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Psalm 63:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 63:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 63[a]
Thirst for God
1 A psalm of David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah.[b]
2 O God, you are my God,
for whom I have been searching earnestly.[c]
My soul yearns for you
and my body thirsts for you,
like the earth when it is parched,
arid and without water.
3 I have gazed upon you in the sanctuary
so that I may behold your power[d] and your glory.
Footnotes
- Psalm 63:1 A deported Levite thinks back to the time when he lived in the temple, close to God; in the silence of the night he meditates on those happy hours, the remembrance of which comforts him. And the desire rises in him and becomes more and more intense; already it is as if he is once again in the sanctuary with no other occupation than to offer unceasing praise to the One whose love surpasses every other good. In that time of deliverance the king will be filled with blessings by God while the oppressors will receive the severest of chastisements.
By its movement and style, this engaging prayer finds a place among the most beautiful psalms of longing (see Pss 42; 61; 73; 84). It enables us to rediscover—amid the difficulties of daily life and all that distracts us from the spiritual life—the longing for God, whose love is the only thing that makes life worth living. It can also serve as the song of the prodigal son (see Lk 15), enabling us to put into words the distress, hope, and penitence of the repentant sinner. - Psalm 63:1 This superscription ascribes the psalm to a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah (see 1 Sam 24; 2 Sam 15:23-28; 16:2, 14; 17:16, 29).
- Psalm 63:2 Earnestly: literally, “in the morning” (see notes on Pss 57; 57:9). My soul . . . my body: i.e., my whole being.
- Psalm 63:3 The psalmist worships God, the Great King, who promised to dwell among his people—formerly in the Ark of the Covenant (see Pss 78:61; 132:8; 1 Sam 4:21) and now in the sanctuary where the psalmist envisions the Lord in all his power and glory.
