Psalms 63

Psalms 63:1

Psalm 63: Better Than LifeTemporarily deposed, David is trekking across the wilderness of Judah to his enforced exile east of the Jordan (2Sa_15:23-28; 2Sa_16:2; 2Sa_17:16). Even though the king’s political fortunes are at a low ebb, his spiritual vitality is high. 63:1 It is magnificent to hear him claiming God as his own: “O, God, You are my God.” The words in themselves are simple and childlike, but they contain a world of meaning. My Godan intimate, personal relationship. My Godan abiding treasure when all else is gone. My Goda sufficient resource in every crisis. And it is humbling to notice the psalmist’s passion for God, especially when we remember how cold and diffident we often are. He sought the Lord early early in life and early every day. And he sought him with a fervor that would not be denied. His soul thirsted for God, his flesh fainted for Godwhich means that his entire being cried out for fellowship with the Eternal. His longing was as intense as the thirst of a traveler in a dry, weary, waterless land. This, incidentally, is not a bad description of the worldan arid wasteland. 63:2 In memory he goes back to those times when he worshiped at the sanctuary in Jerusalem, to those ineffable moments when, caught up in an ecstasy of sacred contemplation, he saw God in all His power and glory. Now his soul cannot be satisfied with anything less than a new unveiling of the Lord in splendor and might. Some call it the beatific visionthis view of God in His divine glory. Whatever it is called, it is an experience that makes all other glory seem jaded and dull. Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heartNought be all else to me, save that Thou art; Thou my best thought, by day or by nightWaking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. 8th century Irish hymn Trans. by Mary E. Byrne Versified by Eleanor H. Hill63:3, 4 Then up from the unlikely wilderness of Judah rises one of the great rhapsodies of adoration. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.The lovingkindness of the Lord is better than anything that life can afford. Human lips are best employed in praising Him. All of life is not too long to spend in blessing Him. Our hands pulsate with fulfillment when lifted up to Him in praise and prayer. 63:5-8 No banquet is like this sacred communion. Our souls are fed with the choicest delights, and joyful lips respond with overflowing thanks as we redeem the sleepless hours of night by meditating on our glorious Lord. What a help He has been to uswho can ever measure all He has done for us? Shadowed by His wings, we raise our joyful song. And as we cling to Him in loving dependence and in conscious need, He preserves us from dangers seen and unseen, and empowers us to press on toward the mark for the prize. 63:9, 10 “Enemies?” did you say. “O yes, I do have enemies, men who are determined to obliterate me. But they are destined to destruction. They will die a violent death and will suffer the disgrace of not having a decent burial. 63:11 “But I will go on enjoying God. In fact, everyone who swears allegiance to Him will share in the jubilation, whereas those who love to lie will be silenced.”