Psalm LXIII

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wildcnics;* of Ji

1 O God, thou art my Goil; etirly will I seek tlicc! My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longctli for thee In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

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

3 Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

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

5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night

watches.

7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will

I rejoice.

8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

9 But those that 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; every one that sweareth by him slinil

glory: But the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

It may have been near the Dead Sea, on his way to the ford tuc titie. of Jordan, that the Psalmist first sung this song. It is a Psalm first heard by David’s faithful ones in the wilderness of Judah; but truly a Psalm for every godly man who in the dry worldwilderness can sing — “All my springs are in thee” — a Psalm for David — a Psalm for David’s Son — a Psalm for the Church in every age — a Psalm for every member of the Church in the weary land! What assurance, what vehement desire, what The tueme soul-filling delight in God, in God alone — in God the only fountain of living water amid a boundless wilderness! Hope, too, has its visions here; for it sees the ungodly perish (verses 8, 9, 1 0), and the King on the throne surrounded by a company who swear allegiance to Jehovah. Hope sees for itself what Isaiah lxiv. ] 6 describes — every mouth “swearing by the God of truth;” and what Rev. xxi. 27 has foretold, the mouth of” Zmrsclosed for ever — all who sought other gods, and trusted to other saviours, gone for ever. And when we read all this as spoken of Christ, how much does every verse become enhanced. His thirst for God! His vision of God! His estimate of God’s loving-kindness! His soul satisfied! His mouth full of praise! His soul following hard after God!

“0 God, thou art my El,” mighty one. Thou art my omnipotence. It is this God he still seeks. The ]3 of verse 2 and of verse 4 is interesting. In verse 2 the force of it is this —” No wonder that I so thirst for thee; no wonder that my first

1 90 PSALM LXIII. — WATER-SPRINGS FOUND IN GOD.

thoughts at morning are toward thee; no wonder that my very flesh longeth for thee! Who would not, that has seen what I have seen? So have I gazed on thee in the sanctuary, seeing thy power* and glory! “The “so” is like 2 Peter i. 1 7, “Such a voice!” And then, if the past has been thus exquisitely blessed, my prospects for the future are not less so. I see illimitable bliss coming in as a tide; “so will I bless Thee while I have being I” (ver. 4.) Yes; in ages to come, as well as in many a happy moment on earth, my soul shall be satiated as with marrow and fatness! And when verse 7 shews us the soul under the shadow of God’s wings, rejoicing, we may say, it is not only like as “the bird sheltered from the heat of the sun amid the rich foliage sings its merry note,” but it is the soul reposing there as if entei’ing the cloud of glory, like Moses and Elias.

O world! come and see

The Righteous One finding water-springs in Ood.