Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 63:11

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 63:11. But the king shall rejoice — David shall come to the kingdom according to the promise of God. Or, if it refer to the captivity, the blood royal shall be preserved in and by Zerubbabel till the Messiah come, who shall be David's spiritual successor in the kingdom for ever.

That sweareth by him — It was customary to swear by the life of the king. The Egyptians swore by the life of Pharaoh; and Joseph conforms to this custom, as may be seen in the book of Genesis, Genesis 42:15-16. See also 1 Samuel 1:26; 1 Samuel 17:55, and Judith 11:7. But here it may refer to GOD. He is THE KING, and swearing by his name signifies binding themselves by his authority, acknowledging his supremacy, and devoting themselves to his glory and service alone.

The Chaldee has: "And the King shall rejoice במימר אלהא bemeymar Eloha, in the WORD of God;" or, in the WORD GOD; Meymar, WORD, being taken here substantially, as in many other places, by the Targumist.

The mouth of them that speak lies — The mouth of those who acknowledge lying vanities, that worship false gods, shall be stopped. All false religions shall be destroyed by the prevalence of the truth. For he, CHRIST, shall reign till all his enemies are put under his feet. "Thy kingdom come, and hell's o'erpower: and to thy sceptre all subdue." Amen and Amen.

ANALYSIS OF THE SIXTY-THIRD PSALM

The contents are, -

I. David's ardent desire to be in the assembly of the saints, Psalms 63:1. And the reasons on which this desire was founded, Psalms 63:2-5.

II. That though absent from God's ordinances, yet he forgot not his Maker, Psalms 63:6-8.

III. A double prophecy. 1. What should befall his enemies, Psalms 63:9-10. And, 2. What should come to himself, Psalms 63:11.

I. 1. In the first part he states his confidence in God, as the foundation of his desires, contemplations, meditations, invocations, and consolations: "O God, thou art my God," Psalms 63:1.

2. Then he expresses his fervent desire and ardent affection. 1. "Early will I seek thee." THEE, not other things. 2. "My soul thirsteth for thee," c. There is no doubt that he wanted many things in this barren thirsty land but of this he does not complain, but of his want of God in the sanctuary.

And so he expresses himself in the following verse: He was about to see the power and glory of God in the sanctuary, as he had formerly done. He gives the reason of this: "Because thy loving-kindness is better than life," Psalms 63:3. To see thy goodness in the use of thy ordinances, I count far beyond all the blessings of life; and could I again be admitted there, these effects would follow: -

1. Praise: "My lips shall praise," c., Psalms 63:4.

2. Invocation and prayer: "I will lift up my hands," c., Psalms 63:4.

3. The satisfaction he should receive from these: "My mouth shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness," &c., Psalms 63:5.

II. Though David is now in the wilderness, he does not forget his duty.

1. Even there he remembered God upon his bed and meditated, c., Psalms 63:6.

2. "Because thou hast been my help therefore," c., Psalms 63:7.

3. "My soul followeth hard after thee," &c., Psalms 63:8. It is evident, therefore, that even here David was not without comfort for, 1. He meditates, and remembers what God had done for him. 2. He remembers that he had been his help and therefore he rejoices. 3. He still adheres to him, and follows hard after him for help still.

III. And now, being secure of God's protection, he foretells, 1. What would befall his enemies; and, 2. What would come to himself.

1. To his enemies, ruin: "Those who seek after my soul, they shall go (some) into the lower parts of the earth," the grave or hell.

Others should "fall by the sword," lie unburied, and be devoured by wild beasts.

-----------ελωρια τευχε κυνεσσιν

οιωνοισι τε πασι

Il., I. ver. 4.

"Whose limbs, unburied on the naked shore,

Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore."

POPE.

2. To himself, honour and a crown: "But the king (David) shall rejoice in God." The reason is, -

1. "Every one that swears by him," that is who worships and fears God, an oath being put by synecdoche for the whole worship of God. See the notes.

2. "The mouth of them that speak lies," utter blasphemies, curses, and perjuries, or pray and confess to strange gods, "shall be stopped;" they shall be ashamed and confounded, and an end be put to their iniquity by a sudden and violent death. The mouth of God's people shall glory; but the mouth of the wicked shall be stopped, and be silent in the dust.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 61-64 Longing for God

Far from home, weary, depressed and in danger, David seeks refuge and refreshment with God. He trusts that God will bring him safely back to Jerusalem and give him the strength to carry out his promise to lead God’s people in God’s ways (61:1-5). The people with him add their support to his request (6-7), and David responds that he will always remain faithful to his task (8).
God alone is the strength of David’s assurance (62:1-2). David’s enemies think they can ruin him. They think he is as unstable as a leaning wall, as easy to push over as a broken-down fence (3-4). Actually, he is as strong and secure as a fortress, for he is built on God. All God’s people should therefore take courage and realize that they can trust in God through all circumstances (5-8). The unstable ones are those who live as if God does not matter. Life is uncertain, but they put their trust in wealth, even though that wealth must soon be lost (9-10). The only ones who have true security are those who take God into account and build their lives according to his values (11-12).
At times David experiences weakness and thirst in the dry Judean wilderness, but they are nothing compared with the spiritual thirst he has to worship at Israel’s sanctuary again (63:1). He praises God as he recalls the power and glory of God that he experienced at the sanctuary in former days. He looks forward to a life of continuing praise because of God’s continuing love (2-4). As he lies on his bed he thinks back with much satisfaction at all God’s goodness to him over the years (5-8). This gives him the confidence to believe that God will punish his enemies and bring him safely back to Jerusalem (9-11).
Again David cries to God to save him from enemies who by cunning and lying seek to kill him (64:1-4). They plot their evil carefully, thinking that God cannot see them (5-6). However, they are deceiving themselves. God will act against them suddenly and certainly, bringing shameful defeat upon them. God’s decisive action will be a warning to others, and at the same time bring honour to his name (7-10).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

DAVID PROPHESIES THE END OF THE REVOLT

"But those that seek my soul to destroy it, Shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall be given over to the power of the sword: They shall be a portion for the foxes. But the king shall rejoice in God: Every one that sweareth by him shall glory; For the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped."

"Those… shall go into the lower parts of the earth" This is merely an Old Testament manner of speaking of the grave. In Ephesians 4:9, Paul referred to the grave of Jesus as "the lower parts of the earth." The meaning here is simply that the enemies of the king shall die.

"They shall be given over to the power of the sword" Twenty thousand of Absalom's forces were slain by the sword in the battle that ended the rebellion, which was fought in the forest of Ephraim (2 Samuel 18:7 f). But that was far from all of it. "The forest devoured more people that day than the sword." Thus, more than twenty-thousand more were numbered among the slain.

"They shall be a portion for the foxes" "The word here should be translated `jackals,' as that is the meaning of it,"W. E. Addis, p. 384. as is indicated by the alternative reading in the American Standard Version margin.

What a remarkable fulfilment of David's prophecy came to pass. With no less than forty-thousand of Absalom's partisans to be buried, there was no earthly way that such a feat could have been accomplished. Thousands were left where they fell to become the food of beasts. "The jackals are the scavengers of the East. They prey on dead bodies, and assemble in troops on battlefields to feast on the slain."Wilson Jones, p. 320.

Kidner noted that, "The jackals are the final scavengers, consuming the remains of the kill rejected by larger beasts. The wicked are, in other words, the very leavings of mankind."Derek Kidner, Vol. 1, p. 227.

Evaluated by any criteria known, David's prophecies here are among the most remarkable in the Bible. Never was a rebellion snuffed out as suddenly and thoroughly as was Absalom's, several facets of which were outlined in the prophecies.

1.    The enemies went down to death. Absalom and Ahithophel, the leaders, led the way.

2.    Forty-thousand of the rebel army died in the forest of Ephraim.

3.    The bodies of the dead provided food for the wild beasts.

4.    Many were left unburied, for there was plenty left for the jackals.

5.    The king rejoiced in God, throne restored, enemies all dead; back at home.

None of these details are missing from the prophecy.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

But the king shall rejoice in God - This passage, as was remarked in the Introduction to the psalm, shows that this psalm could not have been composed in the time of Saul, since the title king was not then given to David. The use of the term here in the third person does not prove that the psalm could not have been written by David himself, for he may have spoken of himself simply as “the king,” and all the more forcibly and properly as he was driven unjustly from his throne, and was now an exile, yet was still a king - the king. The title was his; the throne belonged to him, and not to Absalom who had driven him from it. It was not improper to allude to this fact in the manner in which it is referred to here, and to say that “the king” - the true, the real king - himself - should and would rejoice in God. He would find God to be his helper; and by God he would yet be restored to his throne.

Every one that sweareth by him shall glory - Everyone that sweareth to him, or maintains his oath of allegiance to him, shall be honored.

But the mouth of them that speak lies - All who have sworn falsely; all who have professed allegiance and have proved unfaithful; all those who, contrary to their oaths and their obligations, have been found in the rebellion. They shall not be permitted to exult or rejoice, but they shall be confounded and silenced. This expresses, therefore, the fullest confidence in God; the absolute belief of David that he would be again placed on his throne, and again permitted “to see the power and glory of God as” he had “seen it in the sanctuary” Psalms 63:2; the belief that he would be restored to prosperity, and that his enemies would be humbled and destroyed - So it will be with all who put their trust in God. There is certain joy and triumph for them, if not in this world, at least in the world to come.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

11.But the king will rejoice in God. The deliverance which David received had not been extended to him as a private person, but the welfare of the whole Church was concerned in it, as that of the body in the safety of the head, and there is therefore a propriety in his representing all the people of God as rejoicing with him. Nor can we fail to admire his holy magnanimity in not scrupling to call himself king, overwhelming as the dangers were by which he was surrounded, because he laid claim to that honor by faith, though yet denied him in actual possession. In saying that he would rejoice in God, he refers to the gratitude which he would feel; at the same time, in extolling the divine goodness shown to him, he views it as it affected the common body of the faithful. ⁽⁴³⁸⁾ As was already remarked, the safety of God’s chosen people, at that time, was inseparably connected with the reign of David and its prosperity — a figure by which it was the divine intention to teach us, that our happiness and glory depend entirely upon Christ. By those who swear in the name of the Lord, he means in general all his genuine servants. The act of solemnly calling upon God to witness and judge what we say, is one part of divine worship: hence an oath, by the figure of speech called synecdoche, is made to signify the profession of religion in general. We are not to imagine from this that God reckons all those to be his servants who make mention of his name. Many take it into their lips only to profane it by the grossest perjury; others outrage or slight it by entering into trifling and unnecessary oaths; and hypocrites are chargeable with wickedly abusing it. But those whom David refers to are such as swear by the Lord, considerately and with reverence, and whose hearts respond to what they declare. This appears more clearly from the contrast which follows in the verse, where he opposes those who swear by the name of God to those who speak lies, understanding by that term, not only treacherous and deceitful men, but men who profane the name of God by falsehoods of a sacrilegious kind.

(438) “Sed extollit Dei gratiam, quia ad piorum omnium conservationem pertineat.” — Lat. “Mais il exalte et magnifie la grace de Dieu envers in d’autant qu’elle s’etendoit a la conservation de tous les fideles.” — Fr.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 63:1-11

Psalms 63:1-11 is a psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. Now, from Jerusalem west lies the coastal plains, fertile valleys, beautiful lush orange groves, and apricot and pear and peach orchards, and all. From Jerusalem east lies the Judean wilderness, just outside of Jerusalem. Just beyond Bethany you begin to drop down into that great African rift to the area of the Dead Sea 1,200 feet below sea level at its surface. And that area from Jerusalem east gets very little rain. Maybe about an inch a year, and so it is quite a wilderness area. And it is known as the Judean wilderness. David spent quite a bit of time in the Judean wilderness fleeing from Saul.

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee ( Psalms 63:1 )

And I'll tell you, you can get thirsty down in that Judean wilderness. Actually, Bishop Pike died of thirst there in the Judean wilderness in his quest for the historic Christ. Too bad he wasn't looking for the living Christ, he probably would still be around.

my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and a thirsty land, where no water is; [I desire] to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary ( Psalms 63:1-2 ).

So David is using the bareness of the wilderness to speak actually of the bareness of his own soul. And there are times it seems when our souls become very barren and very parched, where we long again to feel the presence of God. To see and to feel that power of God working in us once more. "I desire to see Thy power and Thy glory as I have seen in the sanctuary."

Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: and I will lift up my hands in thy name ( Psalms 63:3-4 ).

And so David lifted up his hands in the name of the Lord, to worship God and to praise Him.

Now we, it seems, become very stilted in our worship and we oftentimes become so formal. Some of you have maybe never just lifted up your hands in the name of the Lord to worship the Lord or to praise Him. And there are exhortations in scripture, "Lifting up holy hands," and all. And one thing about the Jewish people that is really beautiful is that they are very uninhibited in their worship and in their praise. Even there at the Western Wall today it's always fascinating to go and to watch them as they are in their prayers and in their worship and they are uninhibited in their worship and in their praises. They, I don't know, have sort of a traditional kind of a bowing of the head, and all. And we have noticed it even with the little boys, that they'll have their prayer book, and as they're reading their prayers, even the little kids, will start rocking with the prayer books as they are reading the prayers to the Lord. And some of the rabbis down there at the wall, they really get into it. I mean, they really almost dance, just getting going back and forth, you know, as they are reading their prayers. And they get loud and it is a very interesting thing to watch these people in their uninhibited worship. But we want to be proper. And yet, David said, "I will lift up my hands in Thy name."

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate upon thee in the night watches ( Psalms 63:5-6 ).

If you have problem with insomnia, use it as an advantage to just meditate on the Lord on the night watches.

For thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go down into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes. 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 ( Psalms 63:7-11 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 63

King David wrote this individual lament psalm when he was in the wilderness of Judah away from the ark and the place of formal worship (2 Samuel 15:25). This could have been when he was fleeing from Saul (1 Samuel 23) or from Absalom (2 Samuel 15:13-30). [Note: Kirkpatrick, pp. 352-53.]

The theme of trust, which Psalms 61, 62 emphasize, reaches a climax in Psalms 63. Even though David was miles away from the ark, he still worshipped God.

"There may be other psalms that equal this outpouring of devotion; few if any that surpass it." [Note: Kidner, p. 224.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. David’s confidence in God 63:9-11

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Instead of anticipating destruction as the Lord’s enemies could, David confidently rejoiced. Everyone who sides with God, as David did, can do the same. Glorying is the equivalent of rejoicing.

Meditation on the person and works of God can bring refreshment and invigoration to any believer. Meditation on God fills a basic need in the heart of every person, as basic a need as food and drink. It not only satisfies the believer but overflows in praise, making him or her a blessing to others.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

But the king shall rejoice in God,.... Not Saul, as R. Obadiah; as if David wished him well, and that he might have reason to rejoice in God, though he sought his hurt; which sense is rejected by Abea Ezra: but either David, who speaks of himself as king, being anointed by Samuel, and who, upon the death of Saul, was so in fact; and who rejoiced, not merely at the destruction of his enemies, for he lamented the death of Saul, 2 Samuel 1:17; but in God, in his grace and goodness to him, and in his power and justice shown in the vengeance taken on them. Or rather, the King Messiah, who rejoiced in God because of the good of his people, their conversion and salvation, and their deliverance from their enemies, Psalms 21:1;

everyone that sweareth by him shall glory; not by David, though such a form of swearing was used; see 2 Samuel 15:21; or, "to him": and so describes his faithful subjects swearing allegiance to him: but rather by the Lord, in whom the king should rejoice; and designs the worshippers of him; swearing by him being sometimes put for the whole worship and service of God, Deuteronomy 6:13. The Heathens used to swear by their deities, and their chief was called Jupiter Horcius, because he presided over oaths x. Or else that the King Christ should rejoice in God; and intends such as believe in him and confess him; see

Isaiah 45:23, compared with Romans 14:11. And every such an one will glory, not in themselves, nor in anything of theirs, but in Christ, in his grace and righteousness, and in what he is unto them;

but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped; such as Saul's courtiers, who invented and spread lies of David; but now upon the death of Saul, and David's advancement to the throne, would be silent; their mouths being stopped either by death, or through fear: and so all the followers of antichrist, that make and believe a lie, will have their mouths stopped, when cast into the lake of fire, Revelation 21:8.

x Euripidis Medea, v. 170. Vid. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 5. c. 10.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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.

      David, having expressed his desires towards God and his praises of him, here expresses his confidence in him and his joyful expectations from him (Psalms 63:7; Psalms 63:7): In the shadow of thy wings I will rejoice, alluding either to the wings of the cherubim stretched out over the ark of the covenant, between which God is said to dwell ("I will rejoice in thy oracles, and in covenant and communion with thee"), or to the wings of a fowl, under which the helpless young ones have shelter, as the eagle's young ones (Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11), which speaks the divine power, and the young ones of the common hen (Matthew 23:37), which speaks more of divine tenderness. It is a phrase often used in the psalms (Psalms 17:8; Psalms 36:7; Psalms 57:1; Psalms 61:4; Psalms 91:4), and no where else in this sense, except Ruth 2:12, where Ruth, when she became a proselyte, is said to trust under the wings of the God of Israel. It is our duty to rejoice in the shadow of God's wings, which denotes our recourse to him by faith and prayer, as naturally as the chickens, when they are cold or frightened, run by instinct under the wings of the hen. It intimates also our reliance upon him as able and ready to help us and our refreshment and satisfaction in his care and protection. Having committed ourselves to God, we must be easy and pleased, and quiet from the fear of evil. Now let us see further,

      I. What were the supports and encouragements of David's confidence in God. Two things were as props to that hope which the word of God was the only foundation of:--

      1. His former experiences of God's power in relieving him: "Because thou hast been my help when other helps and helpers failed me, therefore I will still rejoice in thy salvation, will trust in thee for the future, and will do it with delight and holy joy. Thou hast been not only my helper, but my help;" for we could never have helped ourselves, nor could any creature have been helpful to us, but by him. Here we may set up our Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto the Lord has helped us, and must therefore resolve that we will never desert him, never distrust him, nor ever droop in our walking with him.

      2. The present sense he had of God's grace carrying him on in these pursuits (Psalms 63:8; Psalms 63:8): My soul follows hard after thee, which speaks a very earnest desire and a serious vigorous endeavour to keep up communion with God; if we cannot always have God in our embraces, yet we must always have him in our eye, reaching forth towards him as our prize, Philippians 3:14. To press hard after God is to follow him closely, as those that are afraid of losing the sight of him, and to follow him swiftly, as those that long to be with him. This David did, and he owns, to the glory of God, Thy right hand upholds me. God upheld him, (1.) Under his afflictions, that he might not sink under them. Underneath are the everlasting arms. (2.) In his devotions. God upheld him in his holy desires and pursuits, that he might not grow weary in well-doing. Those that follow hard after God would soon fail and faint if God's right hand did not uphold them. It is he that strengthens us in the pursuit of him, quickens our good affections, and comforts us while we have not yet attained what we are in the pursuit of. It is by the power of God (that is his right hand) that we are kept from falling. Now this was a great encouragement to the psalmist to hope that he would, in due time, give him that which he so earnestly desired, because he had by his grace wrought in him those desires and kept them up.

      II. What it was that David triumphed in the hopes of.

      1. That his enemies should be ruined, Psalms 63:9; Psalms 63:10. There were those that sought his soul to destroy it, not only his life (which they struck at, both to prevent his coming to the crown and because they envied and hated him for his wisdom, piety, and usefulness), but his soul, which they sought to destroy by banishing him from God's ordinances, which are the nourishment and support of the soul (so doing what they could to starve it), and by sending him to serve other gods, so doing what they could to poison it, 1 Samuel 26:19. But he foresees and foretels, (1.) That they shall go into the lower parts of the earth, to the grave, to hell; their enmity to David would be their death and their damnation, their ruin, their eternal ruin. (2.) That they shall fall by the sword, by the sword of God's wrath and his justice, by the sword of man, Job 19:28; Job 19:29. They shall die a violent death, Revelation 13:10. This was fulfilled in Saul, who fell by the sword, his own sword; David foretold this, yet he would not execute it when it was in the power of his hand, once and again; for precepts, not prophecies, are our rule. (3.) That they shall be a portion for foxes; either their dead bodies shall be a prey to ravenous beasts (Saul lay a good while unburied) or their houses and estates shall be a habitation for wild beasts, Isaiah 34:14. Such as this will be the doom of Christ's enemies, that oppose his kingdom and interest in the world; Bring them forth and slay them before me,Luke 19:27.

      2. That he himself should gain his point at last (Psalms 63:11; Psalms 63:11), that he should be advanced to the throne to which he had been anointed: The king shall rejoice in God. (1.) He calls himself the king, because he knew himself to be so in the divine purpose and designation; thus Paul, while yet in the conflict, writes himself more than a conqueror,Romans 8:37. Believers are made kings, though they are not to have the dominion till the morning of the resurrection. (2.) He doubts not but that though he was now sowing in tears he should reap in joy. The king shall rejoice. (3.) He resolves to make God the Alpha and Omega of all his joys. He shall rejoice in God. Now this is applicable to the glories and joys of the exalted Redeemer. Messiah the Prince shall rejoice in God; he has already entered into the joy set before him, and his glory will be completed at his second coming. Two things would be the good effect of David's advancement:-- [1.] It would be the consolation of his friends. Every one that swears to him (that is, to David), that comes into his interest and takes an oath of allegiance to him, shall glory in his success; or every one that swears by him (that is, by the blessed name of God, and not by any idol, Deuteronomy 6:13), and then it means all good people, that make a sincere and open profession of God's name; they shall glory in God; they shall glory in David's advancement. Those that fear thee will be glad when they see me. Those that heartily espouse the cause of Christ shall glory in its victory at last. If we suffer with him, we shall reign with him. [2.] It would be the confutation of his enemies: The mouth of those that speak lies, of Saul, and Doeg, and others that misrepresented David and insulted over him, as if his cause was desperate, shall be quite stopped; they shall not have one word more to say against him, but will be for ever silenced and shamed. Apply this to Christ's enemies, to those that speak lies to him, as all hypocrites do, that tell him they love him while their hearts are not with him; their mouth shall be stopped with that word, I know you not whence you are; they shall be for ever speechless, Matthew 22:12. The mouths of those also that speak lies against him, that pervert the right ways of the Lord and speak ill of his holy religion, will be stopped in that day when the Lord shall come to reckon for all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Christ's second coming will be the everlasting triumph of all his faithful friends and followers, who may therefore now triumph in the believing hopes of it.