3/22/2012 9:15:33 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Worship in the Wilderness
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 63:1-2
Message of the verses: “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, #1Sa 22:5 23:14,24,25 24:1; all which were in the tribe of Judah, #Jos 15:55,62; 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, #2Sa 15:23 16:2 17:29. 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, #Jos 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, #Mt 4:1,2; 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, #Re 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, #Ho 2:14 Eze 20:35.” (John Gill)
“In deepest words of devotion, this psalm expresses David’s intense love for his Lord. The psalm was written while David was in the Judean wilderness, either during his flight from Saul (1Sam. 23), or more likely from Absalom (2Sam. 15:cf. 63:11 ‘the king’). David writes from the perspective of these tenses:
I. Present—Seeking God’s Presence (63:1-5)
II. Past—Remembering God’s Power (63:6-8)
III. Future—Anticipating God’s Judgment (63:9-11)” (John MacArthur Study Bible)
“The superscription informs us that David was ‘in the wilderness of Judah’ when he wrote this psalm, suggesting that it was probably during Absalom’s rebellion (2Sam. 15:23). However, he didn’t look back in regret at the mistakes he had made as a father, nor did he look around in fear or complaint at the discomforts and dangers of the wilderness. Instead, he looked up to the Lord and reaffirmed his faith and love. In an hour when David might have been discouraged, he was excited about God, and in a place where there was no sanctuary or priestly ministry, David reached out by faith and received new strength from the Lord. Note the progressive experiences he had as he sought for the Lord’s guidance and help at a difficult time in his life.”
Desiring God (vv. 1-2): “1 ¶ «A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.» O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.”
Michael Card, who not only writes songs but sings them too, and the songs that he writes are based on his study of the Word of God, wrote a song entitled “In The Wilderness,” and the song is based upon the wilderness experiences of people found in the Scriptures.
“In The Wilderness lyrics
In the wilderness
In the wilderness
He calls His sons and daughters
To the wilderness
But He gives grace sufficient
To survive any test
And that's the painful purpose
Of the wilderness
In the wilderness we wander
In the wilderness we weep
In the wasteland of our wanting
Where the darkness seems so deep
We search for the beginning
For an exodus to hold
We find that those who follow Him
Must often walk alone
In the wilderness
In the wilderness
He calls His sons and daughters
To the wilderness
But He gives grace sufficient
To survive any test
And that's the painful purpose
Of the wilderness
In the wilderness we're wondering
For a way to understand
In the wilderness there's not a way
For the ways become a man
And the man's become the exodus
The way to holy ground
Wandering in the wilderness
Is the best way to be found
In the wilderness
In the wilderness
He calls His sons and daughters
In the wilderness
But He gives grace sufficient
To survive any test
And that's the painful purpose
Of the wilderness
Groaning and growing
Amidst the desert days
The windy winter wilderness
Can blow the self away
In the wilderness
In the wilderness
He calls His sons and daughters
To the wilderness
But He gives grace sufficient
To survive any test
And that's the painful purpose
Of the wilderness
And that's the painful promise
Of the wilderness”
David knew the wilderness experiences of life for he had spent ten years running from Saul and much of it was living in the wilderness.
We see in Psalm 63 that David was lacking physical necessities and there is not a lot of food and water in the wilderness but we also see that David did not lack Spiritual necessities for in verse two David speaks of the seeing God in the Sanctuary. We have physical senses that are in need of being satisfied, but we also have spiritual needs that are in need of being satisfied. The writer to the Hebrews says this about are spiritual senses: “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” How do we get this “solid food” in which we can have our spiritual senses trained? The Word of God is the answer to this question, but as we learn in Psalm 63 David knew much about the Word of God and because of this he turned the wilderness into worship. Jesus spoke in John 6 that He is the bread of life, and in John 4:1-14 we learn about the water of life by His Spirit, this is also seen in John 7:37-39; and Rev. 22:17. Jesus said that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled (Matthew 5:6). Just as Jesus told His disciples in John 4:32 that he had food to eat that they did not know about, so David could be saying the same thing.
Dr. Wiersbe writes these timely words for those of us who are experiencing wilderness experiences “It is our regular worship that prepares us for the crisis experiences of life. What life does to us depends on what life finds in us, and David had in him a deep love for the Lord and a desire to please Him. Because David had seen God’s power and glory in His house, he was able to see it in the wilderness as well!”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: It is because that there are some wilderness experiences that I am experiencing at this time that I am thankful for the encouragement that I am finding in Psalm 63 and also in the song by Michael Card. Turning wilderness experiences into worshipful experiences is something that I am in need of learning more about.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To continue to learn from some difficult experiences. To continue to read and study the Word of God so that I can continue to grow and as I grow more in the Lord then I am better prepared for the wilderness experiences. I want to continue to learn contentment.
3/22/2012 10:13:44 AM
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