A Brief Explication of the Other Fifty Psalms, Psalm 63
PSAL. LXIII. A Psalme of David, when he was in the wildernesse of Iudah.
WE have in this Psalme Davids exercise in his banishment, when he was hiding himself from Saul in the wildernesse of Iudah; wherein is set down his lingring and prayer, after the benefit of the publike ordinances, ver. 1, 2. And the fruits of a gracious and comfortable answer given to his prayer, in number foure. The first, is a resolution to follow spiritual duties, and in special to praise God, ver. 3. and to be a constant supplicant depending on God, ver. 4. and to take his contentment in God, and in his praises, ver. 5, 6. and joyfully to trust in Gods mercy, ver. 7. The second fruit is the acknowledgement of Gods power, sustaining him in his adherence unto God, practised by him for time past, and pu…posed for time to come, ver. 8. The third fruit, is confidence of the destruction of his enemies, ver. 9, 10. The fourth, is assurance that he shall receive the Kingdome promised unto him, to the confusion of all such as did slander him as a traitor.
From the Inscription; Learne, 1. Su…h of Gods children as dwell most st…tely and commodiously among their neighbours, may be driven sometimes to hide themselves in a wildernesse, as David was. 2. Banishment from among friends cannot banish a man from God, but may serve rather to drive him toward God. 3. Troubles are grievous when they are present, but may prove a matter of a joyful song, when called to remembrance: A Psalme of David, when he was in the wildernesse of Judah.
Ver. 1. O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee: my soule thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth 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 thy sanctuary.
From his prayer; Learne, 1. The Lord is the only ease of a distressed minde, and there is no speedier relief then to go to God in prayer, as the Psalmist did, saying, O God. 2. When we would speak unto God to purpose, we should fasten our hold on the Covenant; O God, thou art my God. 3. Troubles will sharpen a man in the use of the means, and rouse him out of nasty security; Early will I seek thee. 4. It is good to fasten duties on our selves by resolution, and to strengthen our resolution by shewing it to the Lord; Early will I seek thee. 5. A lively soul will be no lesse de…rous of spiritual comfort from God, then the b…dy for natural food after long fasting; My soul thirsteth fo… thee. 6 Spiritual affections, when they are strong, will … …e b…dy with impressions answerable thereto; My flesh longeth …fter thee. 7. It is a barren place to a godly soul, where t…e publik… exercises of Religion cannot be h…: for this cause mainly did God c…ll the wildernesse, A dry and …hirsty land, where no water is. 8. … the power and glo…y of God is no wh…e so clearly seen▪ as in publike ordinances, therefore should t… ordinances be loved, sought after, and haunted, that we may finde communion with God in them; My soule thirsteth to see thy power and thy glory. 9. The more good a man hath found in the publike exerci…s of Religion, the more will he esteem of them, and in …cial when he is deprived of them; My soule thirsts to see thy power and glory: so as I have seen thee in thy sanctuary.
Ver. 3. Because thy loving kindnesse is better the… life: my li…s shall …raise thee.
4. Thus will I blesse thee while I live: I will lift up …ine hands in thy Name.
5. My soule shall be satisfied as with marrow and …: 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 rejoyce.
Here the Lord giveth to his servant a gracious answer, and … is condition in the wildernesse, m…king him no lesse glad then eve… he was in the publike exerci…e of Religion, by granting him the comfort of his holy Spirit, …s the fruits of the answer of his prayer do make manifest. The first wh…eof is shewen in sundry holy resolutions, to prais… the kindnes of God, to blesse God, and to call on his Name in all conditions, to take contentment in God, and to trust in him. Whence learn, 1. When a man, who loveth the publick ordinances is debarrrd from them, and maketh use of private exercises of Religion, God can and will supply unto him what he wanteth, and be a little sanctuary unto him, as here appeareth. 2. The felt kindnesse of God, and shedding abroad of his love in the heart of a believer, is joy unspeakable and glorious, able to supply all wants unto him, and to sweeten all troubles unto him, and to give him more com…ort, then what is most comfortable in this world, yea, to make life it self without the feeling, or hope of feeling …his love to be little w…th to h…m; Thy lo…g kindnesse is better then life. 3. Rich experiences of the felt love of God in the use of the meanes, deserve to be brought forth to the praise of God, when it may glorifie him; Because thy loving kindnesse is better then life, my lips shall praise thee. 4. One proof of Gods loving kindnesse towards us, is reason abundant for us to blesse God for ever thereafter, and to acknowledge him the fountain of blessings, even to our selves, whatseever change of dispensations we shall meet with; Thus will I blesse thee while I live 5. As our assurance of Gods love unto us, and of hi… purp…e to blesse us, doth serve to prepare us for straits and difficulties hereafter: so also for praying to God with confidence to be helped, in whatsoever change of condition we may fall into afterwards; Thus will I blesse thee while I live, I will lift up my hands in thy Name; to wit, as a man engaged to depend upon thee, to call upon thee as my need requireth, and a man particularly encouraged by thee, and confirmed by experience from thy former helping of me, that I shall have a good answer from thee, who hast manifested thy self unto me by Word and works. 6. The spiritual life of the soul hath its own food, as well as the bodily life of nature: and the life of the godly is not so barren, so sad and uncomfortable as the world doth beleeve: They have their hid Manna, and the water of life, solid and satisfactory consolations, and joy in the holy Spirit, wherewith strangers do not intermeddle, of which joyes the sweetest morsels of delicate banquets are but shadowes; My soule shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse. 7. Such as do hunger and thirst after communion with God in Christ, and do resolve to spend their life in Gods service, may promise to themselves that they shall feel sweet satisfaction in this course, and with David say, My soule shall be sati…fied as with marrow. 8. Spiritual joyes are not like carnal joyes, which end in sadnesse, but they resolve in glorifying, and do make the very outward man partaker of the benefit; therefore doth the Psalm…st adde: And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. 9. The way to finde refreshment spiritual, is beside publike ordinances, to give our selves to spiritual exercises in secret, at such times as our necessities civil and natural may best spa…e, and then and there to recall to minde what we have heard, seen or felt of Gods Word or working, and to keep up our thoughts upon this holy subject, by prayer, soliloquie and meditation, as David sheweth to us the example: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night-watches. 10. As one experience should call another to remembrance, so the calling of experiences to our memory should oblige and encourage us in all conditions, joyfully to make use by faith, of Gods standing offer of grace to us in Christ, shadowed forth by the wings of the cherubims stretched out alwayes over the mercy-seat; Because thou hast been my helper, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoyce; for here, and here only is the remedy of all sinne and misery.
Ver. 8. My soule followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
From the second fruit of the gracious answer given to Davids prayer, that is, from his giving the glory of the acts of grace which he did unto God the furnisher thereof; Learne, 1. The Lord useth to exercise the soules of his own children with sense of desertion, and withdrawing of his presence one way or other. This is presupposed in Davids following after the Lord, when he felt him retiring himself, as it were. 2. A believer in God cannot endure a thought of separation from God, nor forbear to seek after God, when he misseth his presence, but will use all meanes to recover the sense of his presence which he hath felt before; My soule followeth hard after thee. 3. It is our wisdom to reflect upon, and acknowledge the grace of God in us, and upon the acts of our saith and love toward God, for our own strengthening, as David doth here, saying, My soul followeth hard after thee. 4. Although the exercise of gracious habits be our acts, yet the enabling of us to bring these acts forth, is the Lords work, who giveth us both to will and to do of his own good pleasure; and as it is our duty to acknowledge this, so is it the fruit of our feelings of Gods help to professe it; My soul followeth hard after thee, but by what power, strength and furniture doth he this? 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.
The third fruit of the answer of his prayer, is assurance given that his enemies shall be destroyed, for it is revealed to him, that Saul should be slain by the sword; he knew by revelation that his carcasse should lie in the fields, a prey for foxes and wilde beasts. Whence learn, 1. The deadly and unreconcileable enemies of Gods people, hating them for a good cause, do draw destruction on themselves; Those that seek my soule to destroy it, shall go down to the lower parts of the earth. 2. It is agreeable with Gods justice, that bloody enemies of Gods people be punished by their bloody enemies; God can stirre up the wicked against the wicked, to avenge the wrongs done to his children: They shall fall by the sword, they shall be a portion for the foxes. 3. The Lord, to ease the hearts of his oppressed children, doth sometimes before hand make them foresee the destruction of their adversaries, whether by teaching them in an ordinary way to apply the general sentences of the Scripture unto them, or in a more special way revealing his minde, as he seeth fit, as here: They shall fall by the sword, &c.
11. But the King shall rejoyce in God: every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.
The last fruit of his prayer, is assurance that he shall be King, and that all the godly shall be comforted by this means, and that his righteousnesse shall be cleared against all the calumnies of the wicked. Whence learn, 1. Howsoever it may go hard with the righteous, and their enemies may prosper for a time, yet their lot shall be changed to the better at length: and when he… enemies are born down, their head shall be lifted up, and whatsoeve… is p…omised unto them, they may be as sure of it as if they had p…ssion of it, yea they may stile themselves by the title whi…h Gods …ord hath given unto them, as David doth in his particular, calling him el… King, now when he was a bani…ed man in the wildernesse of Iudah. The King shall rejoyce, saith he. 2. The t…ue ground of a beleevers joy, is not the gift he receiveth from God, how great soever it may be, but the good will of the giver, even God himself The King shall rejoyce in God. 3 Every true worshipper of …od, (whose property is t…uly to feare the t…ue God, and the cogni…ance of whose sin…y is his on cienc… king of an oath shall have matter o… glo…iation, after while p…nt suffering in time of trial: Every one that sweareth …y him… all glory. 4. The borndown righteousnesse of h…dly, a…o their cause, by the lies, slanders and calum…ies o… the wicked, shall be brought to light in due time, and the wicked m…e ash med of their lies; The mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.