The past couple of days, I have been spending a lot of time reading and thinking about Psalm 63. It is a great chapter. Tonight, I decided to post some of my thoughts on Psalm 63:1 for your reading pleasure/consideration. Depending on my schedule, I may post my comments on the rest of the chapter later in the week. Whether I finish the project or not, here is the start:
David wrote this Psalm when he was in the wilderness--in a dry and weary land where there is no water. It is a Psalm of desire for communion with God. David starts by expressing his "thirst" for God, then says, "my flesh faints for you." The ESV translates the next part, "as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." This draws up strong pictures of David's desire for God, similar to Psalm 42 (As the deer pants for the water...). The only problem with this is the ESV is the only translation I've seen so far that translates it this way. I don't know which translation is correct, but the NASB, NIV, KJV, and Geneva Bible all translate it as, "in" a dry and weary land (rather than "as in"). I think this gives an even stronger portrayal of David's desire for God in this passage. Instead of saying metaphorically, "I desire you like I would want water if I were stuck in the desert," he is saying concretely, "I am in the desert. My throat is dry, my lips are cracked, and I am probably dehydrated. Most men at this point could focus on nothing but their desire for water. Not me. My desire in this time is for You. I don't thirst for water, I thirst for You, God. I do not faint because of my lack of water, I faint because I desire a closer walk with You. All my human instincts tell me to forget about You for a little while so I can find water, but I cannot forget You." This is not a figurative message of one man's romanticized dreams of a closer walk with God. It is a desperate plea for communion with God, his creator and sustainer. It is the cry of a desperate man for the only thing that will truly satisfy him.
I hope these thoughts encourage you and challenge you to seek God with a greater voracity as they have encouraged and challenged me.
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Sorry I can't help with the Hebrew, but I thought Young's Literal Translation might be helpful...
ReplyDelete"Thou art my God, earnestly do I seek Thee, Thirsted for Thee hath my soul,
Longed for Thee hath my flesh,
In a land dry and weary, without waters."
I don't think it lessens the impact to use a simile though. That's pretty descriptive! [Note a simile is used in v.5] On the other hand, I have been in the Wilderness of Judea (Wadi Qilt) ...in rainy season. It's quite a wasteland, even then! I saw animals grazing, but could not see what was there to graze on! Take a look at http://www.bibleplaces.com/wadiqilt.htm
[Btw... this is not the same terrain as where David later hides out from Saul near the Dead Sea.]