Poem Response 8: Psalm 63

Psalm 63

English Standard Version (ESV)My Soul Thirsts for You
A Psalm of David

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.
 So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary,
    beholding Your power and glory.
 Because Your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise You.
 So I will bless You as long as I live;
    in Your Name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips,
 when I remember You upon my bed,
    and meditate on You in the watches of the night;
for You have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
    Your right hand upholds me.

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.
 But the king shall rejoice in God;
    all who swear by him shall exult,
    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

            In class this week, we’re supposed to write a Psalm, which means we’re also supposed to read a Psalm! A Psalm is… Hard to explain. To me, it’s a letter to God. And David’s Psalms were actually songs too! Which is so neat to me… Sometimes I’ll actually take Psalms from the Bible and write songs using David’s own words as a part of my own personal worship time… (Yeah, that’s right, I totally plagiarize...)

             This Psalm in particular is one of my favorites, because of certain phrases like, “earnestly I seek You, my soul thirsts for You… as in a dry and weary land where there is no water…”; “Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You. So, I will bless You as long as I live; in Your Name I will lift up my hands”; “for You have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

            I love the imagery! And honestly, I feel like God deserves to be desired like this. God deserves to be fallen in love with! And… The joy that David seems to be expressing through desiring God this much? It amazes me! And I love it! And I have experienced this same kind of love for God before! And it’s… indescribably wonderful.