Desiring God (vv. 1-2). To be able to say “my God” by faith transformed David’s wilderness experience into a worship experience. There in the desert, he was hungry and thirsty; but his deepest desires were spiritual, not physical. With his whole being, body and soul, he yearned for God’s satisfying presence (v. 5; 42:1-2). Just as we have physical senses that are satisfied by God’s creation, so we have spiritual senses (Heb. 5:14) that can be satisfied only by Christ. He is the Bread of Life (John 6), and He gives us the water of life by His Spirit (John 4:1-14; 7:37-39; Rev. 22:17). Those who hunger and thirst for spiritual food and drink shall be filled (Matt. 5:6). David could say with Jesus, “I have food to eat of which you do not know” (John 4:32 nkjv).

How did David acquire this wonderful spiritual appetite? By worshipping God at the sanctuary (v. 2; see 27:4; 84:1-2). He had erected the tent on Mount Zion and returned the ark to its rightful place, and he had found great delight in going there and contemplating God (36:8-9; 46:4). Because he didn’t belong to the tribe of Levi, David couldn’t enter the sanctuary proper, but from his study of the Books of Moses, he knew the design and the assigned rituals, and he understood their deeper meaning. It is our regular worship that prepares us for the crisis experiences of life. What life does to us depends on what life finds in us, and David had in him a deep love for the Lord and a desire to please Him. Because David had seen God’s power and glory in His house, he was able to see it in the wilderness as well!