6/12/2024
Elijah McSwain, Sr.
Psalm 63:1-2 NKJV — O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.
Blaise Pascal composed that “there is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.” 1 This quote expresses a very similar sentiment found in Psalm 63:1-5. The writer of this psalm, David, is unable to find satisfaction in his surrounding elements. He longs for God while he is in unfavorable circumstances in the wilderness of Judah. He is located in hot rugged terrain and there is nothing that can fulfill his void within.
Hence, David seeks to find resolve in the presence of God as God is sought out as the “Satisfier” of his soul.
Psalm 63 is the backdrop of David fleeing from his enemies. His is lonely. He is discouraged. He is displaced. He is mentality drained. He needs consolation in overcoming his current dilemma. So, he inevitably turned his focus on seeking God in his moment of destitution. As we look at this momentous time in the life of David, we will discover how it applies to us in our constant need to long for and take pursuit of God.
An Inward Desire to Seek God
This psalm first lifts David’s desire to seek God. Notice the personal address of God in the opening of verse one, “O, God, You are My God”. The significance of this phrase addresses the object of David’s desire of God, and it identifies the personal affiliation of David and the Lord. In mentioning the name of God, David referred to the Lord by the Hebrew name commonly used in the Old Testament as Elohim. Don Stewart asserted “the name Elohim means strength and might. It is the common Hebrew term for God.” 2 David called upon God as he knew Him to be supreme in might and strong in power. He resorted to the one in whom he knew was omnipotent. The psalmist longed for the one who could intervene on his behalf. David longed for God as He alone was sufficiently able to fulfill his needs. The phrase “O, God, My God” speaks to the psalmist’s claim of God as his own because of his personal connection with Him. He longed for God as a result of the everlasting richness that is within the Lord’s essence.
David knew that God is the God of mercy, the God of hope, the God of deliverance, the God of assurance, the God of perseverance, the God of provision, the God of restoration, the God of protection and the God who was Lord over his life.
Therefore, he sought the Lord in his wilderness experience. He understood that whatever situation that he was in, whether good or bad that he could persistently seek God. It is penned in verse one that the writer sought after God early. Some scholars suggest that the inference in view here is placed on seeking God in every circumstance immediately rather than just a timeframe within a given day. The transliteration of the word early is a Hebrew verb used in verse one to express the word "dawn”. It reflects a person eagerly awaiting the horizon of a new day. The context focuses on the time of the psalmist’s fervor for the Lord. Seeking God early is important. It should be our chief aim to eagerly implore God as it is essential for each day.
Adam Clarke commented that “what first lays hold of the heart in the morning is likely to occupy the place all day. First impressions are the most durable, because there is not a multitude of ideas to drive them out or prevent them from being deeply fixed in the moral feeling.” 3
David longed to start His day with God. He sought God in the morning, he chose to begin his day in the appropriate manner. To begin one’s day with God is the way to a right start.
Albert Barnes concluded “he would seek God as the first thing in the day; first in his plans and purposes; first in all things. He would seek God before other things came in to distract and divert his attention; he would seek God when he formed his plans for the day, and before other influences came in, to control and direct him. The favor of God was the supreme desire of his heart, and that desire would be indicated by his making Him the earliest – the first – object of his search. His first thoughts – his best thoughts – therefore, he resolved should be given to God. A desire to seek God as the first object in life – in youth – in each returning day – at the beginning of each year, season, month, week – in all our plans and enterprises – is one of the most certain evidences of true piety which flourishes most in the soul, and flourishes only in the soul, when we make God the first object of our affections and desires.” 4 God should be our first priority like that of David’s. If he is not the priority of our daily lives, then other things will supersede Him in our positional rank of what we consider to be important. The Lord should be seen as the most important Person that we seek to engage at the beginning of every day.
Charles Spurgeon asserted “observe the eagerness implied in the time mentioned; he will not wait for noon or the cool eventide; he is up at cockcrowing to meet his God. Communion with God is so sweet that the chill of the morning is forgotten, and the luxury of the couch is despised. The morning is the time for dew and freshness, and the psalmist consecrates it to prayer and devout fellowship. The best of men have been betimes on their knees. The word “early” has not only the sense of early in the morning, but that of eagerness, immediateness. He who truly longs for God longs for Him now.” 5
As soon you wake up, implore God. At noonday continue to implore God. During the darkness of night, finish your day imploring God. Let it be s continual cycle of engaging God from start to finish. Wake up longing for God. Go throughout your day inquiring God. Lay down at night resting secured in your dawn to dark quest and resolution of God. Seeking God diligently should be our objective to always be in pursuit of God.
1 Chronicles 16:11 (ESV) affirms “seek the LORD and His strength; seek His presence continually!” Continual pursuit of God should be every Christian’s desire. Do we long for God in the manner like David? Have we become complacent in our pursuit of God? David avowed that his soul thirsted for God and his flesh longed for God in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. He simply affirmed that He would not be satisfied until He tasted on God.
He knew that only God satisfies.
Thirst is an inward craving that is vital to the physical support of life. David used the environmental conditions of being in a barren wilderness to express his spiritual desire for God. Physically speaking, heat from a wilderness will cause immense thirst within the body because the body naturally sweats to cool itself off. When this happens, the body needs to be replenished with liquid to be properly hydrated. Hydration leads to satisfaction for the entire body. This is parallel to how David felt in a spiritual sense. He would not be satisfied until He partook of God’s divine refreshment for his soul. David longed for the presence of God in comparison to a nomad that wandered in an uninhabited region that is in dire need of water.
Psalm 42:1-2 (NKJV) records “as the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”
Our souls should pant for God because we cannot live without God.
We should crave God above all else in this sinful wasteland. Our entire being should long for God. This world has nothing to offer us that can be treasured above God. Therefore, He should be our focal point of devotion and devout fellowship. Colossians 3:1-2 (NKJV) gives valuable insight “if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” The affections of God’s people should ever be set on Him. Matthew 5:6 (NKJV) notes blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Long To Witness God’s Power and Glory
Verse two refers to the act that David looked to the Lord in the sanctuary to see His glory and power. John Calvin inscribed “it is apparent that God was ever in his thoughts, though wandering in the wilderness under such circumstances of destitution. The particle thus is emphatic. Even when so situated, in a wild and hideous solitude, where the very horrors of the place were enough to have distracted his meditations, he exercised himself in beholding the power and glory of God, just as if he had been in the sanctuary.” 6
The sanctuary is where David reflects on the times that he experienced God’s power, majesty, and glory.
It was not as much of the sanctuary that David was overjoyed about but his joy was tied to the Person who occupied the sanctuary. Without God being present in the sanctuary, it would have just been a spiritually empty atmosphere. However, knowing whose presence occupied the sanctuary caused David to be eager to encounter God.
In Old Testament times, the sanctuary is where the manifestation of God was among His people. In modern terms, do we long for being solely in the sanctuary within the church or do we long for God in whom our churches are dedicated to? I am afraid that many people today long for the brick and mortar as opposed to truly longing to engage God in corporate worship. Many people's take joy in the sanctuary but not in the Person who the sanctuary is consecrated to. However, David demonstrated a time of reflection and anticipation that heightens his longing for God. He longed for the day to enter the gates of the Lord and His courts with reverence. Psalm 100:4 (ESV) vividly expresses his desire to enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!
The psalmist was very adamant on worshiping, exalting, and witnessing the unlimited power of God. His concentration was on God in his time of barrenness. The expression of his wilderness wandering highlighted the barrenness of his physical condition to that of the barrenness of his soul. So, the Lord was his only hope of fulfillment. He understood that true satisfaction came from him directly encountering God. As David found himself surrounded by a parched and dry land in the wilderness of Judah, he longed for the tabernacle worship in Jerusalem. He longed for the place where the presence of God could be evoked and where His divine nature would be put on display.
David fervently had great intensity of mind to partake of the divine grace of God. In doing so, he would stand in awe of God’s power and glory while in His presence. His earnest yearning for the sanctuary would be satisfied upon his visitation to God’s house.
His desire is akin to the sentiment found in Psalm 122:1 (NKJV) that expresses “I was glad when they said to me, let us go into the house of the LORD.” As a worshipper, the psalmist longed to be in the company of God. David found delight in God’s presence. A person’s willingness to be close to God and to bask in His presence reveals his or her zest and enthusiasm for the Lord. Do we have a vibrant spirit when it comes to seeking after God? If not, when we truly understand who God is and every opportunity that we have been given to encounter Him, we will sincerely seek Him. As believers today we have been given a freeness that is different from the Old Testament followers of God. If you read the gospel of John 4:20-24, in Jesus’ dialogue with the Samaritan woman, He states that true worship will not be simply confined to a particular location as in Jerusalem for the Jews or Mt. Gerizim for the Samaritans.
True worship would no longer be confined to a particular location, but worship would be identified with God through the Son at any location.
In this, Jesus was not condemning times of corporate gathering for worship (refer to Hebrews 10:25) but emphasizing that believers can enter the presence of God at any time or moment of the day or week regardless of location. In other words, you don’t have to wait until Sunday morning to encounter the presence of God. God’s presence can be evoked during our times of daily devotion, study, and prayer. Are we longing for God in those areas that we may daily see His power at work in our daily engagement of Him? When we seek God, we will be witnesses of His power and glory like David. We should seek God at all times. Seek Him in the good times. See Him in the unfavorable times. Charles Smith speaks of “there are times it seems when our souls become very barren and very parched, where we long again to feel the presence of God.” 7 In those moments we can seek God as well as in the times that are prosperous.
Whatever situation we may find ourselves in, are we truly longing for God?
References
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/801132-there-is-a-god-shaped-vacuum-in-the-heart-of-each
https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_1303.cfm
Clarke, Adam. “Commentary on Psalms 63:1”. “The Adam Clarke Commentary”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/psalms-63.html. 1832.
Barnes, Albert. “Commentary on Psalms 63:1”. “Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible”.
The Treasury of David Volume 3
John Calvin. Commentary Book on the Psalms
Smith, Charles Ward. “Commentary on Psalms 63:2”. “Smith’s Bible Commentary”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/csc/psalms-63.html. 2014.