Earthly Blessings 4: Thy Lovingkindness

8/26/12 Psalm 63:1-8 “Earthly Blessings 4: Thy Lovingkindness”
I. Introduction
A. Sept. 1 anniversary: September and October series
B. August: earthly blessings. I’ve saved the best for last.
II. Reflections on Psalm 63:1-8
A. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:1-8)
1. Let’s look at some of the phrases in this passage
a. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
(1) It is a relationship. David longs to get even closer, much like young lovers.
b. my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
(1) He feels drawn not only out of love, but out of need, a need that drives him to God like hunger drives a man to food.
c. I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
(1) He’s seen something that transformed him, that enchanted him, that captivated him
d. your steadfast love is better than life (Thy lovingkindness is better than life.)
(1) Let good and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill...
(2) All your stuff, all your relationships, all your talents/skills, add it all up.
(3) His love is better than the sum of it all.
e. I will lift up my hands
(1) joy
(2) reaching out
(3) need
(4) desire to hug
f. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food
(1) from hunger to fullness: fat and happy
(2) of the soul
(3) Some have never experienced this. They live in fear, in insecurity, in anger/bitterness.
g. in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
(1) That’s pretty close. Security and joy in being close to mother hen.
h. My soul clings to you.
(1) This is where I want to be.
(2) The one thing that scares me is letting go, losing Him.
2. This passage helps us to see that there is more to a relationship with God than
a. God out there taking notes and keeping a record
b. God who can intervene to help when there’s a special need, like 9-1-1.
c. God who forgives my sin.
d. God who invisibly governs everything that happens and makes sure that it works out for the best.
3. Now I’m not saying that these things are not true to some extent. I’m just saying that there is an aspect of God’s relationship with His children that is beyond any of these.
III. Marriage
A. The idolatry of romance
1. Can a love relationship make you happy?
a. It can definitely make you feel happy for a time.
2. No mere human can make you happy.
3. But the desire was given us for a reason.
4. Bride/bridegroom
B. There are many analogies in the Bible to our relationship with God.
1. He is our King, we are His subjects. He is our Shepherd, we are His sheep. He is our vine, we are His branches. He is our Father, we are His children. He is our leader, we are His followers. He is our teacher, we are His students.
2. And each one of these tells us things about our relationship with the Lord.
C. But when it comes to intimacy, there is one analogy that surpasses all the others. Jesus says to us, “You are my bride.”
1. Not just, “You are my wife,” implying personal relationship, profound knowledge of one another, commitment, companionship, permanence, affection, support
2. “You are my bride” is all that, with an infusion of thrill, exhilaration, freshness, newness, ecstasy, etc.
IV. We can see this in two passages in Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians.
A. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
1. Paul is imprisoned. Yet he is so content — even under the threat of Roman execution.
2. And he is so happy about the spread of the gospel even while he is in chains.
3. We see here that Paul has a whole different way of looking at life. For him, Christ is everything.
4. This man is lovestruck. There’s no better way to describe it. This man has fallen head-over-heals in love with Jesus Christ. He can’t think about anything else. Christ’s lovingkindness is better to him than life itself. The thing about life that makes it worthwhile is Christ. His whole life is wrapped up in His relationship with His Beloved.
5. Paul is not hankering for anything else in this world. He’s not screaming for men’s praise. He’s not drooling for more possessions. He’s not lusting after power or position. He’s got all he wants; he’s got Jesus.
6. What a blessing from God we have been given — in being the recipients of Paul’s magnificent testimony! His words remind us that we have a Savior who is so wonderful that He is worthy of this kind of love and devotion.
7. If we really come to grips with who He is, we won’t need anything else in life either.
8. Christians have something so extraordinary, so marvelous so as to make nothing else matter.
a. We have all we need and it can’t be taken away from us!
B. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, (Phil.3:7-10)
1. Paul has just listed all the things about him which make others be impressed. And then he says, “I count them as loss for the sake of Christ.”
2. The reason Paul’s advantages could be seen in such a dim light is because he had seen the radiance of Christ (literally). He was transformed into a man who let go of all his human securities and reasons for boasting.
3. Those who still receive a lot of their identity from earthly characteristics or advantages (like looks, intelligence, position, popularity, connections, financial security, accomplishments, etc.) do so because they have not yet beheld the radiance of Christ.
a. Just as the sun makes other lights look dim, so when we see the glory of Christ, all human glory fades.
4. The only way the glamour and glitter of this world will grow dim in our eyes, the only way we will ever be willing to let go of our idols, is if the eyes of our hearts are opened to "the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus [our] Lord."
5. When He is left out of the picture, we grab hold of earthly securities and pleasures, because it seems like that’s the best stuff around. But when we see Christ for who He is, next to Him everything else looks mighty shabby and worthless. It is "in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus" that Paul can "count all things to be loss."
6. The way to cultivate an undivided heart which is satisfied in Christ alone and which doesn’t lust after other lovers is by seeking to behold the glory of Christ. Seek it in the Scriptures. Seek it in prayer. Seek it in corporate worship. Seek it through the example of brothers and sisters in Christ who have a heart for God.
7. Seek it in the morning. Seek it all day long. Seek it during your busiest days. Seek it while you’re on vacation. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Matt.7:7)
C. “For me to live is Christ” ought to be the unhesitating testimony of every one of us. To whatever extent it isn’t, to that extent we have failed to love what is truly lovely, we have exchanged the truth of God for a lie and we have loved the creature rather than the Creator.
1. Don’t you want to live this way? Don’t you want to think about life this way? I want nothing else to matter to me except Christ. I want to give Him the pure love and absolute devotion that He so richly deserves. I want to be swept off my feet by Jesus. I want to be so caught up in Him that I fear no man and covet no earthly treasure and lust for no one else’s approval. Don’t you?
2. However, I cannot honestly say that for me to live is Christ. Too often for me life is the approval of others, and the enjoyment of pleasures, and the avoidance of pain. And yet I know that REAL living is Christ. And that’s what I want.
3. I need the Lord to change me, rearrange me, disturb me, discipline me, to do whatever is necessary in me so that I can wholeheartedly say, "for me to live is Christ."