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Psalm 63

Comfort and Assurance in God’s Presence

A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.

O God, you are my God; 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.(A)
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.(B)
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.(C)
So I will bless you as long as I live;
    I will lift up my hands and call on your name.(D)

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,[a]
    and my mouth praises you with joyful lips(E)
when I think of you on my bed
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night,(F)
for you have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.(G)
My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.(H)

But those who seek to destroy my life
    shall go down into the depths of the earth;(I)
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
    they shall be prey 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.(J)

Footnotes

  1. 63.5 Heb with fat and fatness

Psalm 63

A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.

O God, you are my God;
    I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
    my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
    where there is no water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary
    and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
    how I praise you!
I will praise you as long as I live,
    lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
    I will praise you with songs of joy.

I lie awake thinking of you,
    meditating on you through the night.
Because you are my helper,
    I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
    your strong right hand holds me securely.

But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.
    They will go down into the depths of the earth.
10 They will die by the sword
    and become the food of jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God.
    All who swear to tell the truth will praise him,
    while liars will be silenced.

13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they wandered wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition.(A) 14 David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but the Lord[a] did not give him into his hand.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 23.14 Q ms Gk: MT God

David Hides in the Wilderness

13 So David and his men—about 600 of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go to Keilah after all. 14 David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him.

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