“O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee…,” “…to see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.” Psalms 63:1,2
A clear vision of God, His nature, words, and works, is fundamental to faith. Paul put it specifically in this manner: “…my speech and my preaching was not in words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” (1 Corinthians 2:4) Why is it that Paul would write of the necessity of those who heard him to realize that God was revealing Himself by the power of the Spirit revealed to them? He answers that question by writing: “…that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (v.4) The goal of the revelation of the person and power of God, was to strengthen faith to believe, and lay hold upon Him. The same reality was true in David’s day, when he wrote Psalm 63. David’s circumstances were anything but pleasant and easy. King Saul was pursuing him and his men daily, in order to kill them. David’s hiding place was the wilderness, as he put it: “…a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.” (Ps. 63:1) But there, in that place of uncertainty where he of necessity had to depend wholly upon God, he would come to know God in a way that would be essential if he would eventually become king of Israel. David had a thirst for God, to know Him. And even though he would be fleeing his enemy, he was in pursuit of God, rising early to seek and find him. Essential to this seeking was the vision of God in truth, that God would give him by the Spirit. David relates this to us in his psalm, for he sought to “…see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.” David desires to see in the desert, in his circumstances, even in his life, something of what he has seen, and desires to see more of, in the sanctuary, in worship. What is going to be the result in his own heart and life as he sees the “glory” of God, the power of God? It will be a faith that will be stronger, and more powerful, than the adverse circumstances that are surrounding him. He comes to this conclusion by his declaration: “My soul followeth hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me.” (v.8) Here, faith’s grasp of the vision of God, bears fruit in David’s life, a stability and strength that only God could give. A great example of this, which applies to the believer today, is David’s experience in a town called Ziklag.
David and his men had left Ziklag, leaving their families and belongings. They had done this in order to fight against the Philistines. During their absence from Ziklag for three days, the Amalekites attacked Ziklag, overran it, and burned it with fire, taking the women, children, and belongings with them. When David and his men returned to find Ziklag destroyed, they lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. It was at this point, when all seemed lost, and his own men speaking of killing him, that David “encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” (1 Sam. 30:6) How did he do this? Most certainly, trusting in the Spirit of God who had anointed him, he remembered what he had seen in the sanctuary of God’s glory and power. It was, as he meditated, and thought, on these truths, that faith began to rise to lay hold of God according to these truths. His great pursuit had resumed and was rewarded with strength and courage to rise up in the face of calamity, to trust God to turn the situation entirely around, and show forth His power and victory…as David had seen in the sanctuary.
What is the great lesson here for the believer? Whatever the difficulty, obstacle, or opposition in life, the answer is found in the vision of God. His present power is fundamental to faith.
Dear Father, Give us grace to look heavenward, to always behold our Captain of faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.