Psalms 63 - Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

This is said to be «A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.» I suppose, therefore, that it was composed when he fled from Jerusalem because of the cruel treachery of his son Absalom. He must have been heart-broken, and stricken with the greatest possible sorrow as he fled away with his faithful followers into the wilderness of Judah. But even there he praised his God; and he did not sing unto him with old and stale Psalms, but with a new song. How restful and calm he must have been, in his great sorrow, to sit down even in the wilderness of Judah, and make a new hymn of praise unto the Lord! How gloriously he begins!

Psalms 63:1. O God, thou art my God;

The psalmist has no doubt about this great fact, he does not hesitate or falter, but he makes the positive assertion, «O God, thou art my El, my mighty God, strong to deliver me.» In the sixty-second Psalm, he had finished up with the power of God: «God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.» So he begins this new song with the great name El, which expresses the might and power of God: «O God, thou art my El, my mighty God;»

Psalms 63:1. Early will I seek thee:

People in the wilderness have hard beds to lie on, and they sleep all the fewer hours. David was up in the morning early, and he began the day with prayer to God: «Early will I seek thee.» «While the dew is on the grass, the dew of the Spirit shall be upon my soul.» He means also, «I will seek thee at once, immediately, now, without delay.» But how could he seek the God who was already his God? «Thou art my God; early will I seek thee.» Brethren, nobody ever seeks another man's God. Till God is your God, you will not want to seek him; and when you have him, you will seek him yet more and more.

Psalms 63:1. My soul thirsteth for thee,

He had a strong passion for God. There is, sometimes, an unbearable, insatiable pang of the body, which you cannot forget; and David had an insatiable longing of soul, which nothing could make him forget: «My soul thirsteth for thee.»

Psalms 63:1. My flesh longeth for thee-

Even his flesh, his body-not his carnal nature,-but his body mastered by his soul, was caused to yield its little help towards the making of this verse: «My flesh longeth for thee-

Psalms 63:1. In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

And this world is just like that. To the most of Christians, the six days of the week take them through the wilderness, and the Sabbath brings them to an oasis in the desert, an Elim, a place where there are wells of living water. But oh! what longings they have after God! What did David want when he was in the wilderness?

Psalms 63:2. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

He did not want the sanctuary so much as to see God in the sanctuary. Brethren, it is well to have a love to our own place of worship, but it is infinitely better to have a soul longing for the God we worship, and to feel that the place of worship is nothing unless God be there.

Psalms 63:3. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life my lips shall praise thee.

«In the wilderness, when my comforts are cut off, when my son, who was my darling, is seeking my life, my lips shall praise thee, for still thy lovingkindness is better than life.»

Psalms 63:4. Thus will I bless thee while I live:

«As long as I live, I will praise thee; every breath of mine shall be perfumed with thankfulness and adoration.»

Psalms 63:4. I will lift up my hands in thy name.

«In astonishment at the power of thy great name, and in confidence will I lift them up when they have been hanging down in weakness. I will go forth in holy activity, with uplifted hands, in thy name.»

Psalms 63:5. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;

Orientals, in their feasts, are very fond of fat such as you and I would hardly eat; they think that the choicest part of their diet. So David, using his own metaphor, says that God would satisfy his soul as with the very marrow and fatness of joys.

Psalms 63:5. And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

A heart full of grace makes a mouth full of praise. When God makes thee inwardly to be content with himself, thou wilt be outwardly full of thanksgiving and praise.

Psalms 63:6. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

Of course, in the wilderness, they had to set a watch against Absalom and his men; and David very likely could hear the noise in the camp as they changed the sentries, and marked the hours of the night. «Oh!» said he, «while I lie awake, and the watchers are on guard all around, I will make the night to be a time of spiritual feasting: ‘My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;' and I will make a song at night unto the God who giveth songs in the night: my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.»'

Psalms 63:7-8. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee:

If he could not keep pace with his Lord, and did in some measure lose the joy of walking with God, then he would run after him. If thou canst not lean on Christ's arm, keep close at Christ's heel; be as near him as thou canst, like a dog who keeps close to his master: «My soul followeth hard after thee.» Where did David get the grace and the strength thus to follow after God? Listen.

Psalms 63:8. Thy right hand upholdeth me.

There is the secret upholding of divine grace, even when the soul cannot attain the fellowship at which it aims. When we are struggling to be near to God, let us thank the Lord who, by his Spirit, worketh in us the heavenly ardor that makes us run to him. The last three verses of the Psalm describe what would become of David's enemies.

Psalms 63:9. But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

The wicked always grovel, they never rise to higher things; and their course shall be downward,-downward to the grave, downward to eternal death.

Psalms 63:10. They shall fall by the sword:

They took the sword; they shall perish by the sword. They were seeking to slay David; they shall be themselves slain.

Psalms 63:10. They shall be a portion for foxes.

Not for lions; but for foxes, or jackals, for that is the word; the jackals shall gnaw them in pieces.

Psalms 63:11. But the king shall rejoice in God;

David was the king; so you see that he did not rejoice in the slaughter of his enemies, but he did rejoice in his God.

Psalms 63:11. Every one that sweareth by him shall glory:

Those who were true and loyal to the king would have reason for rejoicing when the rebels were overthrown; and those who were true and loyal to God would have still greater reason for exultation.

Psalms 63:11. But the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

Every true man must be glad that it is so. The mouths of liars will be stopped by the sexton with a shovel full of earth, if in no other way; but every lying tongue in all the world shall be silent one day at the judgment bar of God. The Lord bless to us the reading of his Word! Amen.

«A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.» Shall we praise God in the garden and not praise him in the wilderness? No; we will sing a new song when we come into the desert; for, even if we are in a desert, that is no reason why there should be a desert in us, so let us praise God even in our wilderness experience.

Psalms 63:1. O God,

Two very solemn words; never use them, I pray you, as hasty, thoughtless expressions. God's name must never be taken in vain; I fear that there are some who do this, and are not rebuked for it. When we say, «O God,» there ought to be something solemn to follow.

Psalms 63:1. Thou art my God;

The second word «God» signifies «my strong one, my mighty one, to whom I can bring all my weakness and all my care; for thou art strong enough to take care of me even in the wilderness.»

Psalms 63:1. Early will I seek thee:

That is, «at once.» «I will not delay, but immediately will I seek thee. I will not so much seek to get out of the wilderness, or seek for comfort in the wilderness, as seek for everything in thee.»

Psalms 63:1. My soul thirsteth for thee,

This is a blessed experience. It is a sad thing to be without God in any degree, but it is a blessed thing when we cannot rest without him.

Psalms 63:1. My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

«My flesh» that lowest part of me, even that has been awakened and quickened: «my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.» «Where there is no water, no well, no cloud, no rain, I am longing for thee, my God.» «My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;»

Psalms 63:2. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

David remembers better times that he had enjoyed in the past, and he longs to have them back again. He wants again to know, and feel, and enjoy, all he has ever known, and felt, and enjoyed; and, blessed be God, he will grant us that boon.

Psalms 63:3-4. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live:

«Whether I live in a sterile wilderness or in a fertile land, I will bless thee while I live.»

Psalms 63:4. I will lift up my hands in thy name.

«I will pluck up spirit; I will begin to pray; I will begin to work. I will look toward heaven: ‘I will lift up my hands in thy name.'»

Psalms 63:5. My soul shall be satisfied with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

There is everything that is satisfactory in God. If we do but enjoy his presence, we cannot lack anything. Are we not put, as it were, into heaven itself when we are brought near to God? Are we not willing to remain for a while on earth, and to keep out of heaven, if we may but have the Lord with us, and constantly enjoy his company?

Psalms 63:6. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

When one is living near to God, he is not afraid of sleeplessness. He would be glad of the rest that sleep brings, but if he cannot sleep, he finds a sweeter rest in God. I remarked, one day, to one who lives very near to God, that it was a weary and sad thing to lie sleepless, and he said to me something that stuck by me. «I do not think so,» said he, «for, when I wake in the night, my Heavenly Father talks so sweetly to me that I do not want to go to sleep, and when he does not want to speak to me, I speak to him in prayer, and so the hours glide away most happily.»

Psalms 63:7. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy refuge will I rejoice.

«If I cannot look up, and see the light of thy face, the very shade of thy wings shall make me glad, and I will sing like a nightingale, in the dark.»

Psalms 63:8. My soul followeth hard after thee:

The Hebrew is, «My soul is glued to thee.» «I am like a dog that keeps close to his master's heels, and will not leave him.»

Psalms 63:8. Thy right hand upholdeth me.

We should not follow the Lord if his hand were not still underneath us to keep us going.

Psalms 63:9-10. But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.

The jackal is the creature meant here, for he haunts the battlefield, and devours the slain. So it came to pass with many of David's foes. They fell in battle, and the wild beasts devoured them.

Psalms 63:11. But the king shall rejoice in God: every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

If they cannot be stopped by reason or by repentance, they shall be stopped with a shovelful of earth, for God will stop the mouths of all are in one way or another.

Psalms 63:1. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: Because thou art mine, therefore will I seek thee.»

A sense of possession makes us long for the enjoyment of all that is really ours.

Psalms 63:1. My soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

«Nothing but thyself can content me; everything else, or everyone else falls short of my desire. There is no water that can slake such a thirst as mine unless I drink from thee, thou overflowing well.»

Psalms 63:2. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Past enjoyment of our Lord's presence inspires us with earnest desire for fresh manifestations of his face. If we have ever seen God's power and glory when we have come into the courts of his house, we long to see them again, whether we are in the wilderness or in the sanctuary.

Psalms 63:3. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

Is not that word «lovingkindness» one of the noblest terms in our own or any other language? The word kin is at the root of kind and kindred, so that lovingkindness, lovingkinnedness, or loving-kinness, is such conduct as we may expect from those who are akin to us. God's kindness to us, through Jesus Christ his Son, and our Saviour, brings to us a lovingkindness that is better than life, and for which our lips can never praise him enough.

Psalms 63:4. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

«For very joy, I will lift them up, and clap them before thee. Though, aforetime, they hung down, as though I were dispirited, and could never work again, yet now, ‘ I will lift up my hands in thy name.'»

Psalms 63:5. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;

God's flowers always bloom double. God's blessings are like marrow and fatness; there is in them a double satisfaction of the most intense kind: «My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;»

Psalms 63:5. And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

The psalmist speaks as if each of his lips had a separate joy; and as though, together, they would express the double joy for the double satisfaction which his God had given to him.

Psalms 63:6. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

«Even then shall I have joy, for thy presence makes even the darkness to be light.»

Psalms 63:7. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

«If I cannot get into the light of thy countenance, the very shadow of thy wings shall make me glad. Only let me be near thee; that is all I crave.»

Psalms 63:7. My soul followeth hard after thee

«I am like a dog who loves to keep close to his master's heels.»

Psalms 63:8-11. Thy right hand upholdeth me. But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes, But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

Stopped with a shovelful of earth, in many cases; for it seems as if some liars would never cease lying as long as they are alive.

This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 16:1, and 63.

A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah, exiled, ill at ease, hunted, exposed to danger. Yet he could sing. And some of the sweetest Psalms came out of the bitterest afflictions. God's songsters are like nightingales that reserve their sweetest music for the night. Whenever you and I come to be in the wilderness may we refresh ourselves with such a Psalm as this.

Psalms 63:1. O God, thou art my God;

Everything else has gone, but thou art my God. There are gods of the heathen, but thou, the true and real Jehovah, art my God. Oh, what a blessed thing it is to take a firm grip of God after this fashion, « O God, thou art my God.»

Psalms 63:1. Early will I seek thee:

« Oh,» says one, « why did he seek God if God was his?» Would you have him seek another man's God, then? No; it is because he is ours that we seek him and desire his company. If thou knowest God to be thy God thou will not be satisfied unless thou art living near him. « Early will I seek thee.» I will not wait. I cannot wait. I cannot tarry. I must not tarry. Early will I seek thee.

Psalms 63:1. My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Thirst is one of the strongest longings of our nature. Hunger you can appease for a while, but thirst is awful. There is no staying that. When it is once upon a man he must have water or die. « My soul thirsteth for thee. My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is.» No means of grace; nothing to help me; no believers round about me; left alone thirsting for my God. And yet it is so precious a thing, so sure a mark of grace to thirst for God anywhere that one may be thankful even to be in a dry and thirsty land if one possesses a true thirst after God.

Psalms 63:2. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

He had seen God in his holy place, and he longs to see him again. They that never knew God do not want to know him. But they that have known him desire to know him more and more. If thou cost not long for the bread of heaven it is because thou didst never taste it. He that has once tasted it will sigh and hunger till he is satisfied with it.

Psalms 63:3. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

« Better than life «; and surely life is better than anything else. « Skin for skin; yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.» Life is better than meat. Life is better than riches; and if the lovingkindness of God is better than life then we have a very high price set upon it, but none too high a price. Oh, that you and I may know how sweet, how precious, is the lovingkindness of God; and then we shall say that it is better than life. And because it is so my lips shall praise thee. Not only my heart, but I will do it openly. I used to speak vanity when I served vanity. Shall I not now speak out for God when I have come to serve him? My lips shall praise thee.

Psalms 63:4. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

I will confess thee. I will rejoice in thee. I will work for thee. I will encourage myself in thee. I will lift up my hands in thy name. Are any of you cast down? Do your hands hang down? Then lift them up in God's name. Nothing else can make you strong. The name of the Lord shall be your strength.

Psalms 63:5-6. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

God's people know what perfect satisfaction means. When God reveals his love to them and Christ draws near in the fullness of his grace, then they would not change value with the kings of the earth. Not all the richest dainties that were ever served up at royal banquets are equal to the love of God. My soul, not my body but my inmost self, my very life, shall be satisfied even as with marrow and with fatness. The Oriental's idea of luxury is to eat fat. How they will eat what we could not endure, but we, dear friends, understand the metaphor and appreciate what is meant by David. God will satisfy us with the best of the best, with marrow and fatness. He will make that satisfaction double as with marrow and fatness; and we shall be so satisfied that we shall have nothing left to do but to praise. « My mouth shall praise.» Says our poet,

«All that remains for me,

Is but to love and sing,

And wait until the angels come

To bear me to their King.»

He that wrote that verse knew what was meant by this, « My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.»

Psalms 63:7. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

That is God's logic. One likes to see « therefores» in scripture. They are inferences drawn with great accuracy. Thou hast been my helper. Well, then, thou wilt be my helper; and if I cannot see thy face I will rejoice in the shadow of thy wings. I know that thou art there, if I cannot see thee; and if I only know that thou art there by the shade that thou dost cast over me-that calming cooling shade which damps the ardor of my worldly spirit-if this be all that I get from thee, yet in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

Psalms 63:8. My soul followeth hard after thee:

I am after thee, my God, hard after thee, following hard after thee longing for thee, like a dog at the heels of his master's horse, going with all his might, following hard after thee. Oh, this is a healthy condition to be in. If thou canst not yet reach thy God, yet if thou followest hard after him it is well with thee, for notice the next sentence:

Psalms 63:8. Thy right hand upholdeth me.

No man follows after God unless God helps him so to do. It comes of the grace of God. When thou art seeking God it is because God is seeking thee, and though thou knowest it not there is a vast amount of grace couched in this desire.

Psalms 63:9-10. But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.

Or jackals, as his name did become.

Psalms 63:11. But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

Very hard work to stop it though, for they are always breaking out in a fresh place. They have always some new falsehood. A shovelful of earth will do it, if nothing else will. Let every one here who is accustomed to slander or to speak evil of his neighbour listen to this prophetic voice: « the month of them that speak lies shall be stopped, « but the mouths that speak the praises of God shall go on singing forever and ever. May such mouths be ours.

This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 91:1. and 63.

I will read the 63 rd Psalm first, as somewhat representing the state of heart into which I would we could all come tonight.

Psalms 63:1. O God, thou art my God;

Read that sentence how you will, it is unspeakably precious. If we say «O God, thou art my God,» it brings out the possession which the believer has in God. If we say «O God, thou art my God,» it shows the greatness of the possession which we thus have in having this God to be our God forever and ever. And if we say «O God, thou art my God, it leads us to think of God and not of his gifts as our chief good.

Psalms 63:1-2. Early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Long after the old times over again for those times of heaven upon earth those special seasons when the Lord made the vail between us and heaven to be very thin indeed, and allowed us almost to see his face. «To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.» Well, then, let us go to the sanctuary again, or make the place where we are a sanctuary. Even the stony pillar may mark the site of Bethel, and every spot may be hallowed ground.

Psalms 63:3-5. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: Satisfaction, absolute satisfaction; satiety of every desire, full to the brim to the running over only because God's is our God; we want nothing beyond that to make our mouth praise with joyful lips.

Psalms 63:6-7. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

If I cannot see thy face the shadow of thy wing shall be enough for me, for that shall shelter me from all harm and I will, yea I will rejoice. Under the wings we are near the heart of God, and he who knowest God's heart of love must needs be glad.

Psalms 63:8-10. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foes.

All our sins, and all other things or beings that are the enemies of our soul, Christ has overcome, and he will leave them upon the field.

Psalms 63:11. But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

Now a short passage in the New Testament, about Mary, the sister of Martha.

This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 63:1.; Luke 10:38-42; and John 12:1-8.