David composed Ps. 63 when he was in the Wilderness of Judah, a fugitive from the wrath of King Saul (see superscription; cf. 1 Sam. 23:13, 14, 23, 24; 24:1-3; Ed 164). Ps. 63 is one of the tenderest of the psalms. It contains nothing by way of petition; there is joy, praise, thanksgiving, longing for communion with God, but not a word of request for temporal or spiritual advantage. The hymn has three parts: David’s hunger for God (vs. 1-4), his joy in communion with God (vs. 5-8), his confidence in the ultimate destruction of the wicked and his own triumph in the hands of God (vs. 9-11).

On the superscription see pp. 616, 627.

Or, “faints with longing.”

 See on Ps. 42:2.

 Used idiomatically for “I” (see on Ps. 16:10).

Heb. shachar, “to seek at dawn,” hence, “to seek earnestly,” or “to seek eagerly.”