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When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
Psalms 27:8 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB When you said, “Seek my face,” my heart said to you, “I will seek your face, Yahweh.”
  • BSB My heart said, “Seek His face.” Your face, O LORD, I will seek.
  • NKJV When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
  • NASB When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “I shall seek Your face, Lord.”
  • NLT My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

When God invites 'Seek my face,' David's heart eagerly responds that he will seek God. It shows that true devotion answers God's gracious call.

Overview

God's command to seek Him is itself an invitation to fellowship, and David's heart willingly echoes it. The desire to seek God's face is awakened by God's prior word, illustrating that we love because He first loved us. To seek God's face is to long for His presence, fully and finally enjoyed in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Ps 105:4Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.
  • Jer 29:12–13Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
  • Isa 55:6–7Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
  • Ps 119:58I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.
  • Ps 24:6This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
  • Ps 63:1–2O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
  • Hos 5:15I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
  • Isa 45:19I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 27:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 27:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.