The psalmist says his one and only desire is to dwell in the house of the LORD, the Temple, all the days of my life (see 23.6). Seek after in line b is parallel with have … asked in line a, indicating that this is the thing he desires most.
In the Temple the psalmist will behold the beauty of the LORD. Behold may sometimes be expressed in translation as “to look at with awe” or “to look at and say ‘That is marvelous.’ ” Verse 4d can sometimes be expressed “to look at God’s beauty and say ‘Isn’t it wonderful!’ ”
The noun translated beauty occurs only here and in 90.17, in Psalms; elsewhere it is found in Pro 3.17; 15.26; 16.14; Zech 11.7, 10. The word means grace, favor, kindness, goodness. Translations of this passage vary: Revised Standard Version beauty is also in An American Translation, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy; New American Bible and Dahood have “loveliness”; Moffatt “goodness”; Zürcher Bibel “friendliness.” New Jerusalem Bible translates “to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh,” and Bible en français courant “to rejoice in his friendship.” It seems clear that the word is being used in a spiritual sense (so Anderson); some think it is possible that a specific object–the Covenant Box–is meant; Briggs thinks it is the beauty of the worship in the Temple.
The second purpose, to inquire (in his temple) translates a verb which elsewhere means “attend to, bestow care on.” K-B defines its meaning here as “take pleasure (in).” It is not certain what it specifically means in this passage; most take it in a general sense, “to worship,” “to pray,” “to ask for divine guidance,” “to seek God’s will.” Taylor defines it: “to inquire of God guidance in all the situations of existence.”
Dahood believes that verses 4-5 express the psalmist’s desire to spend eternity in heaven with God. Although Christians today may have that idea in mind when they use this psalm, it was probably not what the writer was thinking.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .