Psalm 63

"\nO God, thou [art] my God,.... Not by nature only, or by birth; not merely as an Israelite and son of Abraham; but by grace through Christ, and in virtue of an everlasting covenant, the blessings and promises of which were applied unto him; and he, by faith, could now claim his interest in them, and in his God as his covenant God; who is a God at hand and afar off, was his God in the wilderness of Judea, as in his palace at Jerusalem. The Targum is,\n\n"thou art my strength;''\n\nearly will I seek thee; or "I will morning thee" {o}; I will seek thee as soon as the morning appears; and so the Targum,\n\n"I will arise in the morning before thee;''\n\nit has respect to prayer in the morning, and to seeking God early, and in the first place; see Ps 5:3; or "diligently" {p}; as a merchant seeks for goodly pearls, or other commodities suitable for him; so Aben Ezra suggests, as if the word was to be derived, not from\n\u05e9\u05d7\u05e8, "the morning", but from \u05e1\u05d7\u05e8, "merchandise"; and those who seek the Lord both early and diligently shall find him, and not lose their labour, Pr 2:4;\n\nmy soul thirsteth for thee; after his word, worship, and ordinances; after greater knowledge of him, communion with him, and more grace from him; particularly after pardoning grace and justifying righteousness; see Ps 42:1; My flesh longeth for thee; which is expressive of the same thing in different words; and denotes, that he most earnestly desired, with his whole self, his heart, soul, and strength, that he might enjoy the presence of God;\n\nin a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; such was the wilderness of Judea, where he now was, and where he was destitute of the means of grace, of the ordinances of God's house, and wanted comfort and refreshment for his soul, which he thirsted and longed after, as a thirsty man after water in a desert place.\n\n{o} \u05d0\u05e9\u05d7\u05e8\u05da "sub auroram quaero te", Piscator. {p} "Studiosissime", Gejerus, Michaelis.\n\n\n "

PSALM 63Ps 63:1-11. The historical occasion referred to by the title was probably during Absalom's rebellion (compare 2Sa 15:23, 28; 16:2). David expresses an earnest desire for God's favor, and a confident expectation of realizing it in his deliverance and the ruin of his enemies.1. early … seek thee—earnestly (Isa 26:9). The figurative terms—dry and thirsty—literally, "weary," denoting moral destitution, suited his outward circumstances.soul—and—flesh—the whole man (Ps 16:9, 10).

PSALM 63 This psalm has in it as much of warmth and lively devotion as any of David’s psalms in so little a compass. As the sweetest of Paul’s epistles were those that bore date out of a 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; these he here longs to be restored to the enjoyment of; and the present want did but whet his appetite. Yet it is not the ordinances, but the God of the ordinances, that his heart is upon. And here we have, I. His desire towards God (v. 1, 2). II. His esteem of God (v. 3, 4). III. His satisfaction in God (v. 5). IV. His secret communion with God (v. 6). V. His joyful dependence upon God (v. 7, 8). IV. His holy triumph in God over his enemies and in the assurance of his own safety (v. 9–11). A devout and pious soul has little need of direction how to sing this psalm, so naturally does it speak its own genuine language; and an unsanctified soul, that is unacquainted and unaffected with divine things, is scarcely capable of singing it with understanding.A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.Verses 1-2 The title tells us when the psalm was penned, when David was in the wilderness of Judah; that is, in the forest of Hareth (1 Sa. 22:5) or in the wilderness of Ziph, 1 Sa. 23:15. 1. Even in Canaan, though a fruitful land and the people numerous, yet there were wildernesses, places less fruitful and less inhabited than other places. It will be so in the world, in the church, but not in heaven; there it is all city, all paradise, and no desert ground; the wilderness there shall blossom as the rose. 2. The best and dearest of God’s saints and servants may sometimes have their lot cast in a wilderness, which speaks them lonely and solitary, desolate and afflicted, wanting, wandering, and unsettled, and quite at a loss what to do with themselves. 3. All the straits and difficulties of a wilderness must not put us out of tune for sacred songs; but even then it is our duty and interest to keep up a cheerful communion with God. There are psalms proper for a wilderness, and we have reason to thank God that it is the wilderness of Judah we are in, not the wilderness of Sin.David, in these verses, stirs up himself to take hold on God,I. By a lively active faith: O God! thou art my God. Note, In all our addresses to God we must eye him as God, and our God, and this will be our comfort in a wilderness-state. We must acknowledge that God is, that we speak to one that really exists and is present with us, when we say, O God! which is a serious word; pity it should ever be used as a by-word. And we must own his authority over us and propriety in us, and our relation to him: "Thou art my God, mine by creation and therefore my rightful owner and ruler, mine by covenant and my own consent." We must speak it with the greatest pleasure to ourselves, and thankfulness to God, as those that are resolved to abide by it: O God! thou art my God.II. By pious and devout affections, pursuant to the choice he had made of God and the covenant he had made with him.1. He resolves to seek God, and his favour and grace: Thou art my God, and therefore I will seek thee; for should not a people seek unto their God? Isa. 8:19.