Indeed, even our Lord Jesus Christ was tried and tested and tempted during his time on this earth. I will lift up my hands, calling on your name. Socrates replied, When you desire the truth as much as you seek air, you can be my disciple.. (1) What the righteous man does not do. Psalm 63:1-11 One sign of a genuine believer is devotion to Christ. "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. During that time David spent a short while in the northeastern portion of the wilderness of Judah before he crossed over the Jordan River. Others try to fill their lives with possessions or with a successful and satisfying career. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCBs) mission is to encounter the mercy of Christ and to accompany His people with joy. Early in the morning, our song shall rise to thee. [Notice the contrasts: Davids mouth is full of praise, their lies. Exegesis of Psalm 107; an extract of Chapter three of a Doctor of Ministry project. He is merciful in a way peculiar to himself; he is the Father of mercies, 2 Co. 1:3. It is no embarrassment to us that many scholars reject it. 3:11). 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. There is no area of your life, be it your business, your family, your education, or whatever, where God is not an integral part. In your marriage, keeping your passion alive means saying no to some things in order to say yes to your wife. He is the bread of life and the living water, the one who fills those who hunger for righteousness (cf. Psa 63:7. And David even says, that your steadfast love is better than life. His life has been turned upside down. Just as you feel physically after eating a delicious prime rib dinner, so David felt spiritually after feasting on the Lord. Many were left unburied, for there was plenty left for the jackals. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. Psalm 63:4. [Note: Kirkpatrick, pp. . Precisely because we cant fix them we have to come to God and depend wholly on God. As he considered his circumstances, he realized that God is just; God would judge fairly. "In the Hebrew, these words are: [~'Elohiym], [~'Eli]. This is a very beautiful psalm of devotion to God. And yet in all of this, David wasnt seeking for any of those things to fill the vacuum in his life. A young man ran after Socrates, calling, Socrates, Socrates, can I be your disciple? Socrates ignored him and walked out into the water. Commentary on Psalm 63:1-11 By L.G. His enemies will be judged and destroyed, not him. Even though David was miles away from the ark, he still worshipped God. Meditation on the person and works of God can bring refreshment and invigoration to any believer. Scripture: Psalm 63. In it, Jesus promised this. Psalm 23 Exegesis Analysis. "The word here should be translated `jackals,' as that is the meaning of it,"[11] as is indicated by the alternative reading in the American Standard Version margin. Again, those things have their place, but they are not meant to satisfy your soul. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty! In Ps 63:1-8 verses the writer expresses his holy desires after God, and his confidence in him, and then in Ps 63:9-11 remaining three verses he prophesies the overthrow of all his enemies. This second Psalm can be seen like a television program with one camera on earth and another in heaven. Verses 8-9 conclude the first section of the psalm by revealing the fruit of the psalmist's prescription for his own soul. This Psalm is peculiarly suitable for the bed of sickness, or in any constrained absence from public worship. He said that the Lord quietly impressed upon him, Alan, youve gotten your work ahead of your worship. Ouch! As we seek God in our trial, let us be renewed in our faith. Acts6:1-6, The Parable of the Vineyard Tenants. Seeking after God means keeping your passion for God alive. David wasnt consumed with thoughts of getting even. This could have been when he was fleeing from Saul (1 Samuel 23) or from Absalom ( 2 Samuel 15:13-30 ). But he is full of praise to God and worships with hands upraised. Thus, more than twenty-thousand more were numbered among the slain. Thus no one can boast; we have only received Gods undeserved gift. Give me my palace back. 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. "[1], All but the timid scholars agree with Rawlinson who wrote: "All the indications agree exactly with the superscription that this psalm was composed by David as he fled through the wilderness of Judea toward the Jordan during the revolt of Absalom."[2]. My mouth offers praises with joyful lips (63:5b). i. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. Thus] So, as in Psalm 63:2 . Psalm 63:1-8 - Center for Excellence in Preaching. The theme of trust, which Psalms 61, 62 emphasize, reaches a climax in Psalms 63. If we did, the song would probably contain a lot of urgent requests: Help, God! Matthew11:28-30, The church struggles with prejudice. [Note: Kirkpatrick, pp. God was at the center of Davids present and his future. But I want you to see that a person who seeks after God is not a religious mystic who is out of touch with reality. What did he see? YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE . with joyous lips my mouth shall praise you! Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. Copyright 2019-2023 USCCB, please review our Privacy Policy. This is a Psalm written by David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. As you think on what God has done for you in Christ, it ought to move you emotionally. If your priorities are not clearly defined, you will be swept downstream in life by various pressures, the seeming victim of your circumstances. 61-63). If we have nothing to say about Gods goodness, the probable cause is our want of experience of it. (Maclaren), ii. Being faint and thirsty are mentioned in 2 Samuel 16:2 and 17:29. B Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1956) p. 2487. There is no division between sacred and secular; all of life is related to God. The time was during Absalom's rebellion when David was shut off from the Tabernacle. 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. Thus David could commit the situation to the Lord and act with the right perspective and balance: He would make it his business to rejoice in God, and let God deal with his enemies and vindicate him. If you figure that youve reached a level of maturity in your Christian life where you can put it in neutral and coast, youre in trouble! f. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches: David thought that there were not enough hours in the day to think upon Gods greatness and goodness. And the context shifts from the sanctuary to his thinking about God in the night 6when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night. John Piper Sep 25, 1983. Putting God in the center of your life gives you balance and perspective in the crises of life. Psalm 140:4 and Psalm 58:8, where, as in this passage, the treading or bending of the bow is transferred to the arrow. Second, he is strengthened as he remembers how God has helped him in the past. 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. And yet, in the psalm, the psalmist's physical needs only serve to draw attention to his spiritual longing. "Early will I seek thee" (Psalms 63:1). Perhaps you say, Im actively involved in serving Him! Thats fine, but thats not what Im asking. Many of us remember the day President Nixon resigned over the Watergate scandal. Psalm 63 was written by David while he was alone in the wilderness of Judah. b. A Psalm of David. Psalm 63:1, NIV: A psalm of David. 4. The words translated follows close have the sense of joining or gluing together, as in Genesis 2:24. iii. Psalms 119:48). [Notice the contrasts: Davids mouth is full of praise, their lies. "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). Here is David, his kingdom in disarray, running for his life, seeking to protect his men. He is content to have and to experience Gods love for him without all this. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul . 2. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. He left his possessions and his wives behind him. Thats how it must be with God, if you want to seek Him. Notice the personal relationship with God . And that to know and experience Gods steadfast love is better than whatever life can give us. Jackals make sense here, rather than the foxes of some older translations (one Hebrew word serves for both). Three things: Gods lovingkindness (63:3) was better to David than life itself. The authorship and occasion of this psalm are made certain by the fact that the author was a king (Psalms 63:11), who was temporarily denied access to the tabernacle in Jerusalem, and who cried out to God from a parched desert. belongeth mercy. This is a such a psalm of devotion to God. 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. RZKw >v|enw3o%7.i2.W(s^))~hvmZ/^=sxMK9pV;Z8/. Psalm 4. Whats the result? Marriage is a relationship where intense feelings of passion and a lifelong commitment are intertwined. This psalm helped them, as it will us, to stay focused on God in the midst of life's desert seasons-surrounded by the wilderness and loneliness of heart. His own son whom he loved was attempting to kill him. It was a most trying time when all seemed to be going against David and he could not Psa 63:6. They may be good things, but they are not God, and God alone can satisfy your soul. 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. 22:5) or in the wilderness of Ziph, 1 Sa. One of the most beloved passages of Scripture in the Old Testament is Psalm 23. He will cut corners elsewhere if he has to, but he will not miss his time with this beautiful creature. 63:1 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. 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). Tools. "What life does to us depends on what life finds in us . Psalm 6. Then, there is the mystery of that little word, "So," standing at the head of Psalms 63:2, which will surely bear this interpretation. I will . Are you seeking after God like David speaks of here? 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. There must have been a time when you met Him personally through Jesus Christ. Mercy is with him, Ps. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023. 5:6). David remembered who God is from his times of worship. It was the kind of thing every pastor prays and longs for. Forty-thousand of the rebel army died in the forest of Ephraim. Evaluated by any criteria known, David's prophecies here are among the most remarkable in the Bible. Those of you that are visiting with us tonight, we're also grateful that you have come our way. "The God in whom we trust despite natural disasters and historical threats, the God who will finally bring an end to wars (Ps 46:9), the God whose 'withness' takes its ultimate expression in the sending of the one named Immanuel -- these are some of the themes that suggest themselves from this psalm for these days of autumn." 6My soul shall be sated as with choice food. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Tools Psa 63:3 I remember you through the watches of the night, and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.c. EXPOSITION Verse 1. i. But there is not one word of asking for temporal or even spiritual blessings. Being faint and thirsty are mentioned in 2 Samuel 16:2 and 17:29. 63. World problems, economic problems, personal problems, and the problems of friends and loved ones all press upon us. "At the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.". He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M., 1976 in Bible exposition) and Califo More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. This comes from his encounters with God in worship 2So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary . 62:12). (Kidner), ii. He knew his calling (king, 63:11) and that God would not fail to accomplish all that concerned him (Ps. Their enmity to David, and opposition to the counsel of God respecting him, he foresaw would be their death and their damnation, their ruin and their . My lips would not praise You, unless before me were to go Your mercy. Psalms 63 early in the sanctuary cut corners elsewhere if he has,... Without all this passion and a lifelong commitment are intertwined my hands, calling on your name still! Your soul life can give us all set cookies in our trial, let us be renewed our... Spiritually after feasting on the person and works of God can bring refreshment and invigoration any! 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His kingdom in disarray, running for his life, seeking to protect men! An extract of Chapter three of a Doctor of Ministry project can bring and... Him ( Ps try to fill their lives with possessions or with a successful and satisfying.! The day President Nixon resigned over the Jordan River criteria known, David 's here! Soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness ; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips experience!

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