Psalm 63

Praise God Who Satisfies

A Davidic psalm. When he was in the Wilderness of Judah.(A)

God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You.
I thirst for You;
my body faints for You
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.(B)
So I gaze on You in the sanctuary
to see Your strength and Your glory.(C)

My lips will glorify You
because Your faithful love is better than life.(D)
So I will praise You as long as I live;
at Your name, I will lift up my hands.(E)
You satisfy me as with rich food;[a](F)
my mouth will praise You with joyful lips.(G)

When I think of You as I lie on my bed,
I meditate on You during the night watches(H)
because You are my helper;(I)
I will rejoice in the shadow of Your wings.(J)
I follow close to You;
Your right hand holds on to me.(K)

But those who seek to destroy my life
will go into the depths of the earth.(L)
10 They will be given over to the power of the sword;(M)
they will become the jackals’ prey.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;(N)
all who swear by Him[b] will boast,
for the mouths of liars will be shut.(O)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 63:5 Lit with fat and fatness
  2. Psalm 63:11 Or him

Psalm 63

A psalm of David, when he was in the Judean desert.

63 God! My God! It’s you—
    I search for you!
    My whole being[a] thirsts for you!
    My body desires you
        in a dry and tired land,
        no water anywhere.
Yes, I’ve seen you in the sanctuary;
    I’ve seen your power and glory.
My lips praise you
    because your faithful love
    is better than life itself!
So I will bless you as long as I’m alive;
    I will lift up my hands in your name.

I’m fully satisfied—
    as with a rich dinner.
My mouth speaks praise with joy on my lips—
    whenever I ponder you on my bed,
    whenever I meditate on you
        in the middle of the night—
    because you’ve been a help to me and I shout for joy in the protection of your wings.
My whole being clings to you;
    your strong hand upholds me.

But what about those people who want to destroy me?
    Let them go into the bowels of the earth!
10     Let their blood flow by the sword!
    Let them be food for wild jackals!
11 But the king should rejoice in God;
    everyone who swears by God should give praise
        when the mouths of liars are shut for good.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 63:1 Or my soul; also in 63:5, 8

13 So David and his men, numbering about 600,(A) left Keilah at once and moved from place to place.(B) When it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he called off the expedition. 14 David then stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph.(C) Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.(D)

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13 So David and his troops—approximately six hundred men—got up and left Keilah. They kept moving, going from one place to the next. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he didn’t go there.

14 David lived in the fortresses in the wilderness and in the hills of the Ziph wilderness. Saul searched for him constantly, but God did not hand David over to Saul.

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