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Psalm Sixty-three
New King James Version (NKJV)
YLT
A Psalm of David
in his being in the wilderness of Judah.
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 63
A Psalm of David
when he was in the wilderness of Judah. This psalm
was composed by David
either when he was persecuted by Saul
and obliged to
hide himself in desert places
as in the forest of Hareth
the wildernesses of
Ziph
Maon
and Engedi
1 Samuel 22:5; all
which were in the tribe of Judah
Joshua 15:55; or
when his son Absalom rebelled against him
which obliged him to flee from
Jerusalem
and go the way of the wilderness
where Ziba and Barzillai sent him
food
lest his young men that were with him should faint there
2 Samuel 15:23. The
Septuagint version
and those that follow that
call it the wilderness of
Idumea
or Edom
as the Arabic version; and so the Chaldee paraphrase
"in
the wilderness which was on the border of the tribe of Judah;'
as
Edom was
Joshua 15:21; so
the Messiah
David's son
was in a wilderness
where he was tempted by the
devil
and where he was hungry and thirsty in a literal sense
as David was
here in a spiritual sense
as the psalm shows
Matthew 4:1; and
the church of God
whom David sometimes represents
is said to be in a
wilderness
where she is fed for a time
and times
and half a time
even
during the whole reign of the antichristian beast
Revelation 12:14;
and
indeed
all the saints are
at one time or another
in a desert condition
and while they are here are in the wilderness of the people
Hosea 2:14.
Psalm 63:1 O God
You are
my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In
a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.
YLT
1O God
Thou [art] my God
earnestly do I seek Thee
Thirsted for Thee hath my soul
Longed for Thee hath
my flesh
In a land dry and weary
without waters.
O God
thou art my God
.... Not by nature only
or by birth; not merely as an Israelite and son of Abraham; but by grace
through Christ
and in virtue of an everlasting covenant
the blessings and
promises of which were applied unto him; and he
by faith
could now claim his
interest in them
and in his God as his covenant God; who is a God at hand and
afar off
was his God in the wilderness of Judea
as in his palace at
Jerusalem. The Targum is
"thou
art my strength;'
early
will I seek thee; or "I will morning thee"F15אשחרך "sub auroram quaero te"
Piscator. ; I will
seek thee as soon as the morning appears; and so the Targum
"I
will arise in the morning before thee;'
it
has respect to prayer in the morning
and to seeking God early
and in the
first place; see Psalm 5:3; or
"diligently"F16"Studiosissime"
Gejerus
Michaelis. ; as a merchant seeks for goodly pearls
or other commodities
suitable for him; so Aben Ezra suggests
as if the word was to be derived
not
from שחר
"the morning"
but from סחר
"merchandise"; and those who seek the Lord
both early and diligently shall find him
and not lose their labour
Proverbs 2:4;
my soul thirsteth for thee; after his word
worship
and ordinances; after greater knowledge of him
communion with him
and more
grace from him; particularly after pardoning grace and justifying
righteousness; see Psalm 42:1; My
flesh longeth for thee; which is expressive of the same thing in different
words; and denotes
that he most earnestly desired
with his whole self
his
heart
soul
and strength
that he might enjoy the presence of God;
in a dry and thirsty land
where no water is; such was the
wilderness of Judea
where he now was
and where he was destitute of the means
of grace
of the ordinances of God's house
and wanted comfort and refreshment
for his soul
which he thirsted and longed after
as a thirsty man after water
in a desert place.
Psalm 63:2 2 So I have looked for You
in the sanctuary
To see Your power and Your glory.
YLT
2So in the sanctuary I have
seen Thee
To behold Thy strength and Thine honour.
To see thy power and thy glory
.... Either the ark
as
the Jewish writers generally interpret it; the symbol of God's presence and
glory
and which is called his strength and his glory; see Psalm 78:61; or
rather the Lord Christ
who is the power of God
as well as the wisdom of God;
by whom he made the world
and upholds it; by whom he has redeemed his people
and keeps and preserves them; and whose power is seen in the efficacy of the
word and ordinances: and who is also the glory of God; he is the brightness of
his Father's glory; his glory is the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father; he has the same glorious nature
perfections
names
homage
and
worship; and the glory of all the divine attributes is displayed in the work of
salvation and redemption he has wrought out; and this glory is to be seen
through the glass of the word and ordinances
in the house of God. Hence it
follows;
so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary; where he
comes and blesses his people
and manifests himself unto them
as he does not
unto the world; where his goings are seen
and his footsteps traced
Psalm 68:24. The
psalmist calls to mind former experiences in the sanctuary; and these stimulate
him to an eager desire of fresh tastes of the grace of God
and clearer views
of his power and glory. Or
as in a dry and thirsty land my soul longed and
thirsted for time
so have I desired to see thee in the sanctuary; or so I see
thee there as if in the sanctuary.
Psalm 63:3 3 Because Your
lovingkindness is better than life
My lips shall praise You.
YLT
3Because better [is] Thy
kindness than life
My lips do praise Thee.
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life
.... For life
without the love of God is nothing else than death: a man that has no share in
the love of God is dead while he lives; all the enjoyments of life
health
riches
honour
friends
&c. are nothing without the love of God; the
meanest temporal blessings with it are preferable to the greatest without it
Proverbs 15:17; it
lasts longer than life
and therefore must be better than that; death cannot
separate from it; it continues to all eternity. And that the saints prefer it
to this natural life appears by their readiness to lay it down for the sake of
Christ and his Gospel
in which the lovingkindness of God is so richly
manifested unto them; to which may be added
that it is the love of God which
gives to his people spiritual life
and which issues in eternal life
and
therefore must be better than a temporal one. The Targum is
"for
better is thy kindness
which thou wilt do for the righteous in the world to
come
than the life which thou givest the wicked in this world;'
my lips shall praise thee; that is
for thy
lovingkindness
and because it is better than life
and any enjoyment of it.
Psalm 63:4 4 Thus I will bless You
while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
YLT
4So I bless Thee in my life
in Thy name I lift up my hands.
Thus will I bless thee while I live
.... With his whole heart
and soul
as he had sought after him
and as under a sense of his
lovingkindness; and as he now praised him with his lips
so he determined to do
as long as he had life and being; by proclaiming his blessedness
by ascribing
blessing and honour to him
and by giving him the glory of all mercies temporal
and spiritual;
I will lift up my hands in thy name; not against his enemies
against those that fought against him
as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it
but unto God in heaven; and that not as a gesture used in swearing
but either
in blessing
as Aben Ezra observes; so the high priest lifted up his hands when
he blessed the people; or in prayer
or in both
so Jarchi's note is
to pray
and to praise; See Gill on Psalm 28:2. The
Targum is
"in
the name of thy Word I will spread out my hands in prayer for the world to
come;'
that
is
in the name of the Messiah
the essential Word
in whose name prayer is to
be made
and whereby it becomes prevalent and successful; see John 14:13. This is
a prayer gesture; See Gill on Psalm 28:2.
Psalm 63:5 5 My soul shall be satisfied
as with marrow and fatness
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful
lips.
YLT
5As [with] milk and fatness
is my soul satisfied
And [with] singing lips doth my mouth praise.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness
.... When he
should return to the house of the Lord
and partake of the provisions of it
called the fatness of his house; see Gill on Psalm 36:8. The
phrase denotes the abundance of spiritual refreshment and delight in the word
and ordinances
and the great satisfaction had in them; and may have some
regard to benefits arising from prayer
as well as other ordinances. Fat was
not to be eaten under the legal dispensation
and therefore not to be literally
taken; but in the typical and spiritual sense which David understood
and
therefore respects that
or otherwise he would speak contrary to the law of God:
he refers to those spiritual good things which they typified
and give
spiritual pleasure and satisfaction;
and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; such a full
meal
such a rich entertainment
calls for abundant thankfulness; which is here
signified by the mouth praising the Lord
and doing this with lips of shouting
expressions of joy
songs of praise
jubilee songs. The allusion is to the use
of music and singing at festivals; see Isaiah 5:12.
Psalm 63:6 6 When I remember You on my
bed
I meditate on You in the night watches.
YLT
6If I have remembered Thee
on my couch
In the watches -- I meditate on Thee.
When I remember thee upon my bed
.... Or "beds"F17יצועי "stratis meis"
Pagninus
Montanus
Piscator
Cocceius; so Junius & Tremellius
Ainsworth. ; seeing he lay in
many
as Kimchi observes
being obliged to flee from place to place. The sense
is
that when he was on his bed in the night season
when alone
and free from
worldly cares and fatigues
and called to mind the love of God to him
the past
experience of his kindness
his promises to hits
and the fulfilment of them:
that he should then be delightfully entertained
abundantly satisfied
slid his
mouth be filled with songs of praise;
and meditate on thee in the night
watches; which the Jewish writers on the text say were three
as they
were with the Jews
but with the Romans four; See Gill on Matthew 14:25; and
the night
in the times of HomerF18Iliad. 10. v. 252
253.
was
divided into three parts: the night season is a very proper one for meditation
on the perfections
providences
promises
word and works of God; and which is
very delightful and profitable
when attended with the presence
Spirit
and
grace of God. The Targum is
"in
the watches I will meditate on thy word.'
Psalm 63:7 7 Because You have been my
help
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
YLT
7For Thou hast been a help
to me
And in the shadow of Thy wings I sing.
Because thou hast been my help
.... Or
"that thou
hast been my help"F19כי
"quod"
Musculus
Gejerus
Michaelis; so Ainsworth. ; and so the
words may be considered as the subject of his meditation in the night watches
at least as a part of it; and as what gave him a great deal of pleasure to
reflect upon
how the Lord had been in times past a present help to him in time
of trouble;
therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice; meaning under
the protecting power of God
where he knew he was safe
and therefore had
reason to rejoice. The allusion is to the chirping of chickens under the wing
of the hen; see Psalm 57:1. The
Targum is
"in
the shadow of thy Shechinah will I rejoice;'
referring
it may be to the Shechinah
or presence of God
between the cherubim
whose
wings overshadowed the mercy seat.
Psalm 63:8 8 My soul follows close
behind You; Your right hand upholds me.
YLT
8Cleaved hath my soul after
Thee
On me hath Thy right hand taken hold.
My soul followeth hard after thee
.... In a way of duty
and in the use of means; as prayer
meditation
&c. though at a distance
from the house of God
and worship of it; that he might not lose sight of him;
that he might know more of him
and have more communion with him; being drawn
after him with the cords of love
and strongly affected to him. Or
"my
soul cleaveth after thee"
or "to thee"F20דבקה אחריך "adhaesit post
te"
Montanus
Gejerus; "tibi adhaesit"
Tigurine version; so
Piscator
Michaelis. ; not to the world
and the things of it; not to that
which is evil
but to that which is good
even the "summum bonum";
not to the creature
but to the Lord; which is expressive of union to him
even
such an one as is between man and wife
who cleave to each other
and are one
flesh
Genesis 2:24; and
as is between head and members
vine and branches; see 1 Corinthians 6:17;
and of communion in the exercise of grace
and discharge of duty. To cleave to
the Lord into hold to him
the head; to exercise the graces of faith
hope
and
love upon him; and to follow him in his ways and worship; to abide by his
truths; to attend his ordinances; to keep close to his people
and to adhere
firmly to his cause and interest; see Acts 11:23. The
Targum is
"my
soul cleaveth after thy law;'
thy right hand upholdeth me; that he fell not through
the snares laid for him
and the stumbling blocks thrown in his way; that he
stood and bore up under all his afflictions
temptations
and difficulties;
that he was enabled to follow hard after the Lord
and cleave unto him; this
supported
supplied
and protected him
even the mighty power and grace of God.
In what a happy
comfortable
and safe condition must the psalmist be! his soul
following hard after the Lord; and the Lord holding and sustaining him with his
right hand! and how vain must be the attempts of his enemies against him! whose
destruction is next predicted.
Psalm 63:9 9 But those who seek
my life
to destroy it
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
YLT
9And they who for desolation
seek my soul
Go in to the lower parts of the earth.
But those that seek my soul to destroy it
.... Meaning
his life; for as for his soul
that was immaterial and immortal
and could
never be destroyed by man: but as for his natural life
his enemies laid snares
for that
and sought to take it away
and nothing less would satisfy them;
shall go into the lower parts of the earth; not the
grave
whither the righteous go as well as the wicked; besides
by their being
the portion of foxes
as follows
it seems that they should have no burial; but
hell is meant
the bottomless pit. Some take it to be a prayer
as Kimchi and
Ben Melech; "may they go"
or "let them go"
&c. see Psalm 55:15. The
allusion may be thought to be to the death of Korah and his company.
Psalm 63:10 10 They shall fall by the
sword; They shall be a portion for jackals.
YLT
10They cause him to run on
the edge of the sword
A portion for foxes they are.
They shall fall by the sword
.... As Saul
his sons
and mighty men
did
1 Samuel 31:4; or
"they shall make him pour out"F21יגירהו
"fundere facient eum"
Montanus; so Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Schmidt. ; that is
his blood
"by the hands" or "means
of the sword"; meaning either some principal enemy
as Saul in particular
or everyone of his enemies; who should be thrust with the sword
their blood
let out
and they slain: so antichrist
the enemy of David's son
will be put
to death in this manner
Revelation 13:10;
they shall be a portion for foxes; falling in desolate
places where foxes run
and so become the food of them
and have no other
burial. The foxes hunt after dead carcasses
and will find them out where they
are
in holes and ditches; as appears from the case of Aristomenes
related by
PausaniasF23Messenica
sive l. 4. p. 251. : so the followers of
antichrist
their flesh will be eaten by the fowls of heaven
Revelation 19:17.
Psalm 63:11 11 But the king shall rejoice
in God; Everyone who swears by Him shall glory; But the mouth of those who
speak lies shall be stopped.
YLT
11And the king doth rejoice
in God
Boast himself doth every one swearing by Him
But stopped is the mouth
of those speaking lies!
But the king shall rejoice in God
.... Not Saul
as R.
Obadiah; as if David wished him well
and that he might have reason to rejoice
in God
though he sought his hurt; which sense is rejected by Abea Ezra: but
either David
who speaks of himself as king
being anointed by Samuel
and who
upon the death of Saul
was so in fact; and who rejoiced
not merely at the
destruction of his enemies
for he lamented the death of Saul
2 Samuel 1:17; but
in God
in his grace and goodness to him
and in his power and justice shown in
the vengeance taken on them. Or rather
the King Messiah
who rejoiced in God
because of the good of his people
their conversion and salvation
and their
deliverance from their enemies
Psalm 21:1;
everyone that sweareth by him shall glory; not by David
though such a form of swearing was used; see 2 Samuel 15:21; or
"to him": and so describes his faithful subjects swearing allegiance
to him: but rather by the Lord
in whom the king should rejoice; and designs
the worshippers of him; swearing by him being sometimes put for the whole
worship and service of God
Deuteronomy 6:13.
The Heathens used to swear by their deities
and their chief was called Jupiter
Horcius
because he presided over oathsF24Euripidis Medea
v. 170.
Vid. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 5. c. 10. . Or else that the King Christ
should rejoice in God; and intends such as believe in him and confess him; see Isaiah 45:23
compared with Romans 14:11. And
every such an one will glory
not in themselves
nor in anything of theirs
but
in Christ
in his grace and righteousness
and in what he is unto them;
but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped; such as
Saul's courtiers
who invented and spread lies of David; but now upon the death
of Saul
and David's advancement to the throne
would be silent; their mouths
being stopped either by death
or through fear: and so all the followers of antichrist
that make and believe a lie
will have their mouths stopped
when cast into the
lake of fire
Revelation 21:8.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》