It is hard for us to imagine the spiritual lives of those in the Old Testament, but the life and psalms of David give us so much insight into his worship. The design of the Sabbath was not to assemble (that only began because of the scattering of the Jews as they went into captivity), but to take time every week to remember they were resting every week to spend time meditating on how God delivered them from the bondage in Egypt where they had no rest.
However, there were special feast days for Israel. Three times every year they came to the temple for those special days. That section in Psalms which contains the “Psalms of Ascent” gives us insight into the joy they celebrated as they ascended the mountains in Jerusalem to worship God. David describes his emotions. “I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival” (Psa. 42:4 ESV).
Then the wrath of Saul destroyed David’s ability to keep the feasts. As a youth, he made those three journeys with his parents for the feast days. For the early years in Saul’s palace, he enjoyed being part of the songs of praise with the multitudes. Angry Saul changed that. For over seven years Saul’s army robbed David of this joy. Hear his words showing the joy taken from him. “Come before the Lord with singing…Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful and bless His name” (Psa. 100:2-4).
How did the loss of this joy impact David? “As a deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirst for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God” (Psa. 42:2)? He longed for that day when he again might be able to go to the feasts. His heart rested in the hope that someday it would be restored to him. “Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance” (42:5).
Think of the parallel in David’s life and the lives of many Christians. Two years ago, they came every week to celebrate a festive time at the Lord’s table. David said, “I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise” (Psa. 42:4 NKJV). Covid came. It kept us from meeting our Lord in the keeping of the Lord’s supper.
Are you among those who have been driven from assembling at His table? Are you among those who for two years could not speak to one another in spiritual songs? The most vital question you face is do you miss worship like David did? Has complacency settled in and replaced the joy of coming with the multitude into His presence? Are you thirsting and panting to come to His table? Think about this.