Session II: Reflection Paper, Psalm 63
Aside from
Jesus, King David is my favorite character in the Holy Bible. In knowing that
Psalm 63 speaks to a time in his life when he was being hunted by Saul; and
having felt persecuted unjustly in my own lifetime, I felt drawn to this Psalm
during my first reading of it.
When I read
the first verse, I could not help but recall one of my own desperate prayers. I
truly was seeking God with all my heart. I know what it is like to seek God
earnestly, with all your heart. I was completely at the end of myself when I
said my prayer and I was seeking God’s direction. This is the exact emotion which
is pressed on my heart as I read these opening words:
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul
thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there
is no water. (Psalm 63:1, NASB)
Nothing
compares to being in communication with the Lord. As soon as the words of
honest desire for a moment in the presence of the Lord are spoken, David goes
on to recall previous moments where He had been in that amazing place where one
witness’ the Lord and all His wonders. He sings praises to the Lord worshiping
Him. He reveals His heart sharing that He mediates on the Lord as if the Lord
doesn’t already know his heart! He acknowledges that His very essence is
continually relying on the Lord for protection and strength.
Next the
Psalm turns to why He began calling on the Lord; the enemy is after him. He is
so confident in the Lord that he knows the ones who are seeking to destroy him
will fail. I read this and I find myself appreciating the story of David. I see
His confidence in the Lord. He shows no qualms that the Lord will deal with his
enemies justly. He is confident that those who swear by Him will prosper and
those who lie will be stopped. God is a just God.
Session II: Reflection Paper, Psalm 111
I wrote a
blog once about the truth that God is always good. The opening of this
particular Psalm starts out with joy as well as stance:
Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my
heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly. (Psalm 111:1, NASB)
To me the
psalmist is stating that whether he is with the righteous or among the general
population that may or may not believe, he will give thanks for everything
openly to the Lord.
Next, I am
carried away in the excitement of the writer as he shares how great the
miracles the Lord has performed are. We are told that those who study His works
are delighted by what they learn. I know this truth. The more I read of God’s
word, the more delight I take in drawing closer to Him. The LORD has indeed
performed wonders that are written about in the Bible. Our current generation is
still reading and cherishing the stories in the Holy Bible to this very day. I
know in my own life I have witnessed wonders that leave no room for doubt about
how gracious and compassionate the LORD is.
The psalm
ends by saying:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good
understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures
forever. (Psalm 111:10, NASB)
It is the
fear of not keeping His commandments, (love one another, show grace to others),
that indeed keeps me constantly seeking His will, reading His word and
listening to the voice of righteousness. It’s why I seek Him each morning and
talk to him each night.