Psalms 63

There is a twofold fruition, or enjoying of God; the one is in this life, the other in the life to come. First, an enjoying of God here in this life: the enjoying of God's presence; it is a great matter to enjoy God's ordinances (a mercy that some do envy us), but to enjoy God's…

Are we children, we love the presence of God in his ordinances? In prayer we speak to God, in the preaching of his Word he speaks to us: And how does every child of God delight to hear his Father's voice (Psalm 63:1-2)? My soul thirsts for you, to see your glory so as I have see…

Jacob loved Rachel, and he would endure the heat by day, and the frost by night that he might enjoy her. A soul that loves God will take any pains for the fruition of him (Psalm 63:8): "My soul follows hard after God." Love is Pondus animae, Aug.

Did Christ rise early to save us, and shall not we rise early to worship and glorify him? Psalm 63:1: "Early will I seek you." Can we be up early on other days?

What delight has a gracious soul in prayer (Isaiah 56:7): I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. While a Christian weeps there is joy drops with tears; while he is musing on God he has such illapses of the Spirit, and as it were such transfigurations of soul, that he thi…

And these had no respect to any legal institution, so that their practice should be thought to be reproved in those passages of the Gospel which shall be mentioned afterwards. 3. That oaths were in use and approved of under the Law and the administration thereof, is not by any d…

So when the soul seeks God, not only in public duties, but also, where no eye of man sees; and it is the Lord himself that is there sought; this is an evidence of much love sometimes. I say not when much pains in duties is taken; for that may come from other causes, but when als…

How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! This drops as the honeycomb; it dulcifies and sweetens the waters of Marah; it is better than life (Psalm 63:3). It has a hyper-hyperbole in it; it passes knowledge (Ephesians 3:19).

So (Psalms 119:132) Look upon me, and be merciful to me, as you use to do to those that love your Name: surely that which God gives to his people, that's a better mercy than that which God gives to his enemies. Again, these are mercies that cost God dearer; they flow to you in t…

A gracious heart diligently kept feeds many precious thoughts of God in a day (Psalm 139:17): 'How precious are your thoughts to me, O God! how great is the sum of them! if I should count them, they are more in number than the sand; and when I awake, I am still with you.' And as…

It is there the day of his power dawns (Psalm 110:3). It is there his saints see his power and his glory (Psalm 63:2): the sanctuary is called the firmament of his power (Psalm 150:1). The glory of God's attributes is centered in Christ in a higher manner than in the creation, a…

But certainly that expression of seeking the Lord, is very commonly used to signify something more than merely, in general, to seek some mercy of God: it implies, that God himself is the great good desired and sought after; that the blessings pursued are God's gracious presence,…

The favor of God they value not. Whereas in his favor is life, in the account of holy and good men (Psalm 30:5); indeed, they judge his loving-kindness is better than life without it (Psalm 63:3). When men shall go from day to day without considering, whether God has a favor for…

(Psalm 116:16): O Lord, truly I am your servant. (Psalm 63:1): My soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs after you. (Psalm 73:25): Whom have I in heaven but you? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside you.

What tongue though shaped out of all the Angels of that high kingdom, and watered with the milk and wine of that good land, can sufficiently praise this heart-ravishing flower of Angels, this heaven's wonder, the spotless and infinitely beautiful Prince, the crown, the garland,…

It is a saving and a pitying love (Isaiah 63:9); a love which the Lord rests in (Zephaniah 3:17); a love continuing to the end (John 13:1); a love that makes us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). It is a separating love that differences the loved of God from all others (Psalm 8…

And above all things else he seeks the honor of God, the coming of his Kingdom, and the doing of his will; and if these concur not in his way, he would rather lose them than dishonor Christ by having of them. He has a singleness of heart in seeking spiritual blessings; he seeks…

And so if God grant pardon of sin, and peace of conscience; you will find this an evident sign of pardon and peace together, and an evident effect of them both; a serious care, and a constant endeavor to maintain and keep that peace, that as you see God has been very gracious in…

2. Our prayers are doctrinal and instructive, rather than affectionate and warming. We get light by other duties, but we should get life by prayer, this duty is not to inform the judgment, but to raise the affections, that they may be all flame; other duties are feeding duties,…

I reject not their advice who say we should read; He has set walls and bulwarks for salvation: but in regard the Prophet's words being simply understood, contain in them a more ample and stable doctrine, what need is there to wrest in a constrained exposition, when the true and…

They may well seem to be full, while a vain conceit blindfolds them; but they shall be like those, who being swollen with wind, feel not their hunger. And yet it were much better for them to be so pinched with hunger and thirst, that they might thereby be provoked to cry earnest…

As the Heart panteth after the Water-brooks, so panteth my Soul after thee, O God; My Soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God? Psalm 63. 1, 2. My Soul thirsteth for thee; my Flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty Land, where no W…

Psalm 71:23. My lips shall greatly rejoice, when I sing unto Thee. Psalm 63:3[reconstructed: -7]. Because Thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee. Thus will I bless Thee, while I live: I will lift up my hands in Thy name: My soul shall be satisfied as…

So it is with gracious Joys: They are hidden Manna, in this Respect, as well as others; Revelation 2:17. The Psalmist seems to speak of his sweetest Comforts, as those that were to be had in Secret; Psalm 63:5. 'My Soul shall be satisfied as with Marrow and Fatness, and my Mouth…

(1.) That the goodness and mercy of God is let out upon his people in his Providences about them: and this is the very root of praise. It is not so much the possession that Providence gives us of such or such comforts, as the goodness and kindness of God in the dispensing of the…

A man that has received a benefit, if he does not value it, it is a provocation to the man that gave it, either to repent of his gift, or take it away. David when he had assurance, mark how he values it (Psalm 63:3): Your loving kindness is better than life. He valued the comfor…

Life, and all the comforts of life, are nothing to that man that has comfort in reference to his eternal life. (Psalm 63:3): Your loving kindness, O Lord, is better than life. David did not value his life, nor all the comforts of it, so as he valued the loving kindness of his Go…

2. That the believer actually eats, and makes use of that food, he has teeth for that end, and should not only look on Christ, but feed on him. Secondly, meditation also may be here understood, that serving much to the feeding and filling of the soul, as (Psalm 63:6-7) My soul s…

1. See the right genius and temper of a gracious soul, [reconstructed: it] is ever drawing near to God; it loves to converse with him in private. A person truly regenerate is not able to stay away long from God (Psalm 63:8). My soul follows hard after God.

If you call the Sabbath your delights; or as Tremelius renders it, your delicate things. My soul (says David) shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness (Psalm 63:5). Or, lastly, if we consider the suitableness of this work, to a regenerate soul.

That to lose the sight and favor of God for ever, is the quintessence of everlasting miseries; what says the Psalmist (Psalm 30:5), in your favor is life. (Psalm 63:3) your loving kindness is better than life. (Psalm 16, last verse) in your presence is fulness of joys; and the A…

David prayer-ways lays before God the fervor of his desire of God (Psalm 42:1): As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after you, O God. Psalm 63:1: My soul thirsteth for you, my flesh longeth for you. Psalm 73:25: Whom have I in heaven but you?

Husbandmen in the midst of a long continued drought, bless the Lord for twelve hours of summer rain, that brings a comfortable reviving. A sight of the Lord in the wilderness of Judah (Psalm 63), when David cannot have sanctuary-presence, is good. A prayer of the prisoner, or a…

Give us corn, wine and oil, and the influences of the lovely countenance of God say worldlings, we do little value; whereas it is night and winter, and hell for a child of God, when the Lord withdraws influences of faith and feeling, loving, rejoicing and neer communion with God…

The only cure of this is, if we would have our spiritual desires as touching grace, and glory, and other things annexed to this, is to listen to that (Psalm 37:4): Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart. What was spoken of love-sicknes…

7. A gracious finding how sweet, safe, and comfortable it is to be acted, led, moved, guided by the sweet influences of the spirit, cannot but be grieved at the departure of such a guide and counsellor. 8. It's lawful to seek sense of God's loving countenance, in joy in the Holy…

A strong impression of the presence and glory of God sometimes comes on after the Lord is away. David desires and thirsts (Psalm 63:2), says he in the wilderness of Judah, that I may see your power and your glory as I have seen you. The enjoying of Zion and Zion's songs while th…

Psalm 104:33, I shall sing to the Lord in my lives, or as long as I live. Psalm 63:3, Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you, thus will I bless you while I live. Hebrew: in my lives.

Hence these Propositions concerning enlargedness of heart. Prop. 1. When the soul is widened and stretched out in its actings, we are ready to say, I shall never be moved (Psalm 30), I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever (Psalm 23:6), which though true, when he was ban…

And if we see it not, we are yet in darkness; yes, though we say we see, we are blind like others. So David longed and prayed for it, when yet he could behold it only in types and shadows (Psalms 63:1, 2): O God, you are my God, early will I seek you; my soul thirsteth for you,…

And this also with delight. Your loving kindness (says the psalmist) is better than life, therefore will I praise you (Psalm 63:3). Than life, before lives.

Go try, knock at his door, and take it not on our word, but on his own, it shall be opened to you, and once you shall have a happy life of it in the worst times. Faith has this privilege never to be ashamed, it takes sanctuary in God, and sits and sings under the shadow of his w…

If you would have God look down upon you from his holy habitation, you must look up with an eye of faith, and converse with God in heaven. (Psalm 63:4). I will lift up my hands in your name. If you would have God look upon you with an eye of compassion, you must look up, and see…

How oft do men build Castles in the Air? But the Thoughts of God will turn to a good account, they Augment Sanctification, and bring Satisfaction, Psalm 63:5. My Soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, when I remember you on my bed, and meditate on you, etc. The Thou…

Will not a mans thoughts run upon his Portion? A gracious Soul has found Pleasure in thinking on God, Psalm 63:5, 6. He has had those Transfigurations on the Mount, those Illapses of the Spirit, those Incomes of Gods Love, those praelibations and foretastes of glory, that he can…

(2) It notes love, which is exercised herein, which puts upon sallies, and earnest egressions of soul, after the party loved. Psalm 63:8. My soul follows hard after you. It is grievous to those who love God to think of separation from him, or to forbear to seek after him.

It is set forth by the appetite which a hungry man has toward his meat after a long abstinence (Psalm 84:2), My soul longs, indeed even faints for the courts of the Lord. Or as a weary traveller and thirsty man longs after drink (Psalm 63:1), My soul thirsts for you, etc. Or as…

Eggs come to be quickened by brooding upon them. In a sanctified heart the seeds of comfort by meditation come to maturity; by constant meditation our affections are quickened, this turns the promises into marrow (Psalm 63:5-6): My soul shall be filled as with marrow and fatness…

1. Because they have a clearer understanding, and see more into the nature of things than those that are drowned in present delights and contentments. The loss of God's favor carnal men know not how to value; but the saints prefer it above life: the favor of God is better than l…

So when our strength is gone, and God withdrawn, we shall not find a like pregnancy and consistency of thoughts, a like readiness and vigor of affections in holy duties, but all will be out of order; the understanding is lean, dry and sapless, the heart averse and dead; and ther…