Psalm 63:1-11 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 63:1-2

The title tells us when the psalm was penned, when David was in the wilderness of Judah; that is, in the forest of Hareth (1 Sam. 22:5) or in the wilderness of Ziph, 1 Sam. 23:15. 1. Even in Canaan, though a fruitful land and the people numerous, yet there were wildernesses, places less fruitful and less inhabited than other places. It will be so in the world, in the church, but not in heaven; there it is all city, all paradise, and no desert ground; the wilderness there shall blossom as the... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 63:3-6

How soon are David's complaints and prayers turned into praises and thanksgivings! After Ps. 63:1, 2 that express his desire in seeking God, here are some that express his joy and satisfaction in having found him. Faithful prayers may quickly be turned into joyful praises, if it be not our own fault. Let the hearts of those rejoice that seek the Lord (Ps. 105:3), and let them praise him for working those desires in them, and giving them assurance that he will satisfy them. David was now in a... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 63:7-11

David, having expressed his desires towards God and his praises of him, here expresses his confidence in him and his joyful expectations from him (Ps. 63:7): In the shadow of thy wings I will rejoice, alluding either to the wings of the cherubim stretched out over the ark of the covenant, between which God is said to dwell (?I will rejoice in thy oracles, and in covenant and communion with thee?), or to the wings of a fowl, under which the helpless young ones have shelter, as the eagle's young... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:1

O God, thou art my God ,.... Not by nature only, or by birth; not merely as an Israelite and son of Abraham; but by grace through Christ, and in virtue of an everlasting covenant, the blessings and promises of which were applied unto him; and he, by faith, could now claim his interest in them, and in his God as his covenant God; who is a God at hand and afar off, was his God in the wilderness of Judea, as in his palace at Jerusalem. The Targum is, "thou art my strength;' early will I... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:2

To see thy power and thy glory ,.... Either the ark, as the Jewish writers generally interpret it; the symbol of God's presence and glory, and which is called his strength and his glory; see Psalm 78:61 ; or rather the Lord Christ, who is the power of God, as well as the wisdom of God; by whom he made the world, and upholds it; by whom he has redeemed his people, and keeps and preserves them; and whose power is seen in the efficacy of the word and ordinances: and who is also the glory of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:3

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life ,.... For life without the love of God is nothing else than death: a man that has no share in the love of God is dead while he lives; all the enjoyments of life, health, riches, honour, friends, &c.; are nothing without the love of God; the meanest temporal blessings with it are preferable to the greatest without it, Proverbs 15:17 ; it lasts longer than life, and therefore must be better than that; death cannot separate from it; it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:4

Thus will I bless thee while I live ,.... With his whole heart and soul, as he had sought after him, and as under a sense of his lovingkindness; and as he now praised him with his lips, so he determined to do as long as he had life and being; by proclaiming his blessedness, by ascribing blessing and honour to him, and by giving him the glory of all mercies temporal and spiritual; I will lift up my hands in thy name ; not against his enemies, against those that fought against him, as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:5

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness ,.... When he should return to the house of the Lord, and partake of the provisions of it, called the fatness of his house; see Gill on Psalm 36:8 . The phrase denotes the abundance of spiritual refreshment and delight in the word and ordinances, and the great satisfaction had in them; and may have some regard to benefits arising from prayer, as well as other ordinances. Fat was not to be eaten under the legal dispensation, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:6

When I remember thee upon my bed ,.... Or "beds" F17 יצועי "stratis meis", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Cocceius; so Junius & Tremellius, Ainsworth. ; seeing he lay in many, as Kimchi observes, being obliged to flee from place to place. The sense is, that when he was on his bed in the night season, when alone, and free from worldly cares and fatigues, and called to mind the love of God to him, the past experience of his kindness, his promises to hits, and the fulfilment of them:... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:7

Because thou hast been my help ,.... Or, "that thou hast been my help" F19 כי "quod", Musculus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth. ; and so the words may be considered as the subject of his meditation in the night watches, at least as a part of it; and as what gave him a great deal of pleasure to reflect upon, how the Lord had been in times past a present help to him in time of trouble; therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice ; meaning under the protecting power of... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 63:1-2

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 63:3-6

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 63:7-11

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:1

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:2

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:3

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:5

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 63:7

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