Love That is Better Than Life
I came across some actual signs this week.
On a plumbing company’s van: “A flush beats a full house!”
At a tire shop in Milwaukee: “Invite us to your next blowout!”
At a towing company: “We don’t charge an arm and a leg. We want tows.”
On a maternity room door: “Push. Push. Push.”
At an optometrist’s office: “If you don’t see what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place.”
In a podiatrist’s office: “Time wounds all heels.”
Outside a muffler shop: “No appointment necessary. We hear you coming.”
In a restaurant window: “Don’t stand there and be hungry. Come on in and get fed up.”
On a church sign: “You’re not too bad to come in and you’re not too good to stay out.”
Picture with me another sign that may have been posted outside King David’s palace about 3,000 years ago: “The King has bolted because his boy has booted him out.” As we’ve been studying the Book of Psalms this summer, we’ve learned that David wrote most of them. Pastor Jeff did an excellent job last week helping us see how David’s sins of adultery and murder led him to confession in Psalm 51. Even though he was forgiven, there were still some consequences to his actions. As we come to Psalm 63 this morning, we discover that David penned these words when he was in the “desert of Judah.”
Let’s go back and set the context. There were two times when David was out in the wilderness of the Judean desert. The first time was when King Saul was hunting him down in the latter chapters of 1 Samuel. The second time David was on the run was when his son Absalom had conspired against his own father and declared himself king in the book of 2 Samuel. We know from Psalm 63:11 that David was the king when he wrote this psalm, so the setting must be when he was fleeing from Absalom since he wasn’t king when Saul was chasing him. After David had sinned, and Nathan the prophet rebuked him by saying, “You are the man” in 2 Samuel 12:7, David was told that things were going to fracture in his own family in verse 11: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you…’”
In 2 Samuel 15, David’s son Absalom obtained a chariot, some horses and 50 men. For four years he got up early and met with people at the city gate to resolve their legal claims. When people would bow down to him, he would take hold of them and embrace them. As a result, verse 6 tells us, “He stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” Absalom then set up a rival throne in Hebron and declared himself to be king. Instead of choosing to fight, David fled to the wilderness. Verse 30 reveals that David left Jerusalem weeping, his head covered in shame, the hot sand of the desert burning his royal feet as he ran for his life.
David was probably wondering what was going on. This was his son! This wasn’t supposed to happen! It didn’t make sense. He was lonely, sad, broken hearted, and afraid for his own life. He was betrayed by his boy, exiled from his throne, and humiliated in the desert. Are you experiencing something similar today? Are you faced with something that just doesn’t make sense? Have you been rocked by some bad news? Has someone pulled the rug out from under you? Do you feel like you’re just wandering in the wilderness?
I have some good news for you this morning. It’s not always bad to be in the wilderness. Wilderness wanderings create a thirst for God because when He’s all we’ve got, He’s all we want. David has lost everything and now he’s able to find the only thing that will truly satisfy God Himself. Psalm 63 is a song that will lead us to true satisfaction no matter what has happened to us. We could say it this way. Before David was forced into the wilderness he was obsessed with his own comfort and the satisfaction of his own needs. It’s only when everything is taken from him that he becomes obsessed with God Himself, finding full satisfaction in his praise of Him.
What’s Your Obsession?
Question. What are you obsessed with today? An obsession is an “abnormal or intense pre-occupation; an irrational reverence or attachment.” What is it that compels and constrains you? Is it your position? A hobby? A sport? Money? A relationship? Do you obsess about a possession? Are you preoccupied with your health or with your family? Or do you have an “irrational reverence and attachment” to God? How much God do you really want in your life? In Psalm 63, David refers to God 21 times in 11 short verses! He is obsessed with the Omnipotent, and attached to the Almighty.
I suspect that most of you really want to find full satisfaction in your relationship with God. That reminds me of the man who bought an expensive hunting dog. Eager to see how he would perform, he took off to track a bear. No sooner had they arrived in the woods than the dog picked up the trail. But then the dog stopped, sniffed the ground, and headed in a new direction. He had caught the scent of a deer that had crossed the bear’s path. A few minutes later he halted again, this time smelling a rabbit. Every couple minutes the dog would stop and follow a different trail. Finally the breathless hunter caught up with his dog, only to find him barking triumphantly down the hole of a field mouse.
Sometimes we’re a lot like this dog. We start out with high resolve, keeping Christ first in our lives. We know the answer to the first question posed by the Westminster Confession: “What is the chief end of man?” “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever,” but our attention is often diverted to things of lesser importance.
Most of us are more empty than we care to admit.
We know in our hearts that we can only find satisfaction and security in God.
But we usually look everywhere else first.
When we’re wandering in the wilderness, we’re often forced to admit that what the world offers doesn’t last because it promises more than it can deliver. When God is all we have, then He’s all we want. Or, to say it another way: When we allow the Lord to totally possess us, we will be obsessed with Him.
Just as businesses use signs to get the attention of customers, I see three signposts in Psalm 63 that call out to us today. Imagine these signs pounded into the desert of Judah by David himself. As we walk through the wilderness of our own wanderings, this psalm has some guidance to get us back on track, so that our souls can be fully satisfied with God once again. Psalm 63 has been called, “The soul of the psalms” and was sung by the early church every day. Let’s look at it closely in order to find the love that is better than life itself.
Sign #1: Focus Inward Am I longing for God? (1-2)
David begins by taking a look on the inside and recognizes that the only thing he has left is God in verse 1: “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Notice that David uses the personal pronoun to describe relationship and attachment: “My God.” He uses two different words for God to show that Elohim (the general term for God) is his El, (the mighty and strong God).
David is seeking God earnestly, which is a phrase that refers to the early dawn. It’s the idea of seeking God as the first thing we do. Proverbs 8:17 in the KJV captures it this way: “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” One way we can tell if we’re really longing for God is if we are turning our thoughts to Him as soon as we wake up. Psalm 5:3: “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”
David is in a desert with no water and yet He longs for God more than he does for a drink. David was dry and weary in his spirit. He wasn’t as close to God as he was when he was a shepherd boy. As he focused inward he could tell that something was missing. He craves for intimacy with the Infinite as he reflects back to his worship experiences in verse 2: “I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.”
David is not longing for the temple building or even his fellow worshippers. He treasures the privilege he has to see the power and glory of God. That should be our aim in worship as well. We don’t come here to see others or to listen to music, or to sing songs, or even just to hear a message. We should come with the expectation of praising His power and gazing on His glory! The elements of the service should point us to God’s glory, which means, “weightiness,” allowing us to savor in His supremacy. David is echoing the words of Moses in Exodus 33:18: “Now show me your glory.” We should be obsessed with nothing less.
As you take a look inward can you honestly say that you are thirsting and longing to behold God’s glory and power? Are you eager to seek Him early every day? Maybe the Lord has allowed a dry time in your life in order for you to find out how much God you really want in your life. As you focus inward, ask yourself this question, “Do I want God or do I want me?” After focusing inward, the next sign in the wilderness urges us to focus upward.
Sign #2: Focus Upward Am I living for God? (3-8)
Verse 3 gives us the summary of David’s search for satisfaction: “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” David never got over the fact that God loved him with a covenant-keeping commitment and as a result he valued the favor and friendship of God above everything else. Friends, never forget that life is not worth living unless it is lived in full recognition of God’s love for you. The word “life” actually means, “lives,” and could be translated, “Your love is better than lives.” God’s lovingkindness is superior to all the various things in life. Whatever life you have chosen, whatever you’ve given yourself to, whatever your obsession is right now, God’s love is much better.
Picture “life” in my left hand and God’s “lovingkindness” in my right hand. This verse teaches us that God’s love is far greater and of much more worth than life itself. [Raise right hand higher] But, in the deepest sense, God’s love is life itself. [Bring both hands together and lift up] In order to really live, we must receive love from above. Jesus put it this way in John 10:10: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Life is more than just eating and drinking. Even if we use Botox to get rid of wrinkles, or exercise so that we live a few years longer, if we don’t possess the love of God, it doesn’t matter what we obsess about. We may improve our looks or lengthen our life but what does it really matter if we never experience the love of God? It is better not to exist at all, than to live without the lovingkindness of God. Do you savor the favor of God?
Because David knew the love of God personally, the last part of verse 3 says that he glorified God with his lips. He responded to God in praise and he gave testimony of God’s love to others. We who are recipients of God’s favor are constrained to share it with others. 2 Corinthians 5:14: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”
When we were visiting Beth’s parents last week, we had the opportunity to spend some time with a godly woman whose husband died recently. They’ve been friends with Beth’s family for 25 years. He had a terminal illness and was receiving hospice care before he died. George loved to talk about Jesus to others because he never got over the love that God had for him. When he was struggling to even swallow, George knew that God’s love was better than life to him because he knew God was better than life when he was strong.
In the last year of his life, George talked to countless people about Christ. Two different chaplains visited him and when they were leaving, George asked them, “Do you know Jesus?” He was so overwhelmed with the love of God that he wanted to make sure two pastors knew this same love! That’s amazing to me! He shared Christ with his son-in-law before he died and made his wife promise to tell the manager of their retirement home how to be saved.
You see, George knew the love of God that is better than life itself. He looked upward and as a result he lived in light of the love of God. That moved him to glorify God with his lips. He lived out the truth of verse 4: “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” His focus was upward and he wanted to take as many others with him that he could. By the way, my friend’s last name was very fitting. His name was George Loving. I pray that I will live out his legacy of love and pass it along to others as freely as he did.
As David continues to look upward, he struggles to find a metaphor that would come close to describing how satisfied he is with God. As king, he put on some fabulous feasts. As he thinks back to the best banquet he ever had, it pales in comparison to the contentment he experiences on a daily basis with God. Look at verse 5: “My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods…” In the Bible, a satisfying meal is often representative of heavenly happiness. The pleasure found in God is equated to the pleasure found in eating. That’s why church potlucks are really religious experiences! Isaiah 25:6: “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples…” Jesus broke bread with his disciples and Revelation 19:9 promises blessings to those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.
Is your soul satisfied as with the richest of foods? Or, are you consuming spiritual junk food? Is your spiritual diet filled with fast food, or do you take the time to feast on the richness of God’s Word? Did you hear about the class-action lawsuit that was filed last month against four fast-food chains? The litigants claim that these restaurants misrepresented their products and drew people into a dangerous diet that can cause obesity and significant health problems. While this lawsuit seems absurd I wonder if we have some unhealthy believers in the church today not because of fast-food restaurants but because of inadequate spiritual diets.
We’re called to drink the milk of the Word of God in 1 Peter 2:2: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” Hebrews 5:13-14 challenges us to add solid food to our spiritual diet so that we can mature in our faith: “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Friend, can I ask you a personal question? What are you eating spiritually? What are you putting into your life? Are you drinking deeply from the Word of God? Are you chewing on Scripture? Are you seasoning your life with meditation and prayer?
At PBC, we have a menu that we hand you every Sunday morning. It’s printed right on the back of your bulletin. We offer some daily specials to supplement our offerings, but we’re known for our six-course meal, which comes highly recommended by the Master Chef Himself. If you eat this meal on a daily basis, all of your nutritional needs for your spiritual life will be met. We call this our high-impact diet and the recipe comes right out of Acts 2:42-46. I preached through these six courses in my very first sermon series three years ago.
Instructing in God’s Word
Mobilizing for ministry
Praying with faith
Adoring God in worship
Caring for each other
Telling others the gospel
Jesus summed up this menu when he gave us the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. We’re to love God and others with everything we’ve got and we’re to make disciples of all nations. We hear a lot today about different diet options. You can go low carb, low fat, low sugar, or eat a grapefruit. Friend, there are three things to remember with God’s diet. First, you can’t eat fast. If you do, you may get spiritual indigestion. Take your time and savor the favor of God. Second, you have to eat every day. One meal once a week is not enough to sustain you. We’re committed to putting on a banquet every Sunday morning but it’s not enough to meet all your needs. Third, God’s menu is not a buffet where you can pick and choose what you’d like. Rather, it’s a complete six-course meal. If you want your soul to be satisfied as with the richest of foods, then pull up a chair and dig in!
The last part of verse 5 shows us that since David was fully satisfied with his bountiful banquet, he couldn’t help but break into praise: “with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” Even though he is in the desert with nothing to eat physically, his soul is satisfied with God Himself. He chooses to praise God even though his present situation is not very good. I talked to someone yesterday who has gone through some very tough things this week. I loved her response when I asked her how she’s doing. This is what she said: “I’m not going to let Satan steal my joy. No matter how bad things look, God is still good and I have chosen to praise Him!”
I’m told that there is a special fruit in Africa called the “taste-berry.” When this fruit is eaten, it causes the taste buds to experience all food that is eaten afterwards as sweet and delicious. Even sour and bitter food eaten several hours after chewing on some “taste-berries” somehow becomes palatable. Do you know what the taste-berry is for the Christian? It’s praise. When our hearts are filled with praise, even our sorrow can become sweet because we recognize that God is good. When you’re faced with disappointment, difficulty, or despair, use your lips to sing His praise. Force yourself to praise Him even when you don’t feel like it.
In verse 6, David’s mind goes to those times when he’s lying awake at night and can’t sleep. This psalm is really cool because it covers all of life it begins with a focus on seeking God in the early morning, enjoying Him as we eat our meals, and then remembering Him at night: “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.” God should be in the first and last thoughts of our day. As someone has said, when you can’t fall asleep at night, don’t count sheep but instead talk to the shepherd. At night, when your mind is filled with fear and worry, praise God on your pillow! Remember what He has done and meditate on His goodness.
David is probably thinking here of the times he joined the Levites in their shifts of praise through the night when he writes of the “watches of the night.” He can’t join them physically but he can still praise God in the middle of the night. When you can’t sleep, maybe you need to get up and read your Bible and pray instead of just tossing and turning or flipping on the TV.
David has full confidence that God will help him deal with his situation in verse 7: “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.” The picture here is of a baby chick running for refuge under the wings of a hen. In describing His love for people, Jesus said this in Matthew 23:37: “…How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” God’s love is also compared to that of an eagle with its young in Deuteronomy 32:11: “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions.” The wings of an eagle can be up to nine feet long and provide a wonderful hiding place. And because they are so strong, eagles can effortlessly up their young and carry them to safety. Because David has experienced this protection, he sings in the shadow of God’s wings.
In verse 8, David not only sings; he also clings to God: “My soul clings to you…” David is holding on to God with everything he has. The KJV translates it this way: “My soul followeth hard after thee.” I like that. The idea is to catch something after a long pursuit. We’re to be vigorous, not lazy or apathetic. Once we find God, we’re to be glued to Him. The Hebrew literally means, “to stick fast.” But we don’t have to do all this on our own. Look at the last part of this verse: “…your right hand upholds me.” We cling to God and He’s holding us in His powerful right hand. That reminds me of what Jesus said in John 10:29-30 when speaking of the security that His sheep enjoy: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
And so, we’re to focus inward and ask, “Am I longing for God?” Second, focus upward and ask yourself this question, “Am I living for God?” That leads us to the last sign in the desert: focus forward and ask, “Am I looking for God?”
Sign #3: Focus Forward: Am I looking for God? (9-11)
After longing for God and living for Him, David now looks ahead to the battle in front of him. The order is significant. When we sing and cling, then we can handle anything! Notice how David is expecting God to work in verses 9-10: “They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.” The army commanded by Absalom would attack the next morning but instead of fearing, David was looking for God to do His work. These prophetic words were literally fulfilled when God routed the enemies of David in 2 Samuel 18:7-8: “There the army of Israel was defeated by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great--twenty thousand men. The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword.”
Several years ago, a book came out that challenged Christians to go on a “God-hunt” by looking for Him to do His work in the course of our every day lives. Many times we’re so busy that we don’t stop, look, and listen for God.
The psalm ends in verse 11 with David expressing confidence, “But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God’s name will praise Him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.” There’s an enemy out there for each of us. Maybe it’s a person. Maybe it’s a situation or an addition. We know that Satan and his wicked forces are at work. Can you look forward and say, “God will do His work and I will rejoice in God?” When you put Him first and go after Him hard, you can rejoice in His supremacy.
God’s side will win and those on God’s team will glory in His victory. In three weeks I’m going to begin a new sermon series called, “Don’t Be Left Behind” as we walk through the books of 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. One of the exciting things about focusing on Christ’s return is that we know who wins! No matter what you’re going through right now, if you sing to God and cling to Him with all you’ve got, you’ll be ready for a big celebration.
Conclusion
When God is all you’ve got then He’ll be all you want. That might be why you’re in the wilderness right now. God wants you to long for Him, to live for Him and to look for Him. True faith often begins in the desert when all of our props are knocked out from under us.
What do you obsess about? Solomon, another one of David’s sons, learned the hard way that nothing is worth giving your life to, unless it is God himself. He threw himself into his career, pleasure, building projects, relationships, possessions, and education. He found no fulfillment in the things that many of us still think will provide us with meaning. I encourage you to read his diary of despair preserved for us in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Nothing satisfies but God. His conclusion is stated in Ecclesiastes 12:13: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.”
Have you ever fully surrendered to God? As you focus inward do you have to admit there’s not much there? Are you ready to focus upward and forward? Are you ready to go hard after God? Cling to Him and allow Him to hold you in His righteous right hand. Let Him possess you fully so that you can become obsessed with Him.
This psalm uses several words to describe that we must pursue God with the totality of our being:
Soul and body (1)
Lips (3)
Hands (4)
Mouth (5)
Mind (6)
Voice (7)
Will (8)
Seek him with everything you’ve got. Whether you feel like you’re fainting or feasting, pursue Him. Thirst for God. Long for the Lord. Gaze on His glory. Savor the favor of God. And learn that His love is better than life. Only Jesus can quench the thirst of your soul. Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
I want to close with two more church signs:
“If you’re headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns.” God can turn you around if you’ll focus inward, upward and forward.
“Free trip to heaven…details inside!”
If you’re ready to put your faith and trust in Christ for the first time, then pray this prayer with me. If you now realize that nothing in life is worth giving yourself to if you haven’t first given yourself to Christ, then it’s time to make a U-turn.
“Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I admit that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. I repent of my sins by changing my mind about the way I’ve been living. Please forgive me for chasing after things that can’t satisfy me. No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking. By faith I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. With all my heart I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. I accept you into my heart. Be my Savior and Lord. I surrender to your leadership in my life. Make me into the person you want me to be. Amen.”
