A Perspective On Psalm 63
David wrote this Psalm when he was deep in the trenches of the desert running from King Saul, possibly hiding out in the Cave of Adullam. Civilization was miles away, water and food certainly hard to come by, and he was surrounded by at least 400 men who were hiding out with him—misfits of society themselves with a black mark against their record.
Every instinct and inclination of man would probably be to give up by now. If not give up, then at least complain and tell God how terribly, no-good He is. I mean, technically, David hadn’t even done anything wrong! He was being hunted by the king simply because he was more “popular” than him with the people and knowing that David was God’s next anointed king of Israel. David was prey because of the king’s pride and envy.
At this point, most people would at least tell God how unfair it all was. Certainly, the people David was surrounded by were complaining and planning revenge on King Saul. It would have been all too easy to follow along with them. In a twisted way, it feels good to have a pity party.
But not David. Oh no! Despite the current odds stacked against him, how unfair it was, and how mire the circumstances surrounding him were, David chose instead to glorify God, right where he was. In the messiness of his current situation (which would last close to 10 years), David decided to praise and thank his Father.
“God, You are my God.” David raises his hands to the heavens. “I eagerly seek You. I thirst for you,” he says with parched, cracked lips. “My body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.” His eyes graze over the arid landscape, then he turns his eyes up to the clouds with a smile on his face. “So I gaze on You in the sanctuary to see Your strength and Your glory.”
“My lips will glorify You because Your faithful love is better than life.” He hears a faint whistle in the background from one of the men, and a few people laugh and cheer. He ignores them and says, “So I will bless You as long as I live; at Your Name, I will lift up my hands.” His stomach clenches with pain and growls. “You satisfy me as with rich food; my mouth will praise You with joyful lips.” (Taken from Psalm 63—perspective added for emphasis)
Can you imagine David at this moment? I’ve never been in such a dire situation as David was right then, but I think about the moments in my life when it certainly felt hopeless and bleak. If I were to be honest, I wasn’t always ready to lift my hands in praise to God. I’ve complained, doubted, and wrestled with fear and anxiety, but my first inclination wasn’t always to praise Jesus in the storm.
But what if we did? What if we chose to be like David and raised our hands to the heavens instead of raising our fists to that person who hurt us, to the tragedy, the loss, or the heartache? What if we, instead, decided to surrender our circumstances to God and remember who He is?
If you are in the middle of a hard moment or season, I encourage you to do what David did here. Pray this Psalm over yourself and surrender the burdens of your heart, the grief of your loss, the hurt of a loved one, and the circumstances you find yourself in, even if it appears unfair or undeserved, to the One who offers a generous amount of grace, love, mercy, and comfort for your weary soul.
God is waiting for you, dear one! His “right hand holds on to you” (Psalm 63:8), even now.
