OCTOBER 31 • BIBLE STUDY LESSON 9

God’s Presence
Comforts and Assures
Bible Background • PSALM 63
Printed Text • PSALM 63 | Devotional Reading • PSALM 3:1-6

** Aim for Change **

By the end of the lesson, we will: EXPLAIN how David yearned for God's presence;
FEEL COMFORTED by God's presence in our lives; and REJOICE in the comfort and
confidence found in God's presence.

** In Focus **

Charles had a long commute on the train every morning and evening, so he always took along his
Bible and his Sunday School lesson. When he was done with his reading, he would lie back in the
seat, shut his eyes, and pray. This time with the Lord was the best time of his day.
One morning, Ronny, one of his neighbors, got on the train. "Hey, Charles! I decided to start
taking the train, too. With gas prices up, it's the only sensible thing to do." Then Ronny sat down
with Charles, and they talked the whole way in to work.
Charles enjoyed talking with Ronny, but after a week of sitting with his neighbor, he realized he
was missing his time alone with the Lord. He longed for the opportunity to commune with God.
He resolved to do something about it.
If you have a close relationship with the Lord, you will miss it when it is interrupted. What are
some of the things that can interrupt that relationship? What do you think Charles can do to get
back on track with time alone with God ? Remember that God and only God can fill our emptiness;
therefore, we must spend time with Him.

** Keep in Mind **

"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"
(Psalm 63:1).
Focal Verses
Psalm 63:1 O God, thou are my God; early
will I seek then: my soul thirsteth for thee, my
flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land,
where no water is;
2To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have
seen thee in the sanctuary.
3Because thy lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise thee.
4Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up
my hands in thy name.
5My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and
fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with
joyful lips:
6When I remember thee upon my bed, and
meditate on thee in the night watches.
7Because thou hast been my help, therefore in
the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
8My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right
hand upholdeth me.
9But those that seek my soul, to destroy it,
shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a
portion for foxes.
11But 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.
The People, Places, and Times
The Wilderness of Judah. The Wilderness of
Judah was an area of land that was northwest of
the Dead Sea. Its western tip was the city of
Jerusalem. En-Gedi, located on the shore about 35
miles from Jerusalem, was the place where David
hid with his followers when King Saul was
pursuing him (1 Samuel 23:29), as well as when
Absalom attempted to take the kingdom (2
Samuel 15:1-23).
Background
This psalm was probably written when King David
was fleeing from his son, Absalom. We deduce this
because David refers to himself as "king" in verse
11. Other times when he escaped to the wilderness
were when he was not yet the official king and he
would run away from King Saul. David was a
mighty warrior, a charismatic king, and a man after
God's own heart, but his personal life was a mess.
He would definitely not have won an award for
father of the year. So Absalom, his son with the
long beautiful hair, had stolen the hearts of the
people right out from under King David. (Read 2
Samuel 15-17.) A takeover was imminent; his
life was in danger, so David hastily fled the city
of Jerusalem. He went down into the Kidron
Valley just to the east of the city arid then to the
Wilderness of Judah. Many people who were still
loyal to David fled with him, and the Levites came
along carrying the Ark of the Covenant. At this
time the Levites set down the Ark, and Abiathar
the priest offered sacrifices to God until all the
people of Jerusalem had safely joined David and
his band of loyal followers.
At-A-Glance
1. David Longs for God (Psalm 63:1)
2.David Reflects on Time with God (w. 2-5)
3.David Meditates on God During the Night
(w. 6-8)
4. David's Enemies Will Get What They
Deserve (w. 9-10)
5. David Rejoices in God (v. 11)
InDepth
1. David Longs for God (Psalm 63:1)
Not only does David know there is a holy,
majestic God over all, he also claims this God as
his own. When he wakes up in the morning, he
intensely desires to meet with the Lord. The word
in the KJV is "early," but this word also implies
earnestness, so other translations use "earnestly"
instead (see NIV and NLT). The idea is that we
so desire to have time with our Lord that we can
hardly wait to get out of our beds in the morning
to open our Bibles and listen to Him.
 But David is not lying down in a nice, warm bed;
he is out in the wilderness. He has been running
for his life, he is exhausted, and he is so hot and
thirsty that he is almost delirious with the thought
of a drink of cold water. But he is singing of a far
greater thirst and that is for God. His whole being
is thirsting after the Lord.
2. David Reflects on Time with God (w. 2-5)
How would you feel if you were somehow
incapacitated and could not go to church? How
would you feel if you were living in a country
where Christian churches were rare or were not
allowed? David did not know how long he
would be out in the wilderness and unable to go
to the sanctuary to worship, but he was longing to
be back in the sanctuary worshiping the Lord. Of
course, God's presence goes with us, but it is
especially important for the times when we are out
in "the wilderness" that we should be able to look
back on glorious times of worship with other
believers.
David remembers special times in the
sanctuary when he was able to really see God's
power and glory. He longs to see God's might and
awesome splendor again; these thoughts sustain
him in the wilderness. We, too, will go through
times when we cannot see or feel God, but if we
have had true experiences of the holiness of the
Lord, we will be able to persevere through the
hard times.
3. David Meditates on God During the Night
(w. 6-8)
This psalm begins with waking up early in the
morning to worship the Lord; now it moves into
mediating on God as we lie in our beds at night.
Perhaps David is having trouble sleeping. Maybe
this is when he composed this psalm. But this is a
great example to us. When we are having trouble
sleeping, we can utilize the time in praising God.
As David praised God, he began thinking of all
the times in the past when God had helped him.
When we are thinking of difficulties we have
gone through, we should also think of the things
that God taught us as we went through these
times. As David thought of God's blessings to
him, he began singing in the shadow of God's
wings. Imagine David in the hot, unrelenting sun
of the Judean wilderness; suddenly, a shadow
moves over him to protect him.
4. David's Enemies Will Get What They
Deserve (w. 9-10)
David had very complex and ambiguous
feelings toward his son Absalom, because
Absalom had murdered Amnon, Absalom's
stepbrother. Absalom had stolen David's throne, but
David still cared for him because he was his son.
In 2 Samuel 18:5, David commanded his generals
to be gentle with him. But Joab disobeyed the king
and plunged his sword into Absalom's heart. Then
Joab's armor-bearers all surrounded him and
struck Absalom—a sure overkill. After this, they
threw Absalom's body into a pit and made a pile of
rocks over him (18:14-17). In Psalm 63:9-10,
David does not say he wants to kill his son and his
followers; he merely predicts what will happen to
them. Those who are not following the Lord will
reap eternal punishment and sometimes they will
receive punishment while still on this earth. It is
important to remember that the writers of our
Bible were speaking with God's voice, so David's
enemies were God's enemies in a real sense. What
David's enemies had plotted for him, they received
instead.
5. David Rejoices in God (v. 11)
After David's warning about the end of his
enemies, he returns to praising God. Everyone
who swears allegiance to God will praise Him, too.
But those who live by falsehood shall come to
final condemnation. Revelation 21:8 says that all
liars will be cast into the lake of fire. The
benefits of a life of deception are not worth the
final price. How much better to follow after God
and praise Him with both our words and deeds!
Search the Scriptures
1.What Hid the psalmist want to do first
thing in the morning (Psalm 63:1)?
2.Where had David seen God's power and
glory (v. 2)?
Discuss the Meaning
1. According to today's study, David
hungered and thirsted after God from the
moment he woke in the morning until he lie
awake in bed at night. Why don't we feel the
same way?
2. How can we increase our hunger for God?
Lesson in Our Society
Our society today has much that distracts us
from focusing on God throughout the day. Remember Your Thoughts
Online pornography is perhaps one of the Special insights I have learned:
biggest hindrances to staying in a right
relationship with God. How can we cleanse it from
our own lives? How can we help those who are
already addicted?

Make It Happen
One of the best ways to increase our desire for
God is to spend more time with Him. Share ideas
on how to spend that time. How can you get more Say It Correctly
out of Bible reading? How can you develop the Abiathar. uh-BI-uh-thahr.
habit of meeting with God every morning? Talk Zadok. ZAY-dok.
about ideas such as writing a sentence or two in
response to your morning Bible reading, keeping
a prayer diary, etc.

Followthe Spirit Daily Bible Eeadings

What God wants me to do:
M: Hiding from God's Presence
Genesis 3:1-8
T: Fleeing from God's Presence
Jonah 1:1-10
W: Trembling at God's Presence
Psalm 114
T: Coming into God's Presence
Psalm 100
F: Refreshing at God's Presence
Acts 3:17-26
S: Praising in God's Presence
2 Samuel 22:2-7
S: Dwelling in God's Presence
Psalm 63