Embrace the Word for Friday, May 15, 2026
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Psalm 63 expresses great need for the LORD. This Psalm of David, as the superscription states, unfolded in a season of much difficulty and distress: “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.” David is on the run “in the wilderness.” While we cannot be certain of the exact historical situation that David is speaking of, we can note that David had to flee to the wilderness early in his life due to Saul, and he had to flee to the wilderness late in his life due to Absalom. Psalm 63 has some links with Psalm 42 as both speak of thirst as longing for God (42:2; 63:1). Psalm 63 has strong links with Psalm 62. Each Psalm speaks of the power and glory of God (62:7,11; 63:2); as well as the steadfast love of God (62:12; 63:3). Both Psalms frequently use the term “soul” (62:1,5; 63:1,5,8,9). Psalm 63 opens with David expressing his desire for the LORD (63:1-4), then David moves to expressing his delight in the LORD (63:5-8), before closing with expressing the ways the LORD was his defense (63:9-11).
Psalm 63 begins with strong expressions of desire for the LORD: “O God, you are my God; earnestly 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” (63:1). The wilderness that David was in, as would be the case with most wildernesses, was “a dry and weary land where there is no water.” There is no doubt that David was physically weary and thirsty as a result of his geographical location, but what David desires is not merely an end to his wilderness difficulties, but for God Himself. David’s soul is thirsting for God. Thus, David is genuinely seeking, not water for the body, but the LORD for the soul. David’s flesh is fainting, not simply in the sense that he is physically tired, but that as an embodied being, the longing of his soul has left him wearied—body and soul. Difficulties and distresses are important experiences that can help clarify what we truly desire. Sufferings and the struggles of our sufferings can cause our longing for God to evaporate; or they can stir in us an expansive longing for God. A growing, maturing trust in the LORD is indicated by what we most desire while in the wilderness of difficulty and distress.
David indicates that his present desire for God is connected to his past encounters with the LORD: “So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory” (63:2). David is reminiscing of the occasions that he has gathered in the place of public worship. There in worship, David had beheld the “power and glory” of the LORD. The ark of the covenant was strongly associated with the powerful and glorious presence of the LORD. As David observed the powerful and glorious redemption that the LORD revealed through the sacrificial system, David’s soul longed for the LORD all the more. It seems to be these sort of recollections that are at the root of informing David’s desires in the wilderness. Such remembrances invoke David to declare: “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you” (63:3). David’s desire for God focuses in on one facet of the LORD in particular: His love. David confesses that God’s love is superior to anything else in life. And since God’s love is the best thing in life, David offers praise to the LORD. Not just verbal praise, but the very posturing of his body to coincide with his desire for the LORD and His wonderful love: “So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands” (63:4). David sought what he desired and praised the enjoyment of his desires.
As David continues, he shifts slightly from expressing his desire for the LORD, to expressing his delight in the LORD: “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips” (63:5). David has moved from describing his thirst to describing the satisfaction of his banquet. David is detailing no mere menu at a banquet meal, he is describing the LORD as the satisfying meal to end all meals. David is not literally delighting in “fat and rich food,” he ascribes that the LORD, whose love is better than life, is Himself the fattest and richest of foods to feast upon. David once again offers praise to the LORD. Praise not only expresses the joy that is found in the LORD, but praise brings the experience of such joy to an even greater delight.
David locates his enjoyable delight in the LORD to moments in which he contemplated and meditated upon the LORD: “when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night” (63:6). David remembered what the LORD said in His Word and meditated upon it. This statement recalls the blessed man who meditates upon the Word day and night (See Psalm 1). God is known through His Word. Therefore, the more we meditate on the Word, the more the Spirit of God forms in us desires for the LORD and then fills us with delight from those desires. David not only meditated upon the Word, he also contemplated how the LORD was at work in his life: “for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy” (63:7). As David reflected on his own personal experiences, in light of the Word, he recognized the LORD’s help in his life. Such past reflection on the LORD’s faithful aid to him, prompted David to renew, at present, his resolve to take refuge under the shelter of God’s presence. David sees that the LORD had sustained him through His provision and protection. Thus, David confesses that he will cleave to the LORD: “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me” (63:8). Of course, David is quick to realize that his holding fast to the LORD is grounded in the firm grip that the LORD has on him. David’s delight in the LORD has stimulated him to meditate upon and contemplate the LORD’s Word and ways in his life. And in turn, such meditation and contemplation, has strengthened the stirring in David’s soul to delight in the LORD all the more.
David has expressed these things about his desire for and delight in the LORD while he was in the wilderness. His trip to the wilderness was the result of great affliction and persecution that had caused no little amount of anguish and misery. But David’s response to the affliction, persecution, anguish, and misery is informed by his desire for and delight in the LORD. David’s response to his situation is an interpreted response, and his interpretation of what is unfolding is filtered by how he sees the LORD at work. David is confident that the LORD will defend him: “But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals” (63:9-10). David is confident that those who seek to kill him, will themselves be killed. The wicked will face the sword and their bodies will be consumed by wild beasts. Speaking of himself in the third person, David declares: “But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped” (63:11). When those who have sought David’s life are brought to their end, David, who took refuge in the LORD, will rejoice in the LORD. David says this is true not only for himself, but for all who trust in the LORD. All who trust in the LORD through the difficulties and distresses of life shall, in the end, exult in the LORD. In contrast, all who persecute and afflict the LORD’s people, in the end, will have nothing more to say.
As we reflect on Psalm 63, we should consider how the Apostle Paul uses the ending of this Psalm to underscore the vital importance of being found in Christ. As Paul begins to explain how it is only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that sinners can be brought into right relationship with God, he states: “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (See Romans 3:19-20). Paul wants us to see that no human can be found in right relationship with God on the basis of their own merit. While all humanity will give an account of their lives before God, they will have nothing to say, they will have nothing natively meritorious to which they could appeal. But Paul will go on to say that what man cannot do on his own, God has done in His Son, Jesus Christ: “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin” (See Romans 4:5-7). Just as Psalm 63 presents us with two endings, so are their two scenarios for each of our lives. We can turn to Christ and spend our lives focused upon Him, meditating upon the richness of His grace with the result that we enter into the LORD’s presence filled with grateful praise. Or we resist Christ and spend our lives focused upon ourselves, plotting out our selfish, evil ways with the result that we will be silenced when we meet our Creator. In sorting out these two options, don’t misinterpret the patient kindness of the Lord: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (See 2 Peter 3:9).
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Friday, May 15, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Monday, May 18, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 64.