All day and all night; body and soul; such is the longing of the psalmist for God.  Only in God can the psalmist’s anquish abate.  It seems that many of us do not get to this complete longing.  I think that is shown by our language. Many timeswe do not move from, “If only I …” to “If onlyGod …”  We think that some change in our conditions or stance will relieve that pressure, the pain, the anguish.  In reality it is best for the trying circumstances to continue until we depend upon no-one but God.  When we see God’s deliverence we will long for God next time we are under pressure.

Psalm 63

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

 ¹ You, God, are my God,
   earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
   my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
   where there is no water.

 ² I have seen you in the sanctuary
   and beheld your power and your glory.
³ Because your love is better than life,
   my lips will glorify you.
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
   and in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
   with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

 ⁶ On my bed I remember you;
   I think of you through the watches of the night.
⁷ Because you are my help,
   I sing in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ I cling to you;
   your right hand upholds me.

 ⁹ Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
   they will go down to the depths of the earth.
¹⁰ They will be given over to the sword
   and become food for jackals.

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

Questions

1. How would you state the theme in verse one in your own words?
2. What does it mean that the psalmist is calling out to God in the middle of the night?
3. What will happen to the psalmist’s oppressors?
4. How might something other than God be your God?
5. How far would God have to push you before you would cry out to him alone?