May 16

READ Psalm 63:9–11. 9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. 10 They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. 11 But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. David longs not just for belief but for experience of God. It is possible to “see” the Lord, not with our physical eyes but by faith (verse 2; 1 Corinthians 13:12; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 5:7). This is delighting in God not for what he gives us in life but for who he is in himself (verse 3).46 The result of David’s experience is the reassertion of his identity. “But [I] the king will rejoice in God” (verse 11). This joyful, strengthened grounding in who we are in him is always the fruit of spiritual experience (Romans 8:16). Christians too are all kings and priests in Jesus (Revelation 1:6). “If David’s faith in his kingly calling was well-founded, still more is the Christian’s.”47

Prayer: Lord, I praise you that you are not just my King but my Father—and that the child of a royal sovereign is also royal! All the language of “ruling” and “reigning” with you staggers me. But help me grasp it enough that I no longer easily feel hurt or snubbed or dependent on the approval of others. Amen.