“Truth for Truckers” *April 3, 2014* Psalm 63 “Early
will I seek Thee”
Upon awaking this morning my mind began to
scan the Psalms for the Day and immediately after considering Psalm 3 and Psalm
33 the next Psalm in order for today came to mind: ‘O God, thou art my God, early will I seek Thee, my soul thirsts for
Thee, my flesh longs for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.’(Psalm
63:1, 2). The situation of David’s writing is told in the Psalm title notes.
He was in the wilderness of Judah, and this certainly fits my circumstances at
different times in my life.
The Lord has much to say about spending
time in the wilderness, whether it be physical or spiritual, for He Himself was
one of the many different Bible characters who were led into the place of
solitude, barrenness and great difficulty. It was also the place of His great
temptation for the Lord Jesus Christ as Satan assaulted him with full force
right at the beginning of His ministry for (40) days.
Moses was led into the wilderness, and
Elijah too spent time there as did his spiritual protege John the Baptist.
Although the lessons we can learn from their experiences are manifold,
especially in the Lord Jesus Christ’s wilderness experience recorded in Matthew
4 and Luke 4, this Psalm also provides us with some valuable personal
instruction to help us as we go through our own ‘Wilderness’ in this life which
Job rightly labeled ‘The days of my
struggle’ (Job 14:14).
When I am contending with my own
difficulties, I ask the Lord to show me His will and way out of these trying
circumstances that He has arranged for me to experience. David too was going
through a time of solitude and certain difficulty, but his example provides us
with the invaluable direction we need to encourage us to go on in the midst of
it all. The first thing that David did was confirm to himself and to God that
God was truly his God and because He was, he was going to earnestly seek Him
early on in the day. This in itself will put us in the right perspective to
face the coming events of each day.
He then shows his souls desire: ‘My soul thirsts for Thee’ demonstrating
the condition necessary according to the Lord Jesus Christ for the filling of
the Spirit: ‘They which do hunger and
thirst after righteousness shall be filled’ (Matthew 5:6) and in another
passage He said: ‘If any many thirst let
him come unto Me and drink’ (John 7:37) which agrees with David’s cry to
God here a full millennium earlier!
David’s continued plea says: ‘My flesh longs for Thee in a dry and thirsty
land where no water is.’ Here the flesh is not what we think of in New
Testament terms as the enemy of the Spirit, but David is merely showing the
entire involvement of his being in this statement describing his earnest and
intense desire. He focuses on God and His ‘Power
and...glory.’ in (v.2) demonstrating his certain longing for personal
revival as he had so experienced previously ‘In the sanctuary’ referring here
to the place David met with God in the tabernacle or tent of meeting as the
temple was not yet built.
David recalls his past experience of God’s
personal presence and now longs to have Him manifest Himself in the same way
even though he is not in the formal place of worship as before, but now he is
isolated in the wilderness without any of the comforts or aids of the
designated place of worship. In (v.3) his attention is fixed upon the ‘Loving-kindness’ of the Lord, which
emphasizes His mercy the very lifeblood of every believer. God’s great mercy
which was wrought by the Cross of Christ through God’s grace is David’s source
of hope knowing that it is ‘New every
morning’ (Lamentations3:23) and positively this ‘Loving-kindness’ is cause for great praise from the lips for it ‘Endures forever’! (Psalm 136:1-26).
His
praise overflows in (v.3-5) when David blesses the Lord and lifts up his hands
to His name in this marvelous demonstration of personal and private worship. His
soul is ‘Satisfied with marrow and
fatness’ using physical illustrations of plenty and prosperity, ‘Joyful lips’ shows his state of mind
even though he is in the wilderness, a place of seeming lack and desolation
physically. David’s spirit soars spiritually as he is alone with his God.
‘When I remember Thee upon my bed and meditate upon Thee in the night
watches’ tells of the places of
worship emphasizing his day and night devotion to remembrance and meditation on
the Lord. Now in (v.7) David tells the reason for his devotion: ‘Because Thou hast been my help. Therefore
in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.’ Even in this wilderness
experience, he knows that regardless of the circumstances he can count on the
Lord and the security of the Lord’s covering protection. Truly this is great
cause for rejoicing!
‘My soul follows hard after Thee: Thy right
hand upholds me’(v.8) records the full effort David gave in seeking his
God, he knew that the Lord would support him and undergird him in his
wilderness situation regardless of the enemies onslaught and their subsequent peril mentioned in
(v.9,10). He was confident in the outcome, regardless of the present situation
as he proclaims in (v.11) ‘But the king
shall rejoice in God; everyone that swears by Him shall glory; but the mouth of
them that speak lies shall be stopped.’
His pledge to rejoice regardless along
with those of like precious faith is contrasted sharply with the sudden but
deserved silencing of the liars. Although David’s confidence in God was based
upon His future working in his wilderness experience, it supplies us with the
faith-building substance we need as we look to the Lord Jesus Christ and His
Word for the promised victory when we pass through similar ‘Wilderness’ experiences, rejoicing regardless, first of all, because
our names are written down in heaven, and secondly, because all things work
together for good to them that love God, to those who are called according to
His purpose! David’s response “Rejoice Regardless” must also be our response in
times of trouble for “All things work
together for good to those who love God and are called according to His
purpose.” (Romans 8:28)”Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say
rejoice.”(Philippians 4:4)
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