ARE YOU IN A WILDERNESS?

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Psalm 63:1-11 ESV

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

4 So I will bless you as long as I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands.

5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

6 when I remember you upon my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

7 for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

8 My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

9 But those who seek to destroy my life

shall go down into the depths of the earth;

10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

they shall be a portion for jackals.

11 But the king shall rejoice in God;

all who swear by him shall exult,

for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Psalm 63:1 ESV

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

David is being hunted down by his own son Absalom (2 Samuel 15-18)

I try to imagine what David must have been feeling.

2 Samuel 15:25-26 ESV

25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me back and let me see both [the ark of God] and his dwelling place. 26 But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.”

Can you imagine what David must have felt?

Have you ever felt like you’re wandering in the wilderness?

Psalm 63:1 ESV

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

This psalm starts with God.

David is declaring his absolute allegiance to his God.

God is personal.

He wants to be known by His people.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[b] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Psalm 63:1 ESV

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I will seek you early.

What do you seek first thing in the morning?

That which we value is that which we prioritize.

We will make time for what’s most important to us.

Psalm 63:1 ESV

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Dryness leads to thirsting

Weariness leads to fainting

Thirsting & fainting expresses a longing for God.

We need God.

Augustine writes:

“Think how powerful are the desires in human hearts.

One person covets gold, another silver, another possessions, another ancestral lands,

another plenty of ready money, another vast herds, another a spacious house,

another a wife, another higher rank, and another children.

You are familiar with these desires, and you know how powerful they can be in the hearts of men and women.

Everyone burns with desire, but there are precious few who can say to God,

‘My soul thirsts for you.’

People thirst for the world…where their souls are meant to thirst for God.

– Augustine (Psalms)

How do we respond in the wilderness?

Does your desire for God disappear?

Does your desire for God grow?

James 1:2-4 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers,[b] when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:12 ESV

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Psalm 63:2 ESV

2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

The symbols of the covenant are nourishing to David’s faith

All of the old covenant symbols & signs ultimately point to Jesus.

Look to Jesus → delight in God.

We have gazed upon the beauty & the glory of the Lord

We have tasted & seen that He is good

How should we respond?

Psalm 63:3-4 ESV

3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

4 So I will bless you as long as I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands.

God’s steadfast covenant love is better than life!

This is what we are to do when we suffer

This is what we do in the wilderness

We praise God with our lips

We bless God

We lift up our hands

God wants to use your suffering to strengthen your faith

James 1:2-4 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers,[b] when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

He tests our faith with suffering because He loves us

Like a muscle

Like an anchor

Like the soil

David is in the wilderness & he doesn't know if he will live or die

David says:

I will praise you anyway

I will set my hope in God

Psalm 73:25-26 ESV

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength[b] of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 63:5 ESV

5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

David is setting his hope in God

“My soul will be satisfied…”

“My mouth will praise you with joyful lips…”

When?

How?

Psalm 63:6 ESV

6 when I remember you upon my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

I will be transformed by the renewing of my mind

I will remember…

Spiritual exercises are done in secret

Your faith will be strengthened

Your soul will be satisfied

Psalm 63:7 ESV

7 for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

God has been his help

God has been protecting him (the shadow of your wings)

1 Corinthians 1:8-10 ESV

8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[b] of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

Psalm 63:8 ESV

8 My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

David’s soul ‘holds fast’ to God

‘Clings’ → strong, covenantal word

Famous for use within marriage

A man shall leave his father & his mother & “cling” (hold fast) to his wife

The people of God were supposed to be careful to do all that the LORD had commanded them;

They were to the love the LORD their God

They were to walk in his ways

They were to “hold fast” to him (cling)

When we’re in the wilderness…

We hold fast to God in the wilderness & He will uphold us

Who is now seated at the right hand of God?

Psalm 63:9-10 ESV

9 But those who seek to destroy my life

shall go down into the depths of the earth;

10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

they shall be a portion for jackals.

David may die.

We have a very real, very powerful spiritual enemy

Revelation 12:17 ESV

17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood[c] on the sand of the sea.

Jesus came to defeat the works of the devil

David is certain that his enemies will eventually be defeated

They shall go down into the depths of the earth

They shall be given over to the power of the sword

They shall be a portion for jackals

Psalm 63:11 ESV

11 But the king shall rejoice in God;

all who swear by him shall exult,

for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

When he calls himself king, David is once again exercising his faith muscle

Who does God say that you are?

Will you believe God?

Or will you believe the lies?

Will you allow the blood of Jesus to shut the mouths of the liars?

Revelation 17:14 ESV

14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.