4 One `thing' I asked of Jehovah -- it I seek. My dwelling in the house of Jehovah, All the days of my life, To look on the pleasantness of Jehovah, And to inquire in His temple.
Jehovah, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, And the place of the tabernacle of Thine honour.
O the happiness of `him whom' Thou choosest, And drawest near, he inhabiteth Thy courts, We are satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, Thy holy temple.
For good `is' a day in Thy courts, O Teacher! I have chosen rather to be at the threshold, In the house of my God, Than to dwell in tents of wickedness.
O the happiness of those inhabiting Thy house, Yet do they praise Thee. Selah.
So in the sanctuary I have seen Thee, To behold Thy strength and Thine honour. Because better `is' Thy kindness than life, My lips do praise Thee. So I bless Thee in my life, in Thy name I lift up my hands. As `with' milk and fatness is my soul satisfied, And `with' singing lips doth my mouth praise.
To Thee said my heart `They sought my face, Thy face, O Jehovah, I seek.'
but seek ye first the reign of God and His righteousness, and all these shall be added to you.
and we all, with unvailed face, the glory of the Lord beholding in a mirror, to the same image are being transformed, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
And let the pleasantness of Jehovah our God be upon us, And the work of our hands establish on us, Yea, the work of our hands establish it!
And he spake also a simile to them, that it behoveth `us' always to pray, and not to faint,
`Be striving to go in through the straight gate, because many, I say to you, will seek to go in, and shall not be able;
`Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you; for every one who is asking doth receive, and he who is seeking doth find, and to him who is knocking it shall be opened.
but of one thing there is need, and Mary the good part did choose, that shall not be taken away from her.'
And ye have sought Me, and have found, for ye seek Me with all your heart;
Rejoice exceedingly, O daughter of Zion, Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, Lo, thy King doth come to thee, Righteous -- and saved is He, Afflicted -- and riding on an ass, And on a colt -- a son of she-asses.
and I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek `by' prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.
And Saul dieth because of his trespass that he trespassed against Jehovah, against the word of Jehovah that he kept not, and also for asking at a familiar spirit -- to inquire, -- and he inquired not at Jehovah, and He putteth him to death, and turneth round the kingdom to David son of Jesse.
and voweth a vow, and saith, `Jehovah of Hosts, if Thou dost certainly look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and hast remembered me, and dost not forget Thy handmaid, and hast given to Thy handmaid seed of men -- then I have given him to Jehovah all days of his life, and a razor doth not go up upon his head.'
I wash in innocency my hands, And I compass Thine altar, O Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 27
Commentary on Psalms 27 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 27
Ps 27:1-14. With a general strain of confidence, hope, and joy, especially in God's worship, in the midst of dangers, the Psalmist introduces prayer for divine help and guidance.
1. light—is a common figure for comfort.
strength—or, "stronghold"—affording security against all violence. The interrogations give greater vividness to the negation implied.
2. eat … my flesh—(Job 19:22; Ps 14:4). The allusion to wild beasts illustrates their rapacity.
they stumbled—"they" is emphatic; not I, but they were destroyed.
3. In the greatest dangers.
in this—that is, then, in such extremity.
4, 5. The secret of his confidence is his delight in communion with God (Ps 16:11; 23:6), beholding the harmony of His perfections, and seeking His favor in His temple or palace; a term applicable to the tabernacle (compare Ps 5:7). There he is safe (Ps 31:21; 61:5). The figure is changed in the last clause, but the sentiment is the same.
6. head be lifted up—I shall be placed beyond the reach of my enemies. Hence he avows his purpose of rendering joyful thank offerings.
7. Still pressing need extorts prayer for help.
cry with my voice—denotes earnestness. Other things equal, Christians in earnest pray audibly, even in secret.
8. The meaning is clear, though the construction in a literal translation is obscure. The English Version supplies the implied clause. To seek God's face is to seek His favor (Ps 105:4).
9. Hide not, &c.—(Ps 4:6; 22:24). Against rejection he pleads former mercy and love.
10. In the extremity of earthly destitution (Ps 31:11; 38:11), God provides (compare Mt 25:35).
11. thy way—of providence.
a plain path—(Ps 26:12).
enemies—literally, "watchers for my fall" (Ps 5:8).
12. will—literally, "soul," "desire" (Ps 35:25).
enemies—literally, "oppressors." Falsehood aids cruelty against him.
breathe out—as being filled with it (Ac 9:1).
13. The strong emotion is indicated by the incomplete sentence, for which the English Version supplies a proper clause; or, omitting that, and rendering, "yet I believed," &c., the contrast of his faith and his danger is expressed.
to see—is to experience (Ps 22:17).
14. Wait, &c.—in confident expectation. The last clause is, literally, "and wait," &c., as if expecting new measures of help.