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Psalm 63

David is out on the desert, riding or walking across a vast wasteland under an open sky.  Suddenly it comes to him that life is very much like this place - it's dead and useless unless God is there.  You get thirsty in a desert like that, and you get thirsty for God in the wasteland of life as well.  Life is meaningless and hard without Him, and David realizes that He needs God no matter where he is, no matter what he's doing.

He calls to mind the many times he has sought God by going to the sanctuary in Jerusalem, because he's always reminded there of God's power and glory. Even now, out there on the desert, he wants very much to be reminded, because, as he says to God, "Your lovingkindness is better than life."  In fact he wishes he could somehow go to the sanctuary right now.  He longs to sing praises to his God, to bless Him, to lift up his hands in praise and worship to the God Who makes life livable and worthwhile.  This, he says, will satisfy him as nothing else can.

Even as he rides out over the desert, though, he can and does remember God, consider God, consider His goodness – he meditates upon Him.  It's only right for him to do that because God has been his help over and over and over again.  He considers how he will go on trusting God and remaining in His protection very much like a young bird remaining under his mother's wings. As he's riding along and thinking about how gracious God has been to him, he's moved to renew again his determination to seek after Him, to follow Him, to obey Him, and to learn from Him.

It becomes obvious to him, as he rides out there across the sands, that God is all important in his life, and he realizes anew that for those who don't know and trust his God there can be only emptiness, hardship, destruction, and, finally, eternal damnation.  So, thinking these thoughts, David, right there and then renews his determination to rejoice in God, to glory in Him, and to live by and for Him. After all, one day all the world's mouths will suddenly be stopped forever in their lies and vanity and in their forgetfulness of David's blessed and glorious God!

How about you?  Do you at least once in a while stop to meditate on God during your wanderings through life?  Do you consider your relationship to Him the way David did?  Is your Lord the all-important center of your life?  Do you think of Him and what He means to you as you wander through this wasteland?  As you come to know Him in Jesus Christ His Son He can bring meaning and joy to your life just as He did in David's life.

Al,

Thank you for continuing to post these studies on the psalms, they are a great encouragement.

It seems that David went from one extreme to another during his life.  At times the blessing of God was very evident on his life and he was full of praise and rejoicing.  At other times he fell dreadfully and brought great trials upon himself.  It is so encouraging to read him here still trusting in God even in the desert.  It does bring to mind, I am sure, times in our own lives when we may have wandered into a desert experience; we can still hope in God and rest on him.

It is a great encouragement to read these psalms, thank you for placing the studies up for us all to read.

Anthony.

Verse 7 means a lot to me.

Oh, that we all would know that "in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice".

I only want to be in the shadow of his wings constantly.

Oh that we would be serious enough to realize where we would be if we are not "in the shadow of His wings!"  We could only be in the grip of Satan, and our destiny would be with him.