Young At Heart Bible Study: The Book of Psalms Psalm 63

Psalm 63: Better Than Life

We know little about this Psalm except that it comes from a time when

David was on the run in the wilderness of Judah. This area was on the

eastern part of Judah, near the Dead Sea, and David had probably spent

much time in the caves there. The fact that he is referred to as the king

within the psalm leads us to think that this was written during Absalom’s

rebellion. This Psalm has been a devotional favorite because of its beautiful

poetry, and it gives wonderful glimpse into the devotional life of David

himself.

(1) <A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.> O

God, you are my God; early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you,

my flesh longs for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where there is no

water is; (2) to see your power and your glory, so I have seen you in

the sanctuary.

This is a song of a worshipper relying upon his God and longing to be

returned to the place of God’s glory.

In Hebrew David said, “O Elohim you are my El,” the idea being that

he was looking to God as El – a personal God, and the God who shows

His strength. In other words, David would appeal to God not just as

the Creator but as the One who cared for him and was mighty to save.

Psalms Bible Study Psalm 63

David would seek God early – always the best practice, and of course

one followed by Christ Himself, who would get up a great while before

dawn to seek God. (See, for example, Mark 1:35)

David’s entire being thirsted for God’s presence, much a person in the

desert would thirst for water. He longed to be in God’s Presence with

all His saints! In worship, he had seen the glory of God revealed.

(3) Because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall

praise you. (4) Thus will I bless you while I live: I will lift up my

hands in your name. (5) My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow

and fatness; and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips, (6)

When I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the

night watches.

David feels that the experience of knowing God’s mercies (his chesed)

is better than life. Here is a picture of praise which is active and

expressive. While our worship is a matter of the heart, it necessarily

involves the whole man. He would praise God with his lips, meaning

outwardly as well as inwardly, and would raise his hands in that

ancient posture of worship.

While our culture seeks to avoid “fatness,” David’s culture used fat or

grease as a picture of prosperity – even prosperity of the soul!

His praise would begin in the morning and he would also close out the

night with worship and meditation on the Lord – with joyful lips!

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Psalms Bible Study Psalm 63

David highly prized biblical meditation and viewed it as a wonderful

way to close his day. He would meditate on the Word of the Lord.

Meditating on the Word was one of the “secrets of success” for David

and many other heroes of the faith. It was a spiritual and mental

discipline that was highly prized – and had actually been commanded

by God. Let’s look at some Scriptures in the Psalms and elsewhere

that deal with the topic:

o (Genesis 24:63) And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at

evening…

o (Joshua 1:8) This book of the law shall not depart out of thy

mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou

mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for

then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt

have good success.

o (Psalm 1:2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his

law doth he meditate day and night.

o (Psalm 19:14) Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of

my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and

my redeemer.

o (Psalm 63:6) When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate

on thee in the night watches.

o (Psalm 104:34) My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be

glad in the LORD.

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Psalms Bible Study Psalm 63

o (Psalm 119:15) I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect

unto thy ways.

o (Psalm 119:23) Princes also did sit and speak against me: but

thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.

o (Psalm 119:48) My hands also will I lift up unto thy

commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy

statutes.

o (Psalm 119:78) Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt

perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy

precepts.

o (Psalm 119:148) Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I

might meditate in thy word.

o (Psalm 119:97) MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation

all the day.

o (Psalm 119:99) I have more understanding than all my

teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.

Meditation in the modern world means something mental, or altering

your mental state. For some it may mean clearing or emptying their

mind as a form of relaxation. New Agers and occultists may think of it

as constantly repeating a sound or gazing at an idol over and over.

Not so in the Bible. In the Bible this is an active word. In Hebrew the

word used in Joshua 1:8 is hagah, and it means to murmur or to

mutter, and to ponder.

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Psalms Bible Study Psalm 63

Reading and meditation in the ancient world were verbal, not silent.

Even in libraries it is said people read out loud. So it is with biblical

meditation. Look at this text: God says the book of the law shall not

depart from his mouth. This clearly states that he should be

contemplating it out loud.

What is meditating in the Word, then? We meditate in the Word when

we “chew on” (mutter, speak to ourselves, ponder) a specific portion

of it, letting the Holy Spirit minister the life of God from that passage

into our very being.

This is more than a daily reading plan or memorizing verses, this is

meeting God in the text at a deep level and having him feed your soul.

Some principles:

o Invite the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Word to you. Without

Him your meditation will be fruitless.

o Read the Word aloud.

o Chew it thoroughly, getting nourishment from each thought or

word in the passage. It may be profitable to break it down word

by word where the text will allow you to do so. Repeat to

yourself those passages which seem to be significant, or which

the Holy Spirit seems to be highlighting to you, or which seem

to speak to you in some way.

o Avoid being distracted by curiosity while you are meditating in

the Word. (Distraction is a powerful enemy of our prayer and

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Psalms Bible Study Psalm 63

meditation!) The point of meditating in the Word is to

encounter the Lord in His Word, not to acquire knowledge per

se. Use a notebook to jot down things you do not understand or

things you are interested in figuring out and research them

afterwards. You will probably find that you understand more

when you do this, because you will know more about the context

of the passage once you have been meditating on it. What you

learn about names and details will then truly add to your

delights as you see deeper meanings and see God at work in the

story!

o Here is one method of meditating in the Word. I do not say it is

the only way to do so but you may find it useful. Let’s call this:

Read, Ponder, and Review. Suppose we are reading good old

Psalm 27. We begin by eliminating distractions and we ask the

Spirit of God to give us light. Now, we read through Psalm 27

one time, at your normal pace. If you have good powers of

concentration you can do this silently, but reading out loud may

be better even at this stage. Now comes the pondering or

“chewing” part. Read the entire Psalm slowly to yourself out

loud. Significant verses should be read over again, extracting

meaning from each word where possible. If the Lord spotlights

something to you, linger there longer.

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Psalms Bible Study Psalm 63

David remembered God in the night watches. In the ancient world,

the night was divided into four watches of equal length, three hours

each. If you were a soldier, you wanted the first watch: 6 PM to 9 PM.

You did not want the fourth watch of the night, which was 3 AM to 6

AM! This was another powerful spiritual practice.

(7) Because you have been my help, therefore in the shadow of your

wings will I rejoice. (8) My soul follows hard after you; your right

hand upholds me.

Another reference to trusting in God, using the image of a bird. He

has experienced the help of God coming to him in the past and

therefore can have confidence in the future.

His soul follows close behind (hard after) God and he has the sense of

being in the palm of God’s hand.

(9) But those who seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower

parts of the earth. (10) They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a

portion for foxes. (11) But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone

who swears by him shall glory, but the mouth of those who speak lies

shall be stopped.

David says quite plainly that those who seek to kill him will

themselves be killed. Graphically, he says the foxes (better translated

jackals) will eat their bodies.

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Psalms Bible Study Psalm 63

David would rejoice and those who swear by God (or perhaps who

swear allegiance to David would also rejoice or boast.

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