Psalm 63:3 – Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
When David pours our his heart into one of his many psalms of prayer and praise to the Lord, his words often quickens an air of rejoicing in our own lives, for we too can identify with some of the many hardships he faced and yet we too can also bear witness to the wealth of joy that he proclaimed, for joy in the Lord and the joy of the Lord was the strength that David received from the Lord – as it is for so many of His children.
In the midst of his wilderness experiences David often found his spirit thirsting for the Lord and his heart yearning for a touch from God – an occurrence that we all to often discover in the barrenness of our own lives or in the dry places in which we often find ourselves. But his thirsting soul does not sit down and weep for long nor spiral into mournful self-pity, but starts to earnestly seek the Lord and to claim in his heart the need for a closer walk with God, as he starts to rehearse the many wonders, power, grace and glory that have been displayed in his own life and the lives of countless others, who have trusted Him as saviour and believed in His promises of grace.
David knew His God was a covenant-keeping God and that the never-failing loving-kindness of the Lord was more to be desired than life itself, for in Him is abundant life and through Him we discover a joy that never ends, and a peace that floods our soul. The truth that flows from this joyful psalm of David should be the experience and pronouncement of every regenerate soul, for without His life there is nothing other than death; without His loving-kindness there is only sadness and misery and without His refreshment there is a dark dryness of the soul.
Let us earnestly seek the Lord in the dryness of our own lives, knowing He is the source of living water and the sanctuary for the weary soul. Let us like David fill our hearts with the joy of the Lord and sing spiritual songs with our lips and in our lives, to the praise of His wonderful name.
Loving Father, thank You for the example of David and others that remind us day by day that You are a covenant-keeping God whose never-failing loving-kindness is greater than life itself. May I live my life to Your praise and glory, in Jesus name I pray, Amen!
