to see your power and glory. © Copyright - Enduring Word       |      . Sep 25, 1983. He speaks of himself in the third person, either out of modesty or out of prudence.” (Poole). 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding w your power and glory. O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. Have you spoken with God this morning? How happy will be that last morning, when the believer, awaking up after the Divine likeness, shall be satisfied with all the fulness of God, and praise him with joyful lips, where there is no night, and where sorrow and sighing flee away! Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. The psalm opens with longing. This psalm displays David's love for God in a dry, thirsty, and hard place. Psalm 63:1-8 The Morning Hymn Psalm 63 holds a high place in the history of Christianity. (1,2) His satisfaction in God. Because of Ps. 4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. “He knows that the ‘steadfast love’ of God which he praised in verse 3, is strong with justice (cf. Praising lips must be joyful lips. Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. Yet, Psalm 63 has no cry for help but gives thanks and praise for God’s faithfulness in many times when God had been my help for David. You can also change some of your preferences. “If we have nothing to say about God’s goodness, the probable cause is our want of experience of it.” (Maclaren), ii. If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here: We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. In a place where the soul is either destroyed or developed, David's soul deepened with the heat of the circumstance. Can it be right for us to treat the Lord with mute indifference?” (Spurgeon), iii. Psalm 63 allows us to peer into the heart of this man after God’s own The connection expressed by my soul follows close is truly close. Having committed ourselves to God, we must be easy and pleased, and quiet from the fear of evil. Psalms THIRST AND SATISFACTION Psalm 63:1, Psalm 63:5, Psalm 63:8. i. a. Messiah the Prince shall rejoice in God; he is already entered into the joy set before him, and his glory will be completed at his second coming. 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). Blessed Lord, let our desire towards thee increase every hour; let our love be always upon thee; let all our enjoyment be in thee, and all our satisfaction from thee. Because You have been my help: Many of David’s psalms are simple cries for help. A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 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. Choose a verse from 'Psalms 63' to begin your 'Verse-by-Verse' study of God's Word using the more than 100 commentaries available on StudyLight.org I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. David's desire toward God. Psalm 63 - A psalm of David. First, there must be the consciousness of personal relationship, ‘O God, Thou art my God’; and, second, there must be earnest seeking after God: ‘Early will I seek Thee.’ Relationship must be established. 3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. This psalm helped them, as it אמִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד בִּ֜הְיוֹת֗וֹ בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר יְהוּדָֽה: in the desert of … Commentary on Psalm 63:7-11 (Read Psalm 63:7-11) True Christians can, in some measure, and at some times, make use of the strong language of David, but too commonly our souls cleave to the dust. But those who seek my life, to destroy it, a. 3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 63:11, this reflects the thoughts of the King, so … 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. O God, thou art my God; — Read that sentence how you will, it is unspeakably precious. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. He is sure that the God who upholds him will certainly do this. 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. When faith and hope are most in exercise, the world appears a weary desert, and the believer longs for the joys of heaven, of which he has some foretastes in the ordinances of God upon earth. A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. i. It is a clear and judicious explanation of the text, and cannot be dispensed with. “The king; I, who am already anointed king, and who shall be actually king, when these mine enemies are fallen by the sword. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. Everyone who swears by Him shall glory; but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped: The sense of swears by Him is to trust in God and place one’s confident love in Him; men normally take oaths upon what they hold dear. Shall go into the lower parts of the earth. Psalm 89:13 KJV. “Jackals make sense here, rather than the ‘foxes’ of some older translations (one Hebrew word serves for both). Psalm 63 – Love Better than Life The title of this psalm is, A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. e. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness: David spoke of a satisfaction that too few people know, even among believers. David thought that he would be ungrateful and rude to not praise and thank the God who loved him so greatly. 63:9-11). i. Everyone who swears by Him shall glory; 1 A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. “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). By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. Be thou all in all to us while we remain in the present wilderness state, and bring us home to the everlasting enjoyment of thee for ever. It is he that strengthens us and comforts us. Reginald Heber's immortal hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy," memorializes these words in the first stanza. b. According to its title, Psalm 63 was written from the Wilderness of Judah and David was in the wilderness hiding from a conspiracy to kill him. Other times it has the idea of presence, as in the wings of the cherubim that surround the throne of God. Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. The contrast to trusting God is to speak lies; we resort to lies when we don’t trust God. A Psalm of David, it is traditionally attributed to being written in the wilderness of Judea, when David and those loyal to him were caused to flee Jerusalem during the rebellion against him … Psalm 63:1-11 The Bible Teaching Commentary. John Piper Sep 25, 1983 126 Shares God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him Learn more about Desiring God Desiring God. My soul follows close behind You; C. Like so many Psalms there is an aspect of tension with enemies (cf. But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped. Paul J. Bucknell. By longing, I do not mean what this consumer-driven culture tells us that we want. Click on the different category headings to find out more. Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking. 63 O God, you are my God; t earnestly I seek you; u my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in v a dry and weary land where there is no water. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. In God’s time and in God’s way, David’s enemies did fall by the sword, which has the sense of being killed in battle. David’s soul was close to God, following Him as one followed a Master or Teacher. b 3 I look to you in the sanctuary. “He knew a pearl of far greater price, namely, the ‘loving-kindness’ of Jehovah, on which is suspended not only the life which now is, but that which is to come.” (Horne), v. Better than life: “Many men have been weary of their lives, as is evident in Scripture and history; but no man was ever yet found that was weary of the love and favour of God.” (Brooks, cited in Spurgeon). Therefore he also used the night watches to meditate upon God. God responded with care and strength for David, upholding him with His mighty right hand (the hand of skill and strength). They shall fall by the sword: David trusted God to deal with his enemies, especially with King Saul. But those who seek my life, to destroy it: David’s deep communion with God did not take away his problems. Let there be no needless space between the Master and thee.” (Meyer). (7-11). Psalm 63. “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.” (Spurgeon). "Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name." Like so many Psalms there is an aspect of tension with enemies (cf. 63 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Ps. Psalm 63:8b. Here the idea of presence seems to best fit the context. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. (3-6) His dependence upon God, and assurance of safety. © 2020 Christianity.com. This is hardly welcoming them into a beneficent place, to share with them the peace of your holy realm. i. People despair without the sense of life; David despaired without the sense of God’s great love. When he was in the Desert of Judah. Maybe it was a partner far away by necessity or a child across the country in school or a long-deceased … Continue reading "Commentary on Psalm 63:1-8" These short commentaries are based on Level A EasyEnglish (about 1200 word vocabulary) by Gordon Churchyard. Yet that is not what David sang of here. The mercies of God, when called to mind in the night watches, support the soul, making darkness cheerful. 2. faithless Israelites D. Verse 11a does not automatically make this a royal Psalm; see note at 63:9-11 for options. An aspect of tension with enemies ( cf early Church sang this their... 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