Psalms 63 - Introduction

This psalm purports to be a “psalm of David,” and there can be no just ground of doubt in regard to the correctness of the title in this respect. DeWette indeed supposes that the way in which mention is made of the “king” in Psalms 63:11, seems to indicate that the psalm was not composed by David himself, but that it was written by some friend of his, who was his companion in the troubles which he experienced; but it is not necessary to resort to this supposition, for it is not very uncommon for an author to refer to himself in the third person, as Caesar does everywhere. The psalm further purports to have been composed by David “when he was in the wilderness of Judah.” The “wilderness of Judah” was that wild and uncultivated tract of country lying on the east side of the territory of the tribe of Judah, commonly called “the wilderness of Judea” (Matthew 3:1; compare the notes at Matthew 4:1), lying along the Jordan. David was repeatedly driven into that wilderness in the time of Saul; and the general structure of the psalm would accord well with any one of those occasions; but the mention of the “king” in Psalms 63:11, as undoubtedly meaning David, makes it necessary to refer the composition of the psalm to a later period in his life, since the title “king” was not given to him in the time of Saul. The psalm, therefore, was doubtless composed in the time of Absalom - the period when David was driven away by the rebellion, and compelled to seek a refuge in that wilderness. It belongs, if this view is correct, to the same period in the life of David as Psalms 42:1; Psalms 43:1; Psalms 61:1; and probably some others.

The psalm consists of the following parts:

I. An expression of earnest desire to see the power and glory of God again, as he had formerly done in the sanctuary, Psalms 63:1.

II. His sense of the goodness of God, and of the value of the divine favor, as being greater than that of life; and his purpose to find his happiness in God, and to praise and bless him in all situations, especially in those moments of solemn meditation when he was alone upon his bed, Psalms 63:3.

III. His remembrance of former mercies, and his conviction that God still upheld him by his right hand, Psalms 63:7.

IV. His firm belief that all his enemies would be destroyed, Psalms 63:9.