Today's Bible Translation



Bible translation used in today's episode: Ch. 63 HCSB; Ch. 64 NLT; Ch. 65 ERV



Podcast Introduction



It’s Psalms Wednesday, and we'll read chapters 63-65. I’m calling this episode “Safe In God’s Strong Hand.” As always with the Psalms, I’ll give you a brief introduction before reading each chapter, and I’ll end the reading with some comments.



Design: Scott Snider | Photo: Aaron Burden on Unsplash



Comments on Psalms 63-65



Introduction to Psalm 63



The title of this psalm is A Davidic psalm. When he was in the Wilderness of Judah." Commentators have two primary ideas as to when David wrote this psalm. Many believe that it was before he became king of Israel. Others believe it was when David was fleeing Absalom. Other commentators thing the psalm was written when King Saul was pursuing David.



Charles Spurgeon said that the very early church father, John Chrysostom (kri-SOSS-tum), who lived from a.d. 347 to a.d. 407, "tells us that among the primitive Christians it was decreed and ordained that no day should pass without the public singing of this psalm.”



Introduction to Psalms 64



The title of Psalm 64 is "For the choir director: A psalm of David."



David is pleading with God in the psalm. We have no information as to when the psalm was written.



Introduction to Psalms 65



The title is "For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. A song." It's rare for a psalm to have both Psalm and Song in the title. Charles Spurgeon had this to say, "The Hebrew calls it a Shur and Mizmor, a combination of psalm and song, which may be best described by the term, ‘A Lyrical Poem.’ In this case the psalm may be said or sung, and be equally suitable.”



This psalm does not tell us when or why it was written, but with its message of thanksgiving and praise and referencing flocks and grains, some think the psalm was written for a harvest festival.



Thoughts on Psalm 63



Psalm 63 begins with a declaration of devotion. “God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you.”



Scholars believe that this was written by David during the time that Absalom was pursuing him. This is a time when David had been betrayed by those he trusted, he feared for his life, and he felt all alone. 



And yet, this is a beautiful psalm of devotion and praise. 



God, you are MY God! I will have no other.



God, YOU are my God! 



God, you are my GOD!



I much prefer verses 3 and 4 in the KJV, because in 1974, Calvary Chapel’s Maranatha! Singers had a song called Thy Loving Kindness, based on these verses. I can’t read these verses without hearing the song in my head. Thy loving kindness is better than life. My lips shall praise Thee. Thus will I bless Thee. I will lift up my hands unto Thy name.



This was the first album of the worship music of the Jesus movement, and the songs from this album were sung for years and years by churches and youth groups around the world. I still have my copy of the vinyl album from 1974.



But I digress. We were talking about David’s psalm, weren’t we?



He says that at night as he lies on his bed, he meditates on the Lord. Remember, this is during the time that Absalom is after him, to kill him. But instead of worrying about that, David meditates on the Lord. How many of us lie in bed and worry about the bills, whether we’ll be able to keep our jobs, or if our kids will be okay, or on and on and on? 



1 Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Easier said than done, I know, but when we put this in context with the way we started… God, you are my God…the focus shifts from us to Him. And then, we can, like David, meditate on the Lord.



Dropping down to verse 8, David says, “Your right hand holds on to me.” The right hand, in Scripture, represents the hand of strength. And so David is saying that God’s strong hand holds on to him. He is safe, and nothing can take him from God’s strong grip. That’s security, beloved.