5And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.
14And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. 15And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. 16And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 17And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. 18And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
Psalm 63
A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 1 O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 To see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary. 3 Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee. 4 Thus will I bless Thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in Thy name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips: 6 When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches. 7 Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice. 8 My soul followeth hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me. 9 But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. 10 They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by Him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.
Meditation
It is not merely that David has been driven from his home, but also the sanctuary of God: “Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established” (Ex. 15:17). In keeping with this exile (and with the character of the psalms of the second book), it is not now Jehovah, the name of covenant relationship, but it is God, Elohim, on whom David calls. And yet, it is my God! No circumstance can break that personal relationship; nothing can take away from the knowledge that God is my God. “My God shall supply all your need” (Phil. 4:19).
A wilderness is known for its complete lack of resources, but is it water or food that David desires? No! It is the spiritual wilderness that David laments; it is the vision of the power and glory of God in the sanctuary that he craves. “My soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee” (vs. 1). Despite his circumstances, there is no sense of David having been forsaken in this psalm. “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee” (vs. 3). He has the sense of God’s presence with him. Far from finding leanness in David’s soul, we find it satisfied with marrow and fatness; joy is on his lips (vs. 5). Whether resting — “He giveth His beloved sleep” (Psa. 127:2) — or watching, David meditates upon his God. “I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches” (vs. 6).
It is not a question of Saul’s finding David, but of God’s not delivering him into his hand (1 Sam. 23:14). The circumstances that come into our lives come as God sees fit. Jonathan may return to his house, but David takes refuge in the shadow of the wings of His God (vs. 7). Will we, like Israel of old, decline that safe haven? “How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!” (Luke 13:34). Oh, that we might, like Ruth, recognize the security of that place practically in our lives: “spread therefore thy skirt [wings] over thine handmaid” (Ruth 3:9). The soul that cleaves to God has a clear sense of His right hand upholding him (vs. 8). When we pull away, doubts plague us, and yet, as we read in another psalm of David: “though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand” (Psa. 37:24).
There is one that seeks the destruction of our soul (vs. 9); the devil was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:4444Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (John 8:44)). For the unsaved, this is solemn, for “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). For the saved, we know that Satan can never take away the life we now possess — “I give them life eternal; and they shall never perish, and no one shall seize them out of My hand” (John 10:28 JND). He can, however, destroy our testimony. “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14-15). Evil temptations come from within, and Satan, just as in the Garden of Eden, is ever the enticer.
The world is a wilderness, and though we have the assurance of God’s presence with us individually (Luke 24:15), it is never our home. David speaks of the king in the third person: “the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by Him shall glory” (vs. 11). Though the king is undoubtedly David himself, it looks beyond to Israel’s Messiah. We do not look for an earthly kingdom, but we do “await His Son from the heavens” (1 Thess. 1:10 JND). Furthermore, we do not await Christ’s return as king, though He will be that, but rather, we look for the coming of the Bridegroom for His bride.
No doubt there were many who, like Saul, spoke lies concerning David. It is good to remember that Satan is also the father of lies (John 8:44). In such situations it is invariably a question of our word against theirs, and it is best if we leave it all with the righteous Judge. The Lord never answered His accusers a word. Their own contradictory accounts only demonstrated the dishonesty of their accusations (Mark 14:55-59). One day the mouth of those that speak lies will be stopped (vs. 11).