Psalm 63:1-8 “Honor God”

We are starting a series on the Psalms today. What are the Psalms? When I was growing up, the church read from the Psalms every Sunday. It was called the Psalter reading. We would make puns about how it was called: “Why do they call it the Psalter reading? Is there a Pepper reading too?”

The Psalms are in fact ancient songs that were sung in worship of the Lord. There was no way to notate the actual musical notes, but if you were able to read the Hebrew, you could feel the inherent rhythms and even imagine the movements that would be related to the music. Yes, there would be movement related to the Psalms. If nothing else, the Psalms of Ascent were marches up through the gates of the Temple in Jerusalem. Still today when the Psalms are read in Jewish synagogues, they are actually canted; they are sung.

Way back in the 1980’s an astute seminary student wrote a paper about the idea of dance in Hebrew poetry, specifically the Psalms but also other readings. His professor was intrigued and asked the student to send it to a publisher. Unfortunately the work is now out of print. Yes, that student was me, and the publication is entitled “Dance in Hebrew Poetry.”

So, I like to think of the Psalms as the “disco music” of antiquity or maybe even as “The Jerusalem Top 40 radio picks.” You realize that the Psalms are right in the middle of the Bible? The Psalms are the half-time entertainment! The Beyonce of the Bible!

Soooo, who wrote the Psalms? Mostly King David, some were King Solomon, some were from a “Choirmaster” of renown–May have been Obed Edom! To be sure the Psalm that we read this day, Psalm 63, is attributed to none other than King David himself. Is it not great that the King himself had time to write poetry and set it to music?

It is not clear if King David actually wrote this to be honest. When we lived in Thailand, a longstanding Kingdom, we were told that it was King Ramkahaeng that invented the steam locomotive, and King Chulalongkorn who invented the typewriter. Actually we learned that all things that come into being in Kingdoms tend to be attributed to the greatness of the King. That is just the way that works. Do you all recall when Vice President Al Gore said he “created the internet”? So, something like that!

If this really did come from King David, than scholars throughout the ages have struggled to determine at what time in his reign he would have written it. Psalm mentions being out in the wilderness. When was David out in the wilderness? Actually many times! In his days as commander and chief he retreated again and again to the desert. But, by the depth of feeling in this Psalm and the way he turns to God, Matthew Henry’s Commentary states that this is King David sharing his feelings after the betrayal of his Son Absolom, the heir apparent who raises an army against his father but who is finally in the end killed in battle as King David defeats his own son in battle. The great preacher Chales Spurgeon preached a sermon on this very idea.

King David is more than just retreating in battle. He feels the devastating hurt of his own flesh and blood turning against him. The one whom he had picked to succeed him and carry on his legacy is his to-the-death opponent. He questions why he is even still alive. You can read about all of this intriguing story of King David in 2 Samuel 13-19. That is homework. He would just rather be with God in heaven than to continue his own life as it is. His current circumstances are too much for him to bear.

Is that not when we all turn to God? When the world seems to have betrayed us? The story of what King David is going through while writing this song reminds me strangely enough of the Parable of the Prodigal Son that Jesus tells us in the New Testament. Both stories tell us of a son that chooses not to honor his father. Both stories start with this dishonor of the father. In the parable told by Jesus, it is assumed that the father is honorable. He has made a name for himself and has grown in wealth. We look at the son who seems to dishonor his father by demanding his inheritance before the father’s death. In the end, the son misspends all of the father’s wealth, but still can rely on the father’s love to celebrate his return in destitution to his father’s care.

The case with King David and his son Absolom is perhaps less simple: Is King David actually honorable. Yes, he is the King, and has shown bravery and great moral character in the past; yet, he has also been involved in great scandals, e.g. an affair with Bathsheba and the killing of her husband. Still the story begins with the son dishonoring the father whether deserved or not. That is where the trouble starts.

In the story of King David and his son, Prince Absolom, next in line to the throne since he had killed his elder brother by then, does exactly like the son in the Parable Jesus tells: He looks to what he could attain if he goes against his father. He is just as greedy. He cannot wait for what would come to him one day anyway. He has to have it all–NOW. This kind of greed naturally will always lead to a downfall.

King David is so aggrieved by this dishonor that he states in this Psalm that life does not even really matter to him anymore. This feeling is affirmed after the battle in which Absolom is killed when his hair gets stuck in a tree immobilizing him while arrows pierce his flesh. King David is presented the body of his son Absolom in 2 Samuel 18:33 and cries out: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Imagine God up in heaven after being disgraced by all of us in our misdeeds crying over us upon our death, stating “O my child, if it could have been me rather than you that would have died.” Then, God goes to the Cross out of God’s great love for us. WE read the line from the Psalm, “God’s love is greater than life” and it makes sense to us now. We have to love God and honor God.

So, how do we honor somebody if we do not even want to be around that other person? That actually does not work. The first point of having a relationship of any kind and of any honor is wanting to be with that person. Whether it be the prodigal son or Absolom, they both walk away. They both leave. Whether it be our relationship with God in heaven, we cannot simply walk away. That is not honoring God.

The first verse of this Psalm is the proclamation that we want to be with God. That we seek God’s KIngdom first, just as Jesus commanded us. King David cries out “O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you. . . .”

I believe that this is why Jesus tells us that we must become like children! And, we recall how it was that Jesus called the children to be with him. Luke 18:15-17. This month or so I have been intrigued with how young children have been coming to me. This last week there was a young child at the Ed Center after school, she was just maybe a year old, the sister of one of the students there, who was just going around giving out hugs. I got a hug!

I also was blessed with Jared and Mahea’s foster child falling asleep on me several times in this last month. I just love the smile and happiness that exudes from that child.

At Costco this last week again a little child in the front basket of a shopping cart in line just locked eyes with me and started laughing and pointing at me. The parents were amazed. They were tourists. All of the sudden their child seemed to be reaching out to a stranger–that be me! I really did feel honored at that point. Of all the old ugly mugs around the store, this child found me to smile and point at!

Now, that is what I need to do with God. That is what we all need to do with God to honor our God. First, claim that God is your God! Second, search God out like a child! And third, feel God lifting you up as it says in verse 8: “My soul clings to you, your right hand upholds me.”

No, I do not go pick up the child that was seeking me out in Costco. The parents would have surely freaked out. I would probably be in jail right now too. But, just feel that God is upholding your life right now. You can find your comfort and God’s loving care in your life right now. For, what parent denies their own child? God is weeping over the world that has rejected him in this day. God would love nothing more than to hold us in His everlasting arms again.

Amen.