I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
David spoke these words in deep affliction as he reached out to God. They picture the stretching forth of the hands to Him with the soul thirsting after Him as thirsty land thirsts for water, a desperate and intense longing like dry land longing for water and parched land thirsting for water. That reaching out follows meditating on God's works in creation, on all His works, and musing on the work of His hands.
It belongs to a plea for God's mercy and loving-kindness, in trust that He can forgive and restore the distressed soul and lead it. As part of the Psalms, it serves as a prayer and song of praise that can be made one's own in devotion and that teaches communion with God. Cultivating a taste and love for the manifestations of His handiwork produces gratitude for them, gives the Creator the pleasure of being appreciated rather than disappointing Him, and draws the person more and more toward God Himself as companion and Author.
Psalm 143 is read together with Revelation 11 and 12 in concluding the book of Revelation with Paradise restored and God's children safe at home, after tracing God's view and remedy of the awful condition of sin from Paradise given to Paradise regained through the vale of sin to the everlasting regions beyond. Its image of a thirsty land applies to people in distant regions who are ready to receive the truth as thirsty ground is ready for rain.
David spoke these words in deep affliction as he reached out to God. They picture the stretching forth of the hands to Him with the soul thirsting after Him as thirsty land thirsts for water, a desperate and intense longing like dry land longing for water and parched land thirsting for water. That reaching out follows meditating on God's works in creation, on all His works, and musing on the work of His hands.
It belongs to a plea for God's mercy and loving-kindness, in trust that He can forgive and restore the distressed soul and lead it. As part of the Psalms, it serves as a prayer and song of praise that can be made one's own in devotion and that teaches communion with God. Cultivating a taste and love for the manifestations of His handiwork produces gratitude for them, gives the Creator the pleasure of being appreciated rather than disappointing Him, and draws the person more and more toward God Himself as companion and Author.
Psalm 143 is read together with Revelation 11 and 12 in concluding the book of Revelation with Paradise restored and God's children safe at home, after tracing God's view and remedy of the awful condition of sin from Paradise given to Paradise regained through the vale of sin to the everlasting regions beyond. Its image of a thirsty land applies to people in distant regions who are ready to receive the truth as thirsty ground is ready for rain.