Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19970302.htm

PSALMS: DIARIES OF GODLY OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
Psalm Sixty-Three - Surviving An Unjust Loss Of A Comfortable Lifestyle
(Psalm 63:1-11)
  1. Introduction
    1. Though Psalm 62:1-12 informs the believer on the key to making a comfortable livelihood, because of life's complications, a comfortable livelihood can be unjustly taken away by the actions of others around us.
    2. Psalm 63:1-11 handles the problem of surviving an unjust loss of a comfortable lifestyle as follows:
  2. Surviving An Unjust Loss Of A Comfortable Lifestyle, Psalm 63:1-11.
    1. Psalm 63 was written as David fled Jerusalem to avoid a confrontation with his rebellious son, Absalom.
      1. The wilderness of Judah, the eastern frontier of the possession allotted to the tribe of Judah, was where this psalm was formed according to the introductory notes, cf. J. A. Alexander, Psalms, p. 270.
      2. Strong internal similarities of Hebrew expressions exist linking this psalm's setting to those referring to events surrounding Absalom's rebellion, Ps. 3, 4, 42, and 61, Ibid., p. 271.
      3. Besides, David is a king at the time the psalm was written according to Ps. 63:11, meaning that his flight into the wilderness to avoid enemies was after the death of Saul, Ibid.
    2. Thus, David was experiencing the loss of the comfortable lifestyle he once knew as Israel's king, noting that he was in a dry, weary land where there was no water and its attending bounty, Ps. 63:1-2, 6a!
      1. The expression of need is made where David is painfully aware of the barren land of his current abode in light of what he used to know of the comforts of God's plush presence in the tabernacle, Ps. 63:1-2.
      2. David's reference to the richest of foods in verse 6 recalls a diet he now no longer enjoys as he is not in a land blessed by rich rainfall and its crop bounties, but in a desert region with scant, bare necessities.
    3. In this stark setting and his sense of material loss, David found fulfillment with a lesson for all in his shoes:
      1. David recognized that in the absence of his former lifestyle's comforts, his only option for fulfillment was to fill his soul with fellowship with God: accordingly, he called for God's help, Ps. 63:1-2.
      2. The reason David sought this alternative to the loss of his former lifestyle's comforts was that God's loyal love was better than his earthly life itself, Ps. 63:3: intimate spiritual fellowship with God fulfills where all the comforts of a plush life as a king in a palace cannot quite satisfy.
      3. In realization that real happiness rested in one's fellowship with God, David stated in worship his preference for fellowship with God above his former comfortable lifestyle's provisions, Ps. 63:4-5.
      4. David also saw God as His help in his current crisis that had caused his loss of comfortable living:
        1. He could express His worship at night when he lay on his bed with thoughts of the troubles that had chased him out of the palace into the wilderness, Ps. 63:6-7.
        2. His God was David's protection like the wings of an eagle shelters its hatchlings, Ps. 63:8-9.
        3. Because of these truths, David expressed confidence that God's loyalty to covenant regarding his right to rule would be upheld, and that the enemies seeking his life would be overturned, Ps. 63:9-11.
Lesson: If facing the UNJUST loss of life's material comforts, (1) recall that fulfillment is NOT found by way of material comforts, but only through FELLOWSHIP with the LORD. Armed with this truth, (2) fellowship with the Lord by means of (a) confession of sin if needed (1 Jn. 1:7-9), (b) dependence upon His indwelling Spirit for behavior and thought control (Gal. 5:16-23) and (c) obedien ce to His Word. (3) Handle the unjust parties behind the loss by (a) trusting the Lord's promises regarding His will for our lives to offset their worst efforts (Ps. 63:7-11) and (b) trusting God's promises to RESTORE what we materially need to do that will, Ps. 63:11; 1 Sam. 16:12-13.

Application: View an unjust material setback as an OPPORTUNITY to recall the following proper perspectives on material comforts: (1) losing material possessions exposes our REAL source of blessing -- the Lord, Who richly gives us all things to enjoy, cf. 1 Tim. 6:17c. (2) If the source of an unjust material setback is a relative (as in David's case), leave the pa in of our loss with GOD, Ps. 63:9-11. After all, everything we REALLY need will be restocked by God if we need it to do His will, for doing His will is the REASON why He supplies us material blessings in the FIRST place!