[Verse 1]
How lovely is your dwelling place
Oh Lord Almighty
My soul longs and even faints for you
For here my heart is satisfied
Within your presence
I sing beneath the shadow of your wings
[Chorus]
Better is one day in your courts
Better is one day in your house
Better is one day in your courts
Than thousands elsewhere
[Verse 2]
One thing I ask and I would seek
To see your beauty
To find you in the place your glory dwells
Your glory dwells
[Chorus]
Better is one day in your courts
Better is one day in your house
Better is one day in your courts
Than thousands elsewhere
[Bridge]
My heart and flesh cry out
For you the living God
Your spirit's water for my soul
I've tasted and I've seen
Come once again to me
I will draw near to you
I will draw near to you
[Chorus]
Better is one day in your courts
Better is one day in your house
Better is one day in your courts
Than thousands elsewhere
[Outro]
One day, one day with you
One day, one day with you
One day, one day with you
My heart and flesh cry out for you
Better is one day
Better Is One Day
Song Meaning
Psalm 84 supplies the skeleton for Matt Redman's "Better Is One Day," and the song follows it closely. It starts with "How lovely is your dwelling place," moves to a soul that "longs and even faints," and rests in a heart "satisfied within your presence," singing beneath the shadow of God's wings.
The chorus makes the comparison the center of the song: one day in God's courts, one day in his house, is better than "thousands elsewhere." It is a ranking of desires, stated three times so that it sticks. The second verse narrows the wish to the single request of Psalm 27:4, to see God's beauty and find him where his glory dwells.
The bridge turns from longing to nearness. Heart and flesh cry out for the living God, the Spirit is "water for my soul," and the singer has "tasted and seen" before promising to draw near. The outro shrinks everything to "one day, one day with you." The brief repetitions suit a congregation that can learn the lines on first hearing, and the psalm's thirst imagery in Psalm 42:2 reinforces the same desire.