It is amazing that when we read the Bible that different things can pop out to us because we have not noticed them before.  That happened to me today when I read Psalm 63.  After reading that passage a couple of times, I noticed a phrase that was repeated and then a progression that helped me in following Jesus. The phrase is “My soul.”

In verse one David says, “my soul thirsts for you.” In verse five he says, “my soul will be satisfied.” And then in verse eight, he says, “my soul clings.”

The first statement is that David “thirsts” for God. This craving is because he understands that God’s “steadfast love is better than life” (vs 3).  This description is “a longing so intense that he is weak with desire: literally, my flesh faints for thee.”^[1] This strong passion is because of the reality that God’s loyal and faithful love is better than anything else life can offer. Is my soul aching for God because I believe knowing him has more value than anything in this world?

 In the second use of this phrase “my soul”, David says that his soul is “satisfied” with God because he says, “I remember you…and meditate upon you (vs 6).  David’s thirst is quenched when he dwells on God and his goodness to him! “The psalmist’s intense devotion to God is therefore shown by the fact that “all night long” (tev), as he lies in bed, he remembers what God has done for him and thinks about him.”^[2] David’s intentional mediation on God and his past goodness has caused his soul to be satisfied. Is my soul satisfied with God because I drink in the memory of his abundant provision for me?

The result of this seeking and satisfaction through meditating on God and his provision in the past leads to David’s choice to remain “close” to God.  He chooses to “cling” to him. “My soul clings to thee may be rendered, for example, “I hold on to you with all my strength.”^[3]  Nothing could break David’s grip upon God as his provider and protector. Am I hanging on to God and faithfulness to him no matter what my circumstances?

David has shown us that the wise person is the one who thirsts for God. He is satisfied with his proven provision, and as a result, clings to him no matter what his situation.

Father, what a beautiful description of a man after your own heart. I want to be like David. I thirst for you because I know your love is better than life itself. I want my soul to be satisfied with you as I think of all you have done for me in the past.  I want to cling to you so that nothing could pull me away from faithfulness to you.

Following Jesus with you,

Jeff

^[1] Robert G. Bratcher and William David Reyburn, A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Psalms, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1991), 548.

tev Today’s English Version

^[2] Ibid, 550.

^[3] Ibid.