Well, good morning. Would you turn with me in your Bible to Psalm 63?
So we're continuing our summer series through the second section of the Psalms.
Psalm 63, it's found on page 479 if you're looking in one of the Pew Bibles.
Psalm 63, a psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
O God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live. In your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips
when I remember you upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night. For you have been
my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you. Your right hand
upholds me. But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth.
They shall be given over to the power of the sword. They shall be a portion for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God. All who swear by him shall exult. For the mouths of liars will be
stopped. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this psalm that David wrote so long ago. And we pray that
you would speak to us through these words here today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen. It's known as the toughest foot race in the world. The 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon
has happened every year since 1977 on July 15 in Death Valley National Park. The race starts 280 feet
below sea level. Continues over three mountain ranges to finish at 8,350 feet above sea level for a
cumulative vertical ascent of 13,000 feet. The average high temperature in Death Valley in July is 116 degrees.
This year, 96 competitors from 22 nations attempted the run. 81 finished it within 48 hours. The winner
finished 135 miles in a little less than 24 hours. Now that's five regular marathons back to back.
Most of us, it's hard to even imagine what's involved in such a feat.
Right? Training to survive 100 plus degree temperatures in the middle of the desert with
the sun beating down on you, running five marathons and climbing the equivalent of three or four
mountains in the course of pulling an all-nighter or two. It's intense. Far beyond almost all of our
daily experience. Now the psalm we're looking at this morning is also intense. And it's vivid.
Beyond most of our daily experience. Even the setting of the psalm is intense. It says it was
written when David was in the wilderness of Judah. Now the wilderness of Judah is the land east of
Jerusalem sloping down toward the Dead Sea. And it's a place with less than two inches of rain
that fall every year. Summer temperatures above 100 degrees. It's so dry that the land is often cracked
because the soil is so dry. And David was hiding out there most likely because his son Absalom had
staged a coup and taken over the throne from him. And he was fleeing for his life.
But even more than the setting or David's personal circumstances, we see in this psalm a vivid picture
of biblical spirituality or what it looks like to seek after God and be satisfied in God. David begins
by saying, Oh God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh faints for you.
As in a dry and weary land where there's no water.
David's life is oriented around pursuing God.
The way that a runner's life is oriented around preparing
for a marathon. From morning to night, everything that a serious runner does,
from the food they eat, to their exercise regime, to their sleeping schedule,
is oriented around the goal of training for the race.
And in a similar way, David's life was oriented around seeking God
from morning to night.
He says in verse 1, Earnestly I seek you.
The verse is sometimes translated,
Early I will seek you.
Either way, the point is that he's seeking God without delay,
without procrastination,
without hesitation,
without distraction,
without half-heartedness.
Excuse me.
When I was in college,
one of the few groups of people
who woke up early on a consistent basis
were some of the varsity athletes
who had early morning running or lifting
or rowing sessions.
And they organized their daily schedule
around their commitment
to pursuing their sport.
They fit in their classes
in that schedule
and their training
and went to bed at a reasonable hour.
And as a result,
they were more disciplined
than most other students
in how they spent their time.
Because they had a driving passion
around which the rest of their life
was organized.
And in a similar way,
David's passion for seeking after God
drives and motivates his life
from morning to night.
Verse 1 talks about seeking the Lord early.
Verse 6 talks about late at night
when he's laying in his bed
in the middle of the night
and he can't get to sleep.
And he says,
I remember you upon my bed
and I meditate on you
in the watches of the night.
For David,
God is the food that he eats,
the water that he drinks,
the air that he breathes,
and the peace
in which he can lie down and sleep.
David's relationship with God
is characterized
both by intensity
and by persistence.
Like a person living in the desert,
seeking after life-giving,
refreshing, energizing water.
If he doesn't find it,
he'll perish.
But you know,
David isn't just
making a one-time emergency request.
He's not just turning to God
out of desperate circumstances
until his life
gets smoothed out again.
Verse 2 says,
I've looked upon you
in the sanctuary.
In other words,
in the tabernacle in Jerusalem
when the people of God
would gather together
to worship
and where he was king
and where things were going well,
he said,
I have looked upon
your power and glory.
So the circumstances
don't really matter
whether David's all alone
in the wilderness of Judah
or whether he's surrounded
by God's people
in the city of Jerusalem.
His life is focused around
seeking after God.
But you know,
he doesn't just seek after God.
He also finds
great satisfaction in God.
Verse 5 says,
My soul will be satisfied
as with fat and rich food
and my mouth will praise you
with joyful lips.
Now literally that verse 5
says my soul will be satisfied
as with marrow and fatness.
And now that phrase
doesn't strike us
in exactly the same way
that it would have struck
an ancient Israelite.
Because we live in a culture
that has an ambivalent relationship
to fat.
Now, in one sense,
we do love fat.
We probably eat too much of it.
But in another sense,
we always hear,
we're constantly hearing messages
that fat is bad for you
and so you should buy skim milk
instead of whole milk
and buy chicken breasts
that are 99% lean
instead of drumsticks.
Right?
And all kinds of fat-free,
low-fat products.
But, although the diet trends
are always changing
and conflicting
so you don't always hear
the same advice
depending on who you're listening to.
But for an ancient Israelite,
their daily food
would have been bread
and grains
for the most part
with maybe a little bit
of olive oil
or a little bit of
very watered-down wine
and some dried fruit.
In some seasons of the year,
they might have vegetables
during certain growing seasons
or harvest seasons
or milk from sheep and goats.
But for the most part,
they ate bread.
That's what sustained them
from day to day.
Now, meat,
on the other hand,
meat was a delicacy.
Most people ate meat
a few times a year.
Maybe at weddings
or at the major Jewish feasts
or when an important guest
came to your house.
The only place
where meat was served
every single day of the year
was the king's table.
And so for most people,
meat was a special treat.
And they really enjoyed eating it.
And in the Israelite culture,
everybody knew
that the best part of the meat
was the fat and juicy parts.
Because they weren't just tasty,
they were satisfying.
They made you feel full
in a way that just eating bread
and some vegetables wouldn't.
And so David says here in verse 5,
My soul finds such satisfaction
in the Lord.
It's like I've just eaten
the best meal I could think of.
The best meal known to man.
I couldn't ask for anything else.
I'm satisfied.
I'm nourished.
I'm strengthened to face the day.
I'm gladdened.
I have joy in my heart.
That's the kind of deep satisfaction
that he experienced in God.
And then he goes on to say,
My mouth will praise you
with joyful lips.
You know, isn't that
what you naturally do
when you have a great meal?
Right?
You want to tell somebody else
and invite them to come with you
to this awesome new restaurant
that just opened,
that has this awesome food.
Or if you're at somebody else's house,
you just start giving,
gushing with compliments to the cook.
Not just because you're trying
to be polite,
but because you're really enjoying
the food that they've
carefully prepared for you.
And in the same way,
when we're satisfied
in the Lord,
we praise Him
not just because
we're trying to be polite
and do our duty
and we feel like we have to,
but because we want to.
Because we're so satisfied in Him
that we want to praise Him
and we want to thank Him
and we want to tell other people
how awesome He is.
And invite them
to taste and see
that He's good.
So we see in this psalm
this vivid picture
of seeking God
and being satisfied in God.
Now, of course,
the question that it raises for us
is what about our relationship
with God?
Does it look anything like this?
Does this characterize
our approach toward God?
Seeking and being satisfied in Him.
Well, maybe you're here today.
Maybe you're not a Christian.
Or maybe you're not sure
what you believe.
Maybe you would say
that you're a spiritual seeker.
Let me challenge you
with a question.
Are you seeking God
at your own pace
and on your own terms?
Are you seeking a God
that fits you?
A God who affirms you
as you are
and doesn't demand
that you change
in any way
that you don't already
want to change.
If the God described
in this psalm exists,
He's not someone
to simply be pursued
at your own pace
like a summer hobby
or an extracurricular
or an enrichment activity.
This God is someone
who calls you
to reorient
your whole life,
your feeling,
your thinking,
your desires,
your decisions
around Him
like a potential
marriage partner
even more.
A long time ago,
the Cambridge professor,
C.S. Lewis,
wrote the following.
He said,
people are reluctant
to cross over
from the notion
of an abstract deity,
an abstract idea
of God
to the living God.
An abstract idea
of God
does nothing,
demands nothing.
He's there
if you wish for Him,
like a book
on a shelf.
He will not pursue you.
But with the God
of the Bible,
it's different.
He says,
it is always shocking
to meet life
where we thought
we were alone.
Look, we say,
it's alive.
This is the very point
at which so many people
draw back.
I would have done
so myself
if I could
and proceed
no further
with Christianity.
An impersonal God,
well and good.
a subject of God,
of beauty,
truth and goodness
that exists
in our own head.
Better still,
a formless life force
surging through us,
a vast power
that we can tap into
best of all.
But God Himself,
alive,
pulling at the other end
of the cord,
perhaps approaching
at an infinite speed,
the hunter,
the king,
the husband,
that is quite another matter.
He says,
there comes a moment
when people who have been
dabbling in religion,
man's search for God,
suddenly draw back,
supposing we really found Him.
We never meant it
to come to that.
Worse still,
supposing He had found us.
Let me urge you,
do not draw back
from the living God
who is seeking after you.
It can be the scariest thing
in the world,
but at the same time,
it is potentially
the most liberating thing
in the world
because the Bible
seeks of a God
who seeks us
and who draws us
to seek after Him,
who puts an unquenchable thirst
in our mouths
that will only be satisfied
in Him.
Long ago,
another man said,
Lord,
You have made us
for Yourself
and our hearts
are restless
until they find
their rest in You.
And Jesus Christ
said,
Come to Me,
all you who are weary
and heavy laden,
and I will give you rest
for your souls.
So if you're seeking
the truth,
keep seeking
until you find it.
Seek Jesus
because perhaps
He is already seeking you
and drawing you
into a living relationship
with Him.
But now for those of us
who are Christians,
for those of us
who would say,
Yes,
I believe in Jesus,
I've come to Him.
What about us?
What do we seek after
with intensity,
with persistence?
Well,
many of us
seek after success
in our studies
or in our career.
Right?
Especially here
in New England,
work and school
demand a lot of time.
They demand often
not just weekdays,
but also evenings
and weekends
and traveling away
from home.
They demand energy
to develop new skills
and face difficult situations
and sometimes navigate
difficult relationships
with coworkers
or fellow students.
School demands money, too.
Now,
most of us are willing
to meet those demands
for time,
energy,
and even money
because we really
want to succeed
in our work.
Or many of us
want to stay in shape
or to get in shape.
And so we're motivated
to go to the gym
early in the morning
or to take long walks
before the weather
gets too hot
or play a sport.
We arrange our schedules
around these things
because we value them highly
and we find joy
when our health
is improving.
Some of us
are invested
in building a marriage
or raising a family.
Huge investments
that are constantly demanding
and at the same time
immensely rewarding.
And all of these things
are worthy pursuits.
But do we pursue God
who is supremely worthy
with even greater intensity
and even greater persistence?
Do we pursue God
not just on the side,
in addition to pursuing our work,
pursuing our health,
pursuing our relationships,
but do we pursue our work
and pursue our health
and pursue our relationships
in order to display
the glory of God
and out of thankfulness
and love for Him
who created all these things?
Do we joyfully praise God
and freely speak of Him
to others
because we found
such deep satisfaction in Him?
No, for most of us,
if we're honest,
the answer is no.
Or at least,
not consistently.
Maybe we have
occasional bursts
of spiritual intensity.
We pray
and seek God's help
in a time of crisis
followed by long periods
of complacency
when our life
is going
fairly smoothly.
You know,
if we think about
our normal daily routine,
from morning to night,
we often go through it
with little thought
for God.
Right?
And it's hard.
We drag ourselves
out of bed in the morning,
stumble into the shower,
go through the motions,
get ourselves out the door
to work or to class
or start taking care
of the kids.
Our days are busy,
full of work,
full of activity.
If we can,
we include some things
that are pleasurable,
whether it's a nice,
a good cup of coffee,
watching a movie
or a play
or getting together
with some friends.
And then finally,
at the end of the day,
we get into bed
and fall asleep.
And then if we can't
fall asleep right away
or if we wake up
in the middle of the night,
our thoughts range
from all the things
I need to do tomorrow,
anxiety over
difficult relationships,
guilt from past failures,
fear of future disappointments,
frustration at our inability
to get back to sleep
and the prospect
of going through
another day tired.
It's hard.
Even just to live
from day to day,
to just make it.
Then where does God
fit into all this?
Right?
Maybe we want to follow God.
We want Him to be
the center of our life
so we come to church
on Sundays.
Maybe we pray before meals
or go to a small group
in the middle of the week
or spend a few minutes
praying and reading
the Bible in the morning
at some time of day
but still,
if we're honest,
our life is far
from being saturated
with this seeking after God
and being satisfied in Him.
And that picture
that we have in this psalm,
it's sort of like
the picture
of the ultramarathon,
135 miles
through the middle
of the desert.
That's very admirable
for those 81 people
who could do it.
And that's not something
I am ever going
to try to do.
It just seems
completely impossible
and unrealistic
for me
in my circumstances.
I mean,
do you feel that way?
I feel that way often.
Our passion for God
is like a leaky bucket.
It's constantly losing water
until it gets filled up again.
Well, the good news
is that this psalm
doesn't just give us
a picture
of somebody else
who is seeking God
and being satisfied in Him.
And it doesn't just give us
a standard
to measure ourselves against.
That's what we've seen so far.
A picture
of someone seeking God
and being satisfied in Him.
A standard
to measure ourselves against.
The good news is
this psalm points us
to the resources
that we need
to experience this ourselves.
To seek God
and to be satisfied in Him
on a daily basis.
Now look down
at what David says.
We've looked mostly
at the first half
of the psalm,
verses 1 through 6.
But look down
at what David says
in verses 5 through 7.
He starts by saying,
my soul will be satisfied
as with fat and rich food.
He goes on,
when I remember you
on my bed.
And then in verse 7
he says,
for,
or because,
you have been my help.
In other words,
the reason
that David
is satisfied
in the Lord
is because
God has been
His help
in the past.
And then look down
at verse 8.
David says,
my soul clings to you,
but your right hand
upholds me.
It's a picture
of a fearful child
holding on
to his daddy's side
for dear life.
But his daddy
has his right hand,
his strong arm
around him.
And daddy
will not let
his child go.
He holds him close.
So David said,
God has been
my help in the past
and God upholds me
in the present.
And then verse 9
through 11,
David speaks of
God's promise
for the future.
He says,
those who seek
to destroy my life
will go down
into the depths
of the earth.
But the king
will rejoice in God.
In other words,
David's enemies
who were fighting
against God's purpose
would not have
the last word.
God will surely
be victorious.
So David points us
to these three things
that are the fuel
for a life
of seeking
and being satisfied
in God.
These three things,
God's help in the past,
God's hand in the present,
and God's promise
for the future.
And David experienced
all these things.
But you know,
you and I
can experience
these things
in an even
fuller measure
than David did.
Because
Jesus Christ
came
to give us
these three things
in an even
more profound way
than David
ever could have seen.
In Jesus Christ,
we see
that God has come
to be
our helper.
That He has helped us
in the past.
And the Hebrew word,
and you know,
that doesn't just mean
that He sort of
threw you a few bones
along the way.
You know,
sort of gave you
a few nice things
in life.
But the word helper
in Hebrew
means someone
who comes alongside you,
who joins with you,
who stands by you
with unwavering loyalty,
and does for you
what you could not
do for yourself.
That's why it's described,
used to describe
a marriage partner
in the Old Testament.
as well as
a military ally.
Right?
But the point is,
this is exactly
what Jesus did.
Jesus came
alongside us.
He lived with us
on this earth.
He joined Himself
to us.
He took on
our human nature.
He was tempted
in every way,
just as we are.
And yet,
He never sinned.
And He loved us
and stood by us
with unfailing loyalty.
It says He loved
His disciples
to the end.
Even to the point
of dying
for us on the cross.
Right?
Doing for us
what we could never do
for ourselves.
And when Jesus
died on the cross,
He paid the price
for our sin
so that we might
be forgiven
and free
from condemnation.
Jesus became ours
so that we might
become His.
so that we might
be able to say
God has been
my helper.
He has come
alongside me.
He has joined
Himself to me
in Jesus Christ
and He has done
for me what I could
never do for myself.
And He has stood
by me with
unfailing loyalty.
Like a true
friend.
A true ally.
A true helper.
And when we see
that,
when we see the
price that He paid,
to become
our helper,
we see that it's
so futile
and foolish
to live for ourselves.
It's so empty
to chase after
things in this world
that are just
going to pass away
and crave things
that just satisfy
us for a moment.
And we see that
He is worthy
because He's the one
who has stood by us
more than anyone else.
And so when we see
that, we begin
to have this desire
to live for Him
and to organize
our schedule around Him
and to orient
our life around Him
from early in the
morning until the
middle of the night.
To seek Him
with intensity
and with persistence
because He is
our greatest ally
and He has met
our greatest need.
So in Jesus
we see that God
has been our help
in the past,
but in Jesus
we also see that
God upholds us
in the present.
Through Jesus Christ
we have a Father
in Heaven
who holds us
in His mighty
right hand
and He will not
let us go.
He is holding you
in the midst
of sleepless nights,
in the midst
of oppressive heat,
in the midst
of a cancer diagnosis,
in the midst
of chronic pain,
in the midst
of a mental breakdown,
in the midst
of unemployment,
in the midst
of loneliness,
in the midst
of persecution,
in the midst
of all the other
troubles
that we experience
in this world
and all the deserts
that we have
to walk through.
But Jesus said
to His disciples,
Peace
I leave with you.
My peace
I give to you.
I do not give
to you
as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts
be troubled
and do not be afraid.
Just as David says
in verse 7,
Rest in the shadow
of His wings.
He is holding you
with His mighty
right hand.
In Jesus Christ,
God upholds you
in the present.
And finally,
in Jesus Christ
we have God's promise
for the future
that everyone
and everything
that opposes God
will be overthrown.
That sin
and Satan
and death
will not have
the last word.
We read this earlier
from Revelation chapter 7.
The promise
that one day
we will stand
before the throne
of God
and serve Him
day and night
in the shelter
of His presence.
And on that day
it says
we will hunger
no more
nor thirst
anymore
because Jesus,
the Lamb,
in the midst
of the throne,
He will be our shepherd
and He will guide us
to springs
of living water
and God will wipe
away every tear
from our eyes.
can you even imagine
that God will come
to you
that He upholds you
in His mighty right hand
and He'll never let you go
and He'll come to you
with the tenderness
of a mother
wiping the tears
from her child's face.
And all our thirst
and all our longing
and all our seeking
after God
will be one day
forever satisfied
in His presence
and will delight
in Him
for all eternity.
This is what we have
in Jesus Christ
that gives us
the fuel
for a life
of seeking
and being satisfied
in the Lord.
And today we're
just about to come
to the Lord's table
to celebrate communion.
And as we do that
we're invited
to experience
that future promise
breaking into
our present reality.
So as we prepare
to eat the bread
and drink the cup together
we're going to pray
and ask that Jesus
would come
and dwell among us
here by His Holy Spirit
and even lift us up
into His presence
so that our souls
would be satisfied
and nourished
and strengthened
and glad
and glad.
Psalm 34 says
taste and see
that the Lord
is good.
Blessed are all
who take refuge
in Him.
Let's pray.
O merciful Lord
we do not come
to this
your table
trusting in our own
righteousness
but in your
abundant
and great
mercies.
Lord we are not
even worthy
to eat the crumbs
under your table
but you have come.
You have been
our help.
You uphold us
in the present
and you have given us
a glorious promise
for the future.
You delight
in showing mercy.
So grant us
therefore
gracious Lord
so to eat this bread
and drink this cup
that we may evermore
dwell in you
and delight in you
and desire you.
For Jesus' sake.
Amen.