How To Love God

February 12, 2012

“Lord, how I love you! For you have done such tremendous things for me.”
(Psalm 18:1 (N.L.T.)

David was a man after God’s own heart because he had a humble and contrite spirit. Although he had grievously sinned, I am sure David was most grateful for God forgiving him, as well as delivering him from his enemies, as the rest of this chapter recounts. All of these grace gifts would overwhelm anyone and enlarge one’s love. I also see throughout David’s Psalms his love pouring forth in praise when God is correcting him (Psalm 94:12); and when his enemies came against him (Psalm 5:11-12 & 23:5), and in many difficult times. David praised and loved God in whatever circumstances faced him, in the good and in the bad of life. Instead of loving God just when everything is going good I see David loving and praising God for Who He is. God remembered that God was the God on the mountain and was still God in the valley.

In verses one and two of the Amplified version show David’s poetic and graphic picture of Who God was to him. In verses one and two I counted nine pictures of how David saw God. The rest of the chapter continues with his praises of God’s deliverance with mighty power and display of strength and triumph. God delivered David because he had been committed to obedience; He had a pure heart and clean hands and he was kind and merciful. God brought David into a “large place” because He delighted in him. God knew David’s heart and knew he was humble and loved God. Therefore, God delighted in David and gave him the desires of his heart because David had delighted in Him (Psalm 37:4)!

PSALMS 18:1-19

I love You fervently and devotedly, O Lord, my Strength. The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer, my God, my keen and firm Strength in Whom I will trust and take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower. I will call upon the Lord, Who is to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. The cords of death surrounded me, and the streams of ungodliness and the torrents of ruin terrified me. The cords of the place of the dead surrounded me; the snares of death confronted and came upon me. In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried to my God; He heard my voice out of His heavenly dwelling place and my cry came before Him, into His very ears.

Then the earth quaked and rocked, the foundations also of the mountains trembled; they moved and were shaken because He was indignant and angry. There went up smoke from His nostrils; and lightening out of His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down; and thick darkness was under His feet. And He rode upon a storm and flew swiftly; yes, He sped on with the wings of the wind. He made darkness His secret hiding; as His pavilion round about Him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. Out of the brightness before Him there broke forth through His thick clouds hailstones and coals of fire. The Lord also thundered from the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice, amid hailstones and coals of fire. And He sent out His arrows and scattered them; and Her flashed forth lightnings and put them to rout. Then the beds of the sea appeared and the foundations of the world were laid bare at Your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

He reached from on high. He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy and from those who hated and abhorred me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted and came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay and support. He brought me forth also into a large place; He was delivering me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me.