Psalm 63:1-5

Listen to Psalm 63:1-5

My Soul Thirsts for You

1 O God, you are my God; 1earnestly I seek you; 2my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in 3a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding 4your power and glory.
3 Because your 5steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you 6as long as I live; in your 7name I will 8lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be 9satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

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Psalm 63:1-5 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 63

\\<>\\. This psalm was composed by David, either when he was persecuted by Saul, and obliged to hide himself in desert places, as in the forest of Hareth, the wildernesses of Ziph, Maon, and Engedi, \1Sa 22:5 23:14,24,25 24:1\; all which were in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:55,62; or when his son Absalom rebelled against him, which obliged him to flee from Jerusalem, and go the way of the wilderness, where Ziba and Barzillai sent him food, lest his young men that were with him should faint there, \2Sa 15:23 16:2 17:29\. The Septuagint version, and those that follow that, call it the wilderness of Idumea, or Edom, as the Arabic version; and so the Chaldee paraphrase, ``in the wilderness which was on the border of the tribe of Judah;'' as Edom was, Jos 15:21; so the Messiah, David's son, was in a wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil, and where he was hungry and thirsty in a literal sense, as David was here in a spiritual sense, as the psalm shows, Mt 4:1,2; and the church of God, whom David sometimes represents, is said to be in a wilderness, where she is fed for a time, and times, and half a time, even during the whole reign of the antichristian beast, Re 12:14; and, indeed, all the saints are, at one time or another, in a desert condition, and while they are here are in the wilderness of the people, Ho 2:14, Eze 20:35.

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Cross References 9

  • 1. 63:1 Ps. 78:34; Isa. 26:9
  • 2. 63:1 See Ps. 84:2
  • 3. 63:1 Ps. 143:6; Isa. 32:2
  • 4. 63:2 Ps. 78:61; [Ps. 27:4]
  • 5. 63:3 [Ps. 69:16]
  • 6. 63:4 Ps. 104:33; 146:2
  • 7. 63:4 Ps. 20:1, 5
  • 8. 63:4 See Ps. 28:2
  • 9. 63:5 See Ps. 36:8
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025