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Psalm 63:3
Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you.
1A Psalm by David, when he was in the desert of Judah. God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.
2So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory.
3Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you.
4So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name.
5My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,
Notice
The words “better than life” make praise a matter of what you treasure most, spoken here from the desert of Judah.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What seems hard to understand or affirm in David's claim that God's loving kindness is better than life?
Write on thisWhat words of praise could you speak today with God's loving kindness as your reason?
Write on thisHow does David's desert setting shape your reading of “my lips shall praise you”?
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Where else Scripture says this
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This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 30:5For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.Both speak of God's goodness in relation to life: favor lasting a lifetime and loving kindness valued above life itself.
Philippians 1:23But I am hard pressed between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.Both make a comparison with life: David treasures God's loving kindness above it, while Paul desires to depart and be with Christ.
Psalm 69:16Answer me, LORD, for your loving kindness is good. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, turn to me.God's loving kindness grounds both prayers, giving David reason to praise here and reason to ask for an answer in Psalm 69.
Psalm 51:15Lord, open my lips. My mouth will declare your praise.Both name lips as instruments of praise, with Psalm 51 asking God to open the lips that will declare it.
Psalm 73:25Whom do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth whom I desire besides you.Both express God's surpassing worth: his loving kindness exceeds life, and no one on earth rivals the desire for him.
Hebrews 13:15Through him, then, let’s offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name.Lips offer praise to God in both texts, with Hebrews describing that praise as a sacrifice offered through him.
1 Corinthians 6:20for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.Both connect God's action with bodily honor given to him: loving kindness leads to praising lips, and being bought leads to glorifying God.
Romans 12:1Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.God's loving kindness and mercies ground a response in both passages, expressed through praising lips or bodies presented as a living sacrifice.
James 3:5–10So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest!The shared thread is bodily speech: Psalm 63 names lips that praise, while James describes the tongue's capacity for great harm.
1 John 3:2Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him …The connection is broad: both speak of relationship with God, through treasured loving kindness here and the hope of seeing him in John.
Romans 6:19I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh; for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness, …Both connect devotion with bodily action: lips praising God in the psalm and members serving righteousness in Romans.
Hosea 14:2Take words with you, and return to the LORD. Tell him, “Forgive all our sins, and accept that which is good; so we offer bulls as we vowed of our lips.Both name lips in words addressed to God: David promises praise, while Hosea directs people to seek forgiveness and speak of their vows.
Where this verse fits
Praise and worship. gratitude. feeling distant from God.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The desert is still dry when David praises God. Praise has a reason even there: God's loving kindness is worth more than life itself.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).