What Does It Really Mean To Love God? Psalm 63 Pt.1 Series

Psalm 63:1-11 A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah. 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. 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. 7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. 9 They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. 10 They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. 11 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.

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

Introduction

Over the past few years, and especially the past 12 months, my walk with the Lord has been revolutionized. All my life, for example, prayer has been very hard for me – the hardest part of the Christian walk. My hour of prayer in the morning is the most enjoyable time of my day (and it often bleeds into two hours). I have joy in my life every day that is beyond any joy I have experienced in the past. There are besetting sins that I have struggled with all my life – that I thought I would never be able to gain victory over; and I am now enjoying a measure of victory in those areas beyond anything I thought possible in this life. Beyond that, my worship has deepened. Throughout most of my life, the really profound moments of worship, in which I had a powerful sense of the literal presence of God as I worshipped, happened to me once every few years. Now that happens most every day – a deep, fulfilling sensation of the literal presence of God.

And looking back over this year of transformation, I realized that most of the truths the Lord used to do all this came right out of Ps.63. That is why we’re studying this psalm.

Prayer

Our Father in heaven,

If we had a choice at this moment between sitting on the most beautiful beach in the world sipping our favorite drink, or experiencing Your favorable presence, we would choose Your presence. If we could choose between being on our favorite sky slope or doing our favorite pastime, if we could not simultaneously experience Your favorable presence, we would much prefer to be in the worst dungeon on earth – if Your presence were there. Our one desire is to be close to You.

You said that those who experience Your presence are blessed, because they will rejoice in Your name all day long. Our great desire is to have Your presence shine upon us and for You to turn Your face toward us. Only one thing we ask of You dear Lord – one thing we seek; to dwell in Your presence all the days of our lives, and to seek You in Your dwelling place. And so of all the things we could ask for tonight, Father we ask that You would be present in this room.

We know that You are everywhere present, but You are not everywhere present to bless. You do not reveal Your favorable presence in every place. You do not turn Your face toward every place, nor make Your face shine upon every place. Our urgent plea is that You would do all that for us tonight. That You would be with us and make Your face shine upon us and let us experience the peace and joy and satisfaction and encouragement and strengthening that comes from being in Your presence.

Father, I could so easily botch this opportunity to teach Your Word. I could leave out something important, or get out of balance on some point, or misinterpret Your Word, or misrepresent You through unclear communication; and those listening could misunderstand, or become distracted and miss a crucial point, or have hearts that are not receptive to certain truths; Father, this hour is fraught with dangers – serious dangers. We need so much special grace at this time.

Please, dear Father, give us grace. Teach us. Incline our hearts to warmly and joyfully embrace Your truth. Give us discernment. Cause any error I speak to be rejected. Guide us. Speak to us through Your Word by Your Spirit. Feed us. Come to us. Smile upon us, for that is our very life. Give us to drink from Your river of delights. Draw up living water from Your eternal spring and satisfy our souls in You.