Family Worship #8
Family Worship Guide
Sunday, May 3, 2020
SING
READ
Psalm 63:1-11 (ESV)
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
LISTEN
WATCH
ASK
Background
Q: Why is David in the wilderness of Judea?
A: David’s son Absalom has just taken over his kingdom and is pursing David in the dry and barren wilderness of Judea (2 Samuel 15-19).
Although David was physically thirsty, there was a thirst that surpassed his physical thirst. He was thirsty for God; he was hungry for God.
With all the passion of his soul, he thirsted to know and experience the greatness of God.
Parents ask your children, “Has there ever been a time that you were very thirsty or hungry?”
Ask them to describe how they felt in that moment. In their hunger and thirst, they had one passion and that was their next meal or drink. In the same way, David’s thirst and hunger can only be satisfied by God’s presence in his life.
Q: What did Pastor Kevin mention are the three ways that we can be satisfied in God?
A:
- God must be our main priority. (vv1-4)
- God must be our soul’s prosperity. (vv5-8)
- God must be our lives’ protection. (vv9-11)
I. God Must Be Our Main Priority (vv1-4)
When we make something a priority, we give attention to that thing or person. We are passionate about it. It is on our minds, and we often talk about it.
Parents ask your children, “What are you passionate about?”
David in Psalm 63 tells us that he is passionate about God. He shows us that God is his main priority by sharing three aspects of his relationship with God.
Q: What are the three aspects that David mentions?
A:
- He shares about his personal relationship with God (v1a).
- He shares about his pursuit of God (v1b).
- He shares about his praise to God. (v2-4)
The phrase shows us David’s intimate relationship with God. When we say this is “my wife” or “my sons” or “my friend,” we are conveying that we are in a close and intimate relationship. The reason David can say “you are my God” is because God said to David “you are my child.”
“Everything else in the psalm hinges on this certainty that David is in a personal relationship with God.“
Parents, take this opportunity to share the gospel with your children.
2. He shares about his pursuit of God (v1b).
Q: What words did David use to show that he is pursuing God?
A: He seeks, he thirsts, he faints, and he looks.
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
–Psalm 63:1-2
3. He shares about his praise to God (vv2-4).
Q: How is David praising God?
A: With his lips and his hands.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
–Psalm 63:3-4
“These verses show us how each part of a person’s physical and emotional makeup can be used to praise God.“
Q: Why is David praising God?
A: Because of God’s steadfast love. It is God’s covenantal and demonstrated love towards those who enter into a personal relationship with Him.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
–Psalm 63:3-4
Notice how David feels towards God’s love. He mentions that it is better than life itself. David is addicted to God’s love.
Q: Why would David mention that God’s love is better than life?
A: “Life can be lost, it will meet its end, but God’s steadfast love can never be lost.”
-Kevin Celestin
II. God Must Be Our Soul’s Prosperity (vv5-8)
In verse 1 we find David thirsting and fainting for God, but in verse 5 we find David feasting on God. We make much of God when we both faint for him and feast on him. We faint for God when we feel he is away, but we feast on God when he is near us.
Q: How does David describe his soul in verses 5 and 8?
A: “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,” (v5)
“My soul clings to you;” (v8)
The word cling means to follow close after. The word is also translated as cleave. It is the same word in Genesis 2:24.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
-Genesis 2:24
It paints a picture of one flesh. We are one with God.
III. God Must Be Our Lives’ Protection (vv9-11)
Q: What did David say will happen to his enemies?
A: Trials can either draw us away from God or draw us toward God. For David his trial was an opportunity to draw him closer to God. He was so enveloped in God that he forgot his problem.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
-Psalm 63:9-10
Here is a great lesson that we can learn from David. We must learn to take our eyes off of our problems and place our eyes on God during our trials.
PRAY
–Pray for God to continue to work in the lives of your children so that they can be saved. If they are already saved, pray that they will continue to find their identity in Christ.
—Pray that you will faint for God and also feast on God.
—Pray that you will be satisfied in God and bring him glory.
–Pray that God’s people would not grow weary in this time but will continue to trust God.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Again, we’d like to direct your attention to our resources page for more info on family devotions.
Here are some coloring sheets, a word search puzzle, and a handwriting sheet that you can print out for your child. These are all meant to be aids to help you with your child(ren). Feel free to print some of these or all of these, whatever will work best for your specific child and his or her age.
