Help for All Times
Psalm 63:1-2: O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory. [1]
Imagine that a close relative tried to kill you and chase you from home? What would you be thinking? Where would your heart turn? What would drive your behavior and choices? Although most of us have never faced such a painful and intimate threat, this is what happened to the writer of Psalm 63, King David. [2] In fact, David had to leave everything and escape to the wilderness because his own son wanted to kill him and usurp the throne. [3] But look at the heart of David. What does David want as betrayal drives him from his home to the Judean desert? He longs for God and wants to worship the LORD in Jerusalem. [4] David so desperately desires to worship his Maker that he compares his longing for worship to someone in the desert looking for water. [5] Further, David uses this psalm to remember God’s past (verse 2), present (verses 3, 6-8), and future (verse 5) faithfulness. [6] In immense suffering, David remembers his God, he believes and trusts in the Lord.
What do you look at when you suffer? This Psalm, as well as other Scriptures, is a challenging reminder that only God sustains us through suffering. [7] When you trust in finances, people, human philosophy, politics, etc., you may find comfort (see below) for the moment, but you will not receive the enduring hope because true security is found in Christ. [8] Only by trusting Jesus as exclusive Savior and Restorer can people truly face and grow in trials, and enter eternal rest. [9] Those in Christ have a hope clearer than David did because they know Christ, and all who hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness as David did are promised “they will be satisfied.” [10]
This blog was written by Seth Dunn
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016). All Scripture references will be ESV unless noted otherwise.
[2] James Montgomery Boice. Psalms, Vol. 2: Psalms 42-106. (Grand Rapids, MI: Bake Books a division of Baker Book House Co, 1996), 516. See also 2 Samuel 16:14, 17:2, 29.
[3] Boice, Psalms, Vol. 2, 516.
[4] Boice, Psalms, Vol. 2, 517.
[5] Boice, Psalms, Vol. 2, 517.
[6] Boice, Psalms, Vol. 2, 518.
[7] Boice, Psalms, Vol. 2, 518. See also Psalm 16:4, 130; 1 Peter 1:3-9, etc.
[8] John 14:6, Acts 4:12; Romans 8, Ephesians 1:3-23, 2:1-14; 1 Peter 1:13-25.
[9] James 1:2-4; Philippians 1:6; 1 John 3:1-10; Revelation 21:1-8.
[10] Matthew 5:6; Hebrews 11.