The Loyal Love of God - Psalm 63

Introduction

Could our families have good Christmases without any gifts? Would your children be able to be happy and content this Christmas if all they had was a relationship with God and the love of their family? I don’t ask that because giving gifts is bad. It’s actually quite beautiful to give a thoughtful, generous gift to someone. I ask that because we’re so accustomed to prosperity and good fortune that too often lavish gifts are received as an entitlement and not as a display of love. Ligon Duncan says it like this: “The great trial that we have because we have so much is that we confuse the gift with the Giver, and we so enjoy the gifts that have been given to us by the Giver that we begin to prefer the gift over the Giver.”

So, what if this year everything was stripped away from you? What if this year you had no money to buy gifts for your children? What if this year you lost the many of the people that are closest to you? What if this year you were unable to celebrate your usual traditions? What if all of the blessings that you’ve received from God suddenly dried up? Would you be able to be totally satisfied in Him anyway? What about your kids and your family? This is exactly where David is in Psalm 63. Everything has been stripped away. You’ll notice in the title it says, “when he was in the wilderness of Judah.” You can read this account in 2 Samuel 15-19. His son, Absalom has lied his way into the hearts of the men of Israel and taken from the throne from his dad. David has lost everything, and he’s left as an old kind fleeing into the wilderness with a handful of loyal men. All he had left was his relationship with God and handful of his closest friends.

God’s Word

How the Wilderness Clarifies God’s Love (headline)

The point of the wilderness is to provide the darkest night so you can all the more treasure the brightest light.

God writes his best songs (psalms) under duress.

“Thirsty” lives crave “satisfying” love.

David uses the wilderness to describe his desire for God.

v. 1 “my soul thirsts for you/my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

You would think he’d be searching for water, but he’s searching for God. You’d think he’d be longing for food, but he’s longing for God.

Your love for God is measured by desire and satisfaction.

You love most what you want most.

This context: You love most what you crave most. Money/sex/approval/recognition/respect/good physique, or a deeper, more intimate relationship with God?

David has had everything stripped away. He doesn’t know if he will be alive tomorrow or where his meals are coming from, but he only craves the nearness of God. 3 Questions to measure your love:

“earnestly” = “early” What is your first thought? What are you willing to wake up early for?

“faints” = “yearns” “My body isn’t nearly as thirsty as my soul.” What relieves your cravings? A big bonus? A long contract? A relationship? A night in with your TV? Time with God?

“so I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory” David had said an emotional goodbye to the Ark of the Covenant when Absalom seized control and didn’t know that he’d see it again. He’d seen God’s power and glory descend upon the Tabernacle. He didn’t just enjoy the thought of God while in the Sanctuary; He longed for presence of God when he was far away. What do you long for when you’ve lost everything? Calvin: There’s a difference between enjoying thoughts about God while at church, and longing to see better his power and glory while you’re alone in the wilderness.

In God, David found the only answer to every question.

The wilderness acquaints us with how temporary all of our other answers are. David had and lost everything. There was only one answer that he could know wouldn’t be here today and gone tomorrow.

“your steadfast love is better than life” = “loyal”(NET) love: Nothing hurts like betrayal, and David had experienced the worst. He loved Absalom so much that when Absalom dies David weeps and says, “If only it would have been me.” His closest advisor went with Absalom. Most of his military that had once fought for him and shouted his name betrayed him. That’s what compelled him to seek refuge in God’s love.

The goodness of God’s love is best understood as a contrast to our love.

Like David, we are often sent into the wilderness by the betrayal of someone we love. Your dad may abandon you, your husband may cheat on you, your friend may betray you, but God will never forsake you. His love is loyal and steadfast.

“better than life” It’s better to die and have the Giver than it is to live without him and have all of his gifts.

Jesus came because of the love of God as a gift of God so that you would always have God. (John 3:16)

If you take everything good in your life and add them all together, God’s love is better. God had used the wilderness to increase David’s satisfaction in him. The thirstier you are, the better water tastes. The hungrier you are, the more you savor the meal. The sicker you are, the more you treasure your good health. And, in Jesus, you can live every second of every day in fellowship with God being satisfied by his love.

The question is: How will you respond to God’s love? Will you shrug it off? Will you acknowledge it, and then live like you always have? Will you say, “I will bless you as long as I live. If I add up everything in my life, it’s nothing compared to you; so, you get everything.”

“Lonely” nights rest in “active” love.

“when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate upon you in the watches of the night”

v. 5 “My soul will be satisfied” Thirsty in the morning and satisfied in the evening. (God has satisfied me another day.)

Nights are most lonely and most dangerous when you’re in the wilderness and on the run.

In David’s darkest moments, he aimed his thoughts at God.

Remembering and meditating are intentional acts of the will. They’re aiming your thoughts away from your troubles and temptations toward God.

Where are your thoughts aimed?

A mind focused on God can be satisfied no matter what else its lost or what else its facing.

A mind focused on anything else can be overwhelmed no matter how smooth their road is.

David aimed his thoughts at the active love of God.

God’s love is not merely an idea. It’s not passive or distant or irrelevant. God’s love is real life. God’s love is really there just as He is really there.

Jesus proves to us that God’s love is active. In Jesus, God’s love took on flesh. Jesus was God’s love born into reality, into the real world. It’s the proof that God cares about you enough to do something in the here and now.

“for you have been my help” He remembers how God’s love has delivered him. “You have loved me actively. You have a history of taking care of me.” Goliath/Saul/Bathsheba

“the shadow of your wings” He rejoices that God’s shadow is above him. An eagle brings its eaglets under its wing to remove them from exposure. To warm them, comfort them, and to protect them. Their hope is near. It’s real. It’s visible. It’s felt. They can see the shadow of the one who ensures their wellness.

David lives in sight of the shadow of God. It’s love he can see! So, he sings for joy like a lost child that’s just found his dad. He’s a starving son returning home from war to his father’s house. He rejoices because the protection and refuge he has found is real and active and comforting.

You can rejoice in the wilderness when you’re resting in the Father. David has joy even though he has lost everything because he never lost the main thing. He may have lost all of the gifts, but he still had the Giver.

“My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me” He clings to God’s hand that steadies him.

“right hand” hand of strength and hand of friendship

“cling” Genesis 2 - glued/fastened inseparably.

He’s clinging to God by aiming his thoughts.

ILL: Hiking at dusk on the bank with SE. She got nervous and grabbed my hand. When she slipped and let go, she found out that I was holding her hand far stronger than she was holding mine.

Cling to God in your lonely night, and you’ll find that his grip is much stronger than yours. And, his grip is your security, not yours. You can rest.

“Disappointing” seasons hope in “assuring” love.

A season of disappointment

This time in the wilderness is a culminating trial in David's life. It began with his sin with Bathsheba and culminates with Absalom. After his sin with Bathsheba, David loses 4 children.

None of us will avoid the wilderness.

But, in a season of disappointment, David lived certain and assured.

He seems certain of the future. 6 x’s he says ‘shall/will’

David’s certainty came from his anointing.

“But the king shall rejoice in God” His being the king was still very much in question.

“for the mouths of liars will be stopped” Absalom’s lie was that he was the anointed king.

We have a greater anointing and a greater assurance.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to testify to your heart that He is Lord, He is with you, and He is coming back for you.

What can you not face with that assurance? What disappointment is too much?

Listen to the words of your Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to confirm them in your heart:

Revelation 21:6-8

“Jesus, how will I survive this spiritual desert?” Revelation 21:6 (ESV) 6And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

“Jesus, how will I make it through these lonely nights and disappointing seasons? Revelation 21:7 (ESV) 7The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

“Jesus, what will happen to me if I try to build my paradise here like Absalom?” Revelation 21:8 (ESV) 8But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

“Amen, come, Lord Jesus.”