Our appreciation of the Bible, in particular of the Psalms, depends upon the kind of discernment we have. Just as the discernment and appreciation of a mature person differs from that of a child, so our appreciation of the Bible differs according to our degree of spiritual experience, understanding, and maturity. There is a vast difference between what an aged grandfather would value and appreciate and what a two-year-old child would value and appreciate. Let us suppose that a number of items are placed before them. Among these items the child may appreciate a small, beautiful, empty, round box, but to the grandfather this box and all the items he sees before him are worthless. What he appreciates and desires is a great diamond. This shows that we appreciate things according to our maturity and our capacity to discern what is of real value. Whereas some will appreciate Ephesians 3, a chapter on God's eternal economy and the preaching of the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles according to God's plan to produce the church, others may appreciate a portion such as Psalm 65:11-13, which speaks of God's crowning the year with His goodness, His paths overflowing with fatness, the hills girding themselves with exultation, and the valleys shouting for joy and singing.
In this message we will consider Psalms 63—67. As we read these psalms, we need to exercise adequate discernment so that we may realize how these psalms compare to the standard of the teaching of the New Testament.
In Psalm 63 the psalmist compares his enjoyment of God in His house with the punishment of his enemies. On the one hand, the psalmist treasures the enjoyment of God; on the other hand, he also rejoices in God's punishment of his enemies.
In verses 1 through 4 the psalmist says, "O God, You are my God; I seek You diligently./My soul thirsts for You,/My flesh faints in longing for You,/In a dry and weary land without water./So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary, /Seeing Your power and Your glory./Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,/My lips praise You./Thus I bless You while I live;/I lift up my hands in Your name." To seek God and thirst for Him are very good. However, we need to ask these questions: For what do we seek after God? For what do we thirst for God? In our seeking and thirsting, are we looking for something that is of great spiritual value? For what was the psalmist seeking God? For Christ? For the Divine Trinity or the life-giving Spirit? It seems that the psalmist was seeking mainly for God's lovingkindness (v. 3). The poetic writing here is marvelous, but the contents are very limited. Nevertheless, some readers of these verses may highly appreciate them.