Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 63:1-2 and following. Indeed, what can David look for, from the point of day, in the desert of Judah, an arid place, desolate, image of the world? Nothing but God but his personal God. Do we have such an early appointment with our Lord, to bring him our weakness, our fears – the believer is not someone insensitive – but also to listen to his instructions, to ask him for help and directions? A requirement of the soul that only He can satisfy with His own presence: ” My soul thirsts for you ” (v. 2). God always responds to this need (Jer. 31:23-25). V. 6 confirms: “My soul is satiated… ». Has God changed the wilderness into a fertile place? It is often in this sense that we pray. We ask for such an improvement in our circumstances, falsely convinced that our spiritual condition depends on it. No, here the desert remained the desert, but what has changed is the way to cross it. The soul has rejuvenated inside the sanctuary. She is now able to sing with joy (vs. 4, 6, 8). For God always wants to be sufficient and if the desert is necessary for this demonstration, so are my hymns, because they testify that it is indeed He who makes me happy.
The same little-known king still speaks in this psalm. In the previous one, he had found in God the foundation of his trust and strength through circumstances. But here he finds in Him the abundant source of refreshment and joy for his soul. The whole religious system in Israel was, as established by Jehovah, a sanctuary (Ex. 15:17; Ps. 114:2). For a sanctuary is a place where God makes Himself known, and this was the land of Israel. The Lord was there. But Israel had rebelled, and Jesus was unknown. Thus, for the just, the country had become “an arid and altered land”. But faith is active and alive in this psalm. Since he cannot see God’s strength and glory in the holy place, Jesus wants to remember God himself. He has the feeling of his goodness, even if he is deprived of the contemplation of the sanctuary. Meditating on Him fills him with praise, and the awareness of remaining in the shadow of his wings fills him with joy, although he is for the moment rejected, in an arid and altered land.
For the occupied soul of God finds blessing in this meditation: If the faithful for the moment want no joy for his soul other than that which he finds in remembering his God, he is sure to soon taste another joy: a royal joy, the joy in his reign, as he is sure to see the confusion of all his enemies when they are the portion of the beasts of the earth (Rev 19; Ez. 39). Indeed, no matter how blessed spiritual refreshments may be, they are not an end in themselves. It is glory that must be the object of hope. Christ has before him the throne, and he cannot be satisfied with anything other than the joy of a king. Although seated at the right hand of God, he is, even now, in the position of someone waiting (Heb. 10:13).
This psalm, by all appearances, was also the language of David when, far from the house of God, he found encouragement in the spiritual presence of God. And these are secrets that our souls should know. Were they not Peter’s share when he slept laden with chains, Paul and Silas when they sang the praises of God in the prison? There was no sanctuary around them, but the Holy Spirit made divine light, freedom, and joy reign in their souls. They were citizens of a city that did not need sunlight. The pious Jew, in the last days, will also share the feelings that David expresses here.
Verse 11 mentions “foxes” (Lam. 5:18; Luke 13:32–34). The fox acts in the opposite of the “hen”: the latter gathers under its wings – him, disperses and ravages. There is a difference between this Psalm and Ps. 84: in the latter we find the desire to return again to the sanctuary to visit it; in Ps. 63 it is the thirst for God himself; there the tabernacles of Jehovah, of a covenant God, are lovable; here, God himself is a satiation of joy when there are no tabernacles to visit. This is of deep moral interest. For for Christand for the new man, the world is a desert with nothing to refresh the soul; but God’s gratuitousness being better than life, we can praise him during our lives and our souls can be satiated like marrow and fat. The saint is not in the sanctuary, but he has seen God there and his desire is towards God himself. Christ could say this literally. And we have seen the Father in Him.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Your faithfulness is better than life:
- Spiritual desire, general references
Ps 38:10 Lord! all my desires are before you, and my sighs are not hidden from you. Isa 26:9 My soul desires you during the night, and my spirit seeks you within me; For when your judgments are exercised on earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Lk 6:21 Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satiated! Happy you who cry now, for you will be in joy! 1 Pet 2:2 desire, like newborn children, spiritual and pure milk, that through it you may grow for salvation,
- The chosen Lord (Yahweh), or Jehovah, God
Gen 28:21, and if I return in peace to my father’s house, then Jehovah will be my God; Ps 16:2 I say to the Lord: You are my Lord, You are my sovereign good! Ps 73:25 What else do I have in heaven than you! And on earth I take pleasure only in you. Ps 148.8 Fire and hail, snow and fog, Impetuous winds, who carry out his orders,
- Raise your hands to pray and praise
Ps 28:2 Listen to the voice of my supplications, when I cry out to you, when I raise my hands to your sanctuary. Ps 63:5 So I will bless you all my life, I will raise my hands in your name. Ps 143:2 Do not enter into judgment with your servant! For no living person is right in front of you. 1 Tim 2:8 So I want men to pray in every place, raising pure hands, without anger or evil thoughts.
- Fall of the wicked, prophesied
Jer 6:15 They will be confused, for they commit abominations; They do not blush, they do not know shame; That is why they will fall with those who fall, They will be overthrown when I chastise them, says the Lord. Jer 8:4 Tell them: Thus saith the Lord: Do we fall without getting up? Or do we turn away without coming back? Os 4:14 I will not punish your daughters for being prostitutes, nor your daughters-in-law because they are adulterous, For they themselves go away with prostitutes, and sacrifice with debauched women. The foolish people are running to their doom. Am 8:14 They swear by the sin of Samaria, and they say, Long live your God, Dan! Long live the way of Beersheba! But they will fall, and will not get up again.
From all the above, we note that ifPs. 61 was the cry of anguish, and the encouragement to surrender to him, Ps. 63 presents us with the desire of the faithful, always driven out and removed from the sanctuary – (for our part, we can speak thus of heaven, because we have seen there, by faith, strength and glory, – but having as a portion, by faith in gratuitousness itself, songs of praise, even in the desert, with marrow and fat to satiate oneself. It is an admirable Psalm from this point of view, because it shows us how the knowledge of God engenders praise in the soul, for all times. Two things are put forward: first, because God’s goodness is better than life, the lips of the faithful will praise him, although life in the wilderness is a life of pain; second, because God has been his help, he will sing with joy in the shadow of his wings. V. 8 shows us the practical result: the soul of the faithful has become closely attached to God and his right hand has supported it. She desires to see his strength and glory (as she had contemplated in the holy place); she is satiated as with marrow and fat, and thus rejoices, even in the vigils of the night, when far from the excitements of the world, she is left to herself. Those who seek the life of the righteous to destroy it, will go into the abode of the dead, but the king will rejoice in God. Those who confess his name will boast of it, but the mouths of those who speak falsely and have turned away from him, will be closed. It is still the king who speaks and the Psalm applies to Christ himself much more than to the residue. As for him, he desired to see the glory from which he had descended; for the Jew this glory was in the temple; for us, it has been revealed to us in Christ, and we see it, by faith, in the holy place where he entered. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “The wicked will be punished (Ps 64).”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.