Psalm 63 - Better Than Life

God's best blessings often come in life's thirstiest moments.

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PSALM 63

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

¹ O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;

My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,

In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

² Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,

To see Your power and Your glory.

³ Because Your lovingkindness (ḥěʹ·sěḏ) is better than life,

My lips will praise You.

⁴ So I will bless You as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

⁵ My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness [NIV: the richest of foods],

And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

⁶ When I remember You on my bed,

I meditate on You in the night watches,

⁷ For You have been my help,

And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.

⁸ My soul clings to You;

Your right hand upholds me.

⁹ But those who seek my life to destroy it,

Will go into the depths of the earth.

¹⁰ They will be delivered over to the power of the sword;

They will be a prey for foxes.

¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;

Everyone who swears by Him will glory,

For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

Canons of Dordt

Point V, Article 13: Assurance No Inducement to Carelessness

The confidence of perseverance does not produce immorality or lack of concern for godliness in those put back on their feet after a fall, but it produces a much greater concern to observe carefully the ways of the Lord which he prepared in advance.

The elect observe these ways in order that by walking in them they may maintain the assurance of their perseverance, lest, by their abuse of his fatherly goodness, the face of the gracious God (for the godly, looking upon his face is sweeter than life, but its withdrawal is more bitter than death) turn away from them again, with the result that they fall into greater anguish of spirit.

Summary

David wrote this 63rd Psalm at one of life's low points, as he hid out in the wilderness of Judah while his enemies hunted for him. Lows like this tend to flush out true allegiances. Lifting up hands in God's name and having a mouth and joyful lips offering praises makes sense when blessings abound, but in times of trouble those same hands and mouths quickly curl into fists shaken at heaven and snarled lips filled with curses.

But there's no hint of bitterness in David's song sung in a dry and weary land where there is no water - one of many low points in David's otherwise exceedingly blessed life. David remained faithful in these dark valleys, though, because the blessings he so often enjoyed were not his primary objective in life.

Think about what you want and pray for when you're in life's desert. Often our prayers center around pleading that God will restore whatever has dried up: health, finances, relationships, etc. But notice David doesn't ask for any sort of physical restoration. All he thirsts and yearns for is his God; that's what he earnestly sought. He never even asks God for deliverance from the wilderness!

David realizes that the best blessings often come in life's thirstiest moments; it wasn't in the shadow of his opulent palace that he realized that he dwelled in the shadow of God's wings. David's life consisted of more material wealth than most of us combined could scrounge together, but that's not at all what he valued out in the wilderness. For it was in the wilderness that he realized that God's lovingkindness - God's ḥěʹ·sěḏ covenant love - was better than life. That's exactly why rather than continually longing for temporal blessings, David's primary objective in life was to bless God as long as he lived, no matter how dry and weary his circumstances had become.

  Dig Deeper  

David's allegiance to the LORD held strong in the wilderness because of the solid theology he'd developed in times of prosperity. Theology often gets a bad rap - a bunch of nerds arguing about obscure and irrelevant topics using multi-syllabic words that normal people can't pronounce. But that's not at all what theology was for David. This shepherd turned warrior turned king was first and foremost a theologian. And you should be too.

David saw God's power and His glory - fundamentally theological concepts. But it wasn't when God miraculously guide his stone into Goliath's forehead or in the beauty of God's creation that David saw God's power and glory. It was in the sanctuary. This is why it's so important for you to be there often as well, building up your theology by seeing God's power and glory on the Lord's Day so that it will sustain you as you walk through the dry wilderness all week long.

And David meditated on God in the night watches. The word meditate has been co-opted by new age spiritualists to describe all sorts of bizarre activities. But the Hebrew word that David used here simply means 'to softly speak.' In other words, David would softly recite God's Word throughout the night, reminding himself that even as his soul clung to God, that God's right hand upheld him. Good theology is rooted in and saturated with scripture. You need to know it well and meditate on it often.

King David's solid theology enabled him to rejoice in God even as his enemies sought his life to destroy it because David knew that God was his God. He knew that the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

Life's wildernesses reveal true allegiances, but good theology is what builds and roots your allegiance to God. The Lord's Day is once again right around the corner, so be sure to go to see God's power and glory in His sanctuary and to be reminded that Christ's nail pierced right hand upholds you.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose lovingkindness is better than life;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray you would bless God as long as you live in all of life's circumstances;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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