For each Psalm your Bible may have some kind of heading. Part of that heading may be in italics the rest in regular type. The regular type is part of the Psalm it is what the author wrote as a title, preface, or explanation, in the Hebrew Bible that is verse 1. Psalm 63 is an example the preludes says, “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.”
Most of us slide right over that. But look at Psalm 63:1. That verse echoes the title. David is in the wilderness. He describes it as a dry and thirsty land, with no water. This is during the time when Absalom has usurped the throne, so again David is fighting for his life.
To relax, to really recharge I go backpacking – not enough. Putting 40 – 60 pounds on my back and walking in a wilderness for a week or so is my idea of rest. In the wilderness, in any backpacking situation, water is critical. I had a weekend trip last fall scuttled because there was no water where I was going. No water, no good.
Consider the title and verse 1 together. David is in the wilderness. Absalom has taken the throne, 2 Samuel 15, David is running for his life, the wilderness is dry, no water. In that situation on the top of the checklist of needs is water. Not for David. He thirsts not for water, but for God. He needs water to live. From his perspective, he needs God more.
Job had a similar devotion. In Job 23:12 he says that he treasures the Word of God more than his necessary food. Those aren’t snacks. It is what is needed to survive.
David craves the Lord more than the water he needs to live. Job craves the Word more than the food he needs to survive.
I am not there yet.
To relax, to really recharge I go backpacking – not enough. Putting 40 – 60 pounds on my back and walking in a wilderness for a week or so is my idea of rest. In the wilderness, in any backpacking situation, water is critical. I had a weekend trip last fall scuttled because there was no water where I was going. No water, no good.
Consider the title and verse 1 together. David is in the wilderness. Absalom has taken the throne, 2 Samuel 15, David is running for his life, the wilderness is dry, no water. In that situation on the top of the checklist of needs is water. Not for David. He thirsts not for water, but for God. He needs water to live. From his perspective, he needs God more.
Job had a similar devotion. In Job 23:12 he says that he treasures the Word of God more than his necessary food. Those aren’t snacks. It is what is needed to survive.
David craves the Lord more than the water he needs to live. Job craves the Word more than the food he needs to survive.
I am not there yet.
I think I see that the witness of saints of the ages recorded in Scripture is that it takes the wilderness (brought about by life's desperate experiences) to help us face our true need. I've been told that when Hudson Taylor's first wife died he would cry out to the Lord, "I'm so thirsty!" He was desperate for the Water of Life.
ReplyDeleteMy frequent prayer is one or the other or both, "Lord! Feed me." "Give me to drink!"
Only the Bread from heaven or the Water of life can possibly give me true life. All else is a cruel illusion.
Oh for the day when we will both eat and drink to our fullness for all eternity!