Psalm 63

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This article is about Psalm 63 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 63 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 64.
Psalm 63
BookBook of Psalms
Hebrew Bible partKetuvim
Order in the Hebrew part1
CategorySifrei Emet
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part19

Psalm 63 is the 63rd psalm from the Book of Psalms. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 62. It is attributed to King David, set when he was in the wilderness of Judah, and its theme concerns being stranded in the wilderness away from one's family.[1]

Theme[]

The Psalm is composed of two parts: first (verses 1–8) an address to God:

O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You.[2]

Secondly, the psalmist's wishes of vengeance are then formulated in the third person in the last three verses.

The first part, more developed, evokes desire, praise and then trust in God. The image of the arid earth in verse 1 does not express the absence of God as in other psalms, but rather the aspiration to meet.[according to whom?] Confidence is then expressed by the symbolism of the protective bird. Perhaps also the wings recall the wings of the kerubim on the ark of the covenant, these representing the Lord.

The change is evident in verse 10. There is now talk of vengeance towards the enemies of the psalmist, and some may evade this disconcerting psalm end. It is a question of a king in the last verse. Perhaps it is the psalmist himself, or a way of extending his prayer to the community. There is such a cry of vengeance in the Book of Jeremiah 11:20.

A view of the Judean Desert from Ma'ale Adumim near Jerusalem

Heading[]

Biblical commentator Cyril Rodd notes that the phrase "'When he was in the Wilderness of Judah' may refer to David's flight from Absalom (2 Samuel 15–16), but the time when Saul was pursuing David (1 Samuel 23:14; 24:2) has also been suggested".[3]

Verse 10[]

They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.[4]

Other translations refer to jackals rather than foxes.[5] "It is the jackal rather than the fox which preys on dead bodies, and which assembles in troops on the battle-fields, to feast on the slain."[6]

Uses[]

Early Church[]

The ancient church up to about 400 AD had the practice of beginning the singing of the Psalms at each Sunday service with Psalm 63, called "the morning hymn".[7][8] John Chrysostom wrote that "it was decreed and ordained by the primitive [church] fathers, that no day should pass without the public singing of this Psalm". He also observed that "the spirit and soul of the whole Book of Psalms is contracted into this Psalm".[9][8]

Catholicism[]

This psalm was already chosen by St Benedict of Nursia around 530, as the fourth and last psalm during the solemn office at the Sunday laudes (Rule of St. Benedict, chapter XI).[10]

Psalm 63 is still recited every Sunday at the Lauds by priests and religious communities, according to the liturgy of the Hours. In the triennial cycle of the Sunday Mass, it is read on the 22nd and 32nd Sundays of the ordinary time of the year A, and the 12th Sunday of the ordinary time of the year C.

Book of Common Prayer[]

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the 12th day of the month.[11]

Music[]

  • Czech composer Antonín Dvořák set part of Psalm 63 (together with part of Psalm 61) as No. 6 of his Biblical Songs (1894).
  • At the end of the 17th century, Michel-Richard de Lalande wrote a work in Latin according to this psalm (S.20). It is one of the great motets to celebrate the services at the royal chapel of the Château de Versailles, for the Sun King Louis XIV.

References[]

  1. ^ The Artscroll Tehillim, p. 128.
  2. ^ Psalm 63:1: New King James Version
  3. ^ Rodd, C. S., 18. Psalms in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary, p. 384
  4. ^ Psalm 63:10: King James Version
  5. ^ Psalm 63:10: New International Version
  6. ^ Tristram, H. B. (1867), Natural History of the Bible, p. 110, quoted by Kirkpatrick, A. (1906), in Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Psalm 63, accessed 4 December 2021
  7. ^ Commentary on the Old Testament, C. F. Keil & Franz Delitzsch, [Eerdmans], p. 212
  8. ^ a b "Psalm 63: Seeking After God | Bible.org". bible.org.
  9. ^ J. J. Stewart Perowne, The Book of Psalms, [Zondervan], p. 486).
  10. ^ Traduction par Dom Prosper Guéranger, p. 40, Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, réimpression 2007
  11. ^ Church of England, Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter as printed by John Baskerville in 1762, pp. 196ff

External links[]

  • Psalm 63 in Hebrew and English – Mechon-mamre
  • Psalm 63 King James Bible – Wikisource
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