Royal Robbins Lived to Climb Mountains
Last week I mentioned the beauty and grandeur of the mountains surrounding the Yosemite Valley. The sheer granite cliffs are breathtaking and iconic. They’re also considered the Mecca of rock climbing because of the skill it takes to ascend their heights. Rock climbers say that the mountains of the Valley were put there for them, not the tourists who come to look at them. They say that they’re meant to be climbed, not stared at.
A man named Royal Robbins put the Yosemite cliffs on the map in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. He was the first one to ascend the North Face of Half Dome and completed several other first ascents on Half Dome and El Capitan. Robbins is considered a legend in the rock climbing world. His life was consumed with the thrill of extreme climbs. He said, “When I get on the rock, it’s something that makes me whole.” He lived to climb mountains.
We may not be into rock climbing, but we’re all like Royal Robbins. We’re all looking for something to make us whole. We all have a restless yearning for wholeness, joy, peace, and rest. We all want to be satisfied and fulfilled. We all want to be happy.
Suffering for the Sake of Our Joy in God
One of the things God does to help us see that he should be the center of our joy is lead us through pain and suffering. Tragedy and trials have a way of removing the debris of delight in worldly things and helping us see the sufficiency of God. Suffering is one way that God redirects our joy and longings back to him.
King David wrote extensively about this reality in the Psalms. This is why the Psalms are a good place for sufferers to linger. Psalm 63 is a psalm meant to point us back to the sufficiency of God, especially in times of suffering. One old commentator said that this psalm is “an ointment poured on all sorts of sores…(and) a balm that searches all wounds.” This psalm is meant to recapture and reorient the affections of the sufferer.
David in the Wilderness
The title of the psalm gives us the context, “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.” In verse 9, David says that there are “those who seek to destroy my life.” David is in the wilderness and he is a fugitive. Someone is chasing him and trying to kill him.
This could refer to one of two times in David’s life. It could be referring to when Saul was chasing David and trying to kill him. But verse 11 points us to a later time because it pictures David as the king already. When Saul was chasing David, he wasn’t king yet.
There was a time when David was king and was a fugitive running for his life into the wilderness. 2 Samuel 15 tells us of a time when David’s son Absalom rebelled and tried to take his father’s throne. 2 Samuel 16-17 tell us that David fled from Jerusalem and went into the wilderness. This is probably the experience behind the psalm.
David wrote these words during a time of intense suffering and pain. Listen to the description of David’s pain as he leaves Jerusalem. “David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered” (2 Sam. 15:30). The pain of his son’s conspiracy to overthrow him, and the pain of leaving the Ark of the Covenant (v. 29), was overwhelming for David. He, a man known as the greatest warrior in the land, was weeping as he walked out of the city. He took off his shoes and covered his head because of the shame that he felt. The pain of his son’s rebellion wrecked him. David was utterly broken.
Psalm 63 must be read in light of its historical context. The words of David in this psalm are words of a man going through an intense period of suffering. Remember that this psalm was written to remind us of the sufficiency of God during times of suffering. If we’re not careful, suffering won’t have its intended effect on us. It’ll push us away from God instead of driving us closer to God. How does David respond to suffering? Psalm 63 tells us.
“O God, You Are My God”
In this Psalm, David says that God is his desire (vv. 1-4), his delight (vv. 5-8), and his defense (vv. 9-11). Let’s look at these three sections one at a time. First, God is David’s desire (vv. 1-4). He begins verse one with a declaration of faith, “O God, you are my God.” This is David’s affirmation that there is a covenant relationship between him and God. This relationship is a result of the promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis 17:7-8, “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you…and I will be their God.”
This means that the words that follow aren’t from a man who’s unacquainted with God, from a man with no relationship with God. They’re from a man who, despite his intense pain, knows that he belongs to God and God belongs to him. His relationship with God didn’t mean that he wouldn’t suffer. But it did mean that when he did, God would be there to sustain him.
Are you like David this morning? When you’re driven into the wilderness of sadness, tragedy, and pain and you feel like you’re going to suffocate under the weight of your emotions, do you cry out, “O God, you are my God!”? Do you have a covenant relationship with God? Have you made a decisive commitment to God? Have you ever encountered Jesus Christ on the road of your life? This morning, he may be tracking you down on the path of your rebellion against him and offering you a declaration of forgiveness signed with his own blood, the blood of the new covenant. He says to you, “The King will cancel your debt and forgive your insurrection and welcome you into his kingdom if you will kneel and swear faith and loyalty to him forever.” Have you knelt before him and accepted the terms of his covenant and committed your life and loyalty to him? I pray some of you are doing it right now as you listen and that all of you are reaffirming your covenant vows to King Jesus.
Soul Thirst
David says in verse 1 that his “soul thirsts” and his “flesh faints” for God. His whole being is deeply unsatisfied. He feels like someone who’s in the desert with no water. He was literally and figuratively in the desert. One commentator says, “His soul felt like the desert surrounding him.” He’s comparing his thirst for God with the thirst that we’d have if stranded in a desert. That’s an intense thirst, a thirst that can’t be ignored.
Does your soul ache with this kind of spiritual thirst? How have you tried to quench this thirst, and has it worked? If you’ve drunk from all the fountains of the world only to realize that you’re still thirsty, then listen to Jesus’ invitation in John 7:37-38, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Only the water that Jesus offers can truly satisfy and it’s available to all who trust him.
“I Have Looked Upon You in the Sanctuary”
In verse 2, David recalls his former worship of God “in the sanctuary.” He compares the intense desire he has now with what he experienced in the public worship of God at the Tabernacle in Jerusalem. He’s reminded of his experience of God in corporate worship, where he beheld God’s “power and glory.” The memory of those experiences brought God’s goodness home to him while he was in the wilderness.
In both Old and New Testaments, and throughout church history, God has blessed the public assembly of his people. The regular gathering of God’s people for worship is where we regularly see God’s glory. He reveals himself through songs, prayers, and sermons that are filled with his word. This vision of him feeds our souls on Sunday mornings and then, later on, when we’re in the wilderness, reminds us that God is great and good and powerful and glorious.
This is why Christians should attend church every Sunday. This is why church members have historically been required to attend the regular gathering of the church for worship. Circumstances will of course sometimes prevent this, but the regular gathering of the church for the worship of God must be a priority for the people of God. This means that it needs to be seen as a normal part of our lives and built in to our weekly schedules. Our souls need to see and enjoy the presence of God with the people of God. We miss church to the detriment of our soul.
His next statement in verse 3 gives yet more reason why we should gather to praise God. David thought that the love of God was better than life, and because of this he said, “my lips will praise you.” God and his love for him was the most important thing in David’s life. Better than being a king. Better than his family. Better than his armies. Better than his exploits as a great warrior. Better than his international fame. God was better than everything, even in the wilderness.
Verse 4 shows us that David’s inward love for God was revealed through outward actions. God’s love led David’s mouth to bless the Lord and to raise his hands in praise. The depth of our devotion to God will be evident in our lives. What’s in us will come out of us.
Our Desires Determine our Delights
In the second section of the psalm, we see that God is David’s delight (vv. 5-8). Verses 1-4 show us that God was David’s greatest desire. Verses 5-8 show us that God was David’s greatest delight. These aren’t the same thing. Our desires determine our delights. What we desire is what we delight in. Our delights flow out of our desires. When Suzy and I go out to a nice restaurant, I desire a good steak. When the steak is cooked, served, and eaten, I delight in it. My delight in steak results from my desire for steak.
In the same way, when God is our desire, he will be our delight. When we want him more than we want anything else, we will be delighted when we have him. To say it negatively, if you don’t delight in God, then it’s because your desires for God are deficient. God will be our delight when God is our desire. The problem is that our desire for God is weak.
The English theologian C. S. Lewis explains it this way, “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” Lewis says that our problem is that we direct our desires to things that won’t ultimately satisfy us. “We are far too easily pleased.”
When our desires are for God, like David’s desires were, they’ll be fulfilled abundantly. Notice the contrast between verses 1 and 5. David says in verse 1 that his soul is thirsty and in verse 5 that his soul is “satisfied as with fat and rich food.” A simple drink will usually suffice to quench thirst. But God gives David a feast. God gives David more than enough to satisfy him.
Sleeplessness is for Seeking God
Our pursuit of God usually intensifies when suffering comes. When tragedy strikes and darkness comes in, our need for God is made more clear. Our smallness and his greatness is brought into sharper focus. This is what’s happening to David. He’s in the wilderness, running for his life from his own son. Verse 6 indicates that he’s also struggling with sleeplessness. David is awake during the “watches of the night.” Pain and suffering has a way of disrupting our sleep. One commentator says, “Night is the time when we are most vulnerable, both physically and emotionally. In the quiet of the night our fears come upon us.” David’s fears and anxieties came upon him at night and kept him from sleeping.
But notice how he responded. He says in verse 6, “I remember you upon my bed” and “meditate on you in the watches of the night.” David’s sleeplessness led him to the God who doesn’t sleep. He turned his wakefulness into times of communion with the Lord. His struggle to sleep provided time for him to set his heart and mind on God. Many Christians struggle with sleep, to varying degrees. There’s no one size fits all approach, but I wonder if most Christians battle sleeplessness like David? Are we quick to seek the Lord when we can’t sleep? Or are we quick to turn on the TV and get on social media?
God is there in your sleeplessness. When sleeplessness comes, seek God by reading his word and praying. Verses 5-6 say that David will be satisfied and will rejoice in God as he remembers the Lord and meditates on him. His delight in God flows out of his desire. But it’s also the result of action. His desire for God led him to think about and dwell upon God. God satisfied him as he meditated on God. Remember what the rock climbers in Yosemite Valley said? They said that the mountains of the Valley were meant to be climbed, not stared at. In the same way, we must climb into the joy and delight of God. He won’t be fully enjoyed until he’s pursued.
We Cling Because God Clings
Verse 8 shows us how this works. The two halves of this verse teach a profound theological truth, namely, that we cling to God because God clings to us. We can keep holding onto God because he keeps holding onto us. God makes our clinging possible. We must persevere in seeking him, and as we do, he promises to preserve us.
The imagery of his “right hand” is important. The “right hand” is generally the stronger of the two. Nothing is stronger than God’s right hand. The Lord says through the prophet Isaiah, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (41:10).
God’s right hand will never let go of his children. This imagery is filled out even more when we remember where Jesus is. After his resurrection, the Father placed Jesus at his right hand, a place of power and authority. Jesus, the One at the Father’s right hand, is strong enough to hold onto his people. He says in John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” No wilderness or sleeplessness or pain or fear or tragedy will loosen Jesus’ grip on his children. We can cling to him because he clings to us.
God Our Defense
In the third and final section of the psalm, we see that God is David’s defense (vv. 9-11). David ends on a confident note. He says that his enemies will not win. They’ll meet a violent end. They’ll die in battle and be eaten by wild animals. As a result, the king will rejoice in God and his enemies will be silenced by death.
David is confident in God’s ultimate victory on his behalf. He trusts in the promises of God concerning his kingship. The Israelites who rebelled against God’s choice of David as king, whether Saul or Absalom, will be defeated. God will defend his servant David and judge the enemies of David.
This applies forward to those who rebel against God’s choice of David’s son, Jesus, as King. All who reject his kingship will “go down into the depths of the earth.” Those who bend their knee and joyfully follow Jesus as King will rejoice and exult in God, because, just as David was victorious over his enemies, so also will King Jesus be victorious over his enemies. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus worked to defeat our great enemies of sin, Satan, and death.
In the wilderness of pain and suffering, David put his hope in God’s promises. In the wilderness, David’s desire for God was heightened and his delight in God was satisfied by a love that that is better than life. Jesus, the Son of David, offers this same love to all who’ll lay down their arms and set their affections on him. For those who’ve done so, may God increase our desires for him and may he be our delight in every desert.