So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory.
Parallel Translations
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So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory.
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To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
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(63-3) So have I looked for Thee in the sanctuary, to see Thy power and Thy glory.
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Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Psalms 63:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 27:4 One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple.
- Psalms 105:4 Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more.
- Psalms 84:2-11 My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of Yahweh. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Yes, the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young, near your altars, Yahweh of Armies, my King, and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are always praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage. Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs. Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength. Every one of them appears before God in Zion. Yahweh, God of Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, God of Jacob. Behold, God our shield, look at the face of your anointed. For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield. Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.
- Psalms 96:6 Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
- 1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more.
- 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them. For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake, seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- Exodus 33:18-19 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim Yahweh’s name before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”
- 1 Samuel 4:21-22 She named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because God’s ark was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, “The glory has departed from Israel; for God’s ark has been taken.”
- Psalms 145:11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom, and talk about your power,
- Psalms 68:24 They have seen your processions, God, even the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
- Psalms 73:17-18 until I entered God’s sanctuary, and considered their latter end. Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction.
- Psalms 77:13-14 Your way, God, is in the sanctuary. What god is great like God? You are the God who does wonders. You have made your strength known among the peoples.
- Psalms 78:61 and delivered his strength into captivity, his glory into the adversary’s hand.
- Psalms 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary. Praise Yahweh!
- Isaiah 60:13 “The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 2. Thus in the sanctuary, etc. It is apparent,…
2. Thus in the sanctuary, etc. It is apparent, as already hinted, that God was ever in his thoughts, though wandering in the wilderness under such circumstances of destitution. The particle thus is emphatic. Even when so situated, in a wild and hideous solitude, where the very horrors of the place were enough to have distracted his meditations, he exercised himself in beholding the power and glory of God, just as if he had been in the sanctuary. Formerly, when it was in his power to wait upon the tabernacle, he was far from neglecting that part of the instituted worship of God. He was well aware that he needed such helps to devotion. But now, when shut out, in the providence of God, from any such privilege, he shows, by the delight which he took in spiritual views of God, that his was not a mind engrossed with the symbols, or mere outward ceremonial of religion. He gives evidence how much he had profited by the devotional exercises enjoined under that dispensation. It is noticeable of ignorant and superstitious persons, that they seem full of zeal and fervor so long as they come in contact with the ceremonies of religion, while their seriousness evaporates immediately upon these being withdrawn. David, on the contrary, when these were removed, continued to retain them in his recollection, and rise, through their assistance, to fervent aspirations after God. We may learn by this, when deprived at any time of the outward means of grace, to direct the eye of our faith to God in the worst circumstances, and not to forget him whenever the symbols of holy things are taken out of our sight. The great truth, for example, of our spiritual regeneration, though but once represented to us in baptism, should remain fixed in our minds through our whole life, (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 5:26.) The mystical union subsisting between Christ and his members should be matter of reflection, not only when we sit at the Lord’s table, but at all other times. Or suppose that the Lord’s Supper, and other means of advancing our spiritual welfare, were taken from us by an exercise of tyrannical power, it does not follow that our minds should ever cease to be occupied with the contemplation of God. The expression, So have I beheld thee to see, etc., indicates the earnestness with which he was intent upon the object, directing his whole meditation to this, that he might see the power and glory of God, of which there was a reflection in the sanctuary.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain In this misery I exercise myself in the contemplation…
In this misery I exercise myself in the contemplation of thy power and glory, as if I were in the Sanctuary.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 63:2 To see thy power and thy glory,…
Psa 63:2 To see thy power and thy glory, so [as] I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
Ver. 2. To see thy power and thy glory] To feel those heart-ravishing apprehensions of thine incomparable excellencies from thyself immediately; who canst be to thy people in their banishment as a little sanctuary, Eze 11:16, and supply all their wants out of thine all sufficiency, who art rich in mercy to all that call upon thy name.
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So as I have seen thee in the sanctuary] Where were to be seen the house of God, Exo 25:8 Deu 12:5, the throne of glory from the beginning, Jer 17:12, the ark of the covenant, Exo 25:22, the tables of the covenant laid up in the ark, Exo 28:21, the mercy seat, Exo 25:21, the oracle, Exo 25:22 Num 7:89, the ceremonies that showed the estate of the faithful both by nature and by grace, and indeed were their gospel, and Christ in figure. These were glorious sights and signals which, therefore David dearly desired, and more bewailed the want of them, than of all outward comforts and contentments.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain To see, i.e. to enjoy, as seeing is oft…
To see, i.e. to enjoy, as seeing is oft taken.
Thy power and thy glory; either,
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1. The ark, which is called God’s strength and glory, 1Sa 4:21; 1Ch 16:11; Psa 78:61. Or rather,
2. The powerful and glorious effects and evidences of thy gracious presence there.
So as I have seen thee; whereof I have formerly had great and comfortable experience; which makes me more sensible of my present loss, and more thirsty after these enjoyments.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain To see thy power and thy glory,.... Either the…
To see thy power and thy glory,.... Either the ark, as the Jewish writers generally interpret it; the symbol of God's presence and glory, and which is called his strength and his glory; see Psa 78:61; or rather the Lord Christ, who is the power of God, as well as the wisdom of God; by whom he made the world, and upholds it; by whom he has redeemed his people, and keeps and preserves them; and whose power is seen in the efficacy of the word and ordinances: and who is also the glory of God; he is the brightness of his Father's glory; his glory is the glory as of the only begotten of the Father; he has the same glorious nature, perfections, names, homage, and worship; and the glory of all the divine attributes is displayed in the work of salvation and redemption he has wrought out; and this glory is to be seen, through the glass of the word and ordinances, in the house of God. Hence it follows;
so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary; where he comes and blesses his people, and manifests himself unto them, as he does not unto the world; where his goings are seen, and his footsteps traced, Psa 68:24. The psalmist calls to mind former experiences in the sanctuary; and these stimulate him to an eager desire of fresh tastes of the grace of God, and clearer views of his power and glory. Or, as in a dry and thirsty land my soul longed and thirsted for time, so have I desired to see thee in the sanctuary; or so I see thee there as if in the sanctuary.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain To see - To enjoy. Power - The powerful…
To see - To enjoy. Power - The powerful and glorious effects of thy gracious presence.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. To see thy power and thy glory…
Verse 2. To see thy power and thy glory - in the sanctuary.] In his public ordinances God had often showed his power in the judgments he executed, in the terror he impressed, and in awakening the sinful; and his glory in delivering the tempted, succouring the distressed, and diffusing peace and pardon through the hearts of his followers. God shows his power and glory in his ordinances; therefore public worship should never be neglected. We must see God, says the old Psalter, that he may see us. In his temple he dispenses his choicest blessings.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 63:2. To see — To enjoy, as seeing…
Psa 63:2. To see — To enjoy, as seeing often means; thy power and glory — The powerful and glorious effects and evidences of thy gracious presence: to see them here in this wilderness, as I have seen them in the tabernacle; to see them in secret, as I have seen them in the solemn assembly: or, to see them again in the sanctuary, as I have formerly seen them there. He longs to be brought out of this wilderness, not that he might see his friends again, and be restored to the pleasures and gayeties of the court, but that he might have access to the sanctuary; not to see the priests there, and the ceremonies of the worship, but to see the power and glory, that is, the glorious power, or powerful glory, of God, which is put for all his attributes and perfections: that he might increase in his acquaintance with them, and have the suitable impressions of them made upon his heart: in other words, so to behold the glory of the Lord as to be changed into the same image, 2Co 3:18. The phraseology of the psalmist should be observed here; he does not say, to see thy power and glory as I have seen them, but as I have seen thee. We cannot, indeed, see the essence of God, but we see him, in the sense meant by the psalmist, in seeing by faith his gracious and glorious perfections. With the remembrance of these sights David here pleaseth himself: those were precious minutes which he spent in communion with God: he loved to recollect and dwell upon them: of these he lamented the loss, and to these he longed to be restored. Reader, are thy views and feelings of this kind? Dost thou thus esteem, desire, and delight in God’s ordinances? Art thou thus pained when deprived of them, and thus delighted when privileged with the enjoyment of them? And dost thou thus desire, and expect, and seek, and find the presence of God in them? “The true Christian,” says Dr. Horne, “dedicates to God ‘the sweet hour of prime,’ he opens the eyes of his understanding, together with those of his body, and awakes each morning to righteousness. He arises with an inextinguishable thirst after those comforts which the world cannot give, and has immediate recourse, by prayer, to the fountain of the water of life; ever longing to behold the divine power and glory in the sanctuary above, of which he has been favoured with some glimpse in the services of the church below.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain To see thy power and thy glory - The…
To see thy power and thy glory - The reference here is to what was manifested of the presence and the power of God in the services of public worship; the praises, the prayers, the rejoicings, the evidences of the divine presence.
So as I have seen thee in the sanctuary - At the tabernacle, amidst the solenm services of divine worship. There seems to be no reason for supposing that he here refers to the mere external pomp and splendor of public worship, but he doubtless includes the power of the divine presence which he had felt in such services on his own soul. As applied now to a place of Christian worship, it may be observed that there are nowhere more striking exhibitions of the Tower of God on earth than those which occur in such a place, especially in a revival of religion. The scene on the day of Pentecost was as striking an exhibition of the power of God as that which goes forth in the fury of the storm, in the raging of the ocean, or in the guidance of the heavenly bodies. Nothing can so well express what occurs in such a scene as the words “power” and “glory;” nothing shows more certainly the power of God than that influence which bows down haughty sinners, and makes them humble; which produces a deep stillness and awe in the assembled multitudes; which extorts the cry, “Men and brethren, what must we do to be saved?” which makes hardened men weep, and men long addicted to habits of sin willing to abandon their iniquities, and turn to God: and nothing shows more clearly the “glory” of God than that power, that grace, that mercy, which thus turns multitudes from the ways of sin and death, and directs their feet into the path of peace and salvation. They who have ever witnessed the power of God in a revival of religion, will ever afterward long to see again “the power and glory” of God, as they “have seen” it “in the sanctuary.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain The special object of desire was God's perfections as…
The special object of desire was God's perfections as displayed in his worship (Psa 27:4).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2. Sanctuary—The holy place. A title given to the…
2. Sanctuary—The holy place. A title given to the sacred tabernacle, Exo_25:8, first settled at Shiloh, Jos_18:1, afterwards at Nob, 1Sa_21:1-6, and later at Gibeon, 1Ch_16:39. The ark of the covenant had been, from the date of Eli’s judicature, at Kirjath-jearim. 1Sa_7:1-2. Still the tabernacle was revered as holy, and oracles were given by Urim and Thummim, and answers of prayer obtained. 1Ki_3:4-5; 1Ch_16:39. The tabernacle worship still supplied the highest manifested glory of God known in the Hebrew worship, for which the exiled psalmist now longs.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. The A.V. transposes the clauses of this verse…
2. The A.V. transposes the clauses of this verse in a way which cannot be justified. Render:
In such wise have I gazed upon thee in the sanctuary,
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To see thy strength and thy glory.
In such wise (‘so’) is explained to refer to Psa_63:1 meaning ‘as my God,’ or ‘so fervently’; but this verse seems rather to give the ground and reason for the preceding verse:—I pine for communion with Thee, because I have had such glorious visions of Thy presence in the sanctuary. There he has ‘gazed’ upon God—the word is used of an intent and discerning contemplation, specially of things divine (Psa_27:4; Psa_11:7; Psa_17:15), and of prophetic ‘vision’ (Isa_1:1)—in order to realise His Majesty as it is revealed to man. The Ark was the symbol of God’s Presence, of His strength and glory (1Sa_4:21; Psa_24:7, note; Psa_78:61; Psa_132:8); and all the ordinances of the sanctuary possessed for him a sacramental meaning. It was thus that Isaiah ‘saw the Lord.’
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) To see thy power . . .—The transposition…
(2) To see thy power . . .—The transposition of the clauses in the Authorised Version weakens the sense. Render, So (i.e., in this state of religious fervour) in the sanctuary have I had vision of thee in seeing thy might and glory. The psalmist means, that while he saw with his eyes the outward signs of Divine glory, he had a spiritual vision (the Hebrew word is that generally used of prophetic vision) of God.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain To see thy power and thy glory, so as…
To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. This is the form which the longing takes to see God once more worshipped in the sanctuary in all the "beauty of holiness," as he had so often seen him previously. (comp. 2Sa_15:25)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 2. To see thy power and thy glory,…
Ver. 2. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. He longed not so much to see the sanctuary as to see his God; he looked through the veil of ceremonies to the invisible One. Often had his heart been gladdened by communion with God in the outward ordinances, and for this great blessing he sighs again; as well he might, for it is the weightiest of all earth's sorrows for a Christian man to lose the conscious presence of his covenant God. He remembers and mentions the two attributes which had most impressed themselves upon his mind when he had been rapt in adoration in the holy place; upon these his mind had dwelt in the preceding Psalm, and the savour of that contemplation is evidently upon his heart when in the wilderness: these he desires to behold again in the place of his banishment. It is a precious thought that the divine power and glory are not confined in their manifestation to any places or localities; they are to be heard above the roaring of the sea, seen amid the glare of the tempest, felt in the forest and the prairie, and enjoyed wherever there is a heart that longs and thirsts to behold them. Our misery is that we thirst so little for these sublime things, and so much for the mocking trifles of time and sense. We are in very truth always in a weary land, for this is not our rest; and it is marvellous that believers do not more continuously thirst after their portion far beyond the river where they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; but shall see the face of their God, and his name shall be in their foreheads. David did not thirst for water or any earthly thing, but only for spiritual manifestations. The sight of God was enough for him, but nothing short of that would content him. How great a friend is he, the very sight of whom is consolation. Oh, my soul, imitate the psalmist, and let all thy desires ascend towards the highest good; longing here to see God, and having no higher joy even for eternity.
Ver. 2. To see thy power, etc.
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I. It is, or should be, the desire of every Christian to
see and enjoy more and more of the glory of God.
II. That the accomplishment of this design is to be
sought by a devout and diligent attendance upon the
worship of the sanctuary. How is God's character in
the sanctuary manifested to believers?
1. By the ministry of reconciliation--by the exhibition of gospel truth.
2. Believers grow in their knowledge of the divine character in the sanctuary, by observing and feeling the application of those great doctrines to the souls of men, by the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. III. The effects that result to the believer in his history and experience, from an increasing knowledge of the power and glory of God. The effects of this knowledge are great and manifold.
1. The believer, by fresh displays of the divine glory, is disenchanted from the fascination of the world.
2. Another effect of an increasing acquaintance with God, and of every view of the divine glory we obtain, is that the mind is disentangled from the embarrassments into which it is sometimes thrown by the aspect of providence.
3. By seeing the divine power and glory in the sanctuary, we shall have our strength renewed to go on our Christian course afresh.
4. A view of the divine glory crucifies our lusts, and puts the corruptions of our heart to death.
5. Fresh views of the divine power and glory nourish our humility.
6. These views of the divine glory in the sanctuary arm us for our conflict with the last enemy.
Concluding remarks:
1. That it is a characteristic of every good man, that he is devoutly attached to the solemnities of public worship.
2. That his object in going to the sanctuary is definite and distinct. John Angell James.
Ver. 2. So as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. To converse with ordinances, and not to converse with God; to have to do with ordinances, and not to have to do with God, alas! they are but dry breasts, and a miscarrying womb that will never bring forth the fruits of holiness. Ordinances without God are but like bones that have no marrow in them; they are but like shells without a kernel. Your hearing will be in vain; and your praying will be in vain; there will be no spirit moving, no voice answering, no heart warnings, no soul refreshing, no God meetings. William Strong(--1654), in the "Saints' Communion."
Ver. 2. God's glory is in the firmament, in all the creatures, but more especially and fully in the church. Ps 29:9, "In his temple doth every one speak of his glory; "there it is most visible, affecting, and provoking of every one to speak. In the world few take notice of it, but in the temple every one sees it, and speaks of it. The world is God opened, and so glorious; the church is Christ opened, and so very glorious. This made David long to be in the sanctuary when he was in the wilderness; and why so? To see thy power and thy glory. Could not David see them in the heavens, in the mountains, in the goodly cedars, and other works of God? Yes, but not as in the sanctuary; and therefore he saith, To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary; there I have seen thee otherwise than ever elsewhere; there he saw the king upon his throne and in his glory. William Greenhill.
None.
Psalms 63:3*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain To see Thy power and Thy glory, so am…
Psa_63:2
To see Thy power and Thy glory, so am I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.
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The power and glory of God, the believers attraction to the sanctuary
Desires are, in some respects, better evidences of real religion than actions themselves, You may be compelled to act,--you cannot be compelled to desire, Desires are free-born; they spring forth, spontaneously, from conviction and disposition. Good desires are proofs of something good, pledges of something betters and parts of something the best of all. Now, of the desires expressed in the text, let us note--
I. Their character. They are distinguished by--
1. Their object: which is God. The natural man desires not God, but the regenerate must have the Lord. He seems to say, Lord, I must have Thee.
2. Their intensity. See the terms by which they are expressed--early, thirsteth, longeth. All this expresses no ordinary desires; Herod would see our Lord perform miracles, but would not step abroad for the purpose. Pilate asked, What is truth? but did not wait for an answer. Balaam said, Let me die the death of the righteous, while he showed no concern to live their life, or to walk in their ways; for, as an old writer remarks, There are certain trees which produce double blossoms, but which, nevertheless, bring forth no fruit. But as religion is the one thing needful--absolutely needful--needful on all occasions and in all circumstances, so its exercise and the feelings pertaining to it are all peculiar and supreme. It matters not what the feelings be, whether of self-abasement, of sorrow for sin, or of hope, or joy. It deeply affects the heart, it is not a mere subject of speculation, or a creed or a ceremony, but a life. Is it thus the Scripture speaks of religion? Does it not tell us that it is not a name to live, but life itself?--that it is not the form of godliness, but the power thereof? If religion be anything, it is everything; if it be important at all, it is all-important. What can equal the grandeur of the soul and eternity?
II. Their enhancement, This arose from the fact that the psalmist was now an exile and a wanderer, shut out from the sanctuary and the sacred worship of God. Hence, he envied the very birds who could build and feed and lay their nest near the house of God. Absence sharpens affection; and want, desires. Indeed, we seldom know the worth of a thing till we are made to feel the want of it. Then take heed how you use Gods grace now, for if you do not use and improve His gifts he will remove them from you, or you from them, as He can so easily do. By any one of many changes you may be plunged into spiritual barrenness, and have to cry, My soul thirsteth for Thee, etc.
III. Their aim. Observe--
1. What David wishes to see--Gods power and glory. He means not alone the manifold proofs of Gods power, but the glory that belongs to the purposes for which this power is exercised. See this in the glory and power of our Lord Jesus Christ in all His works of grace so mighty and yet so merciful.
2. The place of its display: it is the sanctuary. Not that it is seen there only. God is everywhere, and everywhere God. He was found visibly and sensibly in the temple of old; but He is now really in our Christian assemblies. Though He is not obviously there to the natural eye, faith can realize Him there; faith can reckon upon the undeniable fact; we perceive His agency there. And this glorious power is seen not only in conviction, but in conversion. And it is seen, too, in the consolation of believers.
3. Davids actual experience of these displays--I have seen Thee, says he, in the sanctuary. He was certain of the reality of the thing. A believer can come to this conclusion, and is not to be ridiculed or reasoned out of it. He can, and does, say, I sat under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.
4. The usefulness of this experience. It stimulated him to seek after yet more of what he had already enjoyed. To see Thy power . . . so as I have, etc. Now, such experience not only stimulates to seek more, but it tends to preserve the soul in the love of God, and also to recover him when he has been led astray. The unregenerate man knows nothing of all this. You will never hear to purpose till you so hear that your souls may live. You singers! if you do not sing with melody in your hearts to the Lord here, you will not be found among the blissful number of those who shall celebrate His praises in the courts above. And you hearers, if you are only that, what will the Gospel be to you? But you believers, rejoice. (W. Jay.)
The duty, object and results of a devout and diligent attendance upon sanctuary worship
The desire of David was to see the power and glory of God; but he desired more than the manifestation thereof which the works of nature could afford; he would know God as revealed to his soul. We learn, therefore--
I. That the desire of every Christian is, or should be, to know more and more of the glory of God.
II. The accomplishment of this design is to be sought by diligent attendance upon the worship of the sanctuary.
III. The effects of such increased knowledge of the power and glory of God.
1. Deliverance from the power of the world.
2. And from doubts caused by the aspect of providence.
3. Strength renewed to go on our Christian course afresh.
4. The crucifixion of our lusts and corruptions.
5. Increase of humility.
6. Courage for our conflict with our last enemy, death. (J. A. James.)
The desire to see Gods power and glory in thy sanctuary
I. His desire itself.
1. He desired the ordinances. That which carnal and worldly spirits count a burden and tediousness to them, the children of God look upon as a privilege, and do reckon it as their greatest advantage; and so should we, and rejoice in it, and much desire it, as David here does, who is herein a pattern unto us.
2. He desired the glory and power of the ordinances. There is a double power and glory in the ordinances. The one is as to the performance of them; and the other is as to the success and effect.
(1) As to the performance, when there is a life and vigour and activity, which does put forth itself in them. It is not the mere opus operatum, so many duties performed as a task, and theres an end of it, which makes the ordinances glorious; but when theres a gracious and heavenly spirit, which runs along in them, which accordingly is that that every Christian should especially look after in the undertaking of them. This is obtained especially in this way. Namely, first, by preparation to them. We must be careful to remove all hindrances and impediments from us. Now, these they are of two sorts. First, all sinfulness and defilement. Secondly, all worldliness and earthly entanglement.
(2) The like also as to the effect, when they do work effectually and powerfully afterwards. This is also to be looked after by us; and which David without all doubt did look after, that his heart might not only be warmed by the ordinances in the very time of performance, but even then also when he was gone from them; so as the strength and lustre of them might appear, and show itself forth in his life and conversation.
II. The limitation or amplification of this desire. As I have seen Thee in the sanctuary. Which words may admit of a double reference and interpretation in them. Either thus, That I may see Thy power and Thy glory in the sanctuary, so as I have seen Thee. Or else thus, That I may see Thy power and glory now in the wilderness, as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary. According to the former sense, it is an earnest desire of the restoring of him to the opportunities of the public ordinances which he had formerly enjoyed. According to the latter sense, it is the like desire for a supply of the public ordinances, by Gods gracious presence with him in private, now that the public were denied and kept from him. Which way soever we take it, there is matter of observation in it.
1. That I may see Thy power and glory in the sanctuary as I have seen Thee. And so he desires to be restored to the public ordinances, and to his former enjoyment of them. He would have communion with God in public; and he would have that communion which he had formerly with Him.
2. That I may see Thy power and Thy glory here in the wilderness as I have seen it sometimes in the sanctuary. And so it is a desire of a supply of the public ordinances, by Gods gracious presence with him in private instead of it; where, supposing his desire (as it was) to be rational and regular in him, there is this exhibited to us in it, that God, in the necessary want and restraint of the public ordinances, is able to make it up to us another way; He can make a wilderness or prison, or sick-chamber, or bed to be a sanctuary, if He so please; yea, He pleases sometimes so to make it; upon which ground David here does desire it as otherwise he could not have done in faith and good assurance of obtaining it. Look, as the presence of a prince is that which makes the court, so the presence of God is that which makes the sanctuary, where God will express Himself after a more full and gracious manner, that is, indeed, His temple, and so to be accounted by us. Now, this He can do, and often does, even in deserts themselves--
(1) By the bringing to our remembrance those truths which we have formerly heard. As it is with some salve or medicine which we lay up and keep by us, we know not the virtue of it till such time as we come to use it, and to stand in need of it; even so it is likewise with many doctrines and truths in religion. This is, therefore, one work of the Holy Ghost, and that whereby he does supply the defect of the public dispensations, by bringing home to our consciences in private those truths which have heretofore in public been imparted and communicated to us.
(2) By the giving of new experiences occasionally from the present condition, in which we are both of the temper of our own hearts, as also of His own grace, and strength, and assistance of us. In times of freedom we learn what we should be, but in times of restraint we learn what we are.
(3) By working in us a greater longing and desire after the public ordinances.
(4) By His own more immediate applications of Himself to us. The ordinances are nothing else but the conveyances and transmissions of Christ and His Spirit to us in an ordinary way. Now, God, if He please, can do it more immediately, and does in such cases, as He denies them. He expresses His own love, and good-will, and favour, and acceptance of us; stirs up good thoughts, and gracious and holy desires and inclinations in us; sheds abroad His love in your hearts, and becomes all in all unto us; and what He will be one day perfectly in heaven, He is now in part, and imperfectly already here. (T. Horton, D. D.)
The saint longing to see God in the sanctuary
I. Concerning the sanctuary.
1. The place of presence. The Lord is there.
2. The place of friendship. Let us wonder and praise. God glorious in holiness, and people defiled with sin, meeting in friendship and love!
3. The place of converse.
4. The place of audience. The throne of grace, where the poor and needy in every nation are supplied according to his riches in glory.
5. The place of worship. The ordinances in our sanctuaries are not the inventions of priests, as the scorner calls them in his sport, but the institutions of wisdom and mercy.
6. The place of communion.
II. Concerning the power and the glory of the Deity seen in the sanctuary. Power is the energy of the Deity, which worketh all things. Glory is the splendour, on the face of His energy, which renders it mighty, and effectual, and exceeding great. Both are recognized and praised in His sanctuary by the worshippers in spirit and in truth.
1. By the worshippers the power or energy of the Deity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is recognized and praised in the sanctuary.
2. The splendour or glory on the face of the energy of the Deity is recognized and praised in His sanctuary. Every voice in it, every harp, every psaltery, sounds the high praises of His energizing word, who spake and it was done, who commanded and it stood fast.
III. Concerning seeing the power and glory of the Deity in the sanctuary.
1. The sensible administration in the sanctuaries attracts the eyes of worshippers. We behold our teachers and rulers, hear the sound of their voice, and unite ours with theirs in thanksgiving and praise. We behold a table sanctified with the Word of God and prayer, and covered with memorials of the body and blood of the Lord. In one ordinance we behold the sprinkling of water, and in another the breaking of bread, which are sensible actions appointed, and designed to aid our minds in commemorating, magnifying, and praising redeeming love.
2. The glorious beauty in the sanctuaries feeds and satisfies the understandings of worshippers.
IV. Concerning longing to see the power and glory of the Deity in the sanctuary.
1. Longing to see and enjoy the Lord our God in the sanctuary appears to be a reasonable inclination, from the glory in Him that is seen.
2. This strong and fervent inclination appears reasonable from the pleasure in seeing the power and the glory of God in the sanctuary. When the pleasures of imagination disperse; when the tree yields no fruit, the stalk no meal, the stall no herd; when mirth and humour blow every way, as the smoke of the chimney, and philosophy holds out its hand to the empty soul in vain, an eye-glance of the power and the glory in the sanctuary discovers a fund of pleasures, which satisfy, enrich, ennoble, and exalt the rational and renewed mind.
3. This longing of the new heart to see God in the sanctuary appears to be a reasonable inclination, from the gain to the new creation in seeing the beauty of His power and glory. Its gain is better to them than gold, yea, much fine gold. (A. Shanks.)
The Christian longing to see God in His temple
Davids heart must have been in a happy state when he wrote this psalm. Note--
I. How he speaks of God. O God, Thou art my God. It tells of his great joy in God. And this when he was in great distress. So did our Lord on the cross call upon God, as, My God, My God.
II. How he says he will act towards God. Early will I seek Thee. There shall be practical results from his calling God, his Go.d. These, often wanting. But had he not found Him already? Yes, but the more we have of God the more we desire. And he will seek Him early--in the first morning hour; and first of all, without waiting to seek others first, as we too often do.
III. How he desires God. My soul thirsteth, etc. Only those who really know God can speak in this intense way. But they can and do.
IV. Where he seeks God. In a dry and, etc. There are places where we are tempted to sink down in wretchedness and despair. But not so David. God often sends His people to such dry places to quicken their thirst after Him.
V. What he seeks from God. To see Thy power and, etc. We should have thought that deliverance from his troubles would have been the object of his prayer; but no, only that he may see God. And Gods people do, often, now, in the sanctuary, behold Gods power and glory. The Gospel preached, the sacraments we observe, all help herein. Oh, what blessedness this Gospel can give. But we shall never know it until we intensely desire it; until we seek early and thirst and long after God we shall not see Him. The psalm tells us that we may be happy, for God will abundantly satisfy the soul, and you shall feel that His lovingkindness is better than life. (C. Bradley.)
Sanctuary longings
We may judge of ourselves by our desires, and if the stream does not rise so high as we could wish, let us observe the direction in which it flows, and if it be towards God let us be comforted. Natural men live without God in the world. But such as David long supremely after Him, and so after the revelations of His grace and power as seen in His sanctuary. Davids desire was excited--
I. By his present condition. He was as in a dry and thirsty land, where, etc. We never know the worth of blessings till we know the want of them. How mercies brighten as they take their flight. Thus sickness endears health. Upon this principle the Lord acts, and it will account for many of His dispensations.
II. His former experience. He had met with God in the sanctuary as His people yet do. Others know not such experience. And vet they come there led by all manner of motives. But such coming will not avail before God. May Davids experience be ours. (W. Jay.)
God sought in the sanctuary
It is not enough to make use of ordinances, but we must seek if we can find God there. There are many that hover about the palace and yet do not speak with the prince; so possibly we may hover about ordinances and not meet with God there. To go away with the husk and shell of an ordinance and neglect the kernel, to please ourselves because we have been in the courts of God, though we have not met with the living God, that is very sad. A traveller and merchant differ thus: a traveller goes from place to place only that he may see; but a merchant goes from port to port that he may take in his lading and grow rich by traffic. So a formal person goes from ordinance to ordinance, and is satisfied with the work; a godly man looks to take in his lading, that he may go away from God with God. A man may make a visit only by constraint and not by friendship; it is all one to him whether the person be at home or no; but another would be glad to find his friend there; so, if we from principle of love come to God in the duties, our desire will be to find our living God. (T. Manton, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 63:2 The psalmist remembers that he had found God…
63:2 The psalmist remembers that he had found God to be present in his sanctuary (see 18:6; 61:4; 62:5, 11-12).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.