God Speaks
63 A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
6 I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.
7 Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.
9 But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.
They will go down into the depths of the earth.
10 They will die by the sword
and become the food of jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God.
All who swear to tell the truth will praise him,
while liars will be silenced.
64 For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O God, listen to my complaint.
Protect my life from my enemies’ threats.
2 Hide me from the plots of this evil mob,
from this gang of wrongdoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim their bitter words like arrows.
4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent,
attacking suddenly and fearlessly.
5 They encourage each other to do evil
and plan how to set their traps in secret.
“Who will ever notice?” they ask.
6 As they plot their crimes, they say,
“We have devised the perfect plan!”
Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.
7 But God himself will shoot them with his arrows,
suddenly striking them down.
8 Their own tongues will ruin them,
and all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
9 Then everyone will be afraid;
they will proclaim the mighty acts of God
and realize all the amazing things he does.
10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord
and find shelter in him.
And those who do what is right
will praise him.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Psalm 63: In this psalm David demonstrates how those who truly trust and believe in God respond when they are in a dry and desolate place either physically, emotionally, or spiritually. We are to praise God in the midst of the difficulty and meditate on His goodness day and night. We must hold on to Him and let God deal with those who trouble us. He will, according to His good plans and purposes.
Psalm 64: This psalm (especially in verses 1-6) is a plea for God to rescue those who trust in Him from all kinds of plots against them. Verses 7-10 tell how God Himself will act and the godly will rejoice by proclaiming to everyone all His mighty acts.
Prayer: Dear awesome Father God, may all those who belong to You boldly declare that You are their God. May my life demonstrate how a person who truly trusts and believes in You responds when we are in a dry and desolate place either physically, emotionally, or spiritually. I want to praise You, LORD God, in the midst of the difficulty and meditate on Your goodness day and night. We must hold tight to You and let You deal with those who trouble us. You will, according to Your good plans and purposes. I plead with You to rescue those who trust in You from all kinds of plots against us. I know beyond doubt that You Yourself will act, and we who are God-centered will rejoice by proclaiming to everyone all Your mighty acts. This will bring glory to Christ Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will praise God even in the desert places of life. I will hold tight to Him because I know He is holding me (63:8).
- I will use Psalms 63 and 64 to pray for a person I know who is under attack, by either physical or spiritual enemies or both, because of his/her stand on various issues.
- I will write out at least five ways God has rescued me when I was in a difficult place.
- I will tell at least two people what I wrote on the above list.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.