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Wave arms in worship

Wave arms in worship

I must find the place of worship. I must open my eyes. In His generous love, I can really live.

It is about His strength. It is about His glory.

God is great. He is a mighty God. Our response is to worship Him in awe and wonder. The words from our mouth should reflect the praise God deserves from us.

I must praise Him in an excessive way. I must go overboard in my thanks.

So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.
In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains.
I bless you every time I take a breath;
My arms wave like banners of praise to you. ~King David | Psalm 63

This Psalm was written in the wilderness. It refers to a time when David, as king, was separated from the ark, the formal place of worship. The psalmist satisfied the longing of his soul for worship by praising God for His loyal love even in his distress. As a result, he confidently anticipated a time of joy when his enemies would be stopped.

David’s experience in the dry, waterless wilderness prompted him to think of the thirst of his soul for God. Because his soul thirsted for and longed for his God, he wrote, Earnestly I seek You. This may also be translated, “Early will I seek You.” This has prompted many believers to read this psalm in the mornings. To seek someone early suggests doing so earnestly.

David’s longing for God came because of his vision of God’s power (strength) and … glory. This awareness of God came before his enemies had driven him into the wilderness. The ark was the symbol of the Lord’s glory and strength. David had the joy of seeing the evidence of God’s presence in the sanctuary, the tabernacle in Jerusalem.

Despite his separation from the sanctuary, David found satisfaction in praising God, for it brought joy and comfort to his heart. He praised God for his loyal love, which is better than life. This was the praise of one who, when in a dry desert, thought more of God than of life-sustaining water.

Praising God would satisfy his soul as much as the richest of foods would satisfy his body. Praise to Him gave vitality to his spiritual life. Praising God is the natural expression of a heart that meditates on God, a heart that thinks of Him through … the night.

The immediate cause of the psalmist’s meditation and praise was the safety and support he found in God. Because God was his Help and Strength (His right hand upheld him), David stayed close to Him in the shadow of His wings and continued to praise Him by singing.

David turned from his thoughts on praise as the food of the soul to his present situation. But in view of what he knew of God, he fully anticipated that his enemies would be destroyed and suffer ignominious deaths. For this deliverance he, the king, would rejoice in God, as all who are loyal to Him have occasion to do.

Praise, then, is essential for one’s spiritual life. It should stem spontaneously from God’s intervention on behalf of a believer. Praise, in other words, is an evidence that God is at work, meeting His people’s needs.

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