Behold His Love

Behold His Love

Psalm 63

Main Idea: When we realize God’s love for us, we will delight in knowing and worshiping him, even in the midst of life’s difficulties.

Four Effects of Realizing the Greatness of God’s Love

Is your heart in love with God? That may be the most important question I could ask you. Yet I’m concerned that, even for many professing Christians, words like love, affection, and longing don’t describe our relationship with God. I’m concerned that many people in the church have faith in God, but for a variety of reasons they lack feeling for God. We may believe in God’s love in our heads, but a passion for God is missing in our hearts.

We don’t want to miss out on the satisfaction God has designed for us in our daily relationship with him. Even more, we don’t want to miss out on eternity. James 1:12 and 2:5 talk about how heaven is prepared for those who love God, not for those who merely make a mental affirmation of belief in God. Even the demons believe in God (Jas 2:19)! And according to Jesus, doing things for God is also insufficient:

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?” Then I will announce to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!” (Matt 7:21-23)

Jesus says that “many” people will be shocked to stand before him one day, having assumed that their eternity was safe when it was not. That’s why we need to honestly answer the question, Is my heart in love with God? This question is critical, both now and for eternity. So, how do you get that kind of love for God? The answer, according to the Bible, is that you realize the greatness of God’s love for you.

Psalm 63 is one of the most beautiful expressions of love for God in all of Scripture. King David says of God, “Your faithful love is better than life” (v. 3). When we know this truth about God’s love, we will long for God in this way.

This psalm was most likely written in response to King David’s flight from his son Absalom (2 Sam 15–17). We know for sure that David was in a wilderness, both physically and spiritually. Physically, he was on the run with his life and his kingdom in danger. He talks about those who “intend to destroy my life” (v. 9), while claiming that he will “bless [God] as long as I live” (v. 4).

Spiritually, David was separated from the temple in Jerusalem, the place where God’s glory dwelled palpably among his people. David missed being in the midst of God’s worship. We have much to learn from David’s longing, or we might even say obsession, for God. Based on this psalm, we will consider four effects of realizing the greatness of God’s love.

Your Relationship with God Becomes a Consuming Addiction, Not a Convenient Addition

Psalm 63 is written by a man with a consuming addiction to God. The verb seek (v. 1) is related to the Hebrew noun for “dawn,” which explains why the word eagerly has also been translated “early” (KJV). From the moment the day begins, David wants to be with God. He thirsts for God as if he’s in the desert and hasn’t had water; he’s desperate. He knows that God is the source of his soul’s replenishment.

In verse 5 the imagery switches from water to food. David craves God more than he craves food. And it’s not just in the morning; it’s all day and all night (v. 6). David sounds obsessed here, which is why I use the word addicted to describe the effect of knowing God’s great love. An addict is driven by a desire for one thing, believing that if he can have it, he will be satisfied. David is addicted to God like that. It’s similar to what he says in an earlier psalm: “I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking him in his temple” (27:4). Biblical faith is a consuming addiction to God. It’s what Paul expresses in Philippians 1:21: “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Paul couldn’t wait to die because that meant he would be with Jesus. He wanted Jesus more than he wanted to live!

This kind of obsession may sound extreme, but in reality this is biblical Christianity. This is what Jesus taught: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Scripture commands us to honor our father and mother (Exod 20:12) and to care for our children and families (1 Tim 5:8). Jesus is inviting us into a love relationship that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate in comparison. “The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; the one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matt 10:37).

Keep in mind that this is initial teaching from Jesus, not in-depth discipleship after many years. These are the basics of what it means to be a Christian. Christianity is obsession with Christ. It is a relationship with God that is like a consuming addiction. However, I fear this kind of relationship with God is foreign to many Christians today. Instead of God being a consuming addiction in our lives, we make God a convenient addition to our lives. We simply add God onto all sorts of other people and things we love in our lives—family, health, work, money, success, sex, sports, exercise, food, and a host of other things.

Sure, we’d say we believe in God, or we’d even say we worship God. But the question is, Do we want God more than we want anyone or anything else in this world? Do we want God more than we want our spouse or our kids? Do we want time with God more than we want an extra hour of sleep, or exercise, or so many other things we spend our days doing? Do we want God’s glory in the world more than we want more comforts in the world? Do we want God’s glory more than we want our money? When we want these things more than God, that may be a sign that we don’t realize the greatness of his love for us. We are, after all, talking about the God of the universe, who is infinitely more beautiful and satisfying than anyone or anything in the world.

Your Worship Is No Longer Mere Duty; It Is Immeasurable Delight

In Psalm 63 David is not talking about the worship of God as something he has to do or needs to do, though, in a sense, worship is mandatory because God deserves our worship. No, worship is something he longs to do. It’s not duty for him; it’s delight! Look at the actions mentioned: David is singing (vv. 3,7) and lifting up his hands (v. 4).

This kind of joy and affection reminds me of attending a college football game. When you find your seats in the middle of a bunch of people you’ve never met before, you start to bond with them pretty quickly. When your team scores, you are standing up, screaming, and high-fiving all of these people. Thousands of you start going ballistic over a bunch of guys you don’t know who are running around on a field with an object made of pigskin trying to cross a white line. I remember one night recently after I had taken my two boys to a game and I was tucking them into bed. One of them (without being solicited) said to me, “Dad, will you pray for me?”

I said, “Sure, buddy—how can I pray for you?”

“I need you to pray for my perspective. I feel like I’m more excited about our team winning the game today than I would be if I heard somebody had come to Christ. I was more excited about that than I am about going to church tomorrow. I just think I need a different perspective.”

So I prayed that for him, for his brother, and for myself. Earlier that week, in our family Bible reading, we had read the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son (Luke 15). The Bible says there was rejoicing in heaven over one person who turns and trusts in Christ. My son had reminded me of how easy it is for our affections to be so great for things in this world. These aren’t bad things, but they need to be kept in perspective. How much more should we have strong affections for the worship of Almighty God?

We should also remember that this kind of love and affection for God is not driven by obligation. True love is driven by passion. It’s not that we must worship God but rather that we want to. God is honored by heart-captivating, mind-exhilarating, breathtaking, awe-inspiring worship. This kind of worship not only glorifies him but also satisfies us. People who realize the greatness of God’s love don’t view worship as their duty. They view it as their delight.

You Want God More Than You Want Even His Greatest Gifts

Sadly, God’s gifts can actually be one of the greatest barriers to true, God-glorifying worship. But this raises a question: If biblical Christianity involves a love for God that transcends love for anyone or anything in this world, then is it wrong to love your spouse or your kids deeply? Or, for that matter, is it wrong to enjoy the good things God gives us in this world? The answer to that question, in light of all of Scripture, is clearly no.

It’s altogether right to love your spouse and your kids deeply, and God exhorts us in his Word to enjoy all kinds of good gifts that come from his hand (Jas 1:17). However, it is possible to receive those gifts and love them more than we love the God who gave them to us. In fact, I would go a step further: it is dangerously easy for any of us to love family and health and hobbies and homes and all sorts of things, and even to thank God for these things, yet not actually love God. You can even love the forgiveness of sins and the promise of heaven but not love God.

Imagine you are stranded at sea, drowning in the water, and a ship arrives to rescue you. Just because you want that lifeboat to rescue you, and gladly receive its help in order to survive, does not mean you love the captain of the ship. So also the desire to escape hell does not mean you love God. If we’re not careful, this is what our Christianity can become—a bunch of people who don’t want to go to hell and who will gladly take a “lifeboat” to heaven. Yet our lives demonstrate little to no real love for the Captain of the ship.

Everything in Psalm 63 is focused on God, not his gifts. David says, “I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you. . . . I gaze on you . . . to see your strength and your glory” (vv. 1-2; emphasis added). Then, in light of God’s “faithful love” (v. 3), David says, “My lips will glorify you. . . . I will bless you. . . . You satisfy me. . . . I think of you . . . , I meditate on you” (vv. 3-6; emphasis added).

When David says that God’s love is “better than life” (v. 3), he is taking what is arguably most valuable to him (and to us)—life itself—and he’s putting it in perspective. Your life is more valuable to you than your money. If a robber were to confront you and threaten your life if you didn’t give him your money, then you’d give him your money to preserve your life. Your life is also more valuable to you than comfort. We would endure all sorts of painful surgeries, procedures, and processes if a doctor told us this was the only way we could live. Yet when David is given the choice between the good gift of life and the God who loves him and gave him life, he chooses the Giver.

The heart that knows the greatness of God’s love says the same thing with every other gift, even the most valuable gifts, in this life. The Bible is not saying that any of these things are bad in and of themselves; they are good gifts from God. Yet if we long for and love these good (even great) gifts more than we long for and love the giver of these gifts, then we are idolaters rather than worshipers of God. We have totally lost perspective.

Your Experiences in the Wilderness Become Experiences in Worship

By the end of this psalm, in the face of those who seek to destroy his life, David says that he rejoices in God (v. 7). How is it possible to rejoice in God when you’re in the wilderness, when you’re at the end of your rope, when you’re not even sure tomorrow is going to come, or when you’re not even sure you want tomorrow to come because you’re so tired of the challenges and the trials you’re facing?

Whether it is physical health, challenges in family or work, or fear of what tomorrow holds, each of us experiences some kind of “wilderness.” That is, we all experience some good gift from God being taken away. In response, biblical faith trusts in the giver even when the gifts are taken away. When your health is fading, when your marriage is struggling, when your kids are wandering, when your work is wearing you down, or when your life is wearying, faith looks up and realizes that the giver, God, is still there. He loves you with a love that’s better than life itself, and he will satisfy you in a way that no gift can ever satisfy you.

Consider why God’s love is better than life itself. It’s not simply because it stretches higher and deeper than anyone or anything in this world. His love is better because his love lasts longer than life. When the final day comes and your life draws to an end, the love of God for you will not end (Rom 8:38-39). It’s the simple yet glorious truth of John 3:16—God showed his love for you by giving his only Son for you, so that through your belief in him (not just in your head but in your heart), you will never perish but have everlasting life, a life in which you will eternally enjoy God’s love.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Respond to the following statement: “The Bible says we must believe in Jesus. Whether we love him is not that important.”
2. How would you describe your relationship with God? Do words like love and affection come to mind? Discuss your answer.
3. What are some ways to grow in your love for God when you don’t feel great affection for him?
4. What’s the danger of professing faith with our mouths while having no love for God in our hearts? What are some passages in Scripture that speak to this danger?
5. What are some things in your life that tend to take priority over your relationship with God?
6. How might Psalm 63 speak to someone who prioritizes work or sports over gladly committing to the fellowship and mission of a local church?
7. How would you answer someone who asks, “Should I feel guilty for loving my new house?”
8. What gifts from God are you most tempted to turn into idols?
9. The reality of God’s love does not mean we won’t suffer. Nevertheless, how can God’s love change our perspective on suffering?
10. What other passages of Scripture assure us of God’s unfailing love?