Psalms 63:1-11: a reflection

1God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water. 2So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory. 3Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. 4So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. 5My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips, 6when I remember you on my bed, and think about you in the night watches. 7For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings. 8My soul stays close to you. Your right hand holds me up. 9But those who seek my soul to destroy it shall go into the lower parts of the earth. 10They shall be given over to the power of the sword. They shall be jackal food. 11But the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone who swears by him will praise him, for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be silenced.

David wrote this psalm in a wilderness, and it reads like the cry of a deep thirst: O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. His longing for God is like the body's craving for water in a desert. And he makes a striking confession: Your steadfast love is better than life. In God, David finds a satisfaction deeper than life itself, his soul satisfied as with rich food.

Notice the depth of David's longing and satisfaction in God. He does not seek God casually, as one option among many, but thirsts for him as a parched traveler thirsts for water, earnestly, with his whole being. And he finds in God a satisfaction that surpasses everything else: God's love is better than life; his soul is satisfied in God as with the richest fare. God himself, not merely his gifts, is David's deepest thirst and his deepest satisfaction.

That is a thirst worth cultivating. We can seek God for what he gives, or seek many other things to satisfy the thirst of our souls; but David sought God himself, thirsted for him, and found him more satisfying than life. Our souls were made to thirst for God, and nothing else finally satisfies that thirst; the things we chase leave us dry, but God satisfies. Cultivate a thirst for God himself, not only for his gifts. Seek him earnestly, as David did in the wilderness, and find in him the satisfaction your soul was made for. His steadfast love is better than life; let your soul thirst for God, and be satisfied in him as with the richest food, for he is the deep satisfaction that nothing else can give.

Lord, in a dry and weary land David cried, O God, you are my God; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you; and he confessed that your steadfast love is better than life, his soul satisfied in you as with rich food. Give me that thirst. I can seek you for what you give, or seek many other things to satisfy the thirst of my soul; but David sought you yourself, thirsted for you, and found you more satisfying than life. My soul was made to thirst for you, and nothing else finally satisfies that thirst; the things I chase leave me dry, but you satisfy. Cultivate in me a thirst for you yourself, not only for your gifts. Help me seek you earnestly, as David did in the wilderness, and find in you the satisfaction my soul was made for. Your steadfast love is better than life; let my soul thirst for you, and be satisfied in you as with the richest food, for you are the deep satisfaction that nothing else can give. I seek you, my God.