Our Emotions Towards God and His Word
We've looked at the foundation of worship, or what all true worship is  built on. That is Who God Is, and What He Has Done, Is Doing, and Will Do, and His Word. Then we looked at the walls of worship, our actions. Now, we're looking at what I call the roof of worship. The expression of our feelings towards God.

God has done a huge amount of things for us, more than we can expect to know or understand. But it is based on these things that we love God.

Love For God

Psalm 18:1 says,

I love You O Lord, my strength.

Do you have any idea what is unique about that short verse of adoration? It's the only time in the book of Psalms that David says, 'I love You' to God. That surprised me. In the choruses that I look at, the idea of loving God comes through pretty strongly. An example is I Love You Lord.

But this doesn't seem to be a very strong emphasis in the book of Psalms. David starts out Psalm 18 by saying, I love You O Lord, my strength. I recognize that our organization of chapters and verses is something we have done to help us use the Bible. But it seems strange that the book of Psalms would begin with a chapter on what kind of man God blesses, and then wait 18 chapters for David to say, 'I love You'.

So why did David love God?

Psalm 18:2,3 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

David didn't dwell on his love for God. He didn't say, 'I love You Lord, I think You're wonderful, You're the only God I'll ever love...' Rather he began talking about Who God Is. Sound familiar. (Please try to keep in mind, this does fit in with the structure of the study. But I didn't pick out this verse because it would fit the structure of the study. I picked it out because it is the only time David says, 'I love You Lord')

David says, 'I love You Lord,' and then says that God is:

• his strength
• his rock
• his fortress
• his deliverer
• his God
• his rock that he takes refuge in
• his shield
• his horn of salvation
• his stronghold

Who, (or what) is the emphasis on? Is David's emphasis on his great love for God? No, the emphasis is on God Himself. David is in love with God, and therefore his emphasis is on God. I remember reading a book once where a man was talking about a woman who was in love with him. But what he said was, she wasn't in love with him, she was in love with love. Perhaps too often, we are guilty of that. We enjoy the feeling of worshiping and loving God, more than we love God Himself.

To me, the emphasis of Psalm 18 on who God is tells us something important. In order to love God well, we have to know Him well. Without studying Psalm 18, very few of us would offer a prayer to God like that. Few of us (I couldn't) could present to God a list of so many of the things He is, and does for us. I only finished with verse 3. Psalm 18 continues with David's troubles, and God's swift reaction to them, (What He Has Done).

There are three other verses in the book of Psalms (out of over 2400) that talk directly about our love for God.

Psalm 31:23 O love the Lord, all you His godly ones! The Lord preserves the faithful And fully recompenses the proud doer.

This verse is simply a command for the godly to love God. And then, David continued with Gods present actions towards the faithful and obedient.

Psalms 97:10 Hate evil, you who love the Lord, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Here, David gives a command to people who love God to hate evil. This is interesting in that it somewhat parallels John 14:15 -

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

The order is clear, if we love God, we should hate sin. But that is also a clear relationship: we can't love God and love evil too. We have a choice.

Psalm 116:1 I love the Lord, because He hears My voice and my supplications.

This is the other verse in the book of Psalms where David speaks about his love for God. In this verse, David isn't talking to God, but rather about Him. Again though, David says he loves God, and then tells why. He doesn't continue to focus on his emotions, but rather on God's actions, (What God Is Doing Now).

While we're continually pounding this point, notice the continued emphasis in Psalms on Who God Is, His Works and His Word. Not on my emotions.

Love For God's Word

Only four or five times in the book of Psalms does David talk about loving God, while ten times he talks about loving His Words. The longest chapter in Psalms, in fact in the Bible, is devoted to the Word of God, it's qualities and effects, and David's devotion to it. Look at these verses:

Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 119:47 I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love.

In the first verse, David talks about the delight a man of God has for the word. He's not only thinking about it day and night, he's delighted with it. It's interesting to me that his time in the word of God isn't a mere matter of discipline, it's a matter of devotion. His devotion drives his actions.

Again, he says that he will delight in God's commands, and that he loves them.

Psalm 119:97 O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

This is also kind of a reflection of Psalm 1:2. David is in love with Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. All day long, that is what he is thinking about.

No one probably knows exactly when these verses were written, but consider when they might have been written.

David is a young boy. He's pasturing his father's sheep. He's got six older brothers, at least some of whom don't particularly like him. His father doesn't even consider him important enough to bring in when a prophet comes to visit. And what was David thinking about? God's laws.

Or maybe while David was in the palace... He's singing about God frequently before King Saul. But every once in a while, he takes time out to dodge a spear sent his way. The king entertains important people from other kingdoms, perhaps, every now and then. There are enemies like the Philistines around, and a few battles. There is the constant politicking that goes on around every head of state. And in the back of David's mind, he knows that someday, he will be king. And what was David thinking about? God's laws.

Or maybe David is being chased around by Saul himself. Saul wants his head on a pole. His men are complaining again. They've been standing guard too long, and are considered rebels by their own countrymen. They can't even go home. David can't either. And the only thing Saul really wants is David's head. And David misses Jonathan, the only close friend the Bible mentions him having. And what was David thinking about? God's laws.

Or maybe it was while David was king, when it would have been so easy to be distracted by people, wars, politics, building a city...

We don't know when this was written, but David really didn't have a whole lot of times when he had spare time on his hands. But no matter, he was thinking about God's laws.

Psalm 119:127 Therefore I love Your commandments Above gold, yes, above fine gold.

David knew about gold. David donated over a billion dollars worth of gold for the temple, if I remember correctly. David knew gold. But David loved God's commandments more. He knew the value of the commandments. He knew their purity. He saw them as beautiful. He was dedicated to them.

Psalm 119:167 My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly.

And his delight in the commandments was shown by his obedience. David wasn't one to say, 'I love your commandments, but...' Again, he was living out John 14:15, quoted earlier. He demonstrated his love by his obedience.

The central point here, though, is that David sang about these things. David didn't simply love God's law. David instead mentioned his love of God's laws in his prayers, in his songs. And again, this is something we don't do as often. There are a few good choruses on this, and we should probably use them. Most of them I can think of are based on the Psalms.

But these thoughts should also be part of our prayers. 'God, I love your word. Thanks for the gospels, that tell me about Your Son. Thanks for the Prophets, that tell me about some of your amazing works through people, and your amazing grace (and anger) to people. Thanks for your laws, that show us Your works, character (holiness, goodness, and gentleness) and attributes (eternal, powerful, etc.). Thanks God, for your letters to the churches that guide us, and help us to grow in our understanding of how you want us to live, and of what Your grace is all about....'

Our prayers should be a little like that. He has given us the most amazing Book in the history of eternity. We should thank and praise Him for it often.

Desire For God

David also expressed a desire for God that was something besides love. It was a thirst or hunger for God's presence.

Psalm 42:1,2 - As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?

In verses like this, David seems to be expressing not just his love for God, but at the same time, his distance from God. God was Someone just beyond his reach, that he was reaching for more and more.

I don't understand a lot about the drinking habits of deer, but there used to be a lot of deer down on my grandma's land. We could find tracks all over, it seemed. Sometimes up near the house, sometimes along the road, and always down by the ponds. I don't know when they drank, since I never actually saw one at the water. But there were always tracks. Deer are not camels, they require water frequently.

David's relationship with God was like that. He didn't simply love God, he needed God.

And when he said, 'when shall I come and appear before God,' that was probably a question that implied, 'when will I die, and come into your presence?' David never expected to see God this side of the grave, but rather than expressing a fear of death, David expressed a desire to come before God.

Psalm 63:1 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

First, David expresses that possessiveness of God. You are my God. Secondly, David is expressing more than just his emotions. David is saying, 'this is what I will do, I will seek You.' That is one of the things that sets David apart from us. David sought God, while we are often content to believe that we have found Him.

David also says that he thirsts for God in a land where there is no water. I've heard that water is one of our greatest needs. We can go for a long time without food, but only days without water. Yet David says in a land without water, his desire is still for God.

Psalm 143:6 I stretch out my hands to You; My soul longs for You, as a parched land. Selah.

Psalms does talk about lifting up our hands to God. I'm not sure if that is simply a cultural thing or not, and what David was always expressing by it. But here, David says he stretches out his hands to God in longing. Again, kind of giving the impression of God just being out of reach.

I've seen programs on television where someone was over the edge of a cliff, or stuck in a cave. Often, to add to the suspense, they put the person just out of reach. The arms of victim and rescuer are extended as far as possible, but they can't quite touch. Or perhaps they can touch, but can't quite grip each other.

That's the feeling David had at times.

David does spend time in the book of Psalms talking about his emotions, but the focus of these verses is never David's emotions. Rather these verses lead to talking about God, or talking to God about Who He Is, His Works and His Word.

David was known as a man after God's own heart. I think that is because David was a man after God. Seeking after God, knowing His Word, delighting in what He said and did.

So reflecting on what we have seen, David's worship was based primarily on Who God Is, and What He Had Done, Was Doing, and Will Do, and His Words. These took up over half of David's words. Then David talked about methods (the walls of worship) like singing, speaking to others, meditation. But these verses took up only about one fifth of the book of Psalms. In the same way, David spent less than a fifth of Psalms talking about his own emotions for God.

So God was the center of David's worship, not David and his emotions, not technique.

I call songs about our emotions 'rooftop songs'. A rooftop is an essential part of a house. But a house that is made only of a roof is a small, uncomfortable house. I think that's true of our worship, too. We need the understanding of Who God Is, His Works and His Word, songs and words about that, and then a rooftop of love and longing on top of that.

That's what David did.

Introduction  The Importance of Worship    The House of Worship- An Analogy    The Door - The Man of Worship 
The Foundation of Worship - Who God Is, His Works and His Word    The Walls of Worship- Prayers, Songs and Words
The Roof of the House of Worship - Adoration    Repentance - The Forgotten Act of Worship
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