O God, You are my God!

October 31, 2010

Lesson: Psalm 63

Key Verse: Psalm 63:1

AAA

Introduction

The title of the Psalm is “When David was in the wilderness of Judah.” Matthew Henry introduces this Psalm: “Even in Canaan, though a fruitful land, and the people numerous, yet there were wildernesses …It will be so in the world, in the church, but not in heaven. …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 it is the wilderness of Judah we are in, not the wilderness of sin.”

In a sense, each one of us lives in a wilderness. This wilderness is not without its difficulties and sorrows, as well as its victories and joy. As Christians, we face life much differently than does the sinner without Christ. We must not allow difficulties to “put us out of tune for sacred songs,” because we are able to do so. It is our duty to “keep up a cheerful communion” with our Father in heaven, whether we feel like it or not; because, in Christ, we are able to do so. We can do so because we do not belong to the darkness, or wilderness, of sin. It is God who has called us his own special people, for the purpose that “we may proclaim the praises of Him who has called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

By coming to the Word of God in general, and in particular Psalm 63, we are keeping up a cheerful communion with God. We listen to him, by the Spirit, and we speak to him with our souls, responding to him who first loved us. We are able to proclaim his praises because he revealed himself to us through his Word; for “The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man” (S.C. 3).

AA

You are my God!—Psalm 63:1–2

What a wonderful way to start our prayers, our Bible studies, our witness, and our worship: to testify before God and man that he is our God. Our personal testimony begins with these words, “O God, thou art my God!” Our Lord Jesus teaches us to pray, saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven.” We testify that there is no other God who can hear and answer prayer. This testimony pleases God; for he is the Creator of all things on earth and in heaven. Therefore, when he is glorified through his Creation, it pleases him. Because David knows God, as each of us who are redeemed through the blood of Christ knows God, he makes this declaration: “early will I seek thee; my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is: to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.”

Because we belong to God, we are able to seek him, to come into his presence. We are encouraged to commune with our Father in heaven in times of joy and in times of sorrow. “Early” we will seek God. We will not procrastinate. We will not have the hope of many, that things will work out if we leave it alone. We will snatch the solution of a problem by seeking the refreshment of the Lord right away: for these words of our Savior are written upon our hearts, “Come unto me, all that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you (refreshment)” (Matt. 11:28). David says that his heart and soul dictate this kind of early approach to God. His soul thirsts for God. His flesh longs for God. Both spiritually and physically, David yearns to seek the Lord, like a man in a desert who seeks water where there is no water. Can you picture such a man? Can you see a man in the desert desiring water, and finding none? His earnest desire is to find that refreshing cool water. His need will be met, quickly and with much grace. This is the way of the Christian. There is much hope in Christ, when our eyes cannot see that hope.

The hope of the Christian for refreshment is seen in his communion within the sanctuary: “To see Thy power and Thy glory as I have seen Thee in sanctuary.” This word ‘sanctuary’ speaks of a sacred place, such as the temple of God, a place set apart to God by God. This prayer is given in Psalm 20: “May he send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion.” We could say that we receive help from our Lord and Savior from within his Congregation, the fellowship of believers; for this is the place where God dwells with his people.

This gives us a clearer meaning of the passage. The teaching goes something like this: The Christian declares that the true God is his God. Therefore the Christian seeks God, very early, with body and soul, as a thirsty man in a desert. He does this for this purpose, to see the power (authority to redeem and make new) and glory of God, as he has witnessed this power and glory when he is in prayer, study, worship, and praise with the fellowship of believers.

Discussion: What does it mean to testify that God is our God?

AA

Your Lovingkindness is Better than Life!—Psalm 63:3–5

David continues to speak of his Lord. Not only is God his God, but God’s “lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.” ‘Lovingkindness’ tells us that our Lord is a God of great mercy and tender kindness.

This lovingkindness of our Lord is revealed in these words of Ephesians 2:4–7: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

Do you know God’s lovingkindness toward us in Christ? Do you know it in such a personal way that you, as with David, can say, so the whole world could hear, “My lips shall praise Thee!”?

David goes on to declare that he will bless the Lord as long as he lives, saying, “Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.” David’s praise will not be hidden. His praise will declare that the Lord is our God. Whether you use your hands in worship, or on the tractor, or as a teacher, in cooking or sewing, whatever, we are to glorify God in all that we do and say. Charles Spurgeon wrote:   “For worship the hands were uplifted, as also in joy, in thanksgiving, in labor, in confidence; in all these senses we would lift up our hands in Jehovah’s name alone. No hands need hang down when God draws near in love. The name of Jesus has often made lame men leap as a hart, and it has made sad men clap their hands for joy.”

We should rest, as David did, fully and only upon our Savior and Lord. Then we will be able to say with David, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.” God nourishes our soul with the food of his Word. This is the promise of eternal life: To know God the Father, and His Son, Christ Jesus. A Christian finds complete satisfaction in every area of life, in every condition, whether troubled or joyful. Therefore, the Christian declares that his mouth will always praise God, joyfully!

Discussion: Why is God’s kindness better than life?

AAA

I will Meditate and Rejoice!—Psalm 63:6–11

David knows what it means to be troubled by those who would seek his life, even to destroy it. However, by the promise of God, they will fall by the sword: “But those who seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword, they shall be a portion for foxes.” David rests heavily upon God. Therefore he remembers God when on his bed. He meditates, thinks upon God in the night watches when he has to be aware of his enemies. He knows that God has been faithful in the past and will continue to be faithful.

Just as we must exercise our bodies for good health, we must also exercise our spiritual bodies, our souls. We do this by remembering, by bringing to our mind’s attention the works of God. We are aware of the daily presence of God, and continually seek his aid. We direct our thoughts to His Word, bringing to remembrance the truths we have learned, the blessings we have received. We commune with God in prayer, and seek him in is Holy Scriptures. David Dickson wrote in Psalms, “As one experience should call another to remembrance, so the calling of experiences to our memory should lead and encourage us, in all conditions, joyfully to make use, by faith, of God’s standing offer of grace for us in Christ, shadowed forth by the wings of the cherubim stretched always over the mercy seat: because thou hast been my helper, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice; for here, and here only, is the remedy of all sin and misery.”

Remembrance of the grace and kindness of the Lord affirms our faith, which is nourished by our meditations, our deep studies of the Word of God: “Because thou hast been my help, therefore, in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.” The study or meditation of the Word of God is more than studying math or English; in the study of God’s Word, which makes us approved by our Lord, we have fellowship with the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. By the Word of God, the lies of the wicked will be stopped. By the Word of God, those who belong to him in Christ will stand upon a strong foundation that will nourish both our faith and works, to the glory of God. Thus the Christian finds life in Christ only. The Christian finds life only in the presence of God.

Discussion: What does it mean to meditate on the Word of God?

AA

Lessons are based on the International Sunday School Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright © 2010 by the Committee on the Uniform Series.