Hobart Herd Devotional – Psalms 63
“O God, You are my God, and I will ever praise You. O God, You are my God, and I will ever praise You. I will seek You in the morning and I will learn to walk in Your ways; and step by step You’ll lead me, and I will follow You all of my days.” This popular worship chorus by David Strasser, 1991; immediately came to mind as I read the first verse of Psalms 63. This Psalm was written while David was in the wilderness and unable to worship God at the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. This is very appropriate for all of us suffering from the lack of worship together with the Body of Believers in our local churches. It is a great reminder that while we are unable to worship together in our places of worship, we can still worship God from the bottom of our hearts and look forward to the time when we will worship again together.
David had seen the glory of God descend on His Tabernacle, and watched God defend and protect His people. This caused him to remember and celebrate that God was with him regardless of where he was at. Psalms 63:3-4, 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.(NIV) These verses should remind us of God’s promise to never leave us or forsake us, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is ours through the Lord Jesus Christ.(Romans 8:35-39) We can always worship God from our hearts no matter the circumstances or the location. When we are commanded to rejoice in the Lord always, we should remember these words of worship and praise.
The picture of David’s worship in spite of the dry and weary wilderness and the less than ideal circumstances are described in Psalms 63:6-8, 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 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.(NIV) We are reminded to remember Who God is and all the things He has done for us; and in so doing we can sing in the shadow of His wings. We can hide ourselves in Him and allow His loving, protecting arms to surround us as we snuggle up to Him in our fear and troubles. Then our heart can truly sing and worship Him as He deserves. The only location needed is in His loving arms, in the shadow of His wings, clinging to the Hand that will never let me go!
Father, there are many times when I feel alone, afraid, and unable to worship You because of the troubles I find myself in. Forgive me for forgetting that You are always with me, loving, protecting, holding my hand through it all. I truly do worship You in the shadow of Your wings, and pray that You receive from my heart all the glory and praise due Your Holy Name. Thank You for being “My God”, my the Rock of Ages. In Jesus Name, Amen! Pastor Rob