The Pilgrim Path---Psalm 63: 1 – 8

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 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.

“MY SOUL CLINGS TO YOU…”

Your soul, that which animates your physical body, needs a place for:

---Silence (verse 1)---only Jehovah-Jesus gives quiet in the noise of the World.

---Salvation (verse 2)---ultimate deliverance from personal transgression comes only from Jehovah-Jesus. The devil will never “sweep” His Own away (no matter Satan’s accusations).

---Strength (verses 3, 4)---amidst unjust attacks in this world (physical, verbal, emotional---there are so many).

---Soul Certainty and Soul Satisfaction (verses 5 – 8)---HE is our Hope and Shield!

Here is some superb guidance from Ellen Mary Dykas (Harvest USA)---she could save you many hours of counseling---and thousands of dollars---if you would hear her:

David’s worshipful words in Psalm 63 about God’s satisfying love reveal where his hope was placed and are astounding when we consider the relational world of the “man after God’s heart” (I Sam. 13: 14). He had multiple wives, a kindred spirit friendship with Jonathan (see I Sam. 18: 1), and a prophet of God who invested in him so he’d be faithful to the LORD (see II Sam. 12: 1 – 15). In all these relational scenarios, the ultimate outcome in David’s life was reveling in God and the hope he had in him; it was God’s love that he considered supremely satisfying. David had it right: our hope needs to be focused on God’s unwavering, soul-satisfying, steadfast love. People can indeed image God’s love---which is a beautiful gift---yet our ultimate hope for satisfaction should be not in what people offer us but in the ONE who gives the gift of relationships in the first place…Reflect: How much do you hope, and perhaps demand, that people be what only God can be for you: a perfect source of love, affirmation, and never-failing commitment? How is God gently drawing you to himself, while leading you away from those misplaced hopes?

From Richard Sibbes: What a man loves, he often thinks of. True faith carries the whole soul to Christ; the understanding to see, the will to choose and cleave, the affections to joy, delight and love---it carries all.

Grace and Peace in Jesus, the Only Redeemer of broken and wretched souls, Pastor Jason