By Martin Morrison
I think the most surprising verse in Psalm 27 must be vs.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”.
If you had one thing to ask of the Lord, and know that your request would be granted, I wonder if this would be your request, “to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord”. Can we honestly say that that would be our request! What makes it even more surprising, is when you realize the context in which David found himself in Psalm 27:1 – 3. He is under enormous pressure. He is facing evildoers who want to destroy him, “eat up my flesh”; he has countless adversaries and foes; he has an army encamped outside his kitchen!
I have no doubt that if it was me, my first request to God would be deliverance! Lord destroy these evildoers! Rescue me from these blood thirsty scoundrel! Give me peace or I die!
And yet his one thing is not power, or control or retribution, but to see the beauty of the Lord! Meaning to be right with God; to know God; to love God; to find his strength and purpose in God!
This begs the question for all of us. What is the one thing your heart craves? What is the one thing you cannot live without? What is the one thing that fills your dreams? What is the one thing that will make you happy?
Let me tell you the truth. Truth with a capital T. You better first sit down and close the door. My dear friend, if it is not the Lord, you will never find contentment in this world. You will never be safe. Nothing will ever ultimately satisfy. “One thing have I asked, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord”
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Paul Tripp teaches us that ultimately there are only two kinds of beauty. Source beauty and reflected beauty. Source beauty is true beauty. Pure beauty. Independent beauty. Timeless beauty. Divine beauty. The beauty of God. Reflected beauty is tainted beauty, dependent beauty, mirage beauty. Idolatry is when we put reflected beauty in the place of source beauty. But at some point it starts to fade, it’s a mirage, it slips through your fingers, the reflected beauty turns into a shadow.
It’s when we confuse consumption with satisfaction. We confuse sensual with joy. We confuse a full stomach with a heart that is at rest. This world has many, many beauties. The beauty of creation around us. The beauty of friendships and love, the beauty of enjoyment and pleasure. But remember, they are only signs of a far greater beauty. They cannot satisfy in and of themselves. They are merely pointing us to their creator, the ultimate beauty. They are merely signposts that point to a far, far more stunning beauty.
Be very carful not to confuse created things with the Creator. Created things can be used, enjoyed, but they never last or satisfy. Only the Creator can satisfy the longing of our hearts.
Before we look at the Psalm 27: 5, do not forget that Jesus is the fulfilment of this verse. Jesus is God’s house, Jesus is the ultimate temple, Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. He was speaking about the temple of his body”, John 2: 19 – 21. Meaning that ultimate beauty and satisfaction will only be found in the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
David ends off this section by saying, “For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock”. Here is the dilemma of our humanity. Clearly we are not in control of either the details or destiny of our lives. And yet we crave security and safety. We crave a rock which won’t fall or break or disappoint us. And so we try and carve out a rock or foundation to our lives. Be it money or status or family or relationships, which we desperately hope won’t break or disappoint us. The problem is that no created thing, no reflected beauty can bear the weight of our eternal longings. Only source beauty can. Only the Creator can. Only Jesus is our shelter. Only Jesus is our rock. Jesus, said, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest”. Jesus is the only one who can be our rock, that never changes or moves, or disappoints. Jesus is the only one who can give us true rest!
Let me close with that well known quote from C S Lewis,
“The security we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world. We have plenty of fun and even ecstasy, but we are never safe. It is not meant to be safe. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world. God will refresh us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home”.
For Further Reading: Anything by C S Lewis or Paul David Tripp.