Psalms 63:1

Oh God, you are my God. Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where no water is. So I have looked for you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory. Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you... My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips... 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.

When everything in his kingdom and his household was falling apart, David turned first to the only God who could satisfy and sustain him.

A Father's Anguish in the Wilderness

He had run it through his mind over and over: what could I have done differently? But the question only produced an ever-growing list of would-haves, could-haves, and should-haves. If I had spent more time with him. If I had been a better example of humility, confession, and repentance. If I had been a better leader, husband, father — he wouldn't be doing this. Though everyone is responsible for their own actions, he couldn't shake the thought. Have you been there? Aside from losing a loved one, it may be the most difficult thing anyone ever faces.

He was back in the wilderness — a wilderness he knew well. As a child he had shepherded his father's sheep there. As a young man, after being anointed king while Saul still reigned, he had hidden there as Saul pursued him to kill him. As king he had fought the Philistines and the Moabites there. Now he was back, pursued again, unsure he would survive. But this time it was not mad King Saul, and not the Philistines. This time the pursuer was his own son, coming with an army to track down and kill his father.

The Setting of Psalm 63

The heading tells us this is "a psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah." The internal evidence of these eleven verses points to a time near the end of David's life, when he was king and being pursued by his son Absalom, who had determined to seize the leadership of the nation. He ran his father out of the kingdom. David faced an insurrection, a rebellious coup — and the one who caused the uprising was his own child.

Maybe you have not faced that exact circumstance, but have you been in the place where someone comes against you and your leadership — at your job, at your work? Some of you have had your own son or daughter rebel against you. My children rebel every day, but they're little, so I just send them to their room. But some of you have been there — deeply troubled. This is where David was when he wrote Psalm 63.

From Bethlehem to the Throne

David grew up 3,000 years ago in the wilderness of Judah, the hills surrounding Jerusalem, just eight or ten miles from his hometown of Bethlehem. As a shepherd boy, the only things that came against him were the beasts of the field — though even those were sometimes big deals, as when a lion came against his flock and he defended it.

At twelve or thirteen he was anointed by Samuel to be the next king, even though Saul was already on the throne. For a while things went well, but when people began applauding David more than Saul, David found himself on the run. For nearly a decade he fled for his life in that same wilderness as Saul pursued him day and night to kill him. Yet God was faithful, and in time David ascended to the throne and received the crown.

The Collapse of David's House

The story of Absalom's rebellion is told in 2 Samuel 15 through 18. For about four years Absalom lived far away, estranged from his father — and the problems were rooted in David's own sin. As Pastor Mark taught from 2 Samuel 11 and 12, David committed adultery, then had the woman's husband murdered, then covered it up. When it became known throughout the kingdom, it depleted every ounce of David's moral capital.

Shortly after, David's oldest son raped his half-sister. David, having no moral authority, did nothing. So one of David's other sons, the full brother of the girl, took matters into his own hands and killed his brother. Again David could do nothing. There was discord in the kingdom, with people demanding the king act, but David — adulterer, murderer, deceiver — did nothing. Absalom was driven out, then later reconciled and brought back. Everything seemed like it would move forward.

Absalom Steals the Hearts of Israel

But in 2 Samuel 15 Absalom began holding gatherings, talking about the problems and injustices in the nation. It's easy to find a crowd that agrees with you when you talk politics. So Scripture says in 2 Samuel 15:6, "Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel." Just verses later, a messenger came to David: "The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom." The coup had begun.

David left his palace in Jerusalem and went down east into the Kidron Valley, standing at the brook with his kingdom on one side and the wilderness of Judah on the other. The high priest Zadok came down with the Levites carrying the Ark of the Covenant — the gold box with the outstretched wings of the angels over the mercy seat, the physical representation of God's presence. They offered to come with him. But David said, "No, take it back."

Why Did David Leave?

He could have stayed and stood his ground. No doubt advisors were telling him, "You're the king, not Absalom. Deal with this kid." Yet he left. Why? The answer is given in 2 Samuel 15:25–26. David told Zadok to carry the ark back into the city, saying, "If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, then He will bring me back and show me the ark and His dwelling place. But if He says, 'I have no delight in you,' then here I am; let Him do to me as seems good to Him."

David left because he knew he had sinned greatly, and he thought, "Maybe God is done with me. Maybe this is the result of my adultery, my murder, my lying, my failure to order my house." People wonder how the Bible can call this man a man after God's own heart. That is exactly why he is called a man after God's own heart — because he said, "Lord, I deserve nothing but judgment, and I'm going to leave it in Your hands." He could have phoned his foreign alliances or rallied his mighty men against his inexperienced son. Instead he went into the wilderness and prayed.

"Oh God, You Are My God" — God Is Your God Only If You Seek Him

David begins: "Oh God, you are my God. Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where no water is." When God called Israel out of Egypt, He said in Exodus 6, "I will take you as my people and I will be your God." David knew God as his God in that covenant relationship — at least five, perhaps seven, times in the Psalms he says, "You are my God."

Here is the first point: God is your God only if you seek Him. In times of deep, gut-wrenching, soul-wrenching trouble, the master of your life is revealed by what or who you turn to first. Some turn to a counselor or friend; some to alcohol, drugs, or sexual promiscuity. "Early will I seek you" doesn't mean the early-service crowd is more spiritual — it means first. The first one I turn to. Why? "Because my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you." His entire being turns to God. As Jeremiah 29:13 promises, "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all of your heart."

The Lord Will Satisfy the Seeking Soul

David knew this, which is why so many times he had looked to the Lord. Verse 2: "So I have looked for you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory." When you're physically hungry, you know where to go — the kitchen. It's not a trick question. But where do you turn when your soul is parched and famished? David says, "I have looked for you in the sanctuary." For David there was the tabernacle, the priests, the holy place, and the ark, where he could tangibly witness God's power and glory.

We may wish we had such a place when God seems distant. But notice — at this moment David couldn't go there. He had sent the ark back. He was fleeing Jerusalem, away from every steadfast foundation. Yet he knew God could still be found without the tabernacle, because God does not dwell in tents made with hands. There is no physical temple you and I must go to. It is nice, but it is not essential.

They That Taste of God's Goodness Should Glorify Him Mightily

Notice the subtle shift in tense. Verse 2 is in the perfect tense: "I have looked for you." But verses 3–5 are imperfect — ongoing, not yet completed: "My lips shall praise you. Thus will I bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness." Though he doesn't know if he'll ever see the tabernacle again, in the wilderness he worships as if he stood within it.

Why? "Because your loving kindness is better than life." David was king of Israel and had tasted many wonderful things, yet he says God's loving kindness is better than all of it. He anticipates coming good things: "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness" — Eugene Peterson renders it, "I will eat my fill of prime rib and gravy." If you've eaten a good meal, you know what joyful lips are. The point: they that taste of God's goodness should glorify Him mightily — even when life is falling apart. The real question is, have you tasted His loving kindness? And if not, why not? What is holding you back?

The Lord Is Worthy of Our Continual Devotion

"When I remember you upon my bed, I meditate on you in the night watches." David has gone from the palace to the pit; his bed may now be dirt, with his mighty men keeping watch over him. Yet even as everything closes in, his mind is filled with meditations of God's loving kindness.

Here is the fourth point: the Lord is worthy of our continual devotion. We don't praise God only when everything is good — that's easy. Say "praise the Lord" when things are going well and we shout "Amen!" Say it when everything has hit the fan, and our first reaction is silence. But David, in that very circumstance, says, "I remember you on my bed. Your loving kindness is better than life."

The Lord Will Support the Seeking Soul

Why? "Because you have been my help." His meditations lead him to remember: when the lion came against the sheep, You were my help. When Saul pursued me for eight years with the whole army of Israel, You protected me. When I fought the Philistines and Moabites, You were my help. "Therefore, in the shadow of your wings will I rejoice." This is Hebrew poetry — not that God has literal wings, but the picture of a mother hen, or a mother goose, whose goslings run and hide beneath her wings when danger comes. She is their shelter.

Verse 8: "My soul follows hard after you, and your right hand upholds me." David had seen God's power and glory in the sanctuary, but he had experienced God's protection and goodness all his life. So the fifth point: the Lord will support the seeking soul. As you pursue Him, hold on to Him, He upholds you.

God Will Ultimately Vindicate His Followers

In verses 9–11 David turns from himself to his enemies — who, painfully, included his own son. Hebrew poetry often uses contrasting parallels. Verse 8 says, "My soul follows hard after you, and your right hand upholds me." Verse 9 contrasts: "But those who seek my soul to destroy it shall go into the lower parts of the earth" — Sheol, destruction. "They shall fall by the sword," as Jesus said in Matthew 26:52, "All who draw the sword will die by the sword."

"They shall be a portion for jackals." In Middle Eastern culture the dead are buried the same day; to be left unburied at sundown is a shame — "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree." David says his pursuers will lie exposed and ashamed. "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 rejoices not in his own power, army, or ingenuity, but in God.

Here is the final point: God will ultimately vindicate His followers. David could have turned to his allies, his army, any earthly method to crush the rebellion by his own hands. But at that crossroads he chose to cross the brook into the wilderness and trust it into God's hands. Even though he was a sinful man like every one of us — if Ashley Madison had existed 3,000 years ago, his name would have been on the list — he became a man after God's own heart precisely because he said, "God, I commit myself into your hands; do with me as you will." That must be our trust when the enemy comes against us: God, it's in your hands, and You fight the battle.

Closing Prayer

Father God, thank you for your word to us. I pray that we would commit this to our hearts, that we would even memorize this section of Scripture — to think on it, to meditate upon it, to be reminded that you are our help. You are our support. You are the one who provides and protects us. May we look to you for all that we need and experience your vindication. We pray this in Jesus' name. And all those that agree said, Amen.