Hello everybody and welcome in to episode #252 of the Bible 2021 podcast. We are reading Psalm 62 and 63 today and our focus is on Speaking Truth To Yourself in Times of Distress + How God Satisfies Our Hunger.   We are a daily 10 minute podcast, where we will dig in to the truth of the Word of God by reading one Bible chapter a day and discussing it. Welcome to new listeners in   Our goal is to encourage DAILY Bible reading, so you can jump in at any time and join with us. We want to invite as many people as possible to join us in daily Bible reading, so help spread the word and share the podcast! Don’t forget about our web-page, Bible2021.com – contact page, show notes, transcript and more– Click here for our Bible 2021 reading plan\

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Actually, you’ve totally heard this one before if you’ve listened to me talk about the Psalms even a little,but don’t despair – it’s still important and fresh, and we need the reminder. More crisis for David in Psalm 62 – this time we don’t know the exact nature of the crisis, but people are after him, threatening to attack him, and this is the occasion for the writing of the 62nd Psalm. How does David respond to this threat?  He speaks truth and faith and reassurance to himself – he preaches to himself. In an age that it is probably way over-focused on self-care, I suggest we don’t focus nearly enough on speaking the truth to ourselves as a way of wholesome self-care and soul-care. See what David does here:

I am at rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
² He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I will never be shaken…Rest in God alone, my soul,
for my hope comes from him.
⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I will not be shaken.
⁷ My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.

He reminds himself of a lot of truths – that rest and refuge come from God. That God is his (and our) salvation and stronghold. He begins by stating, “I am at rest in God alone,” and then TELLS HIMSELF to rest in God alone. WE NEED THIS, friends. Sometimes, all too often – we KNOW the truth, but knowing is NOT half the battle. We need to walk in the truth,and sometimes that takes proclaiming or preaching the truth to ourselves as David does here. Tell your soul to rest in God alone as we read this Psalm.

It was the late 1990s, and I was on the internet in the early days of the World Wide Web. My dear girlfriend, now wife, had bought me a Hayes 2400 baud modem that connected to the internet by a phone line in 1992, and by 1999, I had an upgraded modem and was learning web design. I don’t remember what the first website I put up was, but the second or third was called, “HungryforJesus.com” Which, in retrospect, was a very, very weird name. This was before the days of podcasts, so I just put all sorts of articles on that site – some I had written, others from various writers around the world, all designed to stoke a hunger for God. I still remember how thrilling it was to look at the webstats for that page and see people visiting from all over the world. It is weird, I guess, to think of God in terms of hunger and satisfying our hunger, but that weirdness didn’t start with me – it started in the Old Testament, in the Psalms, where David says:

You satisfy me as with rich food;
my mouth will praise you with joyful lips. Psalm 63:5

What an interesting passage – HOW does God satisfy us like a wonderful and filling meal does? Perhaps Psalm 36 can help us a bit:

How priceless your faithful love is, God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ They are filled from the abundance of your house.
You let them drink from your refreshing stream.
⁹ For the wellspring of life is with you.
By means of your light we see light. Psalm 36:7-9

God’s love, His presence and His goodness sustain us – give us spiritual nutrition in the same way a good meal does. Those who trust in God as their stronghold will be refreshed by Him spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically -they will be filled and taken care of from His abundance.  Here’s Spurgeon with a great exhortation to fill up on the sustaining goodness of God:  (Note: marrow and fatness=KJV translation of rich and sustaining food)

THE experiment of the Frenchman who had just brought his horse to live on a straw a day when it died, is being repeated among us, faith being literally starved to death. What low diet do some men prescribe for their souls! Marrow and fatness they do not even smell at !THERE is no elevation of grace, no attainment of spirituality, no clearness of assurance, no post of duty, which is not open to you if you have but the power to believe. Lay aside your sackcloth and ashes, and rise to the dignity of your true position. The golden throne of assurance is waiting for you! The crown of communion with Jesus is ready to bedeck your brow. Wrap yourself in scarlet and fine linen and fare sumptuously every day; for, if thou believest, thy land shall flow with milk and honey, and thy soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness. Gather golden sheaves of grace, for they await thee in the fields of faith. “All things are possible to him that believeth.” 

C. H. Spurgeon, Barbed Arrows from the Quiver of C. H. Spurgeon (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1896), 253.

C. H. Spurgeon, Daily Help (Baltimore: R. H. Woodward & Company, 1892), 323.

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Bible Memory verses for the month of September: 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2nd Timothy 3:16-17 

The Bible 2021 Podcast Is a ministry of Valley Baptist Church A Church in Salinas, California.

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