The Daily Psalm

The Daily Psalm: A Devotional by Mark D. Roberts, encouraging prayer based on the Psalms. Learn how to pray the Psalms.

Monday, March 6, 2006

The fifth day of Lent

My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 63:8

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Psalm 63

0 A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, you are my God, I seek you,
  my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
  as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
  beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
  my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
  I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
  and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6 when I think of you on my bed,
  and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
  and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
  your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life
  shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword,
  they shall be prey for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
  all who swear by him shall exult,
  for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

www.istockphoto.com/Micha Fleuren

Daily Prayer (based on Psalm 63:8)

Indeed, Lord, my soul clings to You. Why? Because You are my life, my strength, my hope. Apart from You I falter and fade away. When I rely upon my own ingenuity, inevitably I fail. I cling to You, Lord, because I need You. I can't make it without You.

Yet here's the wonder. As I hold fast to You, You hold fast to me. Your right hand upholds me. You keep me steady. You gently move me forward in Your way. You protect me from harm. How thankful I am that our relationship is not a one-way street, in which I do all the holding. As I hold fast to You, dear Lord, You hold onto me as well. All praise be to You!

Postscript

When I think of clinging, I remember how my children, when they were infants, would grab onto my finger as if they would never let go. In so many ways, this is how we cling to the Lord. The picture to the left wonderfully illustrates this relational dynamic.

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The Scripture text used in The Daily Psalm is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved