All of Me
Opening Prayer
“O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You” (Psa. 63:1).
Read 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.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“There may be other songs that equal this outpouring of devotion: few if any that surpass it” (Derek Kidner, 1913–2008). Good reason to spend time absorbing the spirit of this psalm.
Think Further
One hot, summer day I looked down from the mountaintop fortress of Masada towards the Dead Sea and the Wilderness of Judah. There was no hint of green, no sign of life, just dry, parched desert—a thirsty land. Three thousand years previously David composed this psalm in the same wilderness, thirsting for the refreshing presence of God. He and his supporters had escaped from Jerusalem, fleeing from his eldest son’s rebellion and those intent on taking his life and installing Absalom as king (2 Sam. 15:13—18:18).
David faced his personal danger, disappointment in his son’s betrayal and frustration in the desertion of many of his subjects by turning to God in true devotion. He remembered the past. God’s faithfulness, power and glory were clearly evident in happier days when David had worshipped in the sanctuary, but he knew that the comforting outward expressions of religion were not essential for him: he could find satisfaction in God alone. In the present, he celebrates God’s love with all of his being—lips, tongue, hands, will, mouth, memory and mind—and he recognizes that such love is more precious than life itself. He also looks to the future, secure in the knowledge that God’s justice will prevail. The destruction his enemies seek for David will ultimately be theirs.
In this psalm fifteen words refer to God as “you/your” and fourteen to “I/me/my.” It portrays a very personal meeting of David, the king after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14), with the one in whom he glories with all of his being. David, of course, did not know Jesus. How much more we should bring our devotion to Jesus, who died, rose again, returned to his Father and poured out his Spirit for us.
Apply
Reread this psalm aloud to express your devotion to Jesus. What does the message mean for the dangers, disappointments and frustrations you face?
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