Singing in the shadow of His wings

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you upon my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

– Psalm 63 5-8 (ESV)

“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food”

We here in the affluent West can’t really understand that statement, I don’t think. The thought of “fat and rich food” causes me to glance, ashamedly, at my bulging waistline.

But to David, a man accustomed to long stretches out in the wilderness who knew the feel of a taut belly, my guess is that the image here is of a famished hunger, long held off but finally sated at a board laden with good food. Only here he speaks of his soul, dining on the riches of God.

This passage speaks of safety and joy. It is the joy of a dinner with that friend of all friends – and doesn’t our laughter ring loudest then? It is the safety that is found under the wings of the most Holy, the sweet communion at the day’s end, meditating on God’s goodness as sleep overtakes us.

And it is the safety of the Father’s hand; a hand that we cling to tightly like a child. Even warriors like David understood this – surely better than we can. He had been in the wilderness, had known the feeling of being hunted; had heard the clang of his enemy’s armor, close behind, and the sound of his enemy’s horses. Yet, at the worst of times he knew the strong hand of the Father holding him, and the awesome shadow of the Father’s wings. There was safety.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 63:1-4


2 thoughts on “Singing in the shadow of His wings

  1. I get what you mean. In our affluence, we find that we need a closer look to read the Psalms. I did a paper on Ps 42, as the deer pants for the water, and had to spend much time pondering about physical hunger and thirst in relation with our parched and dried soul. We just do not know enough hunger and thirst to appreciate the psalms.

    My pastor have invited me to preach end July, my first time really, and I am thinking of doing Ps 42, with 2 objectives: to teach Psalm 42 and to teach the reading of the Psalms in general.

    Thanks for you thoughts 🙂

    Blessings!

    Maeghan

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