The Riches of God's Love

“They shall be satisfied with the fatness of Your house; and You shall make them drink of the river of Your pleasures.” (Psalms 36:8)

This is one of David’s psalms. He is talking of the “sons of men” who take refuge in the Lord from the wicked which he describes in verses 1-3. He is evidently speaking of himself. This was during a time of trial. From the first three verses we gather that evil men have listened to and have obeyed their temptations. “Sin speaks to the wicked deep in their hearts; they reject God and do not have reverence for him.” (Psalms 36:1) Evidently, they have a high opinion of themselves, but David sees through them. “Because they think so highly of themselves, they think that God will not discover their sin and condemn it.” (Psalms 36:2) I suspect that he has been the object of their lies in their attempt to usurp his authority and destiny as king. “Their speech is wicked and full of lies; they no longer do what is wise and good.” (Psalms 36:3) In great insight and revelation, he sees them with his understanding, lying awake at night planning evil. “They make evil plans as they lie in bed; nothing they do is good, and they never reject anything evil.” (Psalms 36:4)

It’s time of writing is not exactly known. David’s life was full of adversaries. It was written by him but not composed until the about the time the Israelites were in Babylonian captivity, and which spoke to their situation. Temptation has not changed. Sin has not changed. And adversaries have not changed because they are the old age strategies of the devil against the righteous. The righteous still suffer this kind of opposition from the enemy. But David declares the victory. It’s taking refuge in the shadow of God’s wing. “How precious is Your loving-kindness, O God! And the sons of men take refuge under the shadow of Your wing.” (Psalms 36:7)

In this translation, the Modern King James, reads that “...the sons of men take refuge under the shadow of Your wing.” Other translations read, “... the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” Some other versions read, “take shelter,” “find shelter” and “find protection.” The literal translations read “trust” and “do trust.” But in the original Latin Vulgate, the love of God is emphasized instead of man’s trust, protection or refuge. “How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! In the shadow of Your wings.” For some reason, the translators inserted man’s actions and feelings into the verse, which is implied, but not stated.

In the years 390-405 BC, St. Jerome translated the psalms from Hebrew to Latin. William Tyndale translated the Bible into English in the 1500’s and was martyred for doing so against King Henry VIII’s wishes. Our translations have come at a great price. And it’s so worth the time and effort to see what the original Scriptures say.

So, the original intention of David in Psalms 36:7 was not to emphasize man’s trust or refuge in the Lord during times of persecution, but to emphasize how great God’s love is for man when He is persecuted for righteousness' sake. 

Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20 that Jesus loves us so much He gave Himself. He left the glory of heaven to give Himself for us. Who can fathom that?  And more, He gave Himself while we were sinners, enemies of God and in darkness. (Romans 5:8) He didn’t wait for us to try to get right, to stop sinning and get cleaned up before coming to Him. He did it while we were yet defiled with the scum of sin and said, “Come to me...” (Matthew 11:28) When we obey that command and go to Him, He gives us rest. And in our Scripture of study, He gives us of the riches of His house, not meagerly but abundantly. Philippians 4:19 tells us that He will supply us according to the riches of His glory. These are glorious because God is glorious. We won’t know the full impact of what these are now, but for now, we are the beneficiaries of love, joy, peace. They are the things that satisfy the soul. They cannot be bought or earned. “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) They are gifts from the Lord because we go to Him. We go to Him in times of need. And we go to Him just because we want to be near Him.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us (even when we were dead in sins) has made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved), and has raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7) The Lord just keeps giving. He saves us out of the kingdom of sin and darkness (Colossians 1:13), gives us of His life and light, gives us gifts by which we can live in this world and gives us gifts for eternity. His glorious riches quench the thirst we have, that thirst we don’t even understand but simply, it’s to be with Him. And the Lord quenches the thirst in our spirits and in our souls with the living waters and out of the river that is never ending and eternal with the pleasures of the Lord.

To encapsulate, it is God’s great love that is more than a refuge, a protection or a shelter from persecution. It’s His love that satisfies us abundantly with the glorious riches of His kingdom and quenches the thirst that we have for Him.

Let us pray:

Father God, before my need You have provided all that I need and more. Your gifts are already available. They are the pleasures of Your kingdom. I do not even know all of them nor understand their significance, but they are there because You love me and know what I will need in the now and in the future. Thank You for Your love. It’s eternal and so great, I cannot even fathom it because it’s so different from my concept of love. Lord, just as You are generous with Your light, Your life and Your gifts, help me to be generous and demonstrate that I am a child of the only true God, my Father. I can trust and rely on Your Love when I am persecuted. I can run under Your wings and find refuge in You. There I am protected from harm and danger, and from sin and evil. There under Your wings I find what I need. Lord, I thank You for Your Word which has come at a great price. Help me to treasure it. It’s message of Your mercies which are everlasting is light to me and to my daily living. I thank You that it reveals Your Love and Your free and loving gift of life to me. Thank You Lord that You received me just as I was and worked a miracle in me. And thank You that You continue to work through the Holy Spirit. Help me to yield and to surrender to You my Lord, to Your Word and to the Holy Spirit. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.