Psalm 63: Lessons Learned Waiting in the Wilderness

Judean Wilderness, Photo: Greg K. Dueker

When we experience God’s goodness, even while waiting in the wilderness, there are some lessons we should learn or be reminded of. Times of hardship and testing are for the purpose of preparing us for the purpose God has ordained. Their instruction sets us up for the win. However, we have to be attuned to their message.

As our trust in Christ Jesus is strengthened, there are at least seven simple lessons/reminders expressed in this psalm that, if implemented, will be a blessing to us and to those we share life with. I will briefly describe those that I have noticed.

1. Realize that we thirst for God more than water (v.1)

Oneonta Falls, Photo Cliff Fahey

Amid wandering in the arid wilderness, trying to avoid the psycho King Saul, David had used his physical thirst as a metaphor and shifted his longing to the Lord rather than mere water. When his mighty men snuck into the enemy camp to draw water from the well of his hometown, David was overwhelmed and poured it out to the Lord. The situation depicted here in Psalm 63 is likely from a time later in his life when he fled from his rebellious son, Absalom. He knows what it is to be thirsty, to have his body faint with longing. His heart's desire was not to be returned to Jerusalem but to be in the presence of God. He emphasizes dehydration imagery to convey his urgency. For followers of Jesus, the bottom line is that we need Jesus more than anything else!

Sometimes, when all our physical needs are met, we realize that we are still thirsty. The things of this world may promise much, but they can never quench our thirst for God. It is no accident that, at the very end of the Bible, the Spirit and the Bride invite those who are thirsty to come and drink!

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Rev. 22:17)

2. Recognize that His love is better than anything else.

When we see God as he really is, and how he has shown his goodness in our lives, we can proclaim with David, “Your steadfast love is better than life!” (v.2-3) Jesus later taught that if we love our life more than following Jesus, then we will lose it.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matt. 16:24-26)

Why would we willingly lay down our lives to follow Christ? Only one answer suffices; it is not a result of impressive willpower on our part but because we are convinced, on a heart-level, that his love is better on every level than the love we might seek elsewhere.

3. Respond in worshipful obedience even before the situation resolves.

What does the psalmist mean when he declares, “In your name will I lift up my hands…” (v.4)? Is this referring to his exuberant religious expression in the sanctuary, or does this mean that whatever he lifts his hands to perform will be done in a way consistent with the name(s) of God? It is both. Certainly, His power and love cause me to praise him! However, to “lift up my hands” is not just raising them when singing in church, but referring to everything I do being in accordance with God's name/character. Some weeks, this is a tall order to fill, but the more I know Him, the more I desire my life to align with his name.

4. Remember that complete satisfaction is found in the Lord.

A Wedding Feast, 2022.
Photo: Greg K. Dueker

As I am writing this post, we have just come through Thanksgiving and are now celebrating
Christmas, and there is lots of feasting! However, as satisfying as it is to spend time with friends and family and eat a lot of rich food, I have to agree with the psalmist about the location of true satisfaction.

“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food” (v.5) is aptly appropriate for this Christmas season. We tend to eat more than we should during this time of year, and with the busyness, we spend less time in the Word than normal. Yet, my heart knows from experience that it is in the Lord where I find complete satisfaction. Everything else over-promises and under-delivers. In Christ, all the promises of God find their yes. As it is written,

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Cor. 1:20-22)

5. Review His goodness to us regularly (v.6-7)

In the phrase, “when I remember you upon my bed” (v.6), our thoughts drift towards the Lord even as we drift towards sleep, for he has been our help (v.7). Do we think about God not just when we get up in the morning but also when we lie down? It is helpful to use those quiet moments to review his goodness to us in both large and small ways each day. Gratitude is therapeutic as well as good manners. 

For those whose situation leaves them up and unable to sleep, it is comforting to direct our thoughts towards our sweet Savior. As Derek Kidner commented,

“If the wilderness of verse 1 sharpened his appetite for God, his wakefulness through the watches of the night (an expression which stresses the slow progress of the hours) enlisted time and thought for the same Lord.”[1]

What could be a better use of time in those hours when sleep is elusive?

6. Remain in His presence and cling to Him (v.8)

Raphael's Healing of the Beggar (1515)

My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

Verse 8 reminds me of the narrative in Acts 3, where Peter and John healed a lame beggar and lifted him from the ground. After the healed man walked, leaped, and praised God, he clung to Peter and John. So why do we cling? Is it because we are so filled with gratitude that we must express it, or is it because we are afraid of having to stand on our own? I want to be filled with gratitude more than with fear. Yet, Jesus Christ is certainly the One who holds us up and keeps us from falling each day.

7. Refocus on the Big Picture

But those who seek to destroy my life
            shall go down into the depths of the earth;
    they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
    they shall be a portion for jackals. (vv.9-10)

We need to refocus on the big picture and take the larger perspective to heart. What are the ends to which we are headed? David, though at the time of writing was a fugitive and political refugee, looked at the future end of his enemies and saw their death (by the sword) and the grave (or eaten by jackals scavenging their unburied bodies) as their certain end.[2] In that culture, as in most, “for a body to be left unburied was a dreaded misfortune.”[3]

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

After which his mood rebounded as he reiterated that his joy was in God’s faithfulness and that eventually all lies would stop (i.e., when the liars are silenced). In a way, David was saying that those who live by the sword will be stopped by the sword of judgment, and likewise, those who live by the lie would be silenced by the sword of truth.

But the king shall rejoice in God;
    all who swear by him shall exult,
    for the mouths of liars will be stopped. (v.11)

Does v.11 encourage us to tell the truth? I hope so!

In troubling times, whether we face active threats or are simply waiting in the wilderness for God's direction and deliverance, let us make this ancient Psalm of Confidence our own and put its simple declarations into practice… just in time for the New Year!

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[1] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, 229.

[2] [Jackals] are the final scavengers, consuming the remains of the kill rejected by larger beasts. The wicked are, in other words, the very leavings of mankind. [G. S. Cansdale, Animals of the Bible, pp. 124-126. Quoted by Kidner in his commentary on this psalm.

[3] Marvin E. Tate, WBC Psalms 51-100, p. 128.

Psalm 56 When I am Afraid...

Photo by Danil Aksenov
on Unsplash

This psalm addresses what we should do when we are afraid.

Though it is short (13 verses) Psalm 56 contains a powerful statement of faith and a key concept that allowed David to make such a faith statement again and again. Another unique aspect of this psalm is it’s one of the few that is specifically tied to a recorded event in the life of David… “when the Philistines seized him in Gath.” This brief narrative is found in 1 Samuel 21:8-15.

From the superscription, we know that the psalm was to be sung with the tune “The Dove on Far-off Terebinths.” Is it a coincidence that the previous psalm speaks of the desire for the wings of a dove so that the psalmist might fly away from trouble and be at rest (55:6)? I doubt it. David, having fled from Saul into exile, having “flown like a dove”, wrote Psalm 56 as an individual lament, when he found that flight had not brought the desired rest but only further oppression. I also wonder if the psalm’s tune mimicked the soft yet plaintively distinct sound of a distant mourning dove. When there is one in the area, it is hard to ignore its lament!

Photo by Marko Horvat on Unsplash

Not only had David been forced to repeatedly flee from Saul’s murderous jealousy, but this time, as he fled Nob, he took Goliath’s huge sword (that had been stored there) and fled to the Philistines in Gath… the very place that Goliath had called home. Crazy where fear directs us! In the West, we have the saying, “Out of the frying pan and into the fire!” This would certainly have applied to David’s situation.

Let’s follow the path of fear that led to this moment.

After David’s victory over Goliath and the Philistines in 1 Samuel 17, as they were coming home the women of Israel sang a celebratory song that caused a lot of trouble.

“Saul has struck down his thousands,
    and David his ten thousands.” (1 Sam. 18:7)

This song made Saul angry and jealous, both masking emotions for his fear that he would lose the kingdom to David. It drove Saul crazy, and he tried to kill David from the next day on. Fast forward several chapters and we find David in his fear fled once again from Saul the promise-breaker right into the city of Goliath. Even there in Gath, that horrible repetitive chorus caused him grief as the Philistine king's servants brought up that refrain...

“Saul has struck down his thousands,
    and David his ten thousands.” (1 Sam. 21:11)

At that moment David became “much afraid of Achish the king of Gath”. I can imagine him suddenly snapping out of his funk and asking himself "How did I get here and what am I carrying this?" We could argue that David should not have been afraid since he had won many victories over the Philistines and Achish was no giant like Goliath. However, exhaustion, grief, and hunger probably shaped David’s emotional response. He feigned madness (21:13) and Achish told his servants that he had enough madmen already and David was allowed to depart to hide in the cave of Adullam (approx. 10 miles away).

David might have written this psalm in the cave as he processed all that had happened in Gath, or perhaps the words of this psalm were actually on his lips as he feigned madness before the Philistines. Such a repeated declaration of faith in the city of the Philistines would have seemed like madness to them! 

Now that we have considered the context, let’s take a brief, devotional, look at the psalm.

David began with a poetic lament describing the severity of his situation and the aggressive and continuous attacks of prideful enemies.

"Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
                      all day long an attacker oppresses me;
                                       my enemies trample on me all day long,
                                                    for many attack me proudly.” (v.1-2)

Element5-digital on Unsplash

As we conclude a long and bitter election season in the US, it would seem almost all candidates could say the same thing as David, though not all would ask God for mercy/grace. As an average person, I know that I have felt something of the “all day long” oppression if only from political commercials! 

David’s next statement was imperfect, indicating that he has to do it repeatedly as a continuous practice. They are words we may have heard before but are very important for us in days such as these. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." (v.3)

Will we learn to put our trust in God when we are afraid or will we turn to other things for help? Here is David’s statement of trust in v. 3-4…

When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me?

I think many can relate to this cry from the Psalmist's heart... but I wonder how often we think about how we might be the one who tramples on another—if not directly, we may be indirectly a participant in a structure that does. I wonder if we lived out verse 3, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you" instead of trying to control those we fear, it might make the world a better place. This week, at least half the country will have a chance to practice this, if they are willing to do so.

Ironically, fear can prompt us to trust in God, and the more we trust in God the less we fear.

Though David began his lament by saying, “Man tramples me” (v. 1) I have always loved the rhetorical question at the end of v.4, "What can flesh do to me?"(See also v. 11). However, if we read on in v. 5-6, we find that quite a lot can be done to us.

All day long they injure my cause;
    all their thoughts are against me for evil.
They stir up strife, they lurk;
    they watch my steps,
    as they have waited for my life.

Though the way forward may be painful and well acquainted with suffering, God knows and remembers. He has stored our tears in a bottle... and He delivers us!

You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me." (v.8-9)

While God doesn't store time in a bottle, he does keep track of all our tears! He has shared in our sufferings, for he took them upon himself at the cross. It is in Christ alone that we are delivered, healed, and find peace.

How did David keep trusting? Certainly, he was not perfect and knew his failures well, but David knew something about God that gave him the confidence to continue to trust God!

If there was something that the psalmist knew even when all around him might be madness, it was "This I know, that God is for me.”

Such an understanding that God is not primarily a judge but a loving Father who rewards those who seek him is a key principle of faith. In Hebrews 11, what is called the “Hall of Faith” chapter, we read that faith goes beyond believing God exists to knowing that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6). He is for us, to the end of the line and beyond!

Other people may delight to hound us and belittle us, but our hope is not found in their fleeting approval. We can get distracted, and embrace plans we think are right, but ultimately it is God’s plan that will be established.

So what do we do with our afflictions that hurt so much? Are they a sign that God is angry with us or has turned his back on us? Certainly not! When we are afflicted, we are in a blessed place, a place where we can receive the comfort of Christ, as Paul encouraged the church in ancient Corinth.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. (2 Cor. 1:3-5)

I don’t know what the future holds but Jesus does, and he will walk with us through whatever comes until we safely reach the other side where there is no more sorrow! So, instead of being motivated by fear that not only steals our joy but leads to bad decisions and even worse behavior, let us put verse 3 into practice, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." because verse 9 is still true, God is for us!

Psalm 91 "Who You Gonna Call?"

Psalm for Today 91:15-16

"When he calls to me,
I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
              With long life I will satisfy him
                                      and show him my salvation"

Comment: What an amazing promise this is, among many that are found in this psalm! This passage is often considered a psalm of protection... but that doesn't mean we won't go through troubles.

What it means is that our Savior meets us there! Wow!

As we cry out to the Triune God, trusting in his steadfast love, we will find that…

• It is God who will answer. 
• It is God who will be with us in trouble. 
• It is God who will rescue us.
• It is God who will honor us. 
• It is God who satisfies us with life in Him.
• It is God who saves us.

Wait. He will do what? That seems like entirely too much...to have God so honoring toward us, doesn't it? If we are honest, we know we want to be honored by others, but likewise, we know that we don't deserve to receive it from God. Nevertheless, he honors the ones who call on Him. Our notions of self-sufficiency stand in the way of our receiving honor from God rather than furthering our standing.

This psalm says so much about God's great protection of the faithful, but I wonder if even greater than the promised protection from harm is the gift of being heard, answered, and honored by the presence of the Lord himself. 

Who is on your speed dial today? Who are you going to call when all hell breaks loose around you? Hopefully not some goofy movie guys or a book from the self-help section at Powell's.

In moments of crisis, will "Jesus Christ" be merely an expletive of frustration on our lips or a desperate prayer, the cry of an honest heart?

I think I'll opt for prayer. Join me!