Reflections on Psalms 63

 Psalms 63(Contemporary English Version)

1. (A psalm by David when he was in the desert of Judah.) You are my God. I worship you. In my heart, I long for you, as I would long for a stream in a scorching desert.
   
2. I have seen your power and your glory in the place of worship.
   
3. Your love means more than life to me, and I praise you.
   
4. As long as I live, I will pray to you.
   
5. I will sing joyful praises and be filled with excitement like a guest at a banquet.
   
6. I think about you before I go to sleep, and my thoughts turn to you during the night.
   
7. You have helped me, and I sing happy songs in the shadow of your wings.
   
8. I stay close to you, and your powerful arm supports me.
   
9. All who want to kill me will end up in the ground.
   
10. Swords will run them through, and wild dogs will eat them.
    
11. Because of you, our God, the king will celebrate with your faithful followers, but liars will be silent.

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Though we can seek God and worship Him anywhere, a particular setting can enhance our sense of God's presence. For David, that setting was the Lord's tabernacle in Jerusalem. But as he wrote this psalm he was in the desert rather than in Jerusalem and he missed being able to go to the tabernacle for worship, which he did so eagerly or earnestly as he says in verse 1. But his distance from the tabernacle, his normal place of worship, did not stop him from reaching out to God in worship. This connection with God he needed as his body needed water.

So, in David's longing for God in this "land that is dry, desolate, and without water," David glorified God in the desert, "because Your faithful love is better than life." (63:3) Therefore, he said, "I will praise You as long as I live." (63:4) God satisfied him as did "rich food." (63:5) Even in the dark hours of the night, David's thoughts were on the Lord. He says, "I meditate on You during the night watches." (63:6)

David's longing and thirsting for God is in part because God had been his help and he felt the most secure when under His protection. He expresses this saying, "I will rejoice in the shadow of Your wings." (63:7) It was under the Lord's protection that he felt safe from his enemies, for "those who seek to destroy my life will . . . be given over to the power of the sword." (63:9, 10)

In closing, David says, "all who swear by Him (God) will boast," because of what the Lord does for them. (63:11)