It’s a command to obey in Psalm 105 that hooks me this morning.

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon His name;
       make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
       tell of all His wondrous works!
Glory in His holy name;
       let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
Seek the LORD and His strength;
       seek His presence continually!

(Psalm 105:1-4 ESV)

Seek His presence continually . . .

It’s an exhortation to not just desire, but to so long for as to require the presence of the LORD. And it raises a curiosity within me. Isn’t it a bit odd that we should yearn after and go after the presence of a God who is omnipresent?

I do a bit of digging, and the command is literally to seek “His face.” While God may be already present because He is always and everywhere present, the songwriter says that His people are wired to want to know His face, and thus they should seek to know Him up close and personal. That’s something to chew on . . .

But then I turn to Spurgeon and his thoughts on the psalmist’s lyrics. And his words end up being a big part of my meal this morning.

“Seek, seek, seek, we have the word three times, and though the words differ in the Hebrew, the sense is the same. It must be a blessed thing to seek, or we should not be thus stirred up to do so. To seek his face is to desire his presence, his smile, his favor consciously enjoyed. First, we seek him, then his strength and then his face; from the personal reverence, we pass on to the imparted power, and then to the conscious favor. This seeking must never cease — the more we know the more we must seek to know. Finding him, we must “our minds inflame to seek him more and more.” He seeks spiritual worshippers, and spiritual worshippers seek him; they are therefore sure to meet face to face ere long.” – Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David

Seek His presence continually . . .

. . . sure to meet face to face . . .

Through the favor of God’s grace.

To know the fullness of God’s glory.