"O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so I have seen thee in the sanctuary."
Psalm 63:1-2
“O God, thou art my God;”
“O God, thou art my Strong One.”1 When you are weary and going through a dry spell in your life, who do you turn to for help? David’s testimony was that he only had one source of help—God!
“My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:2).
God is “who” David sought for help. But when did he look to Him?
“Early will I seek thee:”
“Early” here refers to the dawn, early in the morning. David began his day by seeking God. Isaiah the prophet speaking for the Jews in captivity in Babylon who loved the Lord said,
“With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me, will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness,” (Isaiah 26:9).
Jesus often met with His Father very early in the day.
“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed,” (Mark 1:35).
“My soul thirsteth for thee,”
“My soul,” and “my flesh.” The whole man, inside and out.
“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption,” (Psalm 16:9-10).
“My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God,” (Psalm 84:2).
“My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;”
When your soul and flesh (“body and soul”) are so dry and dusty that it seems the tumbleweeds are rolling through them, we had better be longing for God.
“Longeth.” “Pineth for thee, a strong word, occurring here only, meaning probably, ‘faints with desire.’”2
“I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah,” (Psalm 143:6).
“These words are certainly metaphorical, not literal: it is the ‘water of life’ for which he thirsts; the spiritual refreshment with which God revives the fainting soul. But the metaphor was naturally suggested by the circumstances in which David was situated.”3
“To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.”
David had seen God’s power and glory as he met with Him in worship. That was a continuing desire of his heart.
“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple,” (Psalm 27:4).
Believers, we should be longing to see God work in our churches, our homes, our lives, and in our nation! Let Him begin by working in us!
1. “Elohim, thou art my El.” See the Cambridge Bible.
2. Cambridge Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
3. Cambridge Bible, ibid.