Shared ground

These lines show a deliberate shift from present distress to remembered reality. The speaker chooses to remember “days of old,” and he keeps turning God’s deeds over in his mind. That remembering is not passive nostalgia; it is focused attention on what God has done and made (“the work of your hands”).

The prayer is also embodied. The speaker spreads out his hands toward God, a recognizable posture of appeal and dependence. The inner need is described as thirst: he does not merely want information or relief, but “my soul thirsts for you.” The image of parched land highlights urgency and life-or-death dependence.

Where interpretation differs (only where needed)

What “days of old” refers to. Some read it mainly as the speaker’s personal history with God (earlier deliverances, earlier worship). Others think it mainly points to Israel’s shared memory of God’s actions in the nation’s story.

What “your doings” and “work of your hands” highlights. Some hear a strong emphasis on creation and God’s ongoing sustaining power. Others hear a strong emphasis on God’s acts of rescue and guidance in history. Many readers take the wording broadly enough to include both.

What “Selah” is doing. Some treat it as a musical or liturgical marker. Others treat it as a cue to pause and let the thirst-image settle. Either way, it slows the reading after the line of longing.

Why the disagreement exists The phrases are intentionally broad. “Days of old” can naturally cover personal memory or communal memory; “your doings” can naturally cover creation or deliverance; and “Selah” is a recurring term whose exact function is not directly explained in the text.

What this passage clearly contributes Explicitly, the text presents memory and reflection as part of faithful prayer: remembering leads to meditation, which leads to reaching out to God. It also portrays desire for God himself (not only gifts from God) as a central part of the plea. The thirst metaphor frames the relationship as necessary for life, not optional comfort, and the posture of open hands frames the request as dependent appeal rather than self-sufficiency.