Psalm 63: Consolation in Times of Anxiety — William Skates

Turn to the Psalms, please. Psalm number 63. Psalm 63, and we'll read at verse 1. A psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. Remember the title of the Psalms are inspired. O God, thou art my God.

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 thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

Thus will I bless thee while I live. I will lift up mine hands in thine aim. 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, because thou has been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

My soul followeth hard after thee. 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, that's David himself, the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone that's worth by him shall glory. That is, all that own him allegiance shall glory. But the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

The Lord will bless the reading from his word. I want to speak a little word, and I'll be brief, about consolations in times of anxiety. I don't suppose there's any believer here this afternoon that has had times of anxiety.

God's Consolation for Anxious Thoughts

When our thoughts trouble us, we all have had times like that. The psalmist in Psalm 94 and 19 said this, in the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul. Darby's translation puts it this way, in the multitude of my anxious thoughts within me, thy comforts have delighted my soul.

Another translation puts it this way, when the cares of my heart are many, thy consolations cheer my soul. Clearly, that verse is indicating to us that there are consolations when we have got a multitude of conflicting cares, thoughts that are pulling us in every which way.

There's consolation in times like that. And the source of that is from God. Now, we're going to trace that principle through the psalm that we have read, but first of all, you remember that Paul himself, as he wrote to the Corinthians in the second letter, he describes many of the distresses, many of the privations that he has suffered, but he also speaks in that epistle about the God of all comfort, the Father of mercies, the God of all comfort, who has brought him consolation.

So again, we're learning that there is comfort, there is consolation, when otherwise we would be in distress, when we would be anxious, when we have that multitude of conflicting thoughts. In fact, comfort is mentioned some seven times in 2 Corinthians.

Now, when you come to chapter 7 in verse 4, Paul says, I am filled with comfort. Isn't that interesting? In an epistle that details all the things that he went through and suffered for the Lord. So there is comfort, there is consolation in times of anxiety, in times of distress, and we're going to come with that thought now to Psalm 63.

David in the Wilderness During Absalom's Rebellion

You'll notice from the title of the psalm, it was when David was in the wilderness of Judah, and at the end of the psalm, we noted that he was called the king. So this predates, or this is not dealing with the time when Saul was after him and he was hounded in the wilderness.

This is later on, this is the time of Absalom's rebellion, the time of Absalom's revolt. You'll read about that in 2 Samuel chapter 15 through 18. So David is in the wilderness and he's being pursued, at least that is the threat, by Absalom.

We're actually given the time of day. In verse 6, it is night. It is night. You remember that David had gone up from out of Jerusalem earlier and he had went up with his head covered, barefoot, weeping as he crossed over the brook Kidron, up the Mount of Olives, and out he goes, out into the wilderness.

And Ahithophel is giving counsel against him to Absalom. So in those circumstances, we would easily see how that David had much cause for a multitude of conflicting thoughts, his own son rebelling against him.

And these that had formerly been his colleagues now are risen up in rebellion against him. But in this psalm, we find that David is not passed down. David has found resources in God to meet his need in those circumstances, very trying circumstances.

His family has gone bad and his very position is threatened to the point where he has to flee, though he is the king. There's much that would bring him down, but he finds his resources are met and fully supplied in God.

So in the first two verses, I want you to notice communion is desired in verses 1 and 2. In verses 3 through 8, communion is described. He gives a description of what's involved in communion. And in the remaining verses 9 through 11, we find that communion delivers from anxiety, and that is certainly the result by the time we come to the end of the psalm.

So he has aspirations for God. Communion is desired. He has an appreciation for God. Communion is described. And he has assurance from God. Communion delivers. And so let's come with those thoughts then to the psalm itself.

Seeking God in the Desert of Distress

We have expressed desire in verse 1. O God, thou art my God. 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. David's soul is turning to God in all of this.

And though he is literally in the desert, yet there's no desert in his soul. He's in circumstances where his own boy has rebelled against him. But those circumstances are such that it causes his heart to thirst after God.

And sometimes God allows difficult circumstances in our lives too. Why? That we might seek after him. And that is what David does here. He says, early will I seek after thee. There was much upon his mind.

There was much that was crashing in upon his thoughts. But this was his first priority, to seek after God. So he says he's thirsting. Not thirsting for water from the well of Bethlehem here. But he's thirsting here for God himself.

God himself. And isn't that the response of the soul of a true child of God when we're brought into circumstances? It's like our native air, we turn to God to supply the need. That's David's experience.

His expressed desire after God. It's not that communion with God is new to him. Verse 2. We find that he has experienced communion before. And that encourages him further. Verse 2. To see thy power and thy glory.

That is, his desire is to see the power and the glory of God operating in these circumstances in which he has found. He says, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. So David is a man who has had communion with God before.

And that past communion has made him aware that there is power with God. Power and glory. And that gives him confidence in God right now. You know, isn't that something of the path of life for the believer?

When we're younger, typically we don't pass through so many difficulties or trials. But as life progresses and particularly into older years, trials seem to increase. And maybe it's only then that God trusts us with more.

You remember Abraham was quite an old man whenever he was called upon to have the trial of his life, put Isaac on that altar. A man that was advanced in the school of God. And the test comes, the ultimate test comes, does he actually love God more than he loves Isaac?

And so David is a man who's not a novice. He's a man who has experienced God in the past. And that changed him. Glimpses of the glory of God always change men, don't they? There was a God of glory that appeared out of our father Abraham while he dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, Acts chapter 7.

And it called a Gentile from Mesopotamia and brought him right across part of the known world at that time to the land of Canaan. Made a Hebrew out of a Gentile. Think of Moses at the burning bush. Got a glimpse of the glory of God as he burned in the bush.

It broke down Moses' resistance. Give him a confidence that Pharaoh could be overcome by God himself. Think of Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus Road. The glory of God shone around about him. That changed Paul, didn't it?

Became the apostle of the Gentiles, though he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. And glimpses of the glory of God in our souls as we enjoy communion with him will change us for the better. And so the psalmist can reflect upon those times in the past.

Earlier, we find that Zadok and the Levites had carried the Ark of God up out of the city of David. But you remember that David told them to take it back. And he said this, if I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again and show me both it and his habitation.

So David had a confidence in God, knowing something of the power of God from past experience, the glory of God. It encouraged him to trust yet in the Lord. So he has aspirations for God and communing with him.

Lovingkindness Better Than Life

Now there's progression as we come into verse three. Communion is described. Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Now, you and I would think naturally that if God had brought us into favorable circumstances, that God would be displaying his loving kindness toward us.

But you notice that David has grasped something here. He has grasped this fact that the loving kindness of God is better than life itself. That even if David's life is taken in these circumstances when there's rebellion against him, if Absalom would even take his life, David knows this, that when life is over, he's going to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

So the loving kindness of God, he says, is better than life itself. And even though it's a dark night and the circumstances are bad, yet he says, my lips shall praise thee. God hasn't changed. He's still worthy of our praise.

And so he engages in prayer and in praise to God. Verse four. Thus will I bless thee while I live. I will lift up my hands in thy name. So here's David now. And you'll notice he's not, as he opens his mouth to speak, he's not blaming God.

He's not expressing bitterness. But rather, he says, I will bless thee while I live. And I will lift up my hands in thy name. So David is expressing praise to God. That brings to his own soul satisfaction.

Notice verse five. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness. My mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. My soul shall be satisfied. That is spiritually. With marrow and fatness, that would speak to us of spiritual nourishment and an abundance of nourishment, an abundance of energy being communicated to him as he communes with God.

There is an abundance of nourishment that his own soul is absorbing. And so he says, I shall praise thee with joyful lips. Let's translate that into our own experience as Christians, as believers. I would take it that as we are occupied with Christ and as we are found musing upon him, and enjoying what is on the spirit's mind.

That will give us a spiritual mindset to enter into the good things of God in Christ. We'll find plenty of spiritual nourishment there. And our souls will be nourished, our souls will be satisfied. That's what this world can't give, satisfaction.

And you can run after its media until you run out of life itself. You'll never be satisfied, but Christ satisfies. My soul shall be satisfied, he says, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.

Isn't it a wonderful thing to be around happy Christians? Now we've been enjoying communion together and sharing the things of God together over the weekend. It's a wonderful thing to be with happy Christians, those that are enjoying the Lord in their soul.

There's an unsuppressible kind of joy that wells up within them. You'll find them humming a hymn or singing a hymn or even whistling. Almost unconsciously it just comes out. They're expressing their appreciation in their hearts for what they're enjoying of the person of Christ, the satisfaction of the soul.

Meditation in the Night Watches

Verse six, meditation. Are you getting these? There's praise, satisfaction, meditation. Verse six, when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches. That's one of the things that is sadly lacking in our day.

It's one of the lost arts, the art of meditation, taking time to just muse upon the things of God, taking the time to do it. We're far too busy, aren't we? Too many distractions. But here's David and his all kinds of distractions that could be crashing in upon his soul in these dark circumstances, in the darkness of this night.

And yet as David lies on his bed that night, he's meditating upon God. He's finding his resources in God. And he's meditating upon him in the night watches. When we think of what that meant, there were others that were plotting against him.

And no doubt David couldn't sleep because of the burden of all that's going on. Yet he's making this effort in his soul not to be dwelling on those things, but to be meditating upon God himself, to be enjoying something of the Lord in his soul.

And I take it that very night, this psalm was formed in his heart as he enjoyed the things of God in meditation, something that we need to be doing more of from day to day. Not that it's a drudgery. Notice verse seven, the joy that he expresses Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

Seems to have in mind the thought of maybe the mother hen with her wings protecting her young when that danger would arise. So David feels just like that little chick that is sheltering under the wings of the mother hen coming in between the little chick and the danger.

God himself is the one that is the shelter and God who is greater than all of the foes that are arrayed against them and greater than every difficult circumstance that can arise. We bring that home to our own hearts.

God is greater than all our foes. He's greater than every difficult circumstance. And so we can find our shelter there too under the shadow of his wings. And as we reflect how even in the past he has preserved us, surely that would give us joy to remember that God hasn't changed.

God is the same. He's still interested in us. He still cares for us. Our great high priest in heaven, our Lord Jesus is touched with a feeling of our infirmity. And it's his work to carry his own like the high priest with those stones upon his shoulders and the names upon the breastplate as he functions there in the very presence of God for us.

He has our care upon his heart and he is our shelter in difficult times. Verse 8, the thought of pursuing still persists. My soul followeth hard after thee. Thy right hand upholdeth me. Again, we remember that at this time Ahithophel is actually counseling Absalom to follow hard after David, to overtake him before he gets beyond Jordan.

But in all of that, David is following hard after God. David is finding his resources fully met in God. And God actually overruled. The right hand of God was overruling and Hushai's advice was followed instead of Ahithophel.

And David was given a break, as it were, and David was able to escape away that night. David was following hard after God, and that proved to be in those circumstances in a way that he couldn't explain.

But that proved to be his best military defense was to be following hard after God. How can we be kept secure? How can we know what it is to be sheltered and to have God as our defender? Our best defense against anxiety that would come crashing into our hearts is just to be following hard after God, having confidence in him, enjoying communion with him even in difficult times.

Communion Delivers from Anxiety

Now, in the last couple of verses of the Psalm, we have him being delivered from anxiety. Verse 9, 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. It seems that in the presence of God, David has had his perspective turned around. And instead of weeping as he went up from Jerusalem up the Mount of Olives, now we find him, he's getting a proper perspective on things to see that those that have rejected him, they're actually going to be destroyed.

Like the psalmist in Psalm 73, as he looks at the ungodly that prosper in the world, that increase in riches, he can't understand it. It's too painful for him. He says, until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I therein.

That adjusted his perspective, that adjusted his thoughts, that realigned those anxious thoughts and cares, so that he has now confidence alone in God. Verse 11, but the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone that's worth by him shall glory, but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

Here's the exaltation of saints. Just to realize that ultimately everything that opposes God and opposes his anointed and opposes his people in Christ, every enemy is going to be put down under his feet.

David says, everyone that's worth by him, that's those that own allegiance to the Lord, they shall have reason to glory. And now when we translate that to ourselves as those that are in Christ, we remember that when he shall appear in glory, we shall appear also with him in glory.

We have a glorious future. No difficult circumstances may abound. There's no reason for us to sink down and to be overwhelmed with anxious care and anxious thought. There is sufficient resources in God, in Christ, to stand by us in every trial.

And like David, he proved God in these difficult circumstances, and he found him to be the answer for anxious care. Paul found the same thing. And in 2 Corinthians, he sends a final note to those dear Corinthian believers.

And he says this in chapter 13, says, finally, brethren, farewell, be of good comfort. See, the apostle himself had known what it was to experience the consolations of God and all the deprivations that he was brought into.

And he can comfort others now and commend them to God for comfort in their circumstances. The Lord bless this word to our hearts.