The Role Of Your Intentions In Loving God - Psalm 63 Pt.4 Series

Psalm 63:4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

**************************************

Review: Seeking a Full Cup

We all know the phrase from the 23rd psalm that David used to describe the sensation that comes from having been in the presence of God. He said, “my cup runneth over.” We all have a cup. That cup is the appetites that God built into your soul. You body has appetites and your soul has appetites. When you body’s appetites go unfulfilled – you don’t get food, you don’t get water, you don’t get sleep, you don’t get activity – it’s miserable.

It’s the same way with the soul. When the appetites of your soul go unmet, and your cup is empty, it’s really miserable. Your soul has a powerful appetite for encouragement, strength, hope, contentment, rest, fullness, joy, confidence, assurance, renewal, motivation, passion, comfort, etc. When you have those things your cup is full. When you don’t, it’s empty. Having a full cup is the most wonderful thing there is.

And beyond that, God commands us to seek a full cup, because He is glorified when our satisfaction comes from Him. (Or to use John Piper’s words, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”) God designed you with appetites so that you would seek to fulfill them, and then He commanded that you seek fulfillment in Him.

Isa.55:2 listen to me, and eat what is good

Pr.9:5 Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed.

Ps.37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD.

In v.1 of Ps.63 David’s cup is empty.

my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

In v.5 describes a full cup.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods

David knew all about having an empty cup and he knew all about having a full cup. And he teaches us at least 7 different ways to get that full cup of v.5.

1. The first step toward getting that in your life is by resolving to prefer God. (v.4)

2. Another step is to learn to hunger and thirst for it. (v.1)

3. Another important step is to behold the glory of God (v.2)

4. A fourth step is praise and worship (vv.3,4,5,7)

5. A fifth step is to meditate on God (v.6)

6. A sixth step is to trust in His great and precious promises and rest in Him as your refuge (v.7)

7. Another step is to cling to Him and press hard after Him (v.8)

Those are seven things I see in this psalm that teach us how to arrive in v.5 – totally satisfied in God. And the order isn’t really important. When I call them “steps” I don’t mean that you have to do #3 before #4 but not until you’ve done #2… These are all things that we should be striving to do all the time. However there is one that stands out as an important starting place and a foundation for all the others, and that one is in v.4. So let’s take a peek at v.4.

Resolve

Therefore I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

Here is he talking about what he is going to do in the future – from the time of writing until the day he dies. No one knows what will actually happen in the future. So when you see a statement like this, the point isn’t that he is looking into a crystal ball and telling God what is going to for sure happen. Nor is he bragging about how successful he is going to be in his future walk with God. He is simply making a statement of intention, or resolve. He is saying, “It is my intention to praise you until the day I die. I herby resolve to do that.”

Resolve is a crucial first step, but not the only step

Most Christians have kind of a love/hate relationship with resolutions. Are resolutions helpful or not? Is it a good thing to make resolutions about what you intend to do in the future or not? Does a resolution have the power to bring about sanctification and transformation in your heart?

If I have struggled with an explosive temper or some sinful habit, and January 1 comes and I make a resolution to change… Does that actually do anything to bring about spiritual change?

When you look at your track record with past resolutions, you might be inclined to think, “No, they don’t do a bit of good. They are worthless.” But then on the other hand, think about this – times in your life when you have made a change, didn’t that start in most cases with a decision to change? If you’re not even willing to resolve to change, you will never even take the first step. So you have to have resolution.