Meditation on the person and works of God can bring refreshment and invigoration to any believer. Verses 8-9 conclude the first section of the psalm by revealing the fruit of the psalmist's prescription for his own soul. "There may be other psalms that equal this outpouring of devotion; few if any that surpass it." Mercy is with him, Ps. Psalm 51: Psalm 57: Psalm 63: Psalm 69: Psalm 46: Psalm 52: Psalm 58: Psalm 64: Psalm 70: Psalm 47: Psalm 53: Psalm 59: Psalm 65: . Life and literature are filled with people who loved someone or something more than their own life, and it could be said of them that they held love better than life. Whedon's Commentary Kingcomments Henry's Complete Old Testament Individual Books Verse 1 PSALM 63 DAVID'S CRY TO GOD FROM THE DESERT SUPERSCRIPTION: A PSALM OF DAVID; WHEN HE WAS IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDAH. As he considered his circumstances, he realized that God is just; God would judge fairly. 5. What a remarkable fulfilment of David's prophecy came to pass. None of these details are missing from the prophecy. Sometimes you have to work at the romance (which sounds contradictory, but its not). Spurgeon noted that we should not limit our thanks and praise to such seasons: Even when our heart is rather desiring than enjoying we should still continue to magnify the Most High, for his love is truly precious; even if we do not personally, for the time being, happen to be rejoicing in it. But it is still not the same as knowing him personally. First, he is strengthened as heremembers who God is. beholding your power and glory. Psalm 63 background the journey to the wilderness ! In the midst of such pressures, there is one thing that will determine the course of your life: your priorities. Tools. Those who want (or are hungry and *thirsty) to see God do what is right will live in God's *kingdom. My lips shall praise You: In light of Davids experience of Gods great love, he determined to vocally praise God. What does he remember? My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 23 is a realistic hopeful passage written by David about the presence of trials in his life versus the provision and relationship the Lord has for him. Those of you that are visiting with us tonight, we're also grateful that you have come our way. Give me my palace back. ! 2023 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Verses 1-11. His whole world was falling apart, but he had the Lord and His loyal love, and so he could sing and rejoice in God. You can check these in your browser security settings. belongeth mercy. He alone is our present help in time of trouble, and His compassion and mercy towards us is new every morning. Reginald Heber's immortal hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy," memorializes these words in the first stanza. Five Questions for Discussion follow the Bible Lesson Commentary . But a marriage cannot be built on feelings alone, but on commitment. Thus seeking after God means to have an intimate personal relationship with Him; always to desire more of Him; and, to pursue God alone to fill the vacuum in your life. Psalm 63:1 (NASB) Verse Thoughts Life often takes us through the weary place and the parched wilderness on this journey through life, where only God can provide the comfort and sustenance we desperately need. A portion for jackals: If the body of a human being were to be left on the ground, the jackals would certainly leave but little traces of it; and in the olden times of warfare, they must have held high revelry in the battle-fields after the armies had retired. The Hebrew word translated clings points to loyalty related to affection. Then there is the pressure of getting a good job and, once we get it, of doing well enough to keep it and be promoted. Notice, briefly four things which characterize the person who seeks the Lord: My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness. He is never complacent, but satisfied. Yet it was a promise of God (first expressed in 1 Samuel 16), so by faith David could dare to think of himself as the king, and in that daring faith rejoice in God. 1. his lips will praise God BDB 986 II, KB 1387, Piel imperfect 2. he will bless God as long as he lives BDB 138, KB 159, Piel imperfect 3. he will lift up his hands BDB 669, KB 724, Qal imperfect His enemies will be judged and destroyed, not him. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. Glorying is the equivalent of rejoicing. Christianity is not just a matter of the head, but of the heart. Other times it has the idea of presence, as in the wings of the cherubim that surround the throne of God. "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). One day he was the leader of the most powerful nation on earth. Come near to the holy men and women of the past and you will soon feel the heat of their desire after God. He spoke of the deep satisfaction that comes in a surrendered seeking of God, of receiving His great love, of praising God without reservation. c. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me: This speaks of the partnership and connection the believer experiences with God. This is the psalm where David writes a parable-song equating his walk with God to that of a shepherd taking care of his sheep. The soul of David in Psalms 63:1 "thirsted" for God, but here the metaphor of physical hunger is employed to describe the soul's overwhelming desire for God and his healing fellowship. 11But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.. Psalms 119:48). "[8] Such a theophany is not unreasonable, for God surely did grant such a vision to Joshua in the conquest of Canaan. The Hebrew chiasm in each of the two . We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. "O God, you are my God, 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" (Psalm 63:1). When this is the regular frame of a believer's mind, he values the loving-kindness of God more than life. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. (LogOut/ To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient. Matthew Henry wrote that, "Just as the sweetest of Paul's epistles were those sent out from a Roman prison, so some of the sweetest of David's Psalms are those that were penned, as this one was, in the wild desolation of the Dead Sea desert. As soon as David arose in the morning, he became aware of his need for God-just as he needed water shortly after waking up. Then he meets the woman of his dreams. The way of the righteous. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. Even in Canaan, though a fruitful land and the people numerous, yet there were wildernesses . 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES) Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. There are the pressures of raising godly children in our pagan society. Seeking after God should be our most important priority. Davids soul was at rest. [Note: Kirkpatrick, pp. * [63:12] All who swear by the Lord: to swear by a particular god meant that one was a worshiper of that god (Is 45:23; 48:1; Zep 1:5). 6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Yet, Psalm 63 has no cry for help but gives thanks and praise for Gods faithfulness in many times when God had been my help for David. The writer seems to be overflowing with joy in the Lord. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. Davids soul was close to God, following Him as one followed a Master or Teacher. These people are liars v. 11. When he was in the Desert of Judah. Others try to fill their lives with possessions or with a successful and satisfying career. Thus, more than twenty-thousand more were numbered among the slain. Verse 1: As our bodies need food and drink, so our *souls need something. For you my body yearns; for you my soul thirsts, In a land parched, lifeless, and without water. "Where no water is" (Psalms 63:1). May all my enemies be destroyed and Gods true worshipers continue in giving praise (Ps 63:1011)! Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. You can also change some of your preferences. He seeks God, they seek to kill him. I have always been moved and challenged by Luke's description of Christ's decisive turn to the cross in Luke 9:51. Notice the intensity of his seeking, He says, earnestly I seek you. He is not just praying every once in a while. David made it a priority to spend time alone with God. Again David pictured himself as a bird under the wing of its mother and as a dependent infant held by its parent. finally,he speaks prophetically in faith of Gods deliverance. Being faint and thirsty are mentioned in 2 Samuel 16:2 and 17:29. Its an emotional psalm, coming out of the depths of Davids life, and it would be an injustice to pick the psalm apart while missing the feeling that it conveys. We ought not to make our praises of God to depend upon our own personal and present reception of benefits; this would be mere selfishness: even publicans and sinners have a good word for those whose hands are enriching them with gifts; it is the true believer only who will bless the Lord when he takes away his gifts or hides his face. (Spurgeon). You can be in full time ministry and lose sight of seeking God Himself. Night watches: An expression which stresses the slow progress of the hours. (Kidner), ii. and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. There must have been a time when you met Him personally through Jesus Christ. 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 Jehovahs smile. (Spurgeon), iv. Lets look at this passage in three simple steps: According to the inscription, this Psalm is connected to David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. It isnt clear exactly what this refers to, but a good case can be made that this Psalm is about when David fled Jerusalem into the wilderness when his son Absalom rebelled against him. The primary sense of [the Hebrew word is] to glue together; from thence it signifies figuratively to associate, to adhere to, to be united with; and particularly to be firmly united with strong affection. (Chandler, cited in Spurgeon). Derek Kidner (Psalms 1-72 [IVP], pp. In the song, David, the shepherd-king, is the sheep who is shepherded by Yahweh. But he is full of praise to God and worships with hands upraised. There is no area of your life, be it your business, your family, your education, or whatever, where God is not an integral part. He was satisfied (63:5), but he wasnt satisfied. Click to enable/disable essential site cookies. Verse 2: David wanted to see God's power and *glory in the *Temple in Jerusalem. Therefore he also used the night watches to meditate upon God. "The forest devoured more people that day than the sword." In fact, the ancient church had the practice of beginning the singing of the Psalms at each Sunday service with Psalm 63, called the morning hymn (Commentary on the Old Testament, C. F. Keil & Franz Delitzsch, [Eerdmans], p. 212). You manage your money by considering what His Word says about it. Never was a rebellion snuffed out as suddenly and thoroughly as was Absalom's, several facets of which were outlined in the prophecies. I want to answer from Psalm 63 three questions about seeking after God: Psalm 63 allows us to peer into the heart of this man after Gods own heart. Many were left unburied, for there was plenty left for the jackals. So David is using the bareness of the wilderness to speak actually of the bareness of his own soul. . This Psalm is filled with metaphors and creative imagery that is best understood through contextual knowledge. Your priorities determine how you spend your time, with whom you spend your time, and how you make decisions. And also all those who are loyal to him will exult. The book is actually a collectio Thousands were left where they fell to become the food of beasts. Have you spoken with God this morning? This is a such a psalm of devotion to God. . In that barren land, fleeing for his life from his own son, feeling disgraced and rejected, with an uncertain future, David penned Psalm 63. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The address of God as "my God" is indicative thereof. In a dry and weary land where no water is. He had to think about how all of his loyal followers who fled with him were going to get food and water in this barren wilderness. Wisdom . But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped. Everyone has a set of priorities. "In the shadow of thy wings" (Psalms 63:7). Read verse 1. During his reign, his son, Absalom, led a rebellion against him. My lips will praise you. Psalm 63:1-11. They shall be a portion for jackals. It is used to describe Ruth clinging to her mother-in-law (Ruth 1:14). 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