1 O LORD, my God, most earnestly
I seek your holy face,
within your house again to see
the glories of your grace.
Apart from you I long and thirst,
and naught can satisfy;
I wander in a desert land
where all the streams are dry.

2 The loving-kindness of my God
is more than life to me,
so I will praise you all my days
and pray continually.
In you my soul is satisfied,
my darkness turns to light,
and joyful meditations fill
the watches of the night.

3 Beneath the shadow of your wings
I sing my joy and praise.
Your right hand is my strong support
through troubled nights and days.
All those who seek my life will fall;
my life is in your hand.
God's king and people will rejoice;
in victory they will stand.

A profession of longing for God when hindered by enemies from communing with God at the temple.

Scripture References:
st. 1 = vv. 1-2
st. 2 = vv. 3-6
st. 3= vv. 7-11

Like Psalm 42, Psalm 63 uses the metaphor of thirst to express the longing for security in God's presence. Traditionally ascribed to David "when he was in the Desert of Judah," this song expresses the psalmist's yearning for God while forced to wander "in a desert land" far from the LORD's sanctuary (st. 1; see also Ps. 84). There the psalmist thinks of God's soul-satisfying love through "the watches of the night" (st. 2) and of the sense of security he enjoys from God's sheltering wings (st. 3). Though explicit mention of the king (v. 11; st. 3) identifies the speaker as the LORD's anointed, and references to enemies (vv. 9-10; st. 3) suggest that they are the ones who have forced the king from the temple, Christians can sing this psalm today whenever we yearn for the security that only God provides. The versification comes from the 1912 Psalter; with alterations mainly in stanza 3.

Liturgical Use:
Preserved in the early church for use in daily public prayers, this psalm fits well at the beginning of worship or whenever the church seeks to express its longing for God's presence and saving power.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook