Psalm 63
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
David’s psalm teaches us that our hearts ought to long for God. He describes an intent longing with these metaphors. It is a desperate longing. I wonder how many of us long for God in such an intense way. I don’t think this is the irrational emotional frenzy that the charismatics work themselves into. I think it is a more honest heart longing, something that comes upon them rather than worked up in them. But what would bring such longing? David must have had some powerful encounter/vision/experience with God, one that brought such intense joy/peace/fulfillment – shalom – that he wanted nothing else.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Aww! Now we have it! David’s vision of God was there in the sanctuary! He beheld his power and glory. I love this! This is to be our experience too, as we come to the sanctuary as a congregation to worship. God meets with us. He speaks to us through the preached Word. He sups with us at the Lord’s table. He pardons us in confession. He dwells with us in the midst of our praise. O how we need to bigger view of worship! How we need to have our expectations conformed to this!
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
Then we will know firsthand the steadfast love of the Lord, as we learn how to see it and walk in it day after day. Praise that we bring to the sanctuary becomes genuine and not manufactured or out of duty.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
Our relationship with the Lord begins to permeate the rest of life, beyond the sanctuary.
What a good way to prepare for worship and I pray for that bigger view of worship in my heart.