Is There A "Love Song" in Your Heart?

Is There a “Love Song” in Your Heart? What are the elements or a great “love song?” Maybe a better way to pose the same question is to ask, who can place a song of everlasting love into our hearts? If you will indulge me further, there is something else I would like to know. Have you ever wondered why we should love God? Yes, I know the Bible commands us to love the Lord God supremely with every facet of our being (Matt. 22:37). This is good and healthy, but there are other reasons for loving the LORD beyond this precious obligation. Though this command is the greatest, there are still other wonderful reasons worthy of our exploration. David knew the secrets to having a song in His heart for the Lord (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16) and he presents a few of these early in the eighth Psalm:

            I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
            The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
                  My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
                  My buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
           I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised:
                  So shall I be saved from mine enemies. (Psalm 18:1-3)

David is singing a “love song” to the LORD! In fact, He declares, “I will love Thee” (v. 1). In this psalm David also employs a barrage of metaphors to describe the LORD, and to express His great love for Him:

I.                    He is My Strength (Strength)—he loves the LORD because He strengthens

II.                 He is My Rock (Stability)—he loves the LORD because He affords solidity/steadiness

III.               He is My Fortress (Security)—he loves the LORD because He affords complete security

IV.              He is My Deliverer (Savior)—he loves the LORD because He rescues

V.                 He is My God (Sovereign)—he loves the LORD because He is Supreme

VI.              He is My Buckler (Safety)—he loves the LORD because He protects

VII.            He is My Horn (Salvation)—he loves the LORD because His salvation is strong

VIII.         He is My High Tower (Security)—he loves the LORD because He provides refuge

Obviously, David had many reasons for loving the Lord, and so do we. No wonder David bellowed, “I will love Thee” (v. 1) to Jehovah God! The same should be true of every Believer in Christ Jesus. Simply stated the LORD means everything to us Believers; we are completely lost without Him! When we really know Him, we do not want to live without Him; when we know Him, we cannot help but love Him more and more! In fact, we cannot live without Him. He is everything!

Since Jehovah God meant so much to David, he loved God for the many roles He played in his life. God provided security, significance, strength, and salvation to the Psalmist of Israel in grave situation of mortal danger. Who could not love a great God who supplies all the vital essentials for our very existence? In addition, David welded his identity and needs together in the very references he made toward God. By calling God his Rock he recognized God’s constancy/immutability and his own instability.

Yet, in life he needed stability. When he refers to God as his Buckler, he was acknowledging God’s ability to provide strategic and specific protection/safety against certain assaults. Yes, he needed God’s protective hand in his daily affairs. When he calls God his Fortress, he is identifying comprehensive security in God. Yes, in life or death, for time and eternity, and in heights or depths he needed the complete 360 degree security only God can afford (Rom. 8:28-35). In each name or title, there is a confession of need on David’s behalf. He needed safety, security, significance, and salvation. God supplied generously in each instance by rescuing David from serious peril. By defining God with these terms or titles He defined himself as well. This reveals that David’s identity, significance, and security were all rooted in his relationship with Jehovah God.

Identifying these realities gave David strength of conviction and clear perception. Reality could be known and explored with this guiding perspective. He knew who God was, who he was, and what was really important. Folks who fail to root their identity and significance in God commonly look to their jobs, families, society, a movement, achievements, or something else. When these human entities fail or fade in some way, these individuals often feel lost, stripped of meaning, confused, empty, inept, worthless, and even suicidal. They lose their moral and ‘spiritual’ compass often spinning out of control or descending into dark depression. Drugs, alcohol, and sensuality/promiscuity become far more inviting and alluring. Serial overindulgence in TV, movies, and video games become a way to escape these nasty and harsh realisms. Other folks in their desperation, actually race to some other cause, person, or event to give their lives meaning and validation. Life for these folks is one string of restarts, rediscoveries, and trends; they are every waiting and looking forward to the next thing. Unfortunately, every one of these streets has painful and dark dead ends. When we root the meaning of life in temporal and fragile things or mere people, we cannot enjoy a lasting sense of meaning or significance. In contrast, for Believers anchored in the LORD God, we can be steadfast and constant in convictions and perceptions because we are rooted in the changeless eternal foundation—GOD. Such a meaningful relationship provides security deep within, and stirs a song in our hearts. And be assured, Beloved, we must sing or burst! Therefore, sing unto the Lord a song of love (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).

This truth is not automatic for all Believers, though we would naturally think that to be the case. Each Christian must embrace it must conscientiously. We must deliberately recognize who God really is, what He affords us, and who we are in light of His Person and truth. Such theological meditations can generate a song in the soul. We appraise and accept His views, diagnosis, solutions, values, power, and opportunities personally for all areas of our lives. By faith we transfer our identity, significance, and security to God through Jesus Christ.

We are completely defined in Him. That is, we embrace biblical truths in order to be governed by a Bible-informed worldview. We repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ because we believe we are sinners needing to be saved. We believe we matter because God loves us, has shown us grace, has a purpose and design for our lives, and is at work in each of us Believers (Eph. 2:8-10). Without Him we are nothing, and we can do nothing! We embrace God’s value system knowing that it is extremely different from society’s (Matt. 5:1-20). We by faith embrace God’s prescriptions and solutions to life’s challenges believing He has real answers to our critical challenges. Besides all this, without the LORD and His Word life ceases to have any real transcendent meaning.

Beloved, we must literally trust the LORD to supply all our needs in His grace and in full accordance with His plan for us. Understanding Him leads to greater understanding about ourselves because He defines us. Use His Names and Titles when you talk to Him because they confess His glory and our needs most honestly. Again if you endeavor to know Him, you will love Him more. He is marvelous and He will set your soul afire with a growing passion for Himself. Why? Well, because He is the absolute best Person for you and me in the entire universe! Remember, when God saved us, He gave us Himself! Not just heaven, but His glorious Self! He has written a love letter, the Bible, to each of our hearts, and there He made bare His glorious Soul! He loves you and me. Think about it…He really loves you and me. That is supremely what Calvary says (Rom. 5:8). If we really get this, we will find ourselves behaving like David and habitually singing “love songs” to God. What about you? Is there a love song in your heart? Have you recently caught yourself singing to God, “I will love Thee, O LORD”?