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David wrote this psalm when he was in the Judah wilderness.

A morning song[a]

63 God, you are my God.
    I want to be near to you.
I need you to give me life,
    like a thirsty person in a dry desert.
As a person needs water to live,
    that is how I need you.[b]
When I have gone into your temple,
    I have seen what you are like.
I have seen your great power and your glory.
Your faithful love for me is better than life itself.
    So I will speak out to praise you.
Yes, I will thank you for as long as I live.
I will lift up my hands and I will pray to you.
You make me very happy,
    better than a feast of good food.
I will sing happy songs to praise you.
When I lie on my bed,
    I think about you all through the night.
You are the one who keeps me safe,
    like a bird protects its babies under its wings.
So I sing happy songs.
I keep very near to you
    and your strong right hand keeps me safe.
My enemies are trying to kill me,
    but I know that they themselves will die.
They will go down into the deep hole of death.
10 Soldiers will kill them with swords.
    Wild dogs will eat their dead bodies.
11 But the king will sing songs to praise God.[c]
Everybody who promises to serve God
    will speak aloud to praise him.
But everyone who tells lies
    will not be able to say anything!

Footnotes

  1. 63:1 See 1 Samuel 23—24; 2 Samuel 15:23. David was in a difficult place, far away from the temple in Jerusalem. He still wanted to know that God was near to him.
  2. 63:1 As our bodies need food and drink so that we can live, we also need God to give us spiritual life.
  3. 63:11 David is probably talking about himself here, as king.

Psalm 63[a]

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,(A)
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.(B)

I have seen you in the sanctuary(C)
    and beheld your power and your glory.(D)
Because your love is better than life,(E)
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,(F)
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.(G)
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;(H)
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.(I)
Because you are my help,(J)
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.(K)
I cling to you;(L)
    your right hand upholds me.(M)

Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;(N)
    they will go down to the depths of the earth.(O)
10 They will be given over to the sword(P)
    and become food for jackals.(Q)

11 But the king will rejoice in God;
    all who swear by God will glory in him,(R)
    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.(S)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 63:1 In Hebrew texts 63:1-11 is numbered 63:2-12.