Psalm 63
1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
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What is striking in this psalm is the earnestness with which David yearns for his God. He compares it to the thirst of one in a desert. Knowing God and experiencing His love, David says, is better than life itself. Having God with him is not only having thirst quenched but being filled with the richest of foods.
A couple of these images lead me to make connections to life around me today. I live in a land often beset by droughts. Do I long for God the way the land longs for the rain? I live in a valley that is known for providing (at a price) the richest of foods. Do I see my relationship with God as such a lavish meal? Does it bring forth praise?
These are questions to think about and meditate on. But the real point, where my thoughts really went today, is the prevalence of reminders that God has placed around me. The scriptures are rich in metaphors that remind us of the kingdom, and God has placed these metaphors all around me in my daily life, each one potentially serving to remind me of my relationship with him.
Obviously in the Napa Valley, we can be reminded of Christ as the source of our lives every time we pass a vineyard (John 15:1-8). Every bottle of wine can remind us of Christ’s miracle at Cana and the promise of the marriage feast at Christ’s return. The cows that are a frequent sight when leaving the valley to the south remind me that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10), so He owns me as well. The sun is coming up as I write this, reminding me that God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). The winter and spring rains remind me that as the rain falls and waters the earth, so His word carries out the task for which He sends it (Isaiah 55:11).
I could go on and on. The point is that God has put signposts all around us that point us to Him, His Word, His grace, and our relationship with Him. So my prayer today is that my eyes and heart are open to hearing His word, not just in the text, but in the metaphors and images that He has placed around me.
NOTE:
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