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A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.
But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

63:1 my God. Two names for God, Elohim and El, are used in this first sentence—the first a plural form, the second singular — possibly intimating some awareness of the Godhead.


63:1 thirsteth for thee. Note that, even in a parched desert, David’s thirst was not for water, but for the Lord. His longing was not for a return to his home and throne, but for God, to know again His power and His glory (Psalm 63:2).


63:6 the night watches. David’s meditation during the night centered on the Lord. Therefore, it was early in the morning that he would seek His presence (Psalm 63:1).


63:9 lower parts of the earth. This striking phrase is used also in Psalm 139:15, Isaiah 44:23, Ezekiel 31:14, 16, 18, and 32:18, 24. In the Ezekiel passages it is rendered “nether parts of the earth,” in Psalm 139:15 “lowest parts of the earth,” but the Hebrew is the same. The equivalent phrase in Greek is found in Ephesians 4:9. Depending on context, it can refer either to the great subsurface depths of the earth or (especially in the Ezekiel and Ephesian passages) to the great pit (sheol, hades) in the center of the earth where the spirits of the dead are incarcerated for a time.


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