Introduction
I plan to continue our summer sermons on the Book of Psalms today.
Since so many people travel during the summer, and there may not be regular continuity of worship participation each week, examining the Psalms is an excellent option because each Psalm stands on its own.
Pastor Scott and I have been preaching on the Psalms of Trust (or Confidence) for the past few weeks.
There are six Psalms of Trust, and today, I would like to examine Psalm 63.
Commentator J. J. Stewart Perowne says of Psalm 63, “This is unquestionably one of the most beautiful and touching psalms in the whole Psalter” (J. J. Stewart Perowne, Commentary on the Psalms, 2 vols. in 1 [Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1989], 1:486. Original edition 1878–1879).
The superscription to Psalm 63 is as follows: “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.”
The superscription is part of the original Hebrew text. The authors of each Psalm wrote the superscriptions.
The editors wrote the titles for some of our English Bibles. You will notice in the English Standard Version that the editors have written: “My Soul Thirsts for You.” That is not part of the inspired text of Scripture.
The superscription, however, is part of the inspired text of Scripture.
First, I want you to notice that it is “A Psalm of David.” David wrote this psalm, one of at least 73 in the Book of Psalms.
Second, I want you to note that Psalm 63 was written “when he was in the wilderness of Judah.”
This Psalm was written when King David was fleeing from his son Absalom. It was a time of great adversity for David.
The story of Absalom’s rebellion is given to us in 2 Samuel 15-19.
Absalom was estranged from his father because he felt that David had mistreated him. He spent four years trying to win the approval of the people of God. Absalom set himself up as a rival king in Hebron when he thought the time was right.
David was caught off guard by Absalom’s action. Moreover, David feared that Absalom would attack him in Jerusalem. So, David fled from Jerusalem with a small entourage of those still loyal to him.
If Absalom had half his father’s military skill, he would have attacked David immediately, while Absalom still had the advantage. But Absalom did not have his father’s military skills.
Instead, Absalom listened to his counselors, who advised him to wait.
Absalom’s delay gave David time to regroup and prepare to take on Absalom and his army.
Absalom’s army was soundly defeated by David’s battle-experienced troops led by David’s faithful General Joab.
Twenty thousand of Absalom’s soldiers perished in the battle.
Absalom himself was one of the casualties, killed by Joab himself.
Psalm 63, then, was written by David shortly after his flight from Jerusalem. He was in the hot, dry Judean desert when he composed this Psalm.
Do you ever find yourself facing adversity?
Do you ever experience trials, hardships, or difficulties in your life?
Do you ever find yourself thinking, “If I am a Christian, then why am I experiencing so many problems in my life?”?
If so, then Psalm 63 is for you.
Scripture
Let’s read Psalm 63:1-11:
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Lesson
Psalm 63:1-11 teaches us about the believer’s trust in God, especially in times of adversity.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. The Believer’s Longing for God (63:1-4)
2. The Believer’s Satisfaction in God (63:5-8)
3. The Believer’s Vindication by God (63:9-11)
I. The Believer’s Longing for God (63:1-4)
First, notice the believer’s longing for God.
David wrote in verse 1, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
David was in the desert, on the run from Absalom. It was hot and dry, and he was thirsty.
But David wanted to quench his spiritual thirst more than his bodily thirst. He longed for the presence of his God.
I love what Charles Spurgeon said in The Treasury of David, “Possession breeds desire” (C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 56-87, vol. 3 [London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.], 65).
God possessed David, and David desired to be in the presence of his Creator and Redeemer.
Perhaps David was in a place where he could see Jerusalem. He could see the tabernacle that he had brought to Jerusalem, which was said to represent the presence of God.
Now that David was fleeing for his life and longing for the presence of his God, he said, “So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory” (v. 2). David wanted to look beyond the veil and gaze upon the beauty of his glorious God.
Even though David’s very life was at stake, he sang, “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you” (v. 3).
The Hebrew word for “steadfast love” (hesed) is precious. It refers to God’s covenant love. It is an unbreakable love.
Spurgeon put it so well when he said:
Life is dear, but God’s love is dearer. To dwell with God is better than life at its best; life at ease, in a palace, in health, in honour, in wealth, in pleasure; yea, a thousand lives are not equal to the eternal life which abides in Jehovah’s smile (C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 56-87, vol. 3 [London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.], 66).
That is why David says, “So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands” (v. 4).
Many of you know Joni Eareckson Tada. She became a paraplegic as a result of a diving accident at the age of sixteen. Joni developed a wonderful ministry for people with disabilities.
In Preaching Today, Joni recalls the comment of one boy at the end of a retreat for people with disabilities when participants were asked to tell what the week had meant to them:
Little freckle-faced, red-haired Jeff raised his hand. We were so excited to see what Jeff would say because Jeff had won the hearts of us all at the family retreat. Jeff has Down’s syndrome. He took the microphone, put it right up to his mouth, and said, “Let’s go home.”
Later, his mother told me, “Jeff really missed his dad back home. His dad couldn’t attend the family retreat because he had to work.” Even though Jeff had had a great time, a fun-filled week, he was ready to go home because he missed his daddy.
Then Joni adds these words:
I’m with Jeff. I miss my [Heavenly] Father. My heart is longing to go home.
The hope of being with God in heaven is one of the strong pillars of the Christian life. (Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002], 239–240).
Friends, Jeff wonderfully captures the heart of David—and every believer.
You long to go home. You long to be with your heavenly Father.
That is especially true if you are going through adversity.
II. The Believer’s Satisfaction in God (63:5-8)
Second, let’s examine the believer’s satisfaction in God.
David was running for his life. He was in the wilderness. There was nothing for him to eat.
We may plan stops at our favorite traveling restaurants on a long road trip.
But there was nothing like that for David.
Nevertheless, David wrote in verse 5a, “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food.” As David communed with God, he found satisfaction in God.
Spurgeon writes:
Though unable to feast on the sacrifice at thine altar, my soul shall even here be filled with spiritual joys, and shall possess a complete, a double contentment. There is in the love of God a richness, a sumptuousness, a fulness of soul-filling joy, comparable to the richest food with which the body can be nourished. The Hebrews were more fond of fat than we are, and their highest idea of festive provision is embodied in the two words, “marrow and fatness:” [that is, “fat and rich food”] a soul hopeful in God and full of his favour is thus represented as feeding upon the best of the best, the dainties of a royal banquet (C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 56-87, vol. 3 [London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.], 67).
As a result of his satisfaction in God, David writes, “… and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”
David recognized God's care for him even in the most challenging circumstances. He recognized that God is “my help,” that he is “in the shadow of your wings,” and that “your right hand upholds me.”
Friend, God is in sovereign control over everything in your life. The very breath that you take is because it is in God’s sovereign control. Whatever adversity or prosperity comes into your life is because of God's sovereign power.
I love the answer to the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism: “What is your only comfort in life and in death?”
The answer is as follows:
That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him.
Even though this answer was penned 3,000 years after David's death, he would have heartily agreed with its truth.
But I don’t want you to miss David’s supreme satisfaction in God, which resulted in him being praised with joyful lips.
In his book Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis writes these words:
The most obvious fact about praise—whether of God or any thing—strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor.… The world rings with praise—lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game—praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits and malcontents praised least. . . .
I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about….
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed (93–95).
David’s complete satisfaction in God, especially in times of adversity, is expressed in praise to God.
What do you do when you experience adversity?
Do you question your circumstances?
Do you question why God has allowed adversity to come into your life?
Or do you recognize that you belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to your faithful Savior Jesus Christ, and that he also preserves you in such a way that without the will of your heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from your head?
Do you find your satisfaction in God, especially in times of adversity?
III. The Believer’s Vindication by God (63:9-11)
And finally, let’s look at the believer’s vindication by God.
Some commentators believe that the final three verses of this Psalm were separate from the original Psalm written by David. They argue that later editors added them because they seem so discordant with David’s satisfaction in God.
But that is not the case.
David penned these words. He was running from his son Absalom, who wanted to kill him.
Listen to how David expressed it in verses 10-11, “But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals.”
David had complete confidence that God would vindicate him.
That is why David concluded the Psalm with these words, “But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped” (v. 11).
David would rejoice in God because God would vindicate him.
Conclusion
David teaches us about the believer’s trust in God, especially in times of adversity.
You and I are far more privileged than David.
Why?
Because David’s Greater Son, Jesus Christ, has come.
David looked forward to the hope found in Jesus.
You and I look back upon Jesus and know that he lived, died, and rose again so that we can know him personally.
Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch Christian who, along with her family, helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II.
Corrie ten Boom was born in Haarlem, Netherlands, into a deeply religious Christian family. The family were devout members of the Dutch Reformed Church and lived out their faith through acts of charity and service.
During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Ten Boom family became involved in the Dutch underground resistance, providing a hiding place in their home for Jews fleeing persecution.
The Ten Booms constructed a secret room in Corrie’s bedroom where fugitives could hide during Nazi raids. Their home became known as “The Hiding Place,” and through their efforts, they saved the lives of many Jews.
In February 1944, a Dutch informant betrayed the family, and the Gestapo raided their home.
Corrie, her sister Betsie, and their father were arrested, along with other family members. Her father, Casper, died shortly after their arrest.
Corrie and Betsie were eventually transported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, a notorious camp for women.
Despite the horrific conditions and brutal treatment at Ravensbrück, Corrie and Betsie continued to trust God. They managed to smuggle a Bible into the camp and held secret worship services in their barracks, offering hope and comfort to their fellow prisoners.
Betsie, who was frail and suffered from poor health, remained a constant source of encouragement and faith, often reminding Corrie that "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still."
Betsie died in the camp in December 1944, but before her death, she had visions of a post-war ministry to help those affected by the war.
Corrie was released shortly after Betsie's death due to a clerical error.
She later discovered that all women her age were sent to the gas chambers a week after her release.
After the war, Corrie returned to the Netherlands and fulfilled Betsie's vision. She set up rehabilitation centers for Holocaust survivors and those who had been traumatized by the war.
Corrie traveled the world, sharing the story of her trust in God, his forgiveness, and love. She wrote several books, the most famous of which is The Hiding Place, which chronicles her family’s efforts during the war and their time in the concentration camps.
Corrie Ten Boom’s story shows a believer’s trust in God, especially in times of adversity.
Corrie once wrote in He Cares, He Comforts:
We can all get to heaven without health, without wealth, without fame, without learning, without culture, without beauty, without friends, without ten thousand things. But we can never get to heaven without Christ.
If you are not a Christian today, turn to Christ to experience God's love and forgiveness.
And if you are a Christian, continue trusting God, especially in times of adversity. Amen.
