PSALMS 63



A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.



1 O God, You are my God;

early will I seek You;

my soul thirsts for You,

my flesh faints for You,

in a dry and thirsty land

with no water.

2 (Ps 63:1; 84:2) I have seen You in the sanctuary,

to see Your power and Your glory.

3 (Ps 79:10; 80:5) Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

my lips will praise You.

4 (Isa 30:29; Ps 62:8) Thus will I bless You while I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

5 (Ps 42:11; 43:5) My soul will be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,

and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips.

6 (2Sa 17:22; Dt 3:8-9) When I remember You on my bed,

and meditate on You in the night watches,

7 (Ps 88:7; Jnh 2:3) because You have been my help,

therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.

8 (Job 35:10; Ps 63:6) My soul clings hard to You;

Your right hand upholds me.

9 (Ps 38:6; 18:2) But those who seek my soul to destroy it

will go into the lower parts of the earth.

10 (Ps 42:3; Joel 2:17) They will fall by the sword;

they will be a portion for jackals.

11 (Ps 42:5; 43:5) But the king will rejoice in God;

everyone who swears by Him will glory,

because the mouth of liars will be stopped.



Psalms 63

[1] 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;

[2] To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

[3] Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise

thee.

[4] Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy

name.

[5] My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth

shall praise thee with joyful lips:

[6] When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night

watches.

[7] Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings

will I rejoice.

[8] My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

[9] But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower

parts of the earth.

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

[11] 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.



2) Our Daily Bread for 17 April 2026 titled

Strength to Endure by Arthur Jackson



2 Timothy 4:6-8



6 (Php 1:23; 2:17) For I am already being poured out as a drink offering,

and the time of my departure has come.

7 (Ac 20:24; 1Ti 6:12) I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course,

and I have kept the faith.

8 (Col 1:5; 2Ti 1:12) From now on a crown of righteousness is laid up for me,

which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day, and not only

to me but also to all who have loved His appearing.



[6] For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

[7] I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the

faith:

[8] Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the

Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only,

but unto all them also that love his appearing.



Mark - a marathoner and a dedicated pastor who served two churches over the

span of thirty-five years - recently retired. One gift presented to him was a

pair of new running shoes. I ran with Mark once over twenty years ago, but

throughout his life, he's run the 26.2-mile race in numerous cities across the

country. At his retirement celebration, people from the community and the

churches he served also expressed their appreciation for Mark's faithfulness.

Because of God's power and grace, Mark finished well.



Life's more like a marathon than a sprint. At times we experience fatigue and

we feel like giving up. Yet God's grace and strength are unending for those

who trust Him. As the imprisoned apostle Paul neared the finish line of life

(2 Timothy 4:6), he encouraged his protégé Timothy, "I have fought the good

fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (v. 7). Life's paths

take us to different places. But regardless of where we are on life’s journey,

it's always good to remember that faith-filled endurance is essential and

rewarding (v. 8); that God is the source of our strength (v. 17); and that,

by His grace, he "will bring [us] safely to his heavenly kingdom" (v. 18).



Reflect & Pray



When have you experienced God's strength even as you wanted to give up?

How can others' Spirit-empowered endurance inspire you?



Dear Father, please help me to ever be mindful

that those who trust in You are candidates for

supernatural strength - "they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).





For further study, read For When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong.



3) Daily verses taken from Billy Graham Evangelical Organisation



Words in Season Scripture Memory Tools



Week 7 Promises of Grace - Day 6 Humility and Exaltation



1 Peter 5:6-7



6 (Jas 4:10; Mt 23:12) Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,

that He may exalt you in due time.

7 (Ps 55:22; 37:5) Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares for you.



6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,

that he may exalt you in due time:

7 casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.



"I was so humble I was given an award for humility," the pastor quipped.

"They gave me a humility plaque - but they had to take it back when I hung it

on my office wall."

Humility is rare among 20th Century Christians. Our pride takes two

seemingly contradictory forms: Self-exaltation and self-denial. But both

focus on self, not on God.

Francois Fenelon, 17th century French archbishop, From his

"Letters of Spiritual Counsel" wrote:

"He who so completely forget himself that he never thinks of self ... is

truly humble. If we had the light to discern it, we should see clearly that

when we think we are humbling ourselves we are exalting ourselves;

when we think we are annihilating ourselves we are seeking out own life."

True humility, as Fenelon implies, means recognising who we are in the light

of who God is. Excess of self-importance and low self-esteem are both

self-centered perspectives; true humility is God-centered.

When we humble ourselves, we become intensely aware of God and less

aware of ourselves. We can focus on his face and get our eyes off our own

image. We can stop worrying about how others perceive us. Such humbling

is difficult - as one 70-year-old saint joked, "It ain't the heat that gets

you, it's the humility." But when we submit to him and fell the weight of the

"Mighty hand of God" upon us, we can forget ourselves, abandon

ourselves to his presence, and cast our cares upon him.



Application



a) What form does my pride usually take - self-exaltation or self-degradation?



b) Why must I humble myself in order for the Lord to lift me up?



c) How can today's verse encourage me when times are tough?



4) From Prosperity Promises - Kenneth Copeland



Haggai 2:7-9



7 (1Ki 8:11; Isa 60:7) And I will shake all the nations,

and they will come with the wealth of all nations,

and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of Hosts.

8 (Isa 60:17) The silver is mine, and the gold is Mine,

says the Lord of Hosts.

9 (Isa 9:6-7) The glory of this latter house will be greater

than the former, says the Lord of Hosts. And in this place

I will give peace, says the Lord of Hosts.



7 and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations

shall come: and I will fill this house with glory,

saith the LORD of hosts.

8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,

saith the LORD of hosts.

9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater

than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place

will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.