Dwell in Your Place
(Ken Reyes)
A Meditation on the Beauty of God (Part III)
LYRICS (Click to minimize)
The Lord is my light and my salvation
Though I’m surrounded by the enemy
Although I am assailed by tribulation
I know the Lord will hide and shelter me
And as I cry aloud in desperation
Lord, my God, have mercy on my soul
I lift my eyes beyond my situation
And see Your presence shining through it all
I want to dwell in Your place forevermore
For here in Your presence, I find that I am home
I want to gaze at Your face forevermore
For all the world’s beauty is but a shadow of Your own
For here in Your arms I rest my soul
And gazing at Your beauty I am whole
I want to dwell in Your place forevermore
For here in Your presence, I find that I am home
I want to gaze at Your face forevermore
For all the world’s beauty is but a shadow of Your own
For here in Your arms I rest my soul
And gazing at Your beauty I am whole
Songwriters: Ken Wyeth Reyes
CCLI License #632898
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
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.
And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek My face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Psalm 27 (ESV)
What a beautiful prayer! Let us take time today to just pray through this psalm, declaring the Lord as our light, salvation, and stronghold, in the midst of our enemies and our struggles.
We have spent the past two weeks dwelling on the beauty of God: what it means and how it is revealed to us. But what does it have to do with us? How are we to enjoy the beauty of God?
One thing we see in the psalmist’s prayer: even as he is surrounded by physical dangers and literal enemies, he calls on the Lord. He calls on the Lord not only to claim Him as his salvation and stronghold, though he definitely does that.
One stanza seems to stand out among the rest, and seems out of place. In this stanza, the psalmist prays and declares that the one thing he seeks is “to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.” Not only does he find refuge in the Lord’s strength or the Lord’s deliverance, but the Lord’s beauty is a true presence in his life.
Let us be the same! When we are surrounded by dangers of many sorts, let us not only plead for God to deliver us from the dangers, though we may do so. Even in the middle of our struggles, let us pray that we may see the beauty of God. Because, after all, the beauty of God is a very real comfort, and we are to seek after it. When we do, our lives will be conformed to His beauty, and our eyes conformed to His light. May the beauty of the Lord be our refuge!