O God, You are my God; early will I seek You: my soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see Your power and Your glory, so as I have seen You in the sanctuary. Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus will I bless You while I live: I will lift up my hands in Your name.
Psalm 63:1-4
What better prayer and commitment of the new year than the prayer and praise above. Please notice that the Psalmist confirms that God and God alone is his God. The first commandment that is found in Exodus 20:2 is: “you shall have no other Gods before me.” To have any other god is idolatry whether it is number 1 or number 100. To have another god before the true and living God is to relegate Him to a lesser position, thus making Him a god of our own making.
Notice also that David said, “early will I seek You, my soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You.” It was God and God alone that he was seeking. He was not seeking for more possessions or glory for himself or a victory in battle. Have you ever craved God’s presence of so much that ached for Him? If so, you have felt just a little of what David was feeling as he writes this psalm.
He knew if God would come near and satisfy the deep longing of his heart, then he would see the glory of God as he had seen Him before in the sanctuary. Oh, that we might have such a longing for God so that nothing we will suffice other than for God to come to us in His power and His glory. I promise you if that should happen there will be some people confessing their sins; others will be weeping for joy; and still others would be lifting up praises as they never have done before and the rest would be lying prostrate with their faces to the floor. That is what John did when he saw the glorified Savior on the Isle of Patmos.
David concludes this section of our text with worship and praise. Look at what he says and try it for yourself. Acknowledge that His loving kindness is indeed better than life. Because that is so, lift up praise to the Lord while you lift your hands to Him in worship. Try it now as you finish reading this devotion. Bless His holy Name and be blessed in the process. Amen and amen.
