Psalms 63

Intro

Did you know that God loves you?

How often do you think about how much God loves you?

we often talk about how we need to love God, but how often do we reflect on the fact that God actually loves us?

the writer of this psalm knew how deep God’s love for him was

David compares God’s love to Four other things

God’s Love Compared to the Wilderness

David in the wilderness

original name of psalm was “a psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of judah

two potential timeframes

before he was king when he was running from King Saul

while he was king and he was fleeing from his son Absalom who was starting a revolution against him

whichever storyline is the correct one doesn’t really matter because the circumstances are the same

David is fleeing into the wilderness

He is separated from God’s people

he’s in survival mode

think about what it would be like to be in this situation

you’re likely afraid

you are having to search for food and water just to survive

Imagine how thirsty you would be

with the sun beating down on you

your first thought is probably, “where is the closest source of water?”

But David’s perspective is different

he doesn’t say “I thirst for water,” He says “I thirst for you”

He recognizes that God’s love is what sustains him in the wilderness

without God’s love, He would be unable to survive the wilderness

When you experience God’s perfect love for you in changes everything

but what about the times when we don’t feel His perfect love

many of you in this room have probably been there

you seek Him but don’t feel His presence

you pray but it just feels like your talking to a brick wall

what I would say to you who is experiencing that is do not give up hope

His love still satisfies

His love still comforts us

His love never fails

sometimes the world tries to get in the way of our experience of God’s love

the world will try to get you to forget that God’s love sustains you

and you will find yourself in a spiritual wilderness where your time with God feels dry

if that’s you, do not forget that God’s perfect love for you never goes away

His Love is BETTER than the wilderness

God’s Love Compared to Life

David compares God’s love to the life that He has given us

Life is a gift from God

He created us

He formed us

He gave us the breath in our lungs

our lives are a gift and they are good

we have a roof over our heads

we have access to running water

we have AC that keeps us cool in the middle of this insane heat

our lives seem to be pretty good

What other gifts has God given us that make our lives good

I can remember when I was a kid, that I asked my mom multiple years in a row for the same gift

it was a pair of Heelys

for those of you that don’t know, Heelys were a shoe that had a wheel in the heel of the shoe so you could go from walking to skating

I wanted a pair so bad, and finally, one year, I was opening my birthday gifts, and I opened a box that had written on the side of it in all caps “heelys”

I was so excited

I thought that I was going to be the man

it was going to be so cool to go around school with these new heelys and skate up and down the halls

The reality is, it probably made me look strange rather than cool

The sad end to that story is that schools started to restrict the use of the wheels during the school day so you had to take them out

but we all have stuff like this that made our lives more exciting once we recieved them

we could go on and on about all the things that make our lives good

maybe its sports

maybe its video games

maybe its music

maybe its going and getting your nails done

what David is trying to show us is that the feeling you get when you think about all those things that make your life good it pales in comparison to the feeling you get when you experience God’s faithful love

His love is BETTER than life

God’s Love Compared to Rest

David opens the next section in verse 6

“the night watches” was a phrase used to say, “late into the night”

He is saying that your love for me motivates me pursue you rather than physical rest

now, I don’t know about y’all, but i love some sleep

literally, this morning, i struggled to get out of the bed because i just got these new bamboo sheets that are incredibly comfortable

and I think there is some spiritual significance to a good nights sleep

I mean, my favorite story in the old testament is found in 1 Kings 19 when Elijah is running from the queen Jezebel who has sworn to kill him

once Elijah has gotten far enough away, he finds a nice tree and prays to God asking to die

He then proceeds to take a nap and when he wakes up, an angel is there and gives him a loaf of bread to eat

he then takes another nap and when he wakes up the second time He is ready to continue on

Showing us that we should never underestimate the power of a good nap and a snack

Sleep is not a bad thing

however, when we choose physical rest over spiritual rest, we will lose sight of how good God’s love truly is

David gave up his physical rest in order to rest in the presence of God’s Faithful love

why does he do that?

because, he says, “you are my helper”

Are you willing to give up physical rest for spiritual rest?

are you willing to get up early in the morning in order to get in God’s word

if that’s not possible, are you willing to take some time before you go to bed to get into his word rather than scrolling on TikTok

I promise you, when you make it a priority, you will see that His love is BETTER than physical rest

God’s love compared to the Enemy

the last section of this Psalm goes in a slightly different direction than the rest

David talks about those who intend to harm him

depending on the time this Psalm was written, he was either referring to Saul and his supporters or Absalom and His supporters

but the theme of what David is saying is that, in His love, God will protect him from his enemies

Now, these enemies were REAL

I mean, they wanted to kill David

they weren’t just people that David didn’t get along with

they were people who wanted to actually destroy David

they wanted to destroy his reputation

they wanted to destroy his influence

they wanted to destroy his life

now, David didn’t know the future

but he did know, that regardless of the outcome God’s faithful love will always guard the ones who seek after Him

and David sought after God

and he realized the God’s love is BETTER than his enemies

How Will You Respond to God’s Love?

the truth is that God loves everyone

John 3:16 tells us this

Not only does He love all of us, but His love is unconditional

there is nothing that you can do to earn God’s love

if you sin, God’s love for you remains

if you doubt his love, His love for you remains

Now listen to me, cause this is important

there is nothing that you can do that will make God stop loving you

That is the kind of love that God has for you

Before you did anything, He loved you

David recognized the kind of love God had for him

and it moved him to respond in several ways

He sought after Him

He glorified Him with his hands raised

He followed Him closely

and He rejoiced in the Goodness of His love

so I ask you again, how will you respond to God’s Love for you?