Reflections on psalm 63

¹ O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I can’t help but be drawn to the passion and emotion of this psalm.  My own heart echoes the words of David, yet it many ways, I’m not sure I can relate.  I have never experienced the physical desperation of being thirsty.  To the extent that someone would walk miles for  a gallon of water is unfathomable to me…how then can I grasp that desperate of a need for Jesus?  I’ve never been in extreme pain, never known persecution.  My life has not been easy, but over all it has been comfortable.  I want to thirst and long and seek my God like David writes about here…and I know no mountain top encounter or valley of death is necessary for this intense longing for God, but I think in my comfortable life, it’s easy to feel joy and thankfulness to my Heavenly Father, but not as much desperate need for His presence in my life.

² I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

³ Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

⁵ My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

⁶ On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

⁷ Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I am not ashamed to say I am an emotional believer.  Those who can worship God, study the word, pray and praise God and be void of expressing emotion (as they might when they are in love, or angry, listening to a great piece of music, or in a lively conversation)- I don’t understand them.   I think David and I would get along great.  We whine, complain, cry out in frustration, and make lots of mistakes, but from the inside out, our true desire is to know God and be known by Him.  It isn’t uncommon for me to shed a tear when feeling God’s presence, to feel the need to raise my hands and move my feet when singing a song to him.  But like David I too have enemies.  My enemies probably look more like laziness, being too quick to criticize, not showing enough affection/affirmation to the people I love most, and lack of discipline in certain areas of my life.

⁸ My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

⁹ They who seek my life will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.

And when I feel my enemies (my sin) overtaking me, it’s comforting to know who is there holding my hand.  I look forward to the day my sins will be destroyed forever, given over to the sword.  I’m a little like the Israelites and tend to forget from season to season how God has taken care of me- which makes me that much more grateful for Jesus life and resurrection to bring me back to a place of remembrance.  A place of reflection.

¹⁰ They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God’s name will praise him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

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