Better Than Life

Psalms 63:3 KJV

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

Gill

"For life without the love of God is nothing else than death: a man that has no share in the love of God is dead while he lives; all the enjoyments of life, health, riches, honour, friends, c. are nothing without the love of God the meanest temporal blessings with it are preferable to the greatest without it, Pro 15:17; it lasts longer than life, and therefore must be better than that"

Barnes

"Thy favor; thy mercy. This is of more value than life; more to be desired than life. Life is the most valued and valuable thing pertaining to this world which we can possess."

Clarke

"But O how few prefer the approbation of God to the blessings of life, or even to life itself in any circumstances"

These were the convictions of countless Christians who, though I am sure loved life, chose death rather than to deny their faith in Christ. I read where Pliny the Younger, who was responsible for the execution of Christians in his region of authority, wrote to the Emperor Trajan asking for advice. His concern was that people were being accused of being Christians very frequently and often by anonymous tips. He wrote to Trajan that he believed Christians should be put to death but doubted whether it should happen just because someone - especially and anonymous someone - claimed a person was a Christ. Pliny then suggested that no one be put to death for being a Christian who would deny his faith. As Pliny understood it a true believer in Christ could not and would not deny the Lord.

I wonder if we have that same conviction today? I wonder if our gospel has become so watered down that most Christian today would reason that, since they can't loose their salvation anyway, it could not hurt anything to deny Christ to save their lives?