Psalms 63:1-9

Psalms 63:1. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: Because thou art mine, therefore will I seek thee.»

A sense of possession makes us long for the enjoyment of all that is really ours.

Psalms 63:1. My soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

«Nothing but thyself can content me; everything else, or everyone else falls short of my desire. There is no water that can slake such a thirst as mine unless I drink from thee, thou overflowing well.»

Psalms 63:2. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Past enjoyment of our Lord's presence inspires us with earnest desire for fresh manifestations of his face. If we have ever seen God's power and glory when we have come into the courts of his house, we long to see them again, whether we are in the wilderness or in the sanctuary.

Psalms 63:3. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

Is not that word «lovingkindness» one of the noblest terms in our own or any other language? The word kin is at the root of kind and kindred, so that lovingkindness, lovingkinnedness, or loving-kinness, is such conduct as we may expect from those who are akin to us. God's kindness to us, through Jesus Christ his Son, and our Saviour, brings to us a lovingkindness that is better than life, and for which our lips can never praise him enough.

Psalms 63:4. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

«For very joy, I will lift them up, and clap them before thee. Though, aforetime, they hung down, as though I were dispirited, and could never work again, yet now, ‘ I will lift up my hands in thy name.'»

Psalms 63:5. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;

God's flowers always bloom double. God's blessings are like marrow and fatness; there is in them a double satisfaction of the most intense kind: «My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;»

Psalms 63:5. And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

The psalmist speaks as if each of his lips had a separate joy; and as though, together, they would express the double joy for the double satisfaction which his God had given to him.

Psalms 63:6. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

«Even then shall I have joy, for thy presence makes even the darkness to be light.»

Psalms 63:7. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

«If I cannot get into the light of thy countenance, the very shadow of thy wings shall make me glad. Only let me be near thee; that is all I crave.»

Psalms 63:7. My soul followeth hard after thee

«I am like a dog who loves to keep close to his master's heels.»

Psalms 63:8. Thy right hand upholdeth me. 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.

Stopped with a shovelful of earth, in many cases; for it seems as if some liars would never cease lying as long as they are alive.

This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 16:1, and 63.