Psalm 16
Announcements:
Men’s Breakfast @ Teel’s April 13, 8:30AM
Introduction:
*Examples of delights and the good life*
Good things! But are you lifting them too high?
David says “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
Text: Psalm 16
Theme: The Lord is my Delight and Salvation
Verses 1-3
The most obvious theme of this psalm is that the Lord is our delight.
But alongside of the many expressions of love for and delight in the Lord throughout this psalm, there is a faith filled prayer for preservation.
“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge… my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption… you make known to me the path of life… at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
David, who writes this song, had faith that through taking refuge in God he would not stay in the grave but would be with God forever.
And for David, and for me, and I trust also for you, there can be nothing better than that: eternal life with the One who is our highest good? Eternal life with the One who has given us a beautiful inheritance? Who gives us counsel and keeps us from being shaken? And in whose presence there is fullness of joy and pleasures forever?
Nothing comes close to that.
Verse two, actually literally says “my welfare is not beyond or additional to you.” The meaning is that there is nothing more that can add to our wellbeing above God. It’s perfect contentment in the Lord.
Actually I saw a cup recently that I really liked, but the statement on it kind of clashes a bit with this verse. It said something like “All I need is a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus.” I laughed at that and thought; oh I like coffee a lot. I like Jesus a lot more. That cup kind of fits me.
But if David were to get a cup, his would simply say “All I need is God.” And it is a statement of complete sincerity. It’s very true and the perfect outlook on life.
Yeah, there are days where my energy runs low and you’ll probably hear me say “I need some coffee.” Or I might need some sleep. Or some food. Or some time to read, or whatever.
But hold that up against the Lord. Eternal life with the One who gives pleasures forevermore vs. coffee. Or a good novel. Or whatever you like.
It’s no competition. When you know the Lord and have a strong relationship with Him. And when you believe His promises of the glorious life yet to come. Then you will say to the Lord, just as David did “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” Because nothing can really add to that.
Naturally, enjoying the Lord leads to enjoying the saints in the land. Saints is literally holy ones as it is in the New Testament too. Some translations have holy ones here. But the phrase “in the land” helps us to see that this is talking about people, not about spiritual beings like angels: hence, saints. Holy people.
He delights in holy people. Now, here is something I have heard before, probably you have heard it too, maybe you have even said it: I love Jesus; it is His people that I can’t stand.
I’ve heard another complaint that is in the same ballpark: I don’t like Christians that take their faith too seriously. Or on the other side of that stance, I don’t like Christians who are hypocrites. I’m a Christian but I don’t go to church because I don’t like the people there.
This sentiment comes in a lot of varieties. Listen, I’m going to tell you something that you might not have heard before, but I want you to hear me out.
There are two possible problems things that might be causing you to say things like this. One, the Christians that you know are not holy. Or two, you are not holy. Because the idea that there is such a thing as too holy is a bad idea.
You know what holy is? Holy is love. Holy is mercy. Holy is justice. Holy is integrity. Holy is honesty. Holy is kindness. Holy is sacrifice. There is no good reason to not like such a person or want to be around such a person. If you don’t want to be around loving, merciful, just, honest, kind, and sacrificing people – then there is something wrong with you, not them! There isn’t such a thing as too holy. The holier the better.
Now, holier than thou is not holy. Rage is not holy. Hate is not holy. Violence is not holy. Destruction is not holy. Deceit is not holy. Unfaithfulness is not holy. Injustice is not holy. And there are people who bear the name of Christ and can be characterized this way. I don’t blame you for not wanting to be around such people. I don’t delight in them either.
A professing Christian who is hateful and destructive is not taking their Christianity too seriously as some have said. The problem is not that they are too holy. The problem is that they aren’t holy enough.
When God has made you holy, and you know what holy really is, then you will say with verse three “Yes! I love holy people! They are excellent! I delight in them! May I always be with them!”
But if there is no delight in believers then it is a holiness problem – either with them or with you. Because holiness, true holiness, is a great, great thing. God is holy.
Link: In contrast to this, while delighting in the Lord leads to delighting in holy people, delighting in the Lord also leads to forsaking false gods.
Verses 4-6
While those who delight in the Lord can say – “there is nothing that can add to the goodness of the Lord in my life” – those who delight in false gods will say “I find myself growing sadder and sadder.”
People wonder a lot about what has gone wrong in society today. But it really isn’t a secret. “The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply.” Why are so many people unfriendly? Why is there so much fighting? Why all the violence? Why all the drugs?
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply.
How come it’s hard to find wholesome and happy things on TV or in movies? Why does the news always feel so apocalyptic? Why are families breaking down? Why are all these kids in schools having problems? Why do my coworkers complain all the time?
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply.
The problem with society today and why it is so often an unhappy place is because people do not want God. They don’t want God. They want other gods. They don’t want to serve God – they want to serve their own interests. They don’t want to be honest and humble as God would have them – they want to lie and exalt themselves. They don’t want to raise their family as God would have them – they want to be entertained. And on it goes.
David says “their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.” In other words, I will not take part in their idolatry. I will not worship false gods. No, thank you! The Lord is my ultimate good, I need not chase after another.
The Lord is his portion and his cup and holds his inheritance. And that is great – way better than sorrows that multiply. Who wants sorrows that multiply? I don’t want sorrows that multiply, that’s the opposite of what I want out of life. I want the lines to fall for me in pleasant places and a beautiful inheritance.
And that is what is yours in the Lord.
Application:
And I believe that is what you want too. I don’t think you would be with us in church this morning unless on some level you want the Lord in your life. I think we all must. But how much do you want the Lord in your life? Are you ready to say that he is your chosen portion and your cup? Are you ready to say “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you?” Or do you want to add some other gods to your life as well?
Because of the insanity of sin, we tend to think that by adding other gods to our life that we will add to our delight. But that is simply not the case. We just add sorrow.
Link: Keeping God as God in your life leads to a better life. It also leads to a wiser and more stable life.
Verses 7-8
“I shall not be shaken.” Stability. This stability comes from the wisdom that the Lord gives and His divine presence. David says the Lord gives him counsel. He bases his decisions upon the instructions of the Lord. And at night, he spends time reflecting in his heart on the day and days to come, in pursuit of wisdom.
He thinks like a believer. He thinks like one who knows, honors, loves, and fears the Lord. He wants to know – Lord, what is your will? As a king, I can imagine a lot of David’s counsel and instruction that he sought had to do with managing the kingdom well. Lord, how can I help the widow and the orphan? How can I cast out the idols in our land? How can I make your name more known throughout the land?
This led to a life marked by wisdom and stability. His life was not without its faults. No life ever is. But David was known as a man of God and has left us many beautiful songs that are indispensable for a healthy Christian life today.
Link: When your life is lived with God as your delight, then your life will be marked by wisdom and stability as well. David ends declaring his present and future complete well-being.
Verses 9-11
“My heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.” – That’s the here and now. Now he is experiencing gladness, rejoicing, and security. The fruits of delight and contentment in the Lord. Delight and contentment are companions by the way, not opposite.
A lack of contentment causes you to be unable to enjoy the things that you have and instead endlessly desire. But contentment allows you to break free from that train of greed and delight in what you have.
David says to the Lord “I have no good apart from you.” That is contentment. And it doesn’t lead to a lack of delight, or boredom – it leads to gladness, rejoicing, and security.
And certainly a big part of that gladness, rejoicing, and security is drawn from the fact that there is the assurity of eternal life. Notice the “therefore” and the “for” in these two verses. Gladness, rejoicing, and security are tied – both – to the fact that David sets the Lord always before him, and also to the fact that his soul will not be abandoned in Sheol.
And it must be this way. Could there truly be gladness, rejoicing, and security if you did not set the Lord before you? We’ve already demonstrated very well that can’t be the case. The sorrows of those who run after other gods multiply. The evidence is all around us. You need the Lord for true gladness, rejoicing, and security.
Could there truly be gladness, rejoicing, and security if you did not know that you would go to heaven for eternity? No, there could not be. You would have a restless fear of death. What will happen to me? Will I cease to exist? Will I be surrounded by darkness? Will I be punished? Is this disorderly, emotional, physical existence all that there is? The only way people can find rest who do not know the answer to that question, is by chasing after other gods – but that merely increases sorrow.
To have gladness, rejoicing, and security, you need both. You need God as your God and you need to know that you have an eternal and bright future.
David knows that he has an eternal and bright future because God has made known to him the path of life. The path of life comes from God and must be made known to us by Him. It is not something we earn.
Jesus, the Lord, says “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” David knows the Lord and trusts in Him for his preservation and deliverance from the grave; therefore he knows the path of life.
In fact, just for making things especially clear, Jesus is the one that David is talking about when he says “or let your holy one see corruption.” For that part of the verse, he isn’t talking about himself. He isn’t the holy one and he did see corruption.
Look at Acts 13:35 real quick. *Read Acts 13:35-38*
David knows that his soul will not be abandoned in Sheol because God’s holy one – Jesus – will not see corruption. When you trust in Jesus, the Lord, to be the one to save you from the grave. Trust in Jesus not yourself. And in His righteousness instead of your own. His work on the cross to save you instead of your own works. When it is Him that you know and to Him that you call out for preservation – then God has made known to you the path of life. Your soul will not be abandoned in the grave.
Application:
“In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” – Both in this life and the life to come. Because God is our Delight and our Salvation.