10/16

Psalms 63:1-3

¹O 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. ²I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. ³Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

David had an all-encompassing desire to be close to God, to be in His presence. In the sixty-first psalm he said he wanted to live in God's tent forever. In this passage he compares it to being thirsty and not being able to find water. He knew what that was like, living in Judah. The hill country had long dry seasons, and if the cistern you were counting on was dry, it was a long way to the next one. What is it we seek? What do we long for and how desperately?

He longed for the presence of God, because he had encountered God in worship in the sanctuary. At that time the tabernacle was still in use. The temple would be built by his son Solomon. That tabernacle is probably referring to God's tent that David said he wanted to live in forever. There in worship, he had an encounter with God that so captivated his soul that it became all he longed for. It was a vision of the power and glory of God. Have you had an encounter with God that has captured your desires? You can find it in His Word. You can find it as David did in worship. If you ask for it, with a motivation of wanting to desire God in a greater way, He will answer. You are praying His will.

What did David understand when he beheld the power and glory of God? He saw God's love is better than life itself. He saw the love of God that passes understanding. As we see His love in a greater way, it births in us a greater love for Him because love begets love. His response to that revelation was to glorify God. The Apostle Paul prayed that the Ephesians would know the love of Christ in all its dimensions so that they might be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19).

Prayer: Lord, help me to know your love in all its dimensions.