Preparation for Heavenly Living Correspondence School

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PFHL Course 312-- Desire for God, Psalm 63 (9 pages)

(by Bill Stevenson)

Note: The following comments and questions were my reaction to a series of messages by Dr.
Al Sanders during the Biola Hour during October 1976. I shared the comments in this
paper with the Bethel Christian Academy teachers during the week of February 14,
1977. It was slightly modified on March 10, 1999.

Directions: Answer the questions and take notes for an essay about how you personally relate
or have experienced the concepts in the following response to Psalm 63. This is
worth 2 units, so write at least 2 quality pages (single spaced lines and no
redundancies).

A.) Current rainwater shortage-- the ground and plant life need water.
Is there also thirsting for God?
B.) Setting-- the wilderness of Judah when David was being hunted.
David experienced something new with the Lord in the bleakest of conditions.
Have you ever found yourself in the wilderness of life
when you didn’t know what was going to happen in the near future?
Did you mutter or sputter, fume or spurt, mumble, or grumble?
Or did you spend some time in prayer or song with God?
Or did you study hours in God’s Word?
We should find God closest when we are in a wilderness experience.
Also in teaching, we may feel like we are in a wilderness of problems.
When feeling school pressures, do we get mad, turn-off,
or bury ourselves in paper work.
Or do we at least pray and be thankful to God inside our hearts
and study the Bible for guidance as soon as possible.
When David was pressured, he apparently usually prayed and sang to God.
How many times has a song or a tune come to you
when you felt pressured or alone?

1 O GOD, You are my God,

earnestly will I seek You;
my inner self thirsts for You,
my flesh longs {and} is faint for You,
in a dry and weary land where no water is.
C.) The first “God” is actually the Elohim meaning of God the Creator
and the second “God” is actually the Elohim meaning of God
the All-mighty, the All-powerful One.
We should also be impressed with the use of many personal pronouns in the Psalms.
Notice how many times David used the words “I”, “My “, “Thou”, and “Thee”.
There are no clichés, no pretensions;
it’s just a flat-out expression of a personal relationship with the Lord.
The word translated “early” here is from Hebrew word meaning “dawn”.
Mornings are usually our most alert times.
How do we wake-up?
Do we feel short on sleep?
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 Or do we thank God and commit the day to Him?
Do we spend at least 5 minutes in God’s Word for personal guidance?
Do we expect a blessing from each morning teachers’ devotion?
Going on, our morning class time is precious for inspiring students
to work hard in the basic fundamentals of our curriculum.
Are we enthusiastic examples in the morning so that our students may think
that we have just been with Jesus Christ
as Acts 4:13 indicates of Peter and John?
In times of trouble, do we seek God’s guidance early
or do we wait until everything else has failed?
We should be good examples of relying on God for each day and each situation.
David didn’t say, “my soul thirsteth for water”
nor “my soul thirsteth for the blood of those who are after me”.
We might replace those phrases with other things of teachers common desires
like “classroom peace” or “student understanding”.
Our students may say they thirst after “fun or “high grades”, etc.
Instead, we as believers should have a constant craving
(which has been aroused by the Holy Spirit)
to seek after the truths of God.
We should not be ashamed to be seen reading
the Bible or other religious writings
during lunch, study hall, or in public.
What are our priorities?
Do we really know what it means to hunger and thirst for the Lord?
Can we declare, “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God”. [Psalm 84:2]
Jesus also reminds us,
“Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled”. [Matthew 5:6]
What a promise, especially for a Christian school!
If we don’t know about this true thirst and hunger,
then how can we inspire our students to seek God’s truth for their lives?
Is God’s will for us constantly first?

2 So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary

to see Your power and Your glory.
D). David was seeking to experience the power and glory of God in the wilderness
like he had felt in the Tabernacle.
God is everywhere, and in so many wonderful ways in the Bible.
In any wilderness or under any pressures,
we should go to the Word of God as soon as possible.
We can experience God’s power and glory
by reading the Bible with the right attitude.
The Word of God can be “dynamite” which can be used
either for building tunnels of understanding
or for exposure/destruction of buildings of false doctrine.

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 At least two leaders in the past tried to destroy
all copies of the Bible and failed.
Many people have died for believing and standing for the Bible doctrine.
Currently, individuals are being arrested in some countries
for even having only one chapter of the Bible.
How should we use the great book while we still have freedom to do so?
The Bible is the only book in which new understandings of its contents
can happen every time it is read if the reader has the right attitude.
All other books are rarely reread even.
How much of the Bible is in your “heart” and lived frequently?

3 Because Your loving-kindness is better than life,

my lips shall praise You.
E.) This is a beautiful testimony. Psalm 138:2 has a similar declaration.
Now in reaction to this,
do you really believe that God’s loving-kindness is better to you than life itself?
Dr. Sanders had some warnings at this point:
“Remember now that life is man’s most valuable and precious commodity.
He clings to it so tenaciously.
Death is something that he continually abhors.
How much we value our lives.
Any surgery is shunned;
even amputation is looked upon with horror.
But is the time comes when these things are necessary,
our whole desire is, ‘Do whatever you have to do,
but spare my life’.”
Also, there are Christians who say they do not want to die
in certain ways.
But if we are chosen to suffer for our Christian beliefs,
God’s loving-kindness will always give us peace of heart.
David, in this verse, showed his abnormal openness of heart.
If we have an open heart to God’s loving-kindness,
non-believers will indeed think we are peculiar people.
Like David, we should allow our lips to praise God in prayer or song.
Some Christians may think that this verse and the next 5 verses
may just be for Holy Rollers, etc.
I don’t believe so.
How many “Amen’s” or “thank you Lord’s” have come through your lips
or have you heard lately?
Shouldn’t all believers let their lips be used as a means of bringing glory
to our wonderful Lord?
Do your think it’s possible to love someone (especially Jesus Christ)
without telling others about it?
Shouldn’t we grow into a very deep love with God’s Word
and express ourselves in a genuine fashion
whenever we can in all subject areas?

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4 So will I bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
F.) David emphasizes the present in this verse.
Many Christians say they will open up in these ways after the Second Coming.
It is human nature to want to be accepted by others
and control emotions to seem mature.
But aren’t there many Scriptural statements against people-pleasing?
Were all of the people of faith in the Bible unemotional?
Jesus Christ showed deep feeling many times
in the recorded parts of His ministry.
We should be able to always think of something
to praise (at least internally) the Lord
even if it is just because of good health or Jesus is God!
David, while facing possible death made time to bless God by lifting his voice and
hands.
We are not facing real dangers of death,
but how much of our time do we use to thank God
or bring blessing to the hearts of others by encouraging them
with some words of truth from Scripture?
Generally, the usual thing that happens is that we put off blessing the Lord
until we are in trouble, the situation is desperate, and there is some special need.
David is not saying that he lifted his arms all his life.
And I believe that we can lift our arms spiritually
because of the way we feel spiritually.
I believe the best way we can bless God is for each of us to constantly seek
to be used by God as sincere ministers of His Truth.
Everything we think or do should be for God’s glory,
and then our students should be encouraged.
5 My whole being shall be satisfied
as with marrow and fatness;
and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips
G.) David briefly states a good picture of contentment.
The following is how Dr. Sanders related to this verse:
“We all have goals set out as desired for ourselves as well as for our loved ones.
But frequently people make the mistake of thinking that the soul
is going to be contented with that which brings satisfaction for the body.
For instance, in the parable of rich fool
that is recounted for us in Luke 12,
the rich man had this same concept.
He thought his body was his soul.
In the 29th verse we find the quotation from his foolish lips,
‘And I will say to my soul, soul,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years;
take thine ease. Eat, drink, and be merry.’
But here again you see, let me emphasize, the soul doesn’t eat, doesn’t drink,
and there is nothing from a physical standpoint
that could ever possible bring it contentment.

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 The only thing that satisfies the soul,
because it is made to be in a faith relationship directly with God,
is that personal encounter of a growing nature
that comes through salvation.”
Are we each content like Paul indicated in Philippians 4:11-12 & 4-7?
This chapter of the Bible has the ways to obtain this Christian contentment
which is the peace of God and can be reassuring
during times of increasing trials and pressures.

6 When I remember You upon my bed

and meditate on You in the night watches.
H.) The first part of this verse is not for insomnia.
I believe a true Christian should be easily able to go to sleep just
by reflecting on the goodness and mercy of God.
Concerns and anger should be left out of the bedroom.
Jesus Christ should be completely in our hearts as we go to sleep,
because He may come back while we are not awake.
For many years my mother lost sleep when she remembered
her worse childhood memory of her being angry
in response to her father beating her in checkers
and her not saying “good night” to him the night he died.
Philippians 4:8 also tells us what we should think about
especially just before we go to sleep.
If we have the peace of God in us,
we do not need “Sleep-eze” or any other thing
to get the proper rest each night.
Our minds should be turned to God as much as possible, even while sleeping,
and then He can keep His promises to us.
He will watch over us at night
and prepare us for the challenges of the next day.

7 For You have been my help,

and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.
I.) This verse should inspire us to pause and consider
the reason why God had done so much for us.
In the 103rd Psalm, there is the exhortation,
“Bless the Lord, Oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”
During our busy lives of relating to people,
we do have a tendency to forget the blessed truth that
we have been kept “in the shadow of God’s wings”,
even before we were saved by His grace.
Consider what all He has kept us from!
Only God could so completely take care of us.
How can we not be thankful at all times?
In this verse David is saying, because of all the help God has been in the past,
there is ample reason to trust Him even now in this wilderness experience.

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 A true Christian shouldn’t cower, he or she shouldn’t shiver for fear,
he or she shouldn’t quake,
but he or she should simply rejoice in all that God has done for him or her.
Can we rejoice more in front of our students and each other?

8 My whole being follows hard after You

{and} clings closely to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
J.) In this verse, the King James Version Bible phrase “hard after” really means
“to be glued”.
A believer’s soul should feel as if it is glued to God forever
no matter what temptations.
The word “followeth” indicates action of commitment.
This is personal and must be based on the only relationship of redemption.
The Scriptures state that the true striving and commitment requires laborious exertion.
Many people just don’t want to take the time.
They can’t be bothered to get that close to the Lord,
too many other things to accomplish.
Can we inspire our students to redeem the time in the right way if we really aren’t?
We should show sincere perseverance in seeking the Lord.
“The conditions may not be ideal.
The emotional feelings may not run toward this particular direction,
but the Lord desires that we should seek Him
at every turn and experience in life.
We find the application of that when we look at David himself.
When he was smitten with his guilt because of the act of adultery and later murder,
he definitely followed hard after the Lord.
When temptation came, and surely it did,
even after the confession of the sins that he had committed,
he followed hard after the Lord.
Just as diligently as Saul had hounded his tracks,
just as diligently as did his later enemies
through Absalom and those who followed his wicked train,
so David pursued and became glued to the Lord.
It is so dangerous for us when we walk in our own way.
This is why the wisdom of the book of Proverbs declares,
‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding;
in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct they paths.’
[Proverbs 3:5-6]”
My commitment/prayer translation of the just mentioned,
and I remind myself of it almost every time I start something, is
“I want to trust You [God] completely
and I don’t want to rely on my past understanding, knowledge, or experiences.
I will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit whenever I start something
and will thank You [God] for every success I have.”
If I do the just mentioned,
I know that the Holy Spirit will direct my future decisions and doings.”

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Back to Psalm 63, “an interesting translation of verse 8 simply lays it out,
‘my soul, fast to Thy skirts would I cling’.
It gives us the picture of a little child hanging onto the outer garment of his mother,
afraid to be lost in the crowded confusion of life.
You remember the account in Scripture of the woman
who had the issue of blood for more than 12 years.
She was gravely ill and the physicians had really given up on her,
except to take whatever funds she had for treatments.
Her claim was, ‘If only I could touch the hem of His garment’.
Do you see the relationship here?”
At this point, we should each reflect on our respective ministries of teaching
and ask ourselves if we are truly constantly seeking God’s help
for meeting the various needs of our students.
Only He knows the just mentioned; we can’t mind read.
Do our students realize that
we are indeed following the Lord via Holy Spirit and Bible guidance,
and that no person or problem can separate us
from His will for us in teaching others?
The Bible emphasizes the great responsibility for those who choose to teach.
See James 3:1, Matthew 18:5-6 & 5:19.
Professional teaching should be a considered a divine calling. Do you?
Dr. Al Sanders continued, “The last part of verse 8 confirms,
‘Thy right hand up-holdeth me.’
Now the right hand traditionally symbolizes in Scripture four things.
First of all, it means power.”
There are more right-handers than left-handers in the world.
The right side of the anatomy of these people generally has more strength
than the other side because it is regularly used.
“So there is power in the right hand,
showing a close union and a commitment of mutual desire.
This is what fellowship is all about.
Finally, the ‘right hand’ in Scripture symbolizes
protection, love, consideration, and concern.
There are some beautiful precious thoughts in this connection.
Just a few verses of Scripture
so familiar and yet applicable in this direct sense are
Deuteronomy 33:2,
‘From God’s right hand went a fiery law.’
This, you see, shows His power.
Psalm 16:11,
‘At God’s right hand are pleasures for evermore.’
Here we can see the importance of His fellowship.
In Mark 14:62, Jesus Christ stated that He would be
‘sitting on the right hand of power’.
This firmly indicates protection.
The Savior is there now
and we are His special consideration.

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 The fact of the matter is, we are upheld
not by a book , a creed, or a philosophy,
but we are upheld by God, Christ Himself.
What a blessed truth to encourage
even the most dejected heart.”
And now we know so much more than David did
when he made this claim in the wilderness.
What more do we need to be more dedicated to the Lord’s will and Word?

9 But those who seek {and} demand my life to ruin {and} destroy it
shall [themselves be destroyed and] go into the lower parts of the Earth
[into the underworld of the dead].
K.) David indicates his concern for his enemy in this verse and the next one.
Dr. Sanders says: “The purpose of Absalom wasn’t only to take over the kingdom
but also, in his wicked imagination, he had devised a plan to kill his own father.”
David’s foe, Absalom, is hardly to be compared with our greatest enemy, namely Satan,
but Absalom was wanting to do what Satan wanted--
destroy one of God’s most respected children.
If by faith we have received Jesus Christ as Savior,
the devil knows he can’t rob us of our salvation,
but he can bring spiritual defeat into our daily experiences.
There are a lot of Christians
who are living mediocre, sub-normal lives of spiritual existence,
defeated so often because of the overcoming power of temptation.”
Human nature is weak and sinful;
faith is God
and His written word is the only defense and offense against Satan.
In this verse, David concisely indicates his confidence in God
in that he knows that those who seek to destroy his soul will be condemned.
We should have the same confidence
never forgetting that Satan and his helpers are defeated foes
as the book of Revelation states.
Reread Psalms 37 and 73.
Remembering this, we don’t have to wonder why
the righteous seem to usually have such a difficult time living on this planet
and unGodly seem to usually prosper so beautifully.
Vengeance was not in David’s mind and it never should be in ours;
God will finally judge and condemn those who seek to destroy souls.

10 They shall be given over to the power of the sword;

they shall be a prey for foxes {and} jackals.
L.) This is just a further delineation concerning those
who seek to either destroy the child of God
or who seek a breaking continuity of believers’ fellowship.
As teachers, we should remind our students
about the Final Judgment of those who reject Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
There is no “plea-bargaining” or compromise of any sort.
They could become engulfed by their sins.

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 Going to the last phrase of this verse, Dr. Sanders makes the following points:
“Beasts were originally given to men for their food,
but here men are given the beasts as with a prey.
In the days of our Savior’s crucifixion,
the children of Israel flatly refused to believe ‘the Lamb of God
Who taketh away the sin of the world’.”
Instead, most of them chose to believe their religious leaders
in their doctrine that the Messiah was still to come.
So let us give out the above indicated warning whenever we feel led by the Holy Spirit;
it may be too late for that person or persons even one second later.

11 But the king shall rejoice in God;

everyone who swears by Him [that is, who
binds himself (or herself) by God's authority,
acknowledging His supremacy, and
devoting himself (or herself) to His glory and service alone;
every such one] shall glory,
for the mouths of those who speak lies shall be stopped.
M.) David ties up the whole Psalm with this verse
that has several completed Bible reminders for us.
We should never forget our position as kings and priests unto our God.
Being thankful for this position of faith,
do we really rejoice in God and are we really living victorious lives?
David, with great confidence in the wilderness while being hunted,
confidently affirms that everyone who really believes in God shall glory.
The glory belongs to God not us.
We just have to have faith
and simply obey the Holy Spirit has He guides us.
We should not try to guide ourselves or others
relying on our knowledge and past experience.
And we should be thankful and rejoice in anything good that happens.
We should have complete confidence in our Heavenly Father.
We should constantly remind our students
of this proper submission of true faith and love.
I was surprised how David ended this Psalm in a way
that James might have ended his section on the tongue
or as Paul might have after a passage on gossiping or rumoring.
It is very hard, and in some areas impossible,
to know who is lying or not speaking the truth,
but “everything, in the hour believers are waiting for,
will be made clearly evident as to the reality of God’s truth”.
[The book of Revelation with help from the book of Daniel.]
Realizing our responsibility as teachers,
we must constantly remind our students to speak the truth
so that their mouths can be used to bring glory to the Lord.
If we and our students do the things Psalm 63 recommends, we cannot lie.

In conclusion:
Let us seek to encourage each other to do as David did while being hunted in the wilderness.
Let us put God and His Word first in our teaching as much as humanly possible.
Let us strive to make Bethel Christian Academy truly Christian.
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