Psalms 27:4

27:4 I have asked the Lord for one thing –

this is what I desire!

I want to live ¹  in the Lord’s house ²  all the days of my life,

so I can gaze at the splendor ³  of the Lord

and contemplate in his temple.

Psalms 63:2

63:2 Yes, ⁴  in the sanctuary I have seen you, ⁵ 

and witnessed ⁶  your power and splendor.

Psalms 77:13

77:13 ⁷ O God, your deeds are extraordinary! ⁸ 

What god can compare to our great God? ⁹ 

Psalms 119:24

119:24 Yes, I find delight in your rules;

they give me guidance. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 119:130

119:130 Your instructions are a doorway through which light shines. ¹¹ 

They give ¹²  insight to the untrained. ¹³ 

[27:4]  ¹ tn Heb “my living.”

[27:4]  ² sn The Lord’s house. This probably refers to the tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).

[27:4]  ³ tn Or “beauty.”

[63:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used here to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4).

[63:2]  ⁵ tn The perfect verbal form is understood here as referring to a past experience which the psalmist desires to be repeated. Another option is to take the perfect as indicating the psalmist’s certitude that he will again stand in God’s presence in the sanctuary. In this case one can translate, “I will see you.”

[63:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “seeing.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.

[77:13]  ⁷ sn Verses 13-20 are the content of the psalmist’s reflection (see vv. 11-12). As he thought about God’s work in Israel’s past, he reached the place where he could confidently cry out for God’s help (see v. 1).

[77:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “O God, in holiness [is] your way.” God’s “way” here refers to his actions. “Holiness” is used here in the sense of “set apart, unique,” rather than in a moral/ethical sense. As the next line and the next verse emphasize, God’s deeds are incomparable and set him apart as the one true God.

[77:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “Who [is] a great god like God?” The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “No one!”

[119:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “men of my counsel.” That is, God’s rules are like advisers to the psalmist, for they teach him how to live in a godly manner that refutes the accusations of his enemies.

[119:130]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the doorway of your words gives light.” God’s “words” refer here to the instructions in his law (see vv. 9, 57).

[119:130]  ¹² tn Heb “it [i.e., the doorway] gives.”

[119:130]  ¹³ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly. See Pss 19:7; 116:6.