A.M. 2956. B.C. 1048.
Few if any of David's Psalms manifest more of the warmth and spirit of lively devotion than this. He was in the wilderness, or desert country, belonging to Judah, probably in the forest of Hareth or Ziph, and at a distance from the sanctuary, when he wrote it. And “as the sweetest of St. Paul's epistles,” says Henry, “were those that bore date out of prison; so some of the sweetest of David's Psalms were those that were penned as this was, in a wilderness. That which grieved him most in his banishment was the want of public ordinances: to the enjoyment of these he here longs to be restored: and his present want of them did but increase his desire. Yet it is not the ordinances, but the God of the ordinances, that his heart is chiefly set upon.” We have here his desire and esteem of God, Psalms 63:1-4. His satisfaction in, and communion with God, Psalms 63:5; Psalms 63:6. His joyful dependance upon God, Psalms 63:7; Psalms 63:8. His holy triumph in him, Psalms 63:9-11.