One Thing I Desire

A Poem Inspired by Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask beneath the morning sky,

One longing rises when the daylight wakes;

To dwell where holy mercies never die,

And rest beside the path His presence makes.

Not crowns of gold, nor treasures gathered high,

Not fleeting praise that fades with passing years;

But just to know the Lord is ever nigh,

Whose gentle presence quiets all my fears.

Within His house, where sacred stillness sings,

The restless heart discovers lasting peace;

There faith takes shelter underneath His wings,

And troubled thoughts from weary striving cease.

To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord,

To see His goodness shining through His grace;

To treasure every promise of His Word,

And seek the everlasting light of His face.

His beauty is not fashioned by the earth,

Nor measured by the splendor mortals prize;

It is the glory of eternal worth,

The holy love no darkness can disguise.

His mercy shines where wounded spirits kneel,

His faithfulness remains when shadows fall;

His presence brings the grace that hearts can feel,

His sovereign goodness watches over all.

O teach the heart to hunger after Thee,

When lesser loves would steal its gaze away;

From every chain of restless longing free

The soul that seeks Thy presence day by day.

When voices of the world grow fierce and loud,

And fear would build its fortress in the mind,

Draw near, O Lord, and part the gathering cloud,

That trusting hearts Thy steadfast peace may find.

When morning comes with duties yet unknown,

Be Thou the dwelling place where faith abides;

When evening falls and daylight has withdrawn,

Remain the refuge where the spirit hides.

Let every earthly temple point above,

Beyond the walls that human hands have made,

Toward Christ, the fullness of redeeming love,

In whom the glory of the Lord displayed.

For He has opened wide the holy way;

Through Him the wandering heart may enter in.

His cross has turned our darkness into day,

His cleansing blood has answered death and sin.

And through the Spirit, God has made His home

Within the hearts of those redeemed by grace;

No child of God must seek His love alone,

For heaven has drawn near in Christ's embrace.

Yet still the faithful heart will seek His face,

Still hunger for the fullness yet to be,

When faith gives way to sight in endless grace,

And saints behold His glorious majesty.

Then every shadow finally shall cease,

And every restless longing shall be still;

The house of God shall overflow with peace,

And joy shall rise according to His will.

Until that day, let this one prayer remain,

Through seasons bright and through the darkest night:

To dwell with God through pleasure and through pain,

And gaze upon His beauty and His light.

One thing above the many things we seek,

One treasure greater than the world can give:

To know the Lord, to hear His Spirit speak,

To dwell with Him—and in His presence live.