PSALM 63
DESIRE FOR GOD'S PRESENCE, PROVISION & PROTECTION
[1 Samuel 24, 2 Samuel 15-18]
The freedom to be transparent before God, to express to Him exactly how you feel, is an important part of prayer and relationship. David's life exhibited those qualities. David lived with an intense desire for God's presence and the fellowship that came with it. His longing for God was in itself something God caused so that David would learn to anticipate God's special presence with Him. What we don't long for we don't really appreciate once we have it. David's heart motivated yearning for God causes him to appreciate and be thankful for those many, many times when God ministered and communed with him be it privately (v. 6) or corporately (v. 2).
We all need to be more fervent and less complacent in our pursuit of our relationship with God. Here we can learn how David overcame complacency and ritualistic religion. David pursued intimate fellowship with God Who is:
I. THE DESIRE OF HIS BEING, 1-4.
II. THE DELIGHT OF HIS SOUL, 5-8.
III. THE DEFENSE OF HIS LIFE, 9-11.
Let’s look at verse 1 where David cries out to God for His life-giving Presence. “O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly (early); My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, In a dry and weary land where there is no water
David cries O God, Thou art my God; [“Elohim, Eli,” are the same words Jesus cried on the cross.] He is our God by choice, by covenant, and by confession. May we profess it with the same passion and intensity with which David did. To say it by rote or to affirm it with meaning makes all the difference. Not only does God possess His people, but He has permitted us to possess Him!
Therefore, “I shall seek Thee early.” That which is longed for is eagerly and earnestly sought. He is resolute to seek God for only those who seek, find (Mt. 7:7-8). It is good to seek God early. Early in life, while in the days of your youth. Early in the morning before the day starts. Early in the time of decision or need. It is best to seek God early.
The intense need of His soul and body, his whole being, is expressed as thirst for God. Nothing else will satisfy his soul but God. His very body is moved by the intensity and fervency of desire. His being yearns to encounter God. For many people, the desire for God is casual and occasional; for David it was a matter of spiritual life or death.
King David compares life without God's abiding presence to “a dry and weary land without water.” It is an inhospitable place or land without the ability to sustain life for any length of time. This dry and weary land experience is common with so many believers today. Like the world around them believers are also captivated by “stuff’ and the pursuit of more and more stuff. As a result, there is inner barrenness of soul. They have acquired much, but still have not found water for their soul (Jn. 6: ).
If you thirst for intense fellowship or something incredibly satisfying and lasting in your life, remember David's prayer. God alone can quench your deepest longings!
His thirst and longing for God enabled him to find His Lord in public worship as verse 2 states. “Thus, I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, to see Thy power and Thy glory.”
David's intense longings for God permitted him [waw connective translated thus] to behold God in worship. His anticipation and expectation during worship open His eyes to see the power and glory of God. A sign that you truly long for God is that worship is powerful and meaningful in your life.
If your worship experience is not powerful and moving in your life, check out your daily life and see if there is a yearning for companionship for God alive in you. If not, seek Him fervently and early!
Also note that the worshiper witnessed the power and splendor of God. His active and engaging worship saw the Almighty high and lifted-up in glory.
Verse 3 voices reason for his longing and worship. “Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips will praise Thee.”
Divine love and favor “is better than life.” Love must praise God because it owes its existence to Him. “We love because He first loved us” (1 Jn 4:19). Love is nurtured by God. It is the love of God that is poured out in our heart. Yes, covenant relationship with God is better than honors, riches, pleasures and applause. In life there is good and evil but it is all temporary. God is good and gracious and our relationship with Him is eternal.
Notice that the resolution to love the Lord develops “lips of praise.” Praise expresses appreciation, gratitude, joy, affection. Praise is to be verbally communicated, by speaking well to God and by speaking well of Him, of His wisdom, justice, love, grace, kindness, mercy, etc.
A husband and wife came in for counseling. The wife said, AMy husband doesn’t love me.@ The counselor responded, Ahow do you know that?@ The wife replies, Abecause he never tell me he loves me.@
So the counselor asks the husband if that was true. The husband drawls out Aof course not.@ I told her when we married twenty-four years ago, I did, If I ever change my mind, I=ll let her know.@
Unlike that husband we should let God know often by praise on our lips that we love Him, how much we love Him, and why we love Him. By-the-way, it wouldn’t hurt to tell your wife once in a while either.
In verse 4 we behold David’s dedication or commitment to worship God for as long as he has breath and strength. “So, I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name.”
We should praise God continually, “as long as we live.” When we bless God, we are exalting or honoring God. Hands that are pure in deed and working to elevate the glory of Christ should be lifted up (Num. 6:22-27; Pss. 28:2, 141:2; 143:6) in worship, praise, and prayer. It is done not to draw attention to self but in His name, as a way of magnifying the character of God.
II. THE DELIGHT OF HIS SOUL, 5-8.
His soul finds its supreme satisfaction and ultimate value in his relationship with God. Verse 5; “My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
His “soul is satisfied” because the luscious goodness he has appropriated and the uplifting wings of praise, has filled his life to the brim. Praise is important. Praise satisfies the soul. Praise gives vigor and substance like bone marrow does to our body. In being so blessed because of praise the psalmist continues to “offer joyful praise.” Praise is to flow from within us. Praise gushes forth and refreshes us.
Have you experienced the satisfaction God gives? Open your mouth in praises and joy toward Him!
A portion of his soul’s satisfaction comes from times of thinking and meditating in the stillness and silence of night as verse 6 states. “When I remember Thee on my bed, I meditate on Thee in the night watches.”
In Bible times, the night was divided into three periods or "watches" for soldiers and shepherds: sunset to approximately 10:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., and 2:00 a.m. to dawn. David at times used all three-night watches when God would not give him sweet sleep. A cure for sleepless nights is to turn our thoughts to God. There are many reasons we can't sleep--illness, stress, worry--but sleepless nights can be turned into quiet times of reflection and worship[, and all the more if you can look upon God’s starry sky]. Use them to review how God has guided and helped you.
Be sure to remember God and meditate on Him and His Word when He has you doing night watches. Then much good for your family, your friends, your church, and the kingdom of God will be accomplished as you dutifully stay spiritually alert to keep the enemy out of God's camp.
During the most trying and desperate days of America's early history, a man wrote a very pessimistic letter to Benjamin Franklin. He concluded it with the words, "The sun of liberty has set." The great old patriot, who loved a challenge and was not afraid of the "dark," wrote back, "Then LIGHT UP THE CANDLES!"
God sometimes allows us to enter into discouraging situations for the primary purpose of testing our faith. At such times we must refuse to give up in despair. Like Jonah in the belly of the great fish, we must turn to the Lord when our soul is fainting within us, trusting Him completely. James H. McConkey wrote, "What can you do when you are about to faint physically? You can't DO anything! In your weakness you just fall upon the shoulders of some strong loved one, then lean, and rest until your strength returns. The same is true when you are tempted to faint under adversity. The Lord's message to us is 'Be still and know that I am God' (Psalm 46:10). What life does to us depends on what it finds in us [Wiersbe, Warren, p 206].
Hudson Taylor was so feeble in the closing months of his life that he said to a dear friend, 'I'm so weak that I can't work or read my Bible, and I can hardly pray. I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child and trust.' And that is all the Heavenly Father asks of you when you grow weary in the fierce fires of affliction.
In your night of desperation, when it seems that you can't go on, remember that God's everlasting arms are underneath you to support you. When you feel like you're going to faint, trust Him!
The constant overwatch of God’s divine protection recalled in verse 7. “For Thou hast been my help, and in the shadow of Thy wings I sing for joy.”
The protection that David had experienced thus far in life; he is confident will continue. The allusion here is to come underneath the wings of the cherubim over the mercy seat within the Holy of Holies. In this most sacred place was where the Shekinah glory, the glorious presence of God was manifested. There in God=s presence he would find joy and protection and he would sing.
In verse 8 the Psalmist announces the mutual embrace between his soul and his God. “My soul clings to Thee; Thy right hand upholds me.
This strong descriptive metaphor illustrates the reciprocal relationship between God and the believer. A relationship of trustful dependence on the one hand and of support and grace on the other. The right hand is the hand of strength. To be upheld by His hand depicts constant strong support and fulfillment.
III. THE DEFENSE OF HIS LIFE, 9-11.
The three remaining pull us down from our intense and lofty relationship with God to the ignobleness of the fallenness of demons and demonic man. “But those who seek my life, to destroy it, Will go into the depths of the earth.
Sin has its accomplices that attempt “to destroy” the Christian. Evil spirits, evil men, evil habits, etc. Their intent is to destroy godly life. The idea is that those who persist in seeking my life will be destroyed. That destruction culminates in going down into the depths or into Sheol or hades. David would not let threatening circumstances steal his joy in the Lord. Do you?
David finds consolation in understanding the destroyers’ end in verse 10. “They will be delivered over to the power of the sword; They will be a prey for foxes.”
The language suggests swords with hands and men being mowed down by them. God will protect His servants, and He will protect them aggressively and definitely.
The word foxes is used to cover more than one type of animal and could also be jackals. That sense is preferred as foxes don't prey on dead or dying men.
In verse 11 the ultimate victory of God’s people is again proclaimed. “But the king will rejoice in God; Everyone who swears by Him will glory, For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.”
The murderous intent of the wicked recoils on their own head. Though those who seek the worshipper's life are destroyed, he is rejoicing in God. Those that swear allegiance to the eternal King, King Jesus will possess glorious distinctions and advantages. Joys and triumphs will come to those who take Jesus as their king and victory will ultimately be theirs. But those who speak lies, the false and treacherous insurgents will come to a dead end.
In CLOSING
David knows that the thirst and hunger he feels for God (63:1) will be satisfied as he follows hard after Him. In seeking God early, David will find elements of God's character to reflect upon late into the night (63:6). In searching for Him "in a dry and thirsty land," David will find refreshment "in the shadow of thy wings" (63:7). In cleaving to God, David will find God upholding him (63:8).
Are you as determined as David to seek God or are you complacent in your relationship with God? Jesus said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). How is your spiritual appetite? Carve out time to get alone with God early each day. Enjoy His presence; feast on His Word; let Him satisfy the yearning of your heart and let you lips praise Him.
