THE NUMBER 0NE DESIRE FOR THE BELIEVER
Psalms 27:4
Morning Meditation 2/26/14
"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 enquire in his temple."
WHAT THIS ONE THING WAS
David tells us what that one thing was. It was fellowship with God.
HE SOUGHT THIS BECAUSE HE WAS RECONCILED TO GOD
For an unreconciled man to approach God would be useless and dangerous. It would be like forcing oneself upon God and ignoring His warnings. Exodus 3:6, "Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God."
Colossians 1:21 says, "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled."
The word "reconciled" translates "apokatallasso" and means, "to bring back a former state of harmony." Salvation is a restoration to a former state. It is regaining what was lost in the fall.
Salvation restores man to harmony with God. Man's highest good is to be reconciled with God and enjoy His fellowship. 1 John 1:3 says, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."
Hebrews 10:19-22 says, "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."
HE SOUGHT THIS BECAUSE HE LOVED THE COMPANY OF GOD
David reveals his desire when he says, "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. . ."
David's desire was not just to visit God, it was to dwell in the house of the LORD, and he desires this as a permanent relationship. He says, "this will I seek after." Deuteronomy 4:29 says, "But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul."
WHY HE SOUGHT THIS ONE THING
To see His beauty. He is altogether lovely. There is great beauty in His person--divine and human; in His character--holy, compassionate, mighty; in His work as Prophet, priest, King. This is a beauty that never fades. Human forms, pleasures, and possessions will wither. Psalms 16:11, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
Age has no effect on the beauty of the Lord. If my wife would have had a picture of what I would look like when I got old she would probably said no to my proposal. God had ordained the birth of a babe, the development into childhood, and the maturing as an adult. But finally when he receives adulthood he starts loosing it and there is nothing he can do about it. A lot of people get a face lift when they get old. All I can say is that they will make a beautiful corpse.
God is eternal. He has always been but age has not affected His looks or His attributes. He is the eternal God living in an eternal now. Age is not beneficial in the eternal state because everything there is perfect and no one who is there will never need to undergo a change. We will be eternally young.
The second reason is to inquire in His temple. He was an anxious inquirer, seeking the truth of God from God's own lips. Jesus said, "Learn of Me" (Matt. 11:29).
The Church is our place of worship. Every saved individual should desire the same thing that David did. Jesus is the Head and Founder of the Church. It is a place where teaching takes place and the saints of God can grow. Church attendance should be the most interesting time of the week.
HOW HE SOUGHT THIS ONE THING
He sought it earnestly. All his desire centered in this one thing. He had a single eye. Deuteronomy 29:29, "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." We should seek God with all our hearts.
He sought it determinately. He says, "That will I seek after." He will not cease until he finds it.
He sought it successfully. This we may be assured of, because he sought it from the Lord. "Seek and ye shall find." (Matt. 7:7).
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
