An accomplished scholar of the Psalms, Mark Futato next . To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient. David chooses to seek after God. And yet in all of this, David wasnt seeking for any of those things to fill the vacuum in his life. Thus will I bless thee That is, so as I have done, and have now said. Suddenly he finds time to spend with her! 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. This Psalm is filled with metaphors and creative imagery that is best understood through contextual knowledge. Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. They will go to the depths, or Sheol, and their bodies will be left for scavengers.But he will rejoice, that is, he will come back to Jerusalem. Psalm 4 - "Faith Amid Opposition!" No one seeks for God unless God first seeks after them (John 6:44; Rom. 5My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips . 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. 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. God can do this again. Instead of anticipating destruction as the Lords enemies could, David confidently rejoiced. He has fled from the throne. Tools. Well, his desire for God is like someone who is thirsty. The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. Rather, God permeates every area of your life. King David wrote this individual lament psalm when he was in the wilderness of Judah away from the ark and the place of formal worship ( 2 Samuel 15:25 ). Exegesis Research Paper: Context of the Passage Assignment Psalm 1:1-Submitted to Dr. Debra Warren in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of. Psalm 5. The commitment carries you through the hard times when the feelings may fade. 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. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCBs) mission is to encounter the mercy of Christ and to accompany His people with joy. Even if we thought he deserved what happened to him, we could still identify with the emptiness, the shame, the wave of depression which must have enveloped Mr. Nixon. To seek after God means that there is always more, because God is an infinite person. Here is David, his kingdom in disarray, running for his life, seeking to protect his men. Psalm 63:1, ESV: A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. Absalom and Ahithophel, the leaders, led the way. We have synthesized our thinking with that of the culture around us and have become so accustomed to comfort and safety that our spiritual walks . Christianity is not just a matter of the head, but of the heart. O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. Psalm 57 Sermon. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty! The wicked are, in other words, the very leavings of mankind."[13]. If we take swearing by David as an expression of loyalty to him (as it is with swearing by Yahweh) this fits the context of a rebellion against David. If v. 11 does mean swearing by King David, this is what Ittai does in 2 Samuel 15:21. v. 11 speaks of David as a king which doesnt fit his fleeing from Saul. Read verse 2. But once youve received it, how do you go on seeking after God? Everyone has a set of priorities. For I should not be able to praise God, unless He gave me to be able to praise Him. Review your past week or month and ask yourself, Did my schedule reflect that seeking God was my number one priority? You say, Well, thats my priority, but Ive been under a lot of pressure! Pressure is what reveals your true priorities. "The psalm integrates well with the Isaiah text. 61-63). We live in a day marked by pressure in almost every area of life. Everyone who swears by Him shall glory; He said that the Lord quietly impressed upon him, Alan, youve gotten your work ahead of your worship. Ouch! Much of David's writing in this passage is . He is like someone in desperate need of water in a dry and weary land where there is no water.. Those who want (or are hungry and *thirsty) to see God do what is right will live in God's *kingdom. He knows that the steadfast love of God which he praised in verse 3, is strong with justice (cf. No matter what pressures come into your life, you will be able to handle them properly if you maintain this one priority above all else: Earnestly seek after God! b. Early in the morning, our song shall rise to thee. I have always been moved and challenged by Luke's description of Christ's decisive turn to the cross in Luke 9:51. The title of this psalm is, A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. He is merciful in a way peculiar to himself; he is the Father of mercies, 2 Co. 1:3. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. And he remembered how God had taken care of him in the past. Five Questions for Discussion follow the Bible Lesson Commentary . . It is a wise advice which bids us regard rather what is said than who says it, and there are few regions in which the counsel is more salutary than at present in the study of the Old Testament, and especially the Psalms. "But those that seek my soul to destroy it. It is no embarrassment to us that many scholars reject it. That something is God! We should seek Him every day by spending time praying and reading the Bible. Psalms 28:2; Lamentations 2:19) or respect (cf. It was the kind of thing every pastor prays and longs for. It is a clear and judicious explanation of the text, and cannot be dispensed with. Let me ask you this morning What trials are you going through today? ! . 11But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.. New American Standard Version What did he see? As the king of Israel, he knew the pressures of leadership. 2 O God, you are my God. Marriage is a relationship where intense feelings of passion and a lifelong commitment are intertwined. If you love God, youll make time to spend with Him because you delight to do so. It not only satisfies the believer but overflows in praise, making him or her a blessing to others. I invite you to turn there in your Bibles. x][4~_ He considered the Lords loyal love even better than life itself. As we seek God in our trial, let us be renewed in our faith. Psalm 63:1-8. None of these details are missing from the prophecy. Therefore, David says, My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me (63:8). Two of the most well-known of these authors are Moses and . i. Psa 63:7. 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. You manage your money by considering what His Word says about it. 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. He compared this to the feeling of a stomach filled with the richest food. Others try to fill their lives with possessions or with a successful and satisfying career. These conditions point unerringly to King David during his flight through the wilderness of Judea from the enmity of Absalom. Prioritiesgodly prioritiesare crucial! Psalm 63 was written by David while he was alone in the wilderness of Judah. 10But those who seek my life will come to ruin; they shall go down to the depths of the netherworld! 7you have been my help. God has helped David out of many difficulties, including life threatening situations.And to think back about this builds up his faith. stream The bulk of this psalm speaks to this. To seek Him means to pursue Him alone to fill that God-shaped vacuum in your life. Psalms 63:1-2. Two things are necessary for such triumph as this. SUPERSCRIPTION: A PSALM OF DAVID; WHEN HE WAS IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDAH. I will lift up my hands, calling on your name. And also all those who are loyal to him will exult. John Chrysostom (347-407) wrote that it was decreed and ordained by the primitive [church] fathers, that no day should pass without the public singing of this Psalm. He also observed that the spirit and soul of the whole Book of Psalms is contracted into this Psalm (cited by J. J. Stewart Perowne, The Book of Psalms, [Zondervan], p. 486). And the mouths of liars would then mean those who had sworn by David before, but now have rebelled against him, breaking their word.). On Sunday, they usually give God an hour, but He isnt the center of their lives; people are. Our body and soul are thirsty for the Lord. 124-26.] Socrates replied, When you desire the truth as much as you seek air, you can be my disciple.. 224-226) nicely outlines it as God my desire (1-4); God my delight (5-8); and, God my defense (9-11). 2 Thus I have gazed on you in the sanctuary, seeing your power and your glory. Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. There were still those who wanted to kill him. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. First, he is strengthened as heremembers who God is. During that time David spent a short while in the northeastern portion of the wilderness of Judah before he crossed over the Jordan River. 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). Its contents are read and sung by millions every day. That leads to the second thing: David was under intense pressure as he fled from Absalom. 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. . I have looked upon you . The absence of prayer shows that we are spiritually dead. To see and to feel that power of God working in us once more. Thus, more than twenty-thousand more were numbered among the slain. He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M., 1976 in Bible exposition) and Califo More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. In David we have a notable example of a sensitive, tender, self analysing soul, living in sustained communion with God, while deeply sensible of the claims of the civil and religious polity of Israel, and, moreover, while externally devoted to a large round of exacting public duties. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 63:3-6 Even in affliction we need not want matter for praise. Gods right hand refers to Gods power (Exodus 15:6, 12), And then finally,he speaks prophetically in faith of Gods deliverance. How do we do that? Please see our Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. 9But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; 10they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. And the mouths of liars will be stopped. The bodies of the dead provided food for the wild beasts. 130:4, 7. a. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. "Early will I seek thee" (Psalms 63:1). These people are liars v. 11. The word steadfast love (hesed) refers to Gods faithfulness or covenant love. I don't mean just saying prayers that are not spawned from the heart, of course. b. . The connection expressed by my soul follows close is truly close. Get me out of here! David did write a song like that (Psalm 3). Verse six presents a key to understanding Psalm 1: "For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.". "[9] It would also explain the confidence and prophetic certainty of the entire psalm, which among other things, accurately announced the end of Absalom's rebellion as being accomplished by the wholesale death (literally) of the whole rebellious army, leaders and all (Psalms 63:9-10). Conditions point unerringly to king David during his flight through the hard times when the feelings may fade Gods or... Twenty-Thousand more were numbered among the slain `` [ 13 ] hour, but of the most well-known of authors... Conditions point unerringly to king David during his flight through the wilderness of Judah overflows in praise, making or. God which he praised in verse 3, is strong with justice ( cf most. What his Word says about it the Net Pastors Journal, Eng Concise Commentary 63:3-6 even in affliction need... 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