dwell always in the palace;

so far from being wearied with the services of the Tabernacle, he longed to be constantly engaged in them, as his lifelong pleasure.

He desired above all things to be one of the household of God, a home-born child, living at home with his Father.

This is our dearest wish, only we extend it to those days of our immortal life which have not yet dawned.

We pine for our Father’s house above, the home of our souls;

if we may but dwell there for ever, we care but little for the goods or ills of this poor life.

“Jerusalem the golden” is the one and only goal of our heart’s longings.

“To behold the beauty of the Lord.”

An exercise both for earthly and heavenly worshippers.

We must not enter the assemblies of the saints in order to see and be seen, or merely to hear the minister;

we must repair to the gatherings of the righteous, intent upon the gracious object of learning…

more of the loving Father,

more of the glorified Jesus,

more of the mysterious Spirit, in order that we may the

more lovingly admire, and the

more reverently adore our glorious God.

What a word is that, “the beauty of the Lord!”

Think of it, dear reader!

Better far – behold it by faith!

What a sight will that be when every faithful follower of Jesus shall behold “the King in his beauty!”

Oh, for that infinitely blessed vision!

“And to enquire in his temple.”

We should make our visits to the Lord’s house enquirers’ meetings.

Not seeking sinners alone, but assured saints should be enquirers.

We must enquire as to the will of God and how we may do it;

as to our interest in the heavenly city, and how we may be more assured of it.

We shall not need to make enquiries in heaven, for there we shall know even as we are known;

but meanwhile we should sit at Jesus’ feet, and awaken all our faculties to learn of him.