David wrote Psalm 63 when he was fleeing in the wilderness – either during the time he fled from Saul, or the time he fled from his son, the prideful and treasonous Absalom. The psalm is an intense love song written to God when David was experiencing a particularly intense period in his life. His lyrics are remarkably God-focused rather than problem focused, and generally upbeat and positive despite the dark situation he was facing. The psalm contains one of the most memorable verses in the bible. In verse 3, David sings that God’s love is better than life. Some translations, like the King James Version, use the word lovingkindness, while others use words like steadfast love, or unfailing love.
In any case, all of those versions are attempting to translate one of the most important words in the Old Testament – the Hebrew word, ḥeseḏ. This word is used frequently in relation to God’s covenant with Israel, and includes concepts like grace, mercy, kindness, faithfulness, and goodness which are born out of love. Interestingly, the New Testament tells us that love is a fundamental attribute of God (1 John 4:8). And this might be why David believes that God’s steadfast love is better than life.
David understood that God’s fundamental attribute of love was necessary for real life. Without that love, or more precisely, without God, the fundamental needs of David (or any human being) cannot be satisfied. Without God, a man or woman will always lack something. You can see his recognition of this in verse 5 where he sings that his soul will be satisfied with fat and rich food whenever he simply meditates on or remembers God. You can see it in verse 1 where he says his soul thirsts, and that even his flesh faints for God. In other words, God is necessary for his inner life, which he lists first, and his biological life, which he lists second.
There is a New Testament recognition that love is sacrificial and life preserving (John 15:13, John 3:16). Without God’s sacrificial love, none of us can function fully, reach maturity, or even stay alive. God is love, and in him we live, and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).
David recognized that God’s love is better than life, because God’s love is life. We were made to live in a loving relationship with our creator, and to lovingly serve him as we receive and enjoy his love for us. Doing anything less than that is not really living life. It is being dead in our trespasses and sins. A life dead to God pursues everything that leads to death (Ephesians 2:1-10, Romans 6:23). But whoever truly loves God has true life. Their flesh and their heart may fail, but they can be assured that God is the strength of their heart and their portion forever (Psalm 73:26).
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