Dwelling in Christ

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. 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. Psalm 27:4-5

Has anything ever captivated you to the point that you are unable to stop looking at it? Perhaps you were once captivated by a fine piece of art, the vastness of the ocean, the grandeur of mountains. Why do these things capture us? Because we are wired to glory in what is greater. We love to delight ourselves in that which is grand, glorious, beautiful, and beyond us. And although those things are delightful, they pale in comparison to the greatness of God. 

Here in Psalm 27, we see David’s very focused desire expressed in three verbs: gaze, dwell, and inquire. In many ways, these three things are one; they just separate into three parts. Notice David says in verse 4, “one thing.” David wanted one thing, and that was to “dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life.” Why? So that he could “gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.” Not only did he want to see God’s beauty, but he wanted to learn more about Him by gazing upon Him. 

What is the beauty of God? How can there be beauty in one we cannot see? The beauty of God is not something we can see visibly. The beauty of God is the sum of all His attributes and all His being. So, when we speak of beholding the beauty of God, we are referring to the desire to know more about Him and to know more about His attributes. In other words, it is the desire to know more about His holiness, mercy, grace, justice, righteousness, and all who scripture says He is. And it is in the house of the LORD that David is reminded of this. Therefore, it is where David wants to go and “dwell.” He wants to remain there. Why? Because it is there that David comes face to face with the God who is. There, he can gaze upon the beauty of God, learn of God, and be satisfied. 

Where does the desire to “gaze upon the beauty of the LORD” come from? Naturally, we don’t desire the beauty of God. Scripture tells us, that by nature, we are children of God’s wrath (Eph. 2:1-3) and blind to the wonders of who God is (2 Cor. 4:3-6). Therefore, our hearts must be changed; we must be given new desires (2 Cor. 5:17). This happens through the power of God’s Spirit when He causes us to be born again (1 Peter 1:3). When we are born again, we then have desires for God, and we long to “gaze upon the beauty of the LORD.” So, until we are born again, we will never desire the beauty of God. We may know facts about God, but we won’t enjoy Him for who He is. In Psalm 27, we see David enjoying God for who He is. David wasn’t passive in this. Notice in verse 4 he says, “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after.” He desired to know more of God and to see more of His beauty. 

The beauty that David desired to gaze upon is ultimately found in his heir to the throne (2 Sam. 7:16), the promised Messiah. The culmination of the beauty of God is found in Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 1:3, the writer says, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” God’s beauty is displayed in Christ, who came to dwell among us so that He might save His people (Matt. 1:21).  Because of this great salvation, we can dwell in Christ.  In this, we know and experience the beauty of God’s love, breadth of His grace, the depth of His mercy, and forgiveness.

Once a person experiences the beauty of God and His salvation, something amazing happens. Our hearts are changed so that we desire God, His presence, and His beauty.  We who were once wretched and marred by sin are made new, and God is making us into His beautiful masterpiece as He molds and fashions us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). 

Do you want to know more of God and to see more of His beauty? Will you seek Him on your knees? Will you seek Him through the pages of the Bible? If you don’t know Him, I would beg of you to call out to Him and ask Him to give you a new heart, a heart that desires Him and all His beauty.