Psalm 63:1-8

Lent 3 - Year C 

Psalm 63:1-8

I seek

I thirst

fainting

weary

waterless

searching

power

love

blessing

in hand

on lips

finding

feasting

praising

resting

meditating

joy

to this

I cling

with this

I hold up

in this

I live

= = = = =

Alternatively you might want to hear Jim Taylor’s paraphrase:

The third Sunday in Lent, Psalm 63:1-8. Some downtown churches are thriving; many are memorials to a former glory. Why do we maintain them, when they’re so often empty? Because a few people still come there to seek sanctuary.

1   Crowds of people crush me. 

       They bump and bounce my mind; 

       they break my concentration. 

       I feel like nothing more than a means to an end,

       merely a cog in the crunching machinery of a city. 

       I long for the gentle touch of loving fingers, the intimate whisper of acceptance.

2   So I have come looking for you, Lord, in your holy places.

3   In this dimmed light, in this hushed silence, I sense your presence.

4   I wish I could feel you as near me in the rabid frenzy of life in the urban core. 

       I want to reach out and touch you in the marketplace as well as the chancel.

5   Then I will not feel alone; you will be part of every thought and every breath.

6   I will know you at my desk and in my den, in my bed and in my bathtub.

7   Nothing will come between us.

8   And I will hold you close in the forest of my fears.

For this and other paraphrases, you can order Everyday Psalms through Wood Lake Publications, info@woodlake.com or 1-800-663-2775.