Monday
Psalm 63.1 “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”
Forget the abundance of rain of Scotland. Real thirst is felt in the desert, in times of drought. The Psalm-poet understood the dangers of dehydration, and the desperation of thirst. Longing for God is a thirst only God can quench. “You are God, my God…” This is personal, a longing to know God’s presence, to be near God and know God is near. This verse is the prayer of the dehydrated soul seeking the life-giving living water to refresh faith and confirm once more the grace of “my God.”
Tuesday
Psalm 63.3-4 “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.”
Love inspires commitment, self-giving, devotion, and all of these growing out of knowing we are loved with an everlasting love. What can be better than to live in the love of God, to love and to be loved in return? “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4.19) There is in love a mutual exchange, a reciprocal relationship of lover and beloved. Except it is God who in His grace always takes the initiative in love. Our response is gratitude and praise, worship and obedience, for as long as we live.
Wednesday
Psalm 63.5 “I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”
So we move from deserts and thirst, to a table spread with the kind of buffet you can visit till you are stuffed! The Psalm-poet finds in God the complete fulfilment of all that he is, and all he is called to be. The mouth isn’t only for eating, remember, it is also the organ of praise, the source of words that give thanks and celebrate the hospitality and welcome of God. These five verses are a rebuke to our complacency and familiarity, our taking for granted what is God’s always astonishing goodness.
Thursday
Psalm 63.6 “On my bed I remember you: I think of you through the watches of the night.”
Often enough it’s anxiety or an over-active mind that keeps us awake. The Psalm-poet recommends praise, thanksgiving, remembering God’s past blessings and trusting that the one whose love is better than life, has your back! Psalm 4.8 “I will lie down and sleep in peace.” Then there’s this, “He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” As one elderly friend said of this verse, “If the Lord doesn’t sleep, there’s no point in both of us staying awake.” That said, the next best thing to sleep is to remember, think about and rest in the peace of the God whose lovingkindness is better than life Why? Because that love is life-giving and utterly to be trusted.
Friday
Psalm 63.7 “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.”
Four wings adorned the Ark of the Covenant held in the Temple. And we don’t need to be ornithologists to recognise the image of shelter, protection and motherly care for young chicks still vulnerable and dependent. Then the line from the hymn ‘O God of Bethel’, familiar to Scottish people of previous generations: “O spread thy covering wings around, till all our wanderings cease…” So we don’t cower under the protective care of God, we sing; we don’t panic, we praise. Because He is our help!
Saturday
Psalm 63.8 “My soul clings to you, your right hand upholds me.”
“Soul” means the whole of who we are, the essence of what it means to be you, or me. The Psalm poet is hanging on to God for all he is worth, knowing the safest place is to be in the presence of God, where we are held in the purposive love of our Heavenly Father. For the first time in the Psalm there’s a hint of trouble, threat, of life going wrong. He is holding on for dear life to the one whose strong right hand is holding on to him. Always it’s God’s hold that is the stronger, indeed the strongest.
Sunday.
Psalm 63.9-11 “Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
We’ve moved from safety to danger, from the shadow of God’s wings to the darker shadows of our deepest fears of whatever threatens us in life. Faith is not only believing that God can keep us and hold on to us. Faith is also trust that God undermines and overthrows the powers of evil in the world. The Psalm poet seeks God, knows God’s love is better than life, he lies awake in bed remembering his own story and God’s provisions. Now he faces his worst fears, and imagines his enemies judged and punished. But he teaches us to look for evil’s defeat!
As Christians we look out on a world where so much is wrong. But we do so as a resurrection people. God raised Jesus from the dead. In Jesus Christ, incarnate, crucified and risen, the victory of God is secured. God’s enemies are scattered, the mouths of liars silenced, and Jesus our King is at the right hand of God. He is our help; we dwell under the shadow of God’s wings; his love is better than life. Amen.
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