I will praise you as long as I live. (Ps. 63:4)

THIS IS A SPECIAL PSALM. According to John Chrysostom, one of the early church fathers, this psalm was sung every day. It was sung every morning and at every public gathering.

You can see why those who sang it thought it was appropriate to sing it in the morning. The psalmist wrote, “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” (Ps. 63:1 nkjv).

The subtitle of this psalm says it was written by David in the desert of Judah. When I visited there a few years ago, I saw what a dry, desert area that is. For miles, one sees very little vegetation. The ground is dry, dusty, and uninviting. The arid region around Engedi is where David hid in caves, but nearby is a wonderful spring that provides precious water for the weary traveler.

David said there were times when his spiritual life matched his surroundings. God seemed to be silent. It wasn’t just his body that seemed dry. His soul was like a dry and parched land. But David found refreshment in singing to the Lord. He pulled out of his spiritual desert as he remembered God’s faithfulness and as he sang about God’s goodness.

Do you have a song in your heart today?

Don’t stay in the desert. Sing your way to spiritual refreshment by remembering God’s faithfulness.

Ron McClung lives in Fishers, Indiana, with his wife Carol. He has written his weekly column, Positive Perspective, for more than twenty-nine years.

© 2018 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.