“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.” (Ps 63:1-2 AV)
The Psalmist is very specific here. He desires the presence of God. No doubt in many ways. But in our passage, his soul desires the presence of God in the same manner he experiences it in the sanctuary. To put it in terms we might understand, the Psalmist desires to see the LORD work in the world the same way in which He works at church. The Psalmist has gone to the tabernacle and seen the Shekinah glory firsthand. He has seen the glory of God rest over the holy place. He has seen the power of God from between the mercy seat. He experiences the LORD in a completely different way while attending tabernacle than he does in his daily walk. He desires the glory of God to be the same in the remainder of his world as He is in the center of the tabernacle. If we are to have the same heart, we should desire the LORD to do outside of the church what He does inside.
If we stop and think of all the
tremendous meetings God has brought our way, we are stirred with a thankful
heart. I have had the privilege of
attending, and being a part of, some of those meetings. They were incredible. The LORD brought me to a small country church
in the middle of nowhere. There, is a
remodeled barn, a preacher’s fellowship broke out in revival. The singing alone was so incredible. I haven’t seen anything like that since. And that was almost thirty years ago. The LORD has allowed me to sit and experience
revivals and bible conferences where He did some serious work in the hearts of
the people of God. By the end of the week,
no one wanted it to end. There were
meetings when the altar was full. There
were meetings when the church went through a serious time of forgiveness and
reconciliation. But the one meeting I
remember the most was one in which the LORD asked me to preach extemporaneously. That is, without any prepared notes. The Holy Spirit took me through Romans
chapter six and by the end of it, the entire church, down to each and every
person, came to the altar. After that meeting,
I went into my office and collapsed. So
used up was I that I couldn’t stand. God
did a miracle through me and I will never forget that.
What the Psalmist wants is the same. He wants God to do a work among all the children of men like He does in the church. This will happen. When Christ comes back, the entire world who survives the seven years tribulation prior to His return will be right with Him. From that day forward, the entire world will worship the LORD Jesus Christ. The entire world will see spiritual work done the likes of which mankind has never seen. The Holy Spirit will move among the hearts of all. He will not be resisted by the Evil One. He and all his minions will be cast into the pits of hell for 1000 years. The point is simple. Any child of God who loves the LORD and hates sin wants the same thing. We do not want to compartmentalize our lives so we adjust to the world as if it doesn’t bother us, and at the same time enjoy the company of the saints. The latter should make the former distasteful. Oh, that God might work among the children of men as He does the church! What a day that will be!
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