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Commentary on Psalms 63 verses 1–2
The title tells us when the psalm was penned, when David was in the wilderness of Judah; that is, in the forest of Hareth (Sa1 22:5) or in the wilderness of Ziph, Sa1 23:15. 1. Even in Canaan, though a fruitful land and the people numerous, yet there were wildernesses, places less fruitful and less inhabited than other places. It will be so in the world, in the church, but not in heaven; there it is all city, all paradise, and no desert ground; the wilderness there shall blossom as the rose. 2. The best and dearest of God's saints and servants may sometimes have their lot cast in a wilderness, which speaks them lonely and solitary, desolate and afflicted, wanting, wandering, and unsettled, and quite at a loss what to do with themselves. 3. All the straits and difficulties of a wilderness must not put us out of tune for sacred songs; but even then it is our duty and interest to keep up a cheerful communion with God. There are psalms proper for a wilderness, and we have reason to thank God that it is the wilderness of Judah we are in, not the wilderness of Sin.
David, in these verses, stirs up himself to take hold on God,
I. By a lively active faith: O God! thou art my God. Note, In all our addresses to God we must eye him as God, and our God, and this will be our comfort in a wilderness-state. We must acknowledge that God is, that we speak to one that really exists and is present with us, when we say, O God! which is a serious word; pity it should ever be used as a by-word. And we must own his authority over us and propriety in us, and our relation to him: "Thou art my God, mine by creation and therefore my rightful owner and ruler, mine by covenant and my own consent." We must speak it with the greatest pleasure to ourselves, and thankfulness to God, as those that are resolved to abide by it: O God! thou art my God.
II. By pious and devout affections, pursuant to the choice he had made of God and the covenant he had made with him.
1.He resolves to seek God, and his favour and grace: Thou art my God, and therefore I will seek thee; for should not a people seek unto their God? Isa 8:19. We must seek him; we must covet his favour as our chief good and consult his glory as our highest end; we must seek acquaintance with him by his word and seek mercy from him by prayer. We must seek him, (1.) Early, with the utmost care, as those that are afraid of missing him; we must begin our days with him, begin every day with him: Early will I seek thee. (2.) Earnestly: "My soul thirsteth for thee and my flesh longeth for thee (that is, my whole man is affected with this pursuit) here in a dry and thirsty land." Observe, [1.] His complaint in the want of God's favourable presence. He was in a dry and thirsty land; so he reckoned it, not so much because it was a wilderness as because it was at a distance from the ark, from the word and sacraments. This world is a weary land (so the word is); it is so to the worldly that have their portion in it - it will yield them no true satisfaction; it is so to the godly that have their passage through it - it is a valley of Baca; they can promise themselves little from it. [2.] His importunity for that presence of God: My soul thirsteth, longeth, for thee. His want quickened his desires, which were very intense; he thirsted as the hunted hart for the water-brooks; he would take up with nothing short of it. His desires were almost impatient; he longed, he languished, till he should be restored to the liberty of God's ordinances. Note, Gracious souls look down upon the world with a holy disdain and look up to God with a holy desire.
2.He longs to enjoy God. What is it that he does so passionately wish for? What is his petition and what is his request? It is this (Psa 63:2), To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. That is, (1.) "To see it here in this wilderness as I have seen it in the tabernacle, to see it in secret as I have seen it in the solemn assembly." Note, When we are deprived of the benefit of public ordinances we should desire and endeavour to keep up the same communion with God in our retirements that we have had in the great congregation. A closet may be turned into a little sanctuary. Ezekiel had the visions of the Almighty in Babylon, and John in the isle of Patmos. When we are alone we may have the Father with us, and that is enough. (2.) "To see it again in the sanctuary as I have formerly seen it there." He longs to be brought out of the wilderness, not that he might see his friends again and be restored to the pleasures and gaieties of the court, but that he might have access to the sanctuary, not to see the priests there, and the ceremony of the worship, but to see thy power and glory (that is, thy glorious power, or thy powerful glory, which is put for all God's attributes and perfections), "that I may increase in my acquaintance with them and have the agreeable impressions of them made upon my heart" - so to behold the glory of the Lord as to be changed into the same image, Co2 3:18. "That I may see thy power and glory," he does not say, as I have seen them, but "as I have seen thee." We cannot see the essence of God, but we see him in seeing by faith his attributes and perfections. These sights David here pleases himself with the remembrance of. Those were precious minutes which he spent in communion with God; he loved to think them over again; these he lamented the loss of, and longed to be restored to. Note, That which has been the delight and is the desire of gracious souls, in their attendance on solemn ordinances, is to see God and his power and glory in them.
"My soul has thirsted for You" [Psalm 63:2]. Behold that desert of Idumæa. See how here he thirsts: but see what good thing is here, "Hath thirsted for You." For there are they that thirst, but not for God. For every one that wills anything to be granted to him, is in the heat of longing; the longing itself is the thirst of the soul. And see ye what longings there are in the hearts of men: one longs for gold, another longs for silver, another longs for possessions, another inheritance, another abundance of money, another many herds, another a wife, another honours, another sons. You see those longings, how they are in the hearts of men. All men are inflamed with longing, and scarce is found one to say, "My soul has thirsted for You." For men thirst for the world: and perceive not themselves to be in the desert of Idumæa, where their souls ought to thirst for God....
Therefore God gave us a pattern of fasting in this deed, so that having a desert, as it were, at the time of fasting we may abstain from feasts, pleasure and women, and so that Eve may not be joined with us so as to subvert us from chaste observance by her alluring persuasion. For he who fasts and is chaste at the time of the 40-day fast seems somehow to dwell in the desert. Clearly, that certain desert is the body of a Christian when it is not filled with food or watered with drinks, but is neglected by the squalor of thirsty starvation. The desert, I say, is our body when the flesh begins to grow weaker by abstinence, when pallor is overcome by thirst, and the unadorned appearance of the whole human being becomes dirty by the contempt of material things. Then Christ the Lord dwells in the desert of our body, when he has discovered our land squalid in hunger and dry by thirst, just as that adage which the prophet David says, “Just like in a deserted land where there are neither roads nor water, so I appeared in your sanctuary.” For we are not able to appear to him in the sanctuary in any other way, unless the land of our body has been made desert from worldly delights and without the roads made by devilish desires and without the water from libidinous allurements. Then the Savior, dwelling in this desert of our body, conquers all the factions of the devil and makes our body his own dwelling, safe and secure from the thoughts of this age, so that we may be constituted in solitude within our very selves, as it were, and see nothing but heaven and earth. That is to say, we think about nothing other than the Lord of the heavenly kingdom and the author of the earthly resurrection.
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SUMMARY
Psalm 63:2 captures King David's profound spiritual longing to experience God's manifest presence, power, and glory, echoing a cherished past encounter within the sanctuary. Penned during a period of intense hardship and exile in the wilderness, this verse transcends mere physical needs, revealing a soul-deep hunger for the divine. It underscores that true satisfaction and security are found not in external circumstances, but in the active, palpable demonstration of God's divine attributes, reminiscent of the intimate communion found in a consecrated space.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Psalm 63 opens with David's desperate declaration of spiritual thirst, likening his soul's craving for God to a physical thirst in a "dry and weary land where there is no water" Psalm 63:1. Verse 2 immediately follows, specifying the object of this intense spiritual longing: to "see" God's power and glory. This desire is not for a novel revelation, but for a re-experience, indicated by the comparative phrase "so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary." The psalm then transitions into fervent expressions of praise and unwavering trust, affirming that God's steadfast love is superior to life itself Psalm 63:3. The stark desolation of the wilderness setting, therefore, serves as a powerful foil to the remembered glory of the sanctuary, intensifying David's yearning for God's presence amidst his current isolation and distress.
Historical & Cultural Context: Psalm 63 is explicitly attributed to David "when he was in the wilderness of Judah." This likely refers to a period of intense distress and flight, possibly during his pursuit by King Saul or, more likely, during the rebellion of his son Absalom. The wilderness was a place of inherent danger, scarcity, and isolation, highlighting David's physical vulnerability and dependence on God. Culturally, the "sanctuary" (whether the Tabernacle of Moses or an early form of the Temple) was the central locus of Israelite worship, where God's presence was believed to dwell uniquely among His people. It was the designated site for sacrifices, divine revelation, and communal encounters with the Lord, as vividly seen when the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle upon its completion. David's profound longing to see God's power and glory "in the sanctuary" reflects a deep spiritual memory of such awe-inspiring encounters, which he now craves in his current, less sacred and physically challenging surroundings.
Key Themes: This verse significantly contributes to several overarching theological and narrative themes within Psalm 63 and the broader Psalter. Foremost is the theme of intense spiritual hunger and longing for God, portraying a desire that profoundly surpasses all physical needs and circumstantial comforts. It also highlights the importance of God's manifest presence as the ultimate source of satisfaction, security, and spiritual vitality, contrasting the desolation of the wilderness with the glory of the sanctuary. Furthermore, the theme of remembrance of past grace is crucial, as David's yearning is fueled by vivid, cherished memories of God's past demonstrations of power and glory. This remembrance serves as a foundational anchor for his present faith and hope, even in exile, reinforcing the enduring truth that God's character and faithfulness remain constant, regardless of the worshiper's physical location or challenging circumstances.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalm 63:2 employs several powerful literary devices that amplify David's spiritual yearning. The most prominent is Simile, as David explicitly compares his current longing to a past, profound experience: "so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary." This comparison highlights the depth, specificity, and authenticity of his desire, indicating that he yearns for a known, transformative encounter rather than an abstract concept. There is also an element of Repetition or Echo, as David's longing is not for something entirely new, but for a return to a cherished past experience, emphasizing the enduring nature of his spiritual hunger and the constancy of God's character. The use of strong, evocative nouns like "power" and "glory" serves as potent Imagery, painting a vivid picture of the divine attributes David seeks to behold. Furthermore, the implicit contrast between the desolate "wilderness" (from the preceding verse) and the sacred "sanctuary" creates a powerful Juxtaposition, underscoring the intensity of David's spiritual yearning in a place devoid of physical comfort or sacred presence.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalm 63:2 powerfully articulates a profound theology of divine presence and the human longing for it. It affirms that God's "power" and "glory" are not abstract theological concepts but manifest realities that can be experienced, particularly in consecrated spaces or moments of profound spiritual encounter. David's intense desire to "see" these attributes underscores a fundamental human need for tangible evidence of God's active engagement in the world. This yearning for God's manifest presence transcends physical location or circumstance, revealing that true spiritual satisfaction and security come from an intimate, experiential knowledge of God Himself, rather than merely His blessings, the rituals associated with His worship, or the absence of hardship. It points to a God who is not distant but desires to reveal Himself profoundly to His people.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
David's deep yearning in Psalm 63:2 serves as a profound and challenging model for contemporary believers. In a world often characterized by distraction, superficiality, and a relentless pursuit of temporal comforts, David's singular focus on "seeing" God's power and glory compels us to examine the true objects of our own deepest desires. Are we primarily seeking comfort, success, material blessings, or the resolution of our problems, or is our most profound hunger for God Himself—for a fresh, tangible encounter with His might and majesty? This verse reminds us that even in our personal "wilderness" seasons of hardship, isolation, or uncertainty, the memory of past encounters with God's manifest presence can sustain us and fuel our longing for Him. It calls us to cultivate a spiritual discipline that prioritizes seeking God's face above all else, recognizing that true life, lasting satisfaction, and ultimate security are found in His manifest presence, regardless of our physical location or the circumstances that surround us.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does David mean by "see thy power and thy glory"?
Answer: David is not necessarily asking for a literal, physical sight of God, which is generally impossible for humans (Exodus 33:20). Instead, "to see" here implies a deep, experiential, and profound encounter and perception. It means to witness, apprehend, and truly experience the active manifestation of God's strength, might, and divine ability ("power"), and the tangible display of His inherent majesty, splendor, and awe-inspiring presence ("glory"). He desires to be overwhelmed by God's active presence, just as he had been in the consecrated space of the sanctuary.
Why is the "sanctuary" so important in this verse?
Answer: The "sanctuary" (whether the Tabernacle of Moses or later the Temple) was the designated, holy place where God's presence was uniquely manifested among His people in ancient Israel. It was the center of worship, sacrifice, and divine revelation, a place where the divine and human realms intersected in a unique way. For David, it represented a place of intimate communion and powerful, awe-inspiring encounters with God. His longing to see God's power and glory "as I have seen thee in the sanctuary" signifies a desire for a return to that specific, profound, and transformative quality of encounter, even though he is physically separated from the sanctuary in the wilderness. It highlights the enduring significance of corporate worship and sacred spaces for experiencing God's manifest presence.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalm 63:2 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the very embodiment and perfect revelation of God's power and glory. While David yearned to "see" these divine attributes in the Tabernacle or Temple, the New Testament proclaims that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" John 1:14. Jesus is the perfect image of the invisible God, the "radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature" Hebrews 1:3. The physical "sanctuary" where God's presence dwelt under the Old Covenant has been superseded by Christ himself, who declared, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" John 2:19, referring to the temple of His own body. Through Christ, believers now have direct, unhindered access to God's presence, not confined to a physical building, but through the indwelling Holy Spirit, making each believer's body a "temple of the Holy Spirit" 1 Corinthians 6:19. Thus, David's deep longing for God's manifest power and glory is fully satisfied in the person and redemptive work of Jesus, through whom we can truly "see" and intimately experience the living God.