O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. (Psalm 63:1-2, KJV)
We are living in extremely difficult times. Covid-19 has touched every part of the world. We have economic problems resulting from it. We’re facing unusual storms and earthquakes. To be called as Christians is not to live in isolation or in luxury. But I do believe all these are signs of the Coming of the Lord.
Psalm 63:1-2 is one of my favourite Scriptures from my teenage years. David is saying, “O God, You are my God, early will I seek You, my soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water – to see Your Power and Your Glory as I have seen You in the Sanctuary!”
I was young – it was my desire in those ‘early’ days to see the Power and the Glory of God! In fact I had some very remarkable experiences early in my life. I was coming up for my 8th birthday, 1940. I was away with my twin brother and my father, who was speaking at a convention in Bournemouth. There were other preachers, including a young evangelist. Apparently, when the evangelist made the appeal for salvation, both my brother and I raised our hands. That night, my father turned to my (older) brother first, “Do you want to accept Christ?” – “Yes!” So my father prayed with him. Then he looked at me, “Are you ready to receive Christ?” The strange thing was, I said, “No! I don’t want to do it now.” In fact, I don’t to this day remember that I raised my hand in the meeting. So my father didn’t argue with me. And I got into bed. But I couldn’t sleep. Because even at that young age I knew, that if Christ were to return, my twin brother, my parents, would go to Heaven, and I would be shut out! I was under such conviction that I had to get out of bed, kneel down and say, “O Lord, don’t leave me out! I want to know You, I want to accept You!” It was a very strong conviction even at that young age that led me to Christ. Next morning when I got up, the whole world was different, the sky was a brighter blue, the sun shining more brightly, the trees brighter – everything had changed! It was a long time before I realised, it was me that had changed!
Soon after that I was in my father’s church, possibly 1940/41. The church was packed out, crowded, the worship was going on and suddenly it was as if a wave of Glory swept over me. Young as I was, I had such an experience of the Power of God – He was dealing with me.
In my youth, these experiences ‘in the Sanctuary’ had such an impact on me, I was saying to the Lord, “I’m longing for You, I want to see Your Glory, I want to see Your Power in the Sanctuary!” But as I have grown older, I see Psalm 63 so differently, and I see how big a challenge it is! David was not a young man when he wrote this psalm. Instead, he’s facing enormous opposition, adversity, such a struggle, such a battle, and so often alone. So he’s saying, “O God, when I’m in the dry place, when I’m thirsty, when everything around me is barren, when the enemy is raging against me, when everything is difficult – I want to see Your Power in my extremity – as I once saw it in the Sanctuary!”
I have seen and known the Lord all my life, I’ve had such a constant experience of Him. How could I live without Him?! He’s been my companion, my friend all through my life! I talk to Him all the time. Not in formal way, but in a personal way, all day, every day, whatever happens – I’m always talking to Him! I’ve seen the Glory of God, I’ve met with Him! Yes, the time when I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit aged 13 and the Power of God swept over me and changed my life! And the times when I’ve seen the Glory of God in evangelism, in the conviction and the miracles of healing!
When we have had THAT experience, then when we’re in the desert, in the dry and thirsty land where there’s no water, THEN we cry to God – when we’re threatened, we’re suffering, THEN we call on God to reveal Himself as He has done before! In the Scriptures, God reveals Himself at so many different times. Whether it’s Moses and the burning bush, or crossing the Red Sea, or on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, or Elijah seeing the Fire fall on Mount Carmel – God has revealed Himself so conspicuously throughout the whole of Scripture! In the life of Jesus, we only have the record of the more outstanding miracles, the lame, the blind, the deaf, the raising of the dead…
But there comes a time in our lives when there’s a dryness, a barrenness and we’re desolate. The challenge of David in Psalm 63 is, “I want to see You AGAIN! Show Your Power, reveal Yourself AGAIN!”
We talk about revival, pray for revival. But when is God’s Power going to be the greatest? When will it be revealed the most? Not just in the blessing, not just in the church, not when everything is going right. It’s when EVERYTHING IS GOING WRONG! That’s the challenge I want to bring to you! David is saying, “Yes, I’ve had those blessed moments, those wonderful moments… But now, everything is going wrong, I’ve got every opposition. I’m thirsty, I’m hungry enough to die! I WANT YOU – NOW – TO SHOW YOUR POWER!”