The Praise of Early-Seekers after Christ Psalm 63:4-6

Text: “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness (the very best); and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips”

Psalm 63:5.

          “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless (praise) His Holy Name.  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth (forgives, and continues to forgive) all thine iniquities, Who healeth (heals, and continues to heal) all thy diseases…”

Psalm 103: 1-3.

Good morning, early praising Christian!  You, like the author, have so much to thank and praise the Lord God for, that we are compelled to go to Him early each day, in order to find the time for such a wealth of overwhelming grace and Divine generosity.  Hallelujah!  Praise God for all His loving kindnesses and the wealth of His benefits given to us, ‘His people’!

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.  O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee.”  (Psalm 84:11-12)

Upon waking each new morning that the Lord in His grace grants us, our initial thoughts should be focused on the Lord God Who has redeemed us from sin’s ruin and placed us in His family – in Christ Jesus, our Saviour and our Lord.  Born again minds are continually drawn like a magnet to the Person of Christ, and His great Sacrifice for us at Calvary’s Cross.  We have no other, or better, focus for our mortal minds.  All else is mere distraction.

“Thou (the Lord God) wilt keep him/her in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed (focused) on Thee: because he/she trusteth (trusts and continues to trust) in Thee.”  (Isaiah 26:3)

Past, present and future record of personal sins, for the true regenerate, Bible-believing Christian, has been wiped every jot clean; placed upon the altogether lovely and sinless Lord Jesus as He suffered there upon that cruel Cross – our entire record of a lifetime of sin was nailed to that Tree in Christ, and carried away from us forever.  In Christ, we are FREE!

The Psalmist is reminded of such wondrous things when he concludes: “Thus (a conclusion) will I bless Thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in Thy Name.”    (Psalm 63:4)

Verse 4. “I will lift up my hands in Thy Name.  No hands need hang down when God draws near in love.  The Name of Jesus has often made lame men leap as a hart and it has made sad men clap their hands for joy.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 275)

The Name of Jesus should have a very special, the most special, place in the heart and mind of the true Christian believer – that is why the misuse of His Holy and much revered Name makes any genuine, Spirit-filled Christian immediately winch in disgust at the infidel’s misuse, and blasphemous abuse, of such an Almighty and Omnipotent Name.

“And she (Mary) shall bring forth a Son, and thou (Joseph) shalt call His Name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.”  (Matthew 1:21)

The Name of the incarnate (God in bodily form) Jesus would become the Name under which Eternal Salvation would be granted to all souls that the Father had elected to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, repent from sin, and come to belong to the family of the Living Lord God.  Is it any wonder that we Christians rejoice and praise the very moment that we heard that  life-giving Name?

Jesus: “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name: that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”   (Philippians 2:8-11)

Jesus: “Neither is there Salvation in any other: for there is none other Name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Jesus: “And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.  And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing.  Verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My Name, He will give it you.  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”  (John 16:22-24)

“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…there’s something about that Name: ”(Gospel Song https://youtu.be/d4FUKTQFlX4)

When the Spiritually regenerated heart (whole essence of being) hears the Name of Jesus, it thrills with the bliss of Heaven and cries out in praise of this glorious King of all kings.

Verse 5. “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness (all goodness). It oftentimes so fell out that David had nothing but the bare ground for his bed, and the stones for his pillows, and the hedges for his curtains, and the heavens for his canopy; yet, in that condition, God was sweeter than marrow and fatness to him.”  (Thomas Brooks1608-1680)

I have personally found, over the past forty years since the Lord Jesus saved my sinful soul, that the times I have felt so exposed to harm; times when my life has been constantly and imminently in danger; times when sleep has deserted me as I allowed dread and anxieties over family members and friends to rob me of rest – these where the blessed times when the Lord has seen fit to draw nigh unto my soul, and thoroughly bless me with His Holy Presence and protective grace.  There is no one, nor anything, to compare with my Jesus.

Verse 5. “My mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips.  When the Lord puts His Spirit within us, then our starving souls begin to be feasted; for this blessed Spirit shows us the things of Christ and applies Him to us; by which means we are enabled to eat His flesh and drink His Blood.  And after the Holy Ghost is thus given, He is never taken away.”  (Outline of a Sermon by John Frazer, 1745-1818)

Verse 6. “When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night seasons.”  Whether it be the ‘bed of languishing’ during a sickness; or a bed of ease while enjoying refreshing sleep – the born again heart and soul knows the Divine company of great Jehovah, Lord God Almighty, Who has promised: ‘I will never leave thee nor forsake thee…’ (Hebrews 13:5-6)  “And He said, Hear now My words: if there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” (Numbers 12:6) (Job 33:14-16)

Thought: If we are asking the Lord to hear and answer our prayers early, should we not seek to come very early to His throne to offer up to Him our sincere and earnest praise?  Let us together say, ‘Hallelujah, dear Lord God, we worship and praise Thee.’ Amen.