◄ Psalm 26:8 ►
O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.
Study Bible
O LORD
The term "LORD" in this context is derived from the Hebrew "Yahweh," the covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal, self-existent nature. This name is deeply personal and relational, signifying God's faithfulness and His intimate relationship with His people. In the conservative Christian perspective, invoking "O LORD" is a declaration of reverence and acknowledgment of God's sovereignty and holiness. It is a reminder of the personal relationship believers have with God through Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the covenant.

I love
The Hebrew word for "love" here is "ahav," which conveys deep affection and devotion. This love is not merely emotional but is an act of will and commitment. In the context of worship, it reflects a believer's heartfelt dedication and desire to be in God's presence. This love is a response to God's love for us, as demonstrated through His grace and mercy. It is a call for believers to cultivate a passionate and sincere love for God, which is expressed through worship and obedience.

the house where You dwell
This phrase refers to the tabernacle or temple, the physical place where God's presence was manifest among His people. In ancient Israel, the temple was the center of worship and a symbol of God's covenant with His people. It was a sacred space set apart for encountering God. For Christians, this concept extends to the church as the body of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within believers. It emphasizes the importance of communal worship and the gathering of believers as a reflection of God's presence among His people.

the place where Your glory resides
"Glory" in Hebrew is "kavod," which signifies weightiness, honor, and splendor. God's glory is His manifest presence and the revelation of His divine nature. In the Old Testament, God's glory was often associated with the cloud and fire that led the Israelites and filled the temple. This phrase highlights the awe-inspiring and majestic nature of God's presence. For Christians, it points to the ultimate revelation of God's glory in Jesus Christ, who is the "radiance of God's glory" (Hebrews 1:3). It calls believers to seek and honor God's presence in their lives, recognizing that His glory is both transformative and sanctifying.

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
Traditionally attributed as the author of this psalm, David is expressing his deep love and reverence for the dwelling place of God.

2. The House of the LORD
Refers to the tabernacle or temple, the physical place where God's presence was believed to dwell among His people.

3. The Glory of God
Represents God's manifest presence and majesty, often associated with the Shekinah glory that filled the tabernacle and later the temple.
Teaching Points
Love for God's Presence
As believers, we should cultivate a deep love and desire for God's presence, seeking to dwell where His glory resides.

Reverence for God's House
While the physical temple is no longer the center of worship, the church as the body of Christ is where believers gather to experience God's presence collectively.

Personal Devotion
Our personal lives should reflect a sanctuary where God's glory can dwell, emphasizing holiness and dedication to Him.

Community Worship
Gathering with other believers is vital for experiencing the fullness of God's presence, as He inhabits the praises of His people.

Spiritual Temple
Recognize that through Christ, we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit, and our lives should reflect His glory.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does David's love for the house of the LORD challenge your own attitude towards corporate worship and gathering with other believers?

2. In what ways can you cultivate a deeper sense of God's presence in your personal life, making your heart a dwelling place for His glory?

3. How does understanding the original purpose of the tabernacle and temple enhance your appreciation for the church today?

4. What practical steps can you take to ensure that your life reflects the holiness and reverence due to a temple of the Holy Spirit?

5. How can the concept of God's glory residing among His people influence your interactions and relationships within your church community?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 25:8
God instructs Moses to build a sanctuary so that He may dwell among His people, establishing the importance of a physical place for God's presence.

1 Kings 8:10-11
Describes the glory of the LORD filling Solomon's temple, illustrating the tangible presence of God in His house.

Psalm 84:1-2
Expresses a similar longing and love for the courts of the LORD, emphasizing the psalmist's desire to be near God's presence.

Hebrews 10:19-22
Discusses the new and living way opened through Jesus, allowing believers to draw near to God with a sincere heart, connecting the physical temple to the spiritual access believers have today.
Sermons
An Encouraging ContemplationW. Jay.Psalm 26:8
David's Affection for the House of GodSketches of Four Hundred SermonsPsalm 26:8
Love for the SanctuaryJ. Aldis.Psalm 26:8
Love to the House of GodHelps for the PulpitPsalm 26:8
Our Worship of GodC. J. Ball, M. A.Psalm 26:8
Public WorshipCanon Page Roberts.Psalm 26:8
The House of GodRobert Newton.Psalm 26:8
The Importance of Public WorshipHugh Blair, D. D.Psalm 26:8
The Institutions of God's HouseJ. Baldwin Brown, B. A.Psalm 26:8
The Loving Kindness and Truth of GodT. Cruso.Psalm 26:8
The Loving Kindness of the Lord ContemplatedJames Henderson, D. D.Psalm 26:8
The Manifestness of Divine BenignityHomilistPsalm 26:8
The Sanctity of Christian ArtA. P. Forbes, D. C. L.Psalm 26:8
The Value of Public WorshipHomilistPsalm 26:8
Think Well and Do WellPsalm 26:8
An Appeal Marked by Specific EntreatyC. Clemence, D. D.Psalm 26:1-12
Assailed Integrity's Final Appeal. F1C. Clemance Psalm 26:1-12
David's Appeal and its IssueBp. Wm. Nicholson.Psalm 26:1-12
David's IntegrityD. Caldwell, M. A.Psalm 26:1-12
IntegrityW. Forsyth Psalm 26:1-12
Leading Proofs of Personal PietyHomilistPsalm 26:1-12
The Character of an Upright Man Sketched by HimselfC. Clemence, D. D.Psalm 26:1-12
The Oppressed Righteous ManC. Short Psalm 26:1-12
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Dear, Dwelleth, Dwells, Glory, Habitation, Honor, Honour, Love, Loved, O, Resting-place, Tabernacle
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 26:8

     1194   glory, divine and human
     5340   house
     8297   love, for God
     8632   adoration

Library
Question of the Comparison Between the Active and the Contemplative Life
I. Is the Active Life preferable to the Contemplative? Cardinal Cajetan, On Preparation for the Contemplative Life S. Augustine, Confessions, X., xliii. 70 " On Psalm xxvi. II. Is the Active Life more Meritorious than the Contemplative? III. Is the Active Life a Hindrance to the Contemplative Life? Cardinal Cajetan, On the True Interior Life S. Augustine, Sermon, CCLVI., v. 6 IV. Does the Active Life precede the Contemplative? I Is the Active Life preferable to the Contemplative? The Lord …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Hezekiah, the Praying King
One can form a habit of study until the will seems to be at rest and only the intellect is engaged, the will having retired altogether from exercise. This is not true of real praying. If the affections are laggard, cold, indifferent, if the intellect is furnishing no material to clothe the petition with imagery and fervor, the prayer is a mere vaporing ofintellectual exercise, nothing being accomplished worth while.--Rev. Homer W. Hodge The great religious reformation under King Hezekiah and the …
Edward M. Bounds—Prayer and Praying Men

The Courts of God
"Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth."--Ps. xxvi. 8. R. Rolle, 1349. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 O Lord, I have loved the fair beauty Of the house Thou hast chosen for Thee, The courts where Thy gladness rejoiceth, And where Thou delightest to be. For I love to be made the fair dwelling Where God in His grace may abide; I would cast forth whatever may grieve Thee, And welcome none other beside. Oh blessed the grace that has made me The home …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Epistle v. To Theoctista, Sister of the Emperor.
To Theoctista, Sister of the Emperor. Gregory to Theoctista, &c. With how great devotion my mind prostrates itself before your Venerableness I cannot fully express in words; nor yet do I labour to give utterance to it, since, even though I were silent, you read in your heart your own sense of my devotion. I wonder, however, that you withdrew your countenance, till of late bestowed on me, from this my recent engagement in the pastoral office; wherein, under colour of episcopacy, I have been brought …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

A Discourse of the Building, Nature, Excellency, and Government of the House of God; with Counsels and Directions to the Inhabitants Thereof.
BY JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. 'Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.'--Psalm 26:8 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Beautiful in its simplicity is this treatise on the Church of Christ, by John Bunyan. He opens, with profound knowledge and eminent skill, all those portions of sacred writ which illustrate the nature, excellency, and government of the house of God, with the personal and relative duties of its inhabitants. It was originally published in …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Letter xxxix (A. D. 1137) to the Same.
To the Same. He expresses his regret at his very long absence from his beloved Clairvaux, and his desire to return to his dear sons. He tells them of the consolations that he feels nevertheless in his great labours for the Church. 1. My soul is sorrowful until I return, and it refuses to be comforted till it see you. For what is my consolation in the hour of evil, and in the place of my pilgrimage? Are not you in the Lord? Wherever I go, the sweet memory of you never leaves me; but the sweeter the …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Assurance
Q-xxxvi: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS WHICH FLOW FROM SANCTIFICATION? A: Assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. The first benefit flowing from sanctification is assurance of God's love. 'Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.' 2 Pet 1:10. Sanctification is the seed, assurance is the flower which grows out of it: assurance is a consequent of sanctification. The saints of old had it. We know that we know …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

St. Augustine (Ad 354-430)
PART I The church in the north of Africa has hardly been mentioned since the time of St. Cyprian (Chapter VIII). But we must now look towards it again, since in the days of St. Chrysostom it produced a man who was perhaps the greatest of all the old Christian fathers--St. Augustine. Augustine was born at Thagaste, a city of Numidia, in the year 354. His mother, Monica, was a pious Christian, but his father, Patricius, was a heathen, and a man of no very good character. Monica was resolved to bring …
J. C. Roberston—Sketches of Church History, from AD 33 to the Reformation

Question Lxxxiii of Prayer
I. Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer based on Friendship II. Is it Fitting to Pray? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer as a True Cause S. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, II. iii. 14 " On the Gift of Perseverance, vii. 15 III. Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Humility of Prayer S. Augustine, On Psalm cii. 10 " Of the Gift of Perseverance, xvi. 39 IV. Ought We to Pray to God Alone? S. Augustine, Sermon, cxxvii. 2 V. …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

A Treatise on Good Works
I. We ought first to know that there are no good works except those which God has commanded, even as there is no sin except that which God has forbidden. Therefore whoever wishes to know and to do good works needs nothing else than to know God's commandments. Thus Christ says, Matthew xix, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." And when the young man asks Him, Matthew xix, what he shall do that he may inherit eternal life, Christ sets before him naught else but the Ten Commandments. …
Dr. Martin Luther—A Treatise on Good Works

The Morning of Good Friday.
The pale grey light had passed into that of early morning, when the Sanhedrists once more assembled in the Palace of Caiaphas. [5969] A comparison with the terms in which they who had formed the gathering of the previous night are described will convey the impression, that the number of those present was now increased, and that they who now came belonged to the wisest and most influential of the Council. It is not unreasonable to suppose, that some who would not take part in deliberations which were …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Greatness of the Soul,
AND UNSPEAKABLENESS 0F THE LOSS THEREOF; WITH THE CAUSES OF THE LOSING IT. FIRST PREACHED AT PINNER'S HALL and now ENLARGED AND PUBLISHED FOR GOOD. By JOHN BUNYAN, London: Printed for Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682 Faithfully reprinted from the Author's First Edition. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Our curiosity is naturally excited to discover what a poor, unlettered mechanic, whose book-learning had been limited to the contents of one volume, could by possibility know …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Question of the Contemplative Life
I. Is the Contemplative Life wholly confined to the Intellect, or does the Will enter into it? S. Thomas, On the Beatific Vision, I., xii. 7 ad 3m II. Do the Moral Virtues pertain to the Contemplative Life? S. Augustine, Of the City of God, xix. 19 III. Does the Contemplative Life comprise many Acts? S. Augustine, Of the Perfection of Human Righteousness, viii. 18 " Ep., cxxx. ad probam IV. Does the Contemplative Life consist solely in the Contemplation of God, or in the Consideration …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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