Friday, March 20, 2020
From the Book of Psalms
The 63rd Psalm
I urge you to open your Bible and read the scriptures for yourself. Pray for guidance in His word and let the Holy Spirit lead you. If you would like to share, add your thoughts on this passage of scripture in the comments.
Verse 1:
“O God, thou art my God.” First and foremost, David proclaimed that he served God. Not only did David proclaim he served God, he proclaimed that he served only God. David loved God. He went on to say early will I seek thee. There are two ways we can view that statement and both would be correct. At this time, David sought God early in the morning and David sought God early in decisions.
As Christians we should seek God early. It is refreshing to seek God first thing in the morning. To put God first sets up for a better day. We are supposed to give him our first fruits, the first of our earnings. When we give God what is His first, I think we are blessed more. At the same time, when we seek God early in decisions we must make, I think we are blessed more. Instead of trying to work out everything for ourselves, seeking God first takes away much of the stress in decision making.
David expressed his desire for God. He said my soul thirsts for you and my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land. He compared his desire for a relationship with God to being in a dry place without any water to sustain himself. I think of the hot days of our Louisiana summers. After just a short time outside, I need water. I crave it and cannot get enough. Even when I have drunk more than enough to fill my stomach, I want more. Imagine the great longing David had for God from that statement. We too should desire to be near God. We too should have a thirst and a longing to be in the presence of God. These are characteristics of a Christian who is in right fellowship with the Lord. You can be saved and not exhibit these things. It doesn’t mean you are going to hell. It means you are backslidden, not in fellowship with God. But as a true Christian we should desire these attributes. We should long to be in His presence all day and all night.
Verse 2:
Power and Glory. David said he has seen God’s power and glory. God had done many amazing things in David’s life. He gave a teenage boy victory over a giant. God alone had given David victory over enemy armies. He had delivered David out of Saul’s hand many times. David knew that everything he had and everything he had survived was because of the power of the Lord. A lot of us see God in the sanctuary once a week; maybe two or three times a week. We should desire to see God’s power and glory day in and day out. If we look at all of the things we have been through, we will be able to see God’s hand. A lot of people don’t realize that it was God who delivered them out of problems. If we really listen to what people are saying in order to understand instead of to respond, we can hear them say, “I survived by my own strength.” The truth is, we survive by God’s strength. He is our fortress and our refuge. Seek God where you stand. Don’t wait to seek Him only at the church house. A relationship with God is an everyday necessity.
Verses 3 – 5:
David acknowledges the loving-kindness of God and says that because God is so good, He is better than life itself. He will praise the Lord because there is nothing in this life as better than God. We all get distracted by life.
David says, I bless your name while I live and will lift my hands up in your praise.
This reminds me of Joshua 24:15. Joshua said, “…as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” This is a frequent reminder for me because I have it over my fireplace. David does expound more than Joshua. He says, I will praise thee while I live. He says he will serve the Lord until he dies. Not to say that Joshua didn’t mean he would praise the Lord until his death. He certainly did praise the Lord until his death. David however put it into words in this psalm. Again, David loved the Lord with so much depth. If all Christians loved the Lord with the immense passion of David, the world could not deny our witness.
David described the satisfaction of having a relationship with God in verse 5. Culturally speaking at the time David spoke these words, marrow and fatness were the best. It’s the best and the abundance. It was an analogy that would make sense to all people of that day. It was like having the homemade ice cream after Sunday dinner. It was the best feeling. David speaks of praise and joyful lips. Praising God brings joy. I don’t think there is any of us who can say we praise God joyfully as often as we could. Maybe that is something we can all purpose in our hearts to do.
Verse 6:
Remember thee…
David loved to pray in the night when all was quiet without distraction. It was a time when he could be totally alone with God. We too need time alone with God. We don’t need life to interrupt us. We don’t need the interruption of someone running through or knocking on the door or a telephone ringing. We need that time of being in total silence with God, one on one able to hear that sweet soft voice of God instructing us. These are the things David wanted when he prayed at night.
Verse 7:
In the shadow of thy wing – David had a reason to rejoice. If you look at someone’s shadow, their shadow is relatively close to them. If you stand in someone’s shadow, you might be breaking the current social distancing rule, but you are close enough that you can physically touch them. Being that close to God that you could almost physically touch Him would be so comforting and bring so much joy that it would be un-explainable. Think about being near someone you love. The joy of being able to just reach out for a hug when you are down. How much joy does that bring you?
Verse 8:
David says, “My soul followeth hard…” This means close behind. David was saying that he was following as close to God as he could get. The truth about our relationship with God is we are as close as we want to be. If we want to be closer, we can be. God does not distance himself from us. We distance ourselves from Him. Thy right hand upholdeth me shows a dependency on God. David had a great dependency on God. We should all have a dependency on God. If we don’t depend on God and try to depend on ourselves, we will fail. David knew this. Depending on God is by far much stronger than what we can do as man.
Verses 9-11:
David takes just a short moment to mention those who sought to destroy him. God protects his people. Just as in Nahum when God destroyed Nineveh and the Assyrians, God will protect his people. David says those that seek to destroy him will go into the deeper parts of the earth. God will take care of those who seek to harm us. They will fall by the sword. They will be a portion for foxes. This means prey. Those who seek harm will be as prey to the foxes. The word foxes is translated jackals. Jackals are wild dogs in Africa. They will tear up anything they get hold of. Those who seek to harm God’s people will be dealt with. In verse 11, God will take care of the situation. David says he will rejoice in the Lord and all those who trust in God will rejoice. David reiterated that there is joy in knowing and having a relationship with God.
After thought:
David was in the wilderness of Judah at this time. It is unique that most of the Psalms that David wrote while in the wilderness were Psalms of need where he was asking for the Lord’s protection and help. This Psalm is a Psalm of thanksgiving and gratitude – praise to the Lord who keeps His people in times of trouble and good.
Also:
We live in a dry and thirsty land. There are souls walking around feeling dry. They are seeking something, but don’t know what they need. They are thirsty for the comfort, the peace that only the Lord can supply. Jesus said in the New Testament, “I am the living water.” So many people want the living water, but don’t know or realize that is what they really seek. We as Christians are to show them the living water. We are to live our lives in such a way that lost souls see that we are not thirsty and want to be filled the same way.
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