A WORD IN THE WILDERNESS
Psalm 63:1-11
By Cleavon Matthews
December 9, 2007
INTRODUCTION
The seasons of life are transitory moments. The video recordings of our migration are captured on the memory sticks of our mind. Our personal narrative is no fable or fairy tale. We are not living a Hollywood script. Our life is real.
We hope to have homeostasis during our habitation. We are grateful for the good times. We are thankful for the tranquil moments of rest. We praise God for the periods of peace, prosperity, and times of laughter.
But we know the memory stick also has scenes of discomforting episodes. The sun does not shine every day. There are droughts, deaths, diseases, and destructions. Life is not only experienced in the open fertile fields of happy harvest. We also matriculate through the weeds and woods of the wilderness.
The wilderness is wild and untamed. It is a dangerous place. The wilderness is a place of emotional instability and mental uncertainty. We are using the language of metaphor of course. The wilderness is the imaginative symbol of difficult times.
The wilderness is not always identical. It can be the overwhelming frustrations of overworking. It can be caring for the continuously unthankful. The wilderness can be the despair of loss and grief. In her book titled Unfair Kimberly Griffith describes the wilderness of her personal grief. On July 17, 1995 she came home from work to find her thirteen year old daughter, fifteen year old son, and her husband murdered by his own hand.
Kimberly describes this barren wilderness: “Sometimes I feel like I’m in a barren wilderness all alone. The loneliness had a permanence and weight all its own. It became heavier and heavier as the sun went down, reaching its peaks at dusk and at bedtime. It was often smothering, crushing and paralyzing. The loneliness sapped my energy and desire. It even attacks me now when I am not alone. Sometimes it even attacks me when I am with my closest friends. Loneliness is ruthless- it’s a deadly barren wilderness” (pp118-119).
Job lamented with sorrow, grief, and loss. Job said, “Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; then I would have been at rest” (Job 3:11-13).
The wilderness has many shapes and forms. The wilderness is a place of despair and desperation. The wilderness is the anxiety of the unknown. The wilderness is the paralyzing fear of rejection. The wilderness is the suffocating compression of sorrow. The wilderness is the mourning of shame. The wilderness is the loss of innocence. The wilderness is the numbing of betrayal. The wilderness is a place of…
Defeated dreams
Loss hopes
Unbearable burdens
Shattered ambitions
Destroyed goals
Obliterated objectives
Annihilated aims
Assaulted aspirations
Demolished determinations
The wilderness is a place of…
Financial frustrations
Family failures
Emotional hardship
Mental anguish
Depressive deliberation
Psalm 63 is a word for those in the wilderness. David has lived in the lap of luxury. David has known great success and victory but now he is in the wilderness. David has been forced to evacuate Jerusalem. Absalom, the king’s son, has led a revolt. He has stolen the hearts of the people (2 Sam. 15:13). David went weeping up the Ascent of the Mount of Olives with his head covered and his feet bare (2 Sam. 15:30). David is going to the wilderness. As he goes Shimei is cursing him and throwing stones at him (2 Sam. 16:5-6). David and those with him became weary in the wilderness (2 Sam. 16:14). They were hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness (2 Sam. 17:29).
I.THE SEARCH FOR GOD
Psalm 63:1-2 “O God, You are my God: early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.”
David had a spiritual experience in the wilderness. David survived the wilderness. We too can make it. We can survive the wilderness. We must not sentence ourselves to failure. The wilderness is not invincible. The wilderness can be subdued. It can be tamed!
Search for God because His power and glory transcend the wilderness. Our place (wilderness) is not as important as His Person. God has not relocated. He is omnipresent. David said, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, Your are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me” (Ps 139:7-10).
It’s not where we are but Whose we are!
You can be in the valley but know His Victory!
You can be in the storm but know His strength!
You can be in the wilderness but know His wisdom!
You can be in the desert but know His Divinity!
You can be in the fire but know His faithfulness!
You can be in tribulation but know His trustworthiness!
You can be in loneliness but know His love!
You can be in mourning but know His mercy!
You can be in financial struggles but know His ability to supply your every need!
You can be in grief but know His glory!
It’s not where we are but Whose we are!
David was in the wilderness but he knew that he belonged to God. He says O God, You are my God! He does not focus on the place, the problem, or the pain. His focus is on His God! We must search for God in our wilderness! Notice in verse one David says ‘early will I seek You’ but in verse two he says ‘I have looked for You in the sanctuary.’ You just missed your shout! David’s experience in the sanctuary equipped Him for the wilderness!
II.THE SATISFACTION WITH GOD
Psalm 63:3-5 “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.”
David’s search for God led to satisfaction with God. He expressed a thirst and longing for God. Once David recognized the power and glory of God he could be satisfied with God. The lovingkindness of God is better than life.
Lovingkindness is the Hebrew term chesed. It means steadfast love. It means acts of mercy and kindness. It means strength and fidelity. Chesed is not a matter of obligation or law. Chesed is a matter of devotion and affection.
Although he is in the wilderness, he is relieved of the tension and frustrations of the wilderness. David says, ‘Your lovingkindness is better than life!’ He has no life without God. His life has no meaning without God. His life has no direction without God. Yes he is in the wilderness. But God’s lovingkindness continues to flow in his direction.
David must express his praise of and to God even in the wilderness. Does it appear strange? David is in the wilderness. David has every apparent reason to be sad, bitter, despondent, depressed, and sorrowful. But we find just the opposite.
He was thirsty and longing but now he knows he will be satisfied as with marrow and fatness. The Lord will prepare a table. The Lord will satisfy Him. He is not governed by circumstances and conditions. He is not dominated by his position or place.
The lovingkindness of God will cause…
Your lips to praise Him
Your mouth to bless Him
Your hands to be lifted up in His name
Your joyful lips to praise Him
Your heart to rejoice
Your mind to relax
Your peace to return
David can sing, anyway you bless me Lord I’ll be satisfied because He knows the power, glory, and lovingkindness of God!
III.THE STORY OF GOD
Psalm 63:6-8 “When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.”
David remembers and meditates on the story of God in his life. When we are in the wilderness it is imperative for us to remember and meditate on God. During the night watches we should not fear the enemy but meditate on the Lord.
David remembers how the Lord has been his help! The Lord helped him rescue the sheep from the lion and the bear. The Lord helped him defeat Goliath. The Lord helped him against Saul. The Lord helped him in battle. The Lord helped him when he was hungry.
The Lord has helped you…
He gave His Only Son so you could live
He inspired His word to direct you
He built His church for your sanctification
He revealed truth
He offers His love, redemption, forgiveness
He feed you
He clothed you
He washed you
Therefore…
Rejoice in the shadow of His wings
Follow close behind Him
Allow His right hand to hold you up
IV.THE SAFETY OF GOD
Psalm 63:9-11 “But those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him shall glory; but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.”
Only now does David speak of his enemies. He has searched for God. He is satisfied with God. He has recalled the story of God in his life. Now he expressed his safety and security in God. David’s enemies wanted to take his life. They wanted him dead and dethroned. But it’s too late because David has discovered something greater than life.
David is not ruthless. David is not out for revenge or vengeance. David is both merciful and forgiving. In fact he would forgive Shimei for cursing and throwing stones at him. Jesus said, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44).
David’s enemies will go into the lower parts of the earth. They will fall by the sword because they live by the sword. They shall become a portion for jackals. The jackals are the scavenger animals. They consume what has been left by larger animals. In other words there will be nothing left of his enemies.
They are destroyed not because David wishes it so. They are destroyed because in going against David they are attacking the Lord’s anointed. In fighting against David they are fighting against God. Consider when the apostles of Jesus Christ were on trial and the people plotted to kill them. In Acts 5:38-39 Gamaliel a member of the council, Pharisee, teacher of the law, and respected man said “And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it- lest you even be found to fight against God.”
For the first time in the Psalm David identifies Himself as the king. He is in the wilderness. He has been forced to vacate the city and the throne. But he is still the king. His relationship with God has not been altered. His place in God’s kingdom has not been revoked. David remembered God’s covenant with him (2 Sam 7:12-17).
CLOSING
David contrasts the truth and lies.
Those who swear by God shall glory!
The mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped!
David is not worried about the outcome!
David knows the power and glory of the Lord!
David is trusting in the Lord’s word!
You need a word in the wilderness!
You need a message in your misery!
You need a text in your trials!
You need a verse in your valleys!
You need a Scripture in your struggles!
You need a command in your calamities!
You need a precept in your pain!
You need a revelation in your situation!
You need a declaration in your despair!
You need a statute in your storms!
You need an utterance in your wilderness!
You need a word to…
Direct you
Correct you
Strengthen you
Comfort you
“It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes” (Psalm 119:71).
