Psalm 63

by David Smith, Ayr, Scotland | Category: General | Feb 1993

Few incidents in the Old Testament rank as more tragic than the repudiation of David as king over the twelve tribes of Israel. The bitterness lies in the fact that at the centre of it all was his own beloved son Absalom. Family dissension is one of the deeply distressing experiences in life. How touching also to recall that He who came to reconcile all things to God knew what it was .10 be an alien to His mother's children (Ps. 69:8).

We may well wonder how the godly ruler reacted inwardly the day there came to him a messenger saying, "The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom" (2 Sam. 15:13). With burdened spirit he braced himself and commanded all his servants, 'Arise, and let us flee ... and the king went forth, and all the people after him" (2 Sam. 15:14,17). The journey would take them over the brook Kidron and into the wilderness of Judab.

As the case has often been with the saints down the ages, David's wilderness experience would be sanctified of God to the blessing of many and for the glory of His own Name. During those dangerous and depressing days and nights the Spirit of God caused him, out of the sorrow of his soul, to write words of comfort, inspiring confidence in the faithfulness of an all-loving God~ Among the psalms that David is reputed to have written

during that painful period is Psalm 63, where he afrrrrns in the barren wilderness surroundings that his "soul thirsteth for Thee �. in a dry and weary land, where no water is". The environment could not have been more inhospitable, yet his desire was not for the temporal, for he had an inward longing after God. How vital is such an attitude for the tried saint, and how precious for God to observe in the heart a yearning desire for Him and His Christ.'

Surely it would be sad if, as saints called with a heavenly calling, we should be found thirsting after things that we ought to have left behind at the waters of baptism. Indeed the exhortation of John comes closer to our conscience with every passing day: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world" (1 John 2:15). The world today offers many attractive and compelling interests. Yet the believer must handle them with caution, for no innovation of the age cancels the injunction of scripture, "Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth" (Col. 3:1,2).

David had proved in his life that God and His purposes provided a source of spiritual satisfaction that nothing else could equal. That is still

true for all who wait upon the Lord. One of the most painful things that David had to endure in his exile was being cut off from the house of God and the beauty of His sanctuary, for it was there that he had seen God, not in Person, but His power, glory, and lovingkindness in a very special sense. Surely the contrast could not have been more moving as he scanned the barren landscape in fear and weakness. He must have remembered the joyous moments spent in the presence of God, when his soul assimilated the glory and kindness of the God he loved. Early in his reign he had provided a resting place for the ark of God in Zion (Ps. 132:8). It is still true that all who, like David, appreciate from the heart the revelation of God in the sanctuary, will be spiritually blessed and share the joy expressed in Psalm 122:1 "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go unto the house of the LORD".

The sanctuary of God in the past was made of earthly materials and furnished according to divine instructions so as to present God to His

people and provide for their worship and service. Today the sanctuary of God is not on earth, or made of earthly materials (Heb. 9:23 and 8:1,2), but it is in heaven where Christ entered through His own blood (Heb. 9:11). Yet the sanctuary is related to the house of God over which Christ is "Great Priest" (Heb. 10:21): a dwellmg place for God on earth made of "living stones", built up to form a habitation of God in the Spirit (1 Pet. 2:5; Eph. 2:20-22). Greater therefore is today's revelation of God's power and glory displayed in the sanctuary to His saints who, on a Lord's day mornmg, enter the holy place by that "new and living way, Ilirough the veil, that is to say His flesh". They worship in the beauty of holiness. Reverently in faith they contemplate the Word who became flesh and dwelt among men. A unique privilege indeed it is so to enter the sanctuary, and one that we ought to cherish dearly. Sad it would be if we should choose to go anywhere else instead of to the Remembrance on the first day of the week.

David Smith, Ayr, Scotland | Feb 1993
General