Psalms 63:1
The Bible says in Psalms 63:1-2, “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of
Early
will I seek Thee. Every person from the moment they
are born begins making choices, following down a path in life. There is a
saying: the early bird gets the worm. There is also another saying: don’t put
off tomorrow what you can do today. This principle is true for anything in
life. For example; an Olympic athlete does not begin their quest for the
Olympics at age 25 but most do so as young children. The younger you are when you
being to pursue something, the more years you have to put into the mastery of
that pursuit.
This is
certainly true about following Jesus. It is better to start out following Jesus
as a small child than to wait until you are old. There are many practical
reasons for this. Those who wait until they are older to turn to Jesus most
likely will have lived much more wicked lives than those who turn to Jesus when
they are young. And sin brings suffering and destruction.
Just
think of all the years of wasted opportunity to share the gospel, just think of
all the years that a person will miss out on the sweet and intimate fellowship
with the Savior. Just think of all the wisdom and knowledge concerning the
things of the Lord they will not learn. So much is wasted in life,
so much is lost when we don’t turn to the Lord early.
Man
certainly is nothing like God is he? Unlike most men, who do not turn to Jesus
when they are young, God is there from the beginning from the moment of
conception when life beings. Jeremiah1:5, “Before I
formed thee in the belly I knew thee.”
From
the very beginning of our lives God is there already working in our lives to
turn us to Him. We see how patient God
is in working in the lives of adults who are older and often more stubborn and
hard hearted, so God is certainly going to be there for the lives of little
children who are still so tenderhearted and innocent.
Jesus
gave a parable of the kingdom of heaven in the Gospel of Matthew 20:1-16 which
says, “1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an
householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers
into his vineyard. 2
And when he had agreed with the labourers
for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour,
and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the
vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out
about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went
out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto
them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath
hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the
vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 8 So when even was
come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his
steward, Call the labourers, and give them their
hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9 And when they came that were hired
about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed
that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a
penny. 11 And
when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman
of the house, 12 Saying, These last have
wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have
borne the burden and heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them, and said,
Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that
thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15 Is it not
lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am
good? 16 So the
last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”
In this
parable we see that the householder goes out early in the morning and then hour
after hour after hour again and again and again. And God is like this. He comes
to us early in our lives when we are young and tender and though we turn away
He comes to us again year after year after year.
Of course the
other important lesson that we learn from this parable of Jesus is that it is
never too late to start serving Jesus. God is a very gracious God and He can
restore that which has been lost and wasted. Joel 2:21-26, “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do
great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the
wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit,
the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of
He will
restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten. Even if you have wasted
many years turning from the LORD the LORD can restore those years. There is plenty
of opportunity to serve God and to earn rewards in heaven. Do not fret, do no
fear, do not discourage yourself because of the past but realize that God is in
the business of forgiveness and restoration.
Now
notice the phrase in Psalms 63:1, “early will I
seek.” This is actually one word in the
Hebrew and it has the idea to seek with diligence. Every day is a new day. And
the Christian life must be lived one day at a time. Even if you have wasted
your youth turning away from the truth you can begin tomorrow by seeking the
Lord early.
In
talking about seeking the LORD early two very descriptive phrases are used in
Psalms 63:1, “my soul thirsteth
for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and
thirsty land, where no water is.”
When
we think of an image of strong desires consuming a man what usually comes to
mind? Sexual desire, the desire for money and power, the
desire to be accepted and liked by other people, the desire for the pleasures
of this world.
Jesus
said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled.” To say that
your soul thirsteth and that your flesh longeth means more than just a casual desire it means that
serving God and studying His word is more than just a hobby but rather
something that consumes you. It means your desire for Jesus is stronger than
any other desire; stronger than the bonds you may have with family, stronger
than your most intimate hopes and dreams for this life.
The Bible
says in Psalms 63:1-2, “A Psalm of David, when he was
in the wilderness of
Of course we
all experience the power and the glory of God when Jesus first comes into the
sanctuary of our hearts at the moment of salvation. Anyone who has been saved
can surely look back unto that time of their life and remember how their eyes
were opened and light was shined into their soul. They can remember how they
were washed of their sins, freed from the fear of hell, and given an
everlasting joy and peace through the Holy Spirit.
A
person who desires to see the power and the glory of God is a person who
desires for God to do great things in their life, to lay His holy hand upon
them and pass them by. Jesus said, “Ask and ye shall
receive.” Moses desired to see the glory of God and God passed him by
and he beheld his backside. Peter desired to die a death worthy of the gospel
and he was crucified. Paul desired to do a great gospel work especially for
those of the children of
If
you truly desire to see the power and the glory of God then do your part in
God’s gospel work in this world. There is no greater evidence of the power and
glory of God than when a sinner, hard hearted and enslaved to their sins,
kneels at the blood stained cross of
Psalms
63:3-5, “Because Thy lovingkindness is better than
life, my lips shall praise Thee. Thus will I bless Thee while I live: I will
lift up my hands in Thy name. My soul shall be
satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with
joyful lips. When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the
night watches.”
The
word lovingkindness is a very interesting word. The word is commonly translated
as mercy in the Old Testament. The transliteration of the word from Hebrew to
English is Kesed which almost sounds like the word
kissed. Think of a Parent gently kissing their child on the cheek.
Jeremiah
31:3, “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying,
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee.”
How
is the lovingkindness of God better than life? Life has many wonderful things
in it. It is just wonderful to be alive, to breathe, to
have the freedom and opportunity that being alive gives to be able to laugh and
cry and love. Life can be very wonderful so how is the lovingkindness of God
better than life?
This
question is very easy to answer when we consider how temporary this life is.
Everyone dies and everything fades away. However the things that God does are
eternal.
Hosea
2:19, “And I will
betroth thee unto Me for ever;
yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in
lovingkindness, and in mercies.”
With
lovingkindness God draws us to Him. And with lovingkindness God will lead us
through eternity. One can only imagine and fantasize about the wonderful things
that God is going to do for His children in the future. With the same great
toil and tender care that brings us to salvation and keeps us following the
Savior, God is going to bless and bless and bless His children throughout
eternity. Yes we are told some of the things that God is going to do for us in
the future but eternity is a very long time therefore we can only imagine what
God has in store for us. Yes the future is bright for the child of God and
there are only great and wonderful things, things not yet revealed, which God
has planned for us. “Thy lovingkindness is better than
life.”
Psalms
63:7-8, “Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in
the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth
hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me.”
The
phrase, “the shadow of Thy wings” is found 4
times in the book of Psalms. Jesus used
a similar phrase in the Gospels. Matthew 23:37, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest
the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto
thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would
not!”
If you are in
the shadow of a creature’s wings then you are very near that creature. And that
is the idea here, the idea of being very close to God. Just as a hen gathers
her chickens under her wings to keep them protected God gathers His children
close. Of course a relationship with God is a two way street. That means even
though God wants to be close to you and is putting forth the effort to do so, it
also depends on you to put forth effort to be close to Him that is why part of
Psalms 63:8 says, “My soul followeth
hard after Thee.”
You will be
as close to God as you want to be, as your faith allows you to be. It really
depends on you and the effort and time you put into learning God’s Word, and
the time you spend praying to Jesus because Jesus has no limits in regards to
how close of a relationship He wants with you. It is all based on His grace. If
you do like the Psalmist said and your soul followeth
hard after God and your flesh longeth for Him as in a
dry thirsty land God will give you the opportunities to learn His truth, to
understand and know Him and to walk through this life under the shadow of His
wings.
After all
Jesus loves you with an eternal, everlasting love, a love that is deeper than
the deepest sea. It certainly is His desire to make His presence known unto you
and for you to find peace and confidence in His promises. It is His desire to
gather you and keep you close to Him in the shadow of His wings.
Psalms
63:9-11, “But those that 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. But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that
sweareth by Him shall glory: but the mouth of them
that speak lies shall be stopped.”
Despite
the fact that a person might desire to do what is right and to have a close
relationship with God there will be those who will want to destroy that person
especially to destroy them for their very desire to have a relationship with
God and to do what is right. Yes there are people that are that evil in the
world. They will actively seek after your soul to destroy it. They will plot
and scheme and do whatever the can to tempt you into
sin, to lead you astray from the truth, to weaken your faith in God.
But
these verses make it very clear what the end result for those kinds of people is,
and it is not a good end. They shall, “go into the
lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion
for foxes.” In other words God will judge them. God will punish them.
Their lives will not meet a peaceful end. After all God loves His children. And
He will avenge them.
Today
is the day of salvation. Today is the day to start seeking after God. If you
have never turned from your sins to Jesus you can do so today and receive the
forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
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Copyright; 2017 by Bruce
Creech
All Rights Reserved