(You will note that I have changed my Wednesday blog title from Prayer Mentoring to Pondering Psalms. This is because I am being mentored in my praying as I ponder the Psalm. And since my Friday post is no longer a pondering post I wanted to use Wednesdays for my pondering of Scripture. Two birds with one stone so to speak.)
To read Psalm 63 in its entirety you can click HERE.
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.
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.
The first word that grabs my attention is in verse 1 – “earnestly.” One of the definitions I found for the word goes like this: demanding or receiving serious attention. In other words, David is serious about seeking God. Its not something he has to do; its not something he does half-hearted; its not something he does only when he is in crisis mode. It is something he is compelled to do because his soul yearns for God like our bodies yearn for food. He has sought satisfaction in other places and has come away feeling hungry and empty. The only place he has found true satisfaction is when he “earnestly” seeks after God.
How does one go about earnestly seeking God? I ask that question because I would not consider myself to be an earnest seeker after God – and yet I want to be. Here are a few clues I learn from this wonderful Psalm.
He reflects back on times when he experienced God in a powerful way. “I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.” Sometimes when God seems far away we need to reflect back on times when He felt very near. Draw on those rich times to help us through the dry times. Do you have times like this? Times when God felt so close to you that it seemed as if you could reach out and touch Him. Uncommon, out of the ordinary times when the presence of God was cogent and the glory of God was prevalent. I hope so because they will help you to earnestly seek Him when He is not so easily found.
He determines to seek God (even when he doesn’t feel like it) – Note in verses 3-5 the use of the word “will.” This is a future tense word. David has made up his mind not to be content with a hum drum spiritual life. Come what may he has committed himself to glorify God, to praise God, and to be satisfied only in God.
He intentionally thinks on God throughout the night (v.6) – I don’t know about you but when I climb in bed I am done thinking. David on the other hand makes it a point to rev up his thinking. He is so intent on seeking God that he recollects Scripture and dwells on the nature of God throughout the night. The last two nights I have not slept well – and have tried purposefully to dwell on Scripture and on the nature of God during these awake times. Just trying to put my pondering into practice.
He clings to God (v. 8) – People are trying to destroy David’s life. (v.9) When it would be easy to feel like God had turned His back on him, David clings to God even more fiercely. It’s as if he’s hanging on to God for dear life – which is a great thing to do. Reminds me of a verse in Jonah who prays at a time when his life was in grave danger (hanging out in the belly of a “whale”), “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” Both of these men learned the need to cling to God. Makes me ask the question, “What am I clinging to?”
Next Week: Psalm 67
very good.