Read Psalm 63

The Blessing of God’s Help

The sixty-third Psalm was written by David. My Bible’s superscription identifies the location of writing as “the wilderness of Judah,” which may also be identified as the area of the deserted region near the Dead Sea. The most likely time of the writing of this song of praise is during the king’s son Absalom’s rebellion.

Charles Spurgeon identifies both plural and singular forms of the words for God in the first verse, which expresses both “the mystery of the Trinity” and “the mystery of the Unity.” Indeed, the fact that Jesus, the Word, existed as God in eternity just as the Father and the Spirit, is affirmed by the poet king long before the Second Person’s incarnation in Bethlehem.

David longed for fellowship with God. “My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dray and thirsty land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). David, while looking out at the dry land west of the Dead Sea, reflected on His spiritual desire for a relationship with the Almighty.

Why was this desire so strong? “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life” (Psalm 63:3). The word “lovingkindness” is translated from a Hebrew word that is most often rendered “mercy.” How is God’s mercy better than life? Is it not God’s mercy that allows us to live a life at all?

Have you ever reflected on the grandeur of God’s mercy? How deep His love, how powerful His grace? David says, “My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless you while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips” (Psalm 63:3-5). If His mercy does not create in us the same emotion as king David, we may need to reflect on it a bit more seriously.

Let us make a special effort to “remember” God and “meditate” on Him and His many blessings in our lives. “Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice” (Psalm 63:7). How has God helped you lately?