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Psalm 16 Song of Trust and Security in God A Miktam of David. 1 Protect me, O God, for in
you I take refuge. 2 I say to the LORD,
"You are my Lord; I
have no good apart from you." 3 As for the holy ones in
the land, they are the noble, in
whom is all my delight. 4 Those who choose another
god multiply their sorrows; their
drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or
take their names upon my lips. 5 The LORD is my chosen
portion and my cup; you
hold my lot. 6 The boundary lines have
fallen for me in pleasant places; I
have a goodly heritage. 7 I bless the LORD who
gives me counsel; in
the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I keep the LORD always before
me; because
he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is
glad, and my soul rejoices; my
body also rests secure. 10 For you do not give
me up to Sheol, or
let your faithful one see the Pit. 11 You show me the
path of life. In
your presence there is fullness of joy; in
your right hand are pleasures forevermore. INTRO There’s a
scene from a humorous science fiction story I like that goes something like
this… A hyper-intelligent
race of beings decided they would, once and for all, find out the answer to
Life, the Universe, and Everything.
To do so they designed and built a computer unlike anything ever
before conceived. The computer
was known as Great Thought. Once
complete, Great Thought admitted that it could, in fact, calculate the answer
to Life, the Universe, and Everything, but that it would take seven and a
half million years. The race of
beings was not deterred – what did seven and half million years matter
if THE ULTIMATE answer would at last be known? At the end of this seven and a half
million years, the descendants of the original Great Thought builders
approach the computer with an almost reverent anticipation. Great Thought confirms it has indeed
calculated THE answer. As you
might imagine, it’s a tense moment, ripe with expectation… and
just when you think you can’t stand the wait any longer, Great Thought
announces that THE Answer, to Life, the Universe, and Everything is…
42. Now as crazy as that
story may seem, I think it hints at something that is common to every one of
us – answering the question, How
do I make sense of life?
It’s something that’s been asked by every generation, with
probably more answers than we’d even want to consider. Some answers are as nonsensical as
“42”, but far worse are ideas like the one suggested in
Shakespeare’s Macbeth, that
life is a tale, told by an idiot - full of sound and fury, signifying
nothing. So if answers such
as those don’t appeal, how does one go about figuring out this purpose of my existence stuff? How do I find meaning for my
life? Today we’ve read one
answer to that question. The
psalmist finds meaning for life in the God he’s chosen to serve –
a God who provides, directs, and inspires. Psalm 16 is
generally attributed to David.
David is a favorite Bible character of many, and we can recount some
of the familiar aspects of his story: David, the young shepherd who became a
great king; David, the boy who slew a giant with a single stone; David, the
line through which was born the Messiah.
But in light of these accomplishments it’s easy to relegate
David to hero status – a great man of God but someone to whom I really
can’t relate. So let’s also
remember that he was David, who had to flee and go into hiding out of fear
for his life, first under the time of King Saul and then later due to an
attempted overthrow by his son, Absalom; David, who committed adultery and
murder. Granted, these specifics
may still be outside the realm of our personal experience, but now he’s
sounding more like the kind of people we know, now he’s even beginning
to sound a little bit more like me.
Because don’t we all, at different times in life, have to deal
with enemies, or with family strife, and certainly with the consequences of
our own sin? So David isn’t
so unlike us after all. He’s
someone we can understand and to whom we can relate. So let’s take a closer look at
what he has to say. 1. GOD PROVIDES (a-refuge, b-sustenance, c-relationship) First David tells us
about the God who provides. (Read
vs. 1 - Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.) Refuge – what comes to mind when
you hear that word? Do you think
of safety, comfort or relief, particularly in a time of trouble? As we’ve already pointed out,
David experienced difficult times.
But he knew who provided his protection, and David sought his refuge
there. What else does
David’s God provide? (Read
vs. 5 - The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.) My portion, my cup – kind of
makes me think about food. And food
tends to make us think about our body and our daily needs – what it
takes to keep us going. David
declares that God provides his sustenance. And I don’t think it’s a
stretch at all to interpret this in both physical and spiritual terms. The God who provides all the things
that can be produced for eating also provides food for the human soul. David also tells us
that God provides relationship.
The entire psalm here speaks to the relationship that exists between
David and God, but look also at vs. 3.
(read vs. 3 - As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in
whom is all my delight.) I like
the way the NIV translates this verse a little better – As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. Who are the holy ones, the glorious
ones? We know that God alone is
perfect in holiness, he alone is the King of Glory. But those who believe in him and
accept him as Lord become holy and glorious as well, because they belong to
the Glorious One. So there’s
that relationship again. But David also says, in these –
the glorious ones – is all my delight. Have you ever
noticed, when you meet someone for the first time and through the
conversation of getting to know one another you each discover the other is a
Christian, it’s as if there’s this instantaneous connection that
occurs. It’s as if your
spirit and the other person’s spirit suddenly go, hey, I know you! And
that specific, unique connection simply doesn’t happen in other
relationships. Most of you know
that I’m a big Star Wars and sci-fi fan, and every year I attend one
big convention with my sci-fi friends.
Now I love those people, and I enjoy being with them and doing all the
crazy things we do. And over a
period of ten plus years, I’ve developed some very good relationships
with them. But there’s not
a single time that I don’t go to one of those events when, at some
point, I’m reminded that it’s just not the same as when I’m
with a group of Christians.
Secular friendships can be good and positive, but there is a genuine
delight that can only be found in the fellowship of other believers, and that
too is a provision from a God of relationships. 2. GOD DIRECTS (a-counsels, b-enables) So David’s
idea of the meaning of life is tied in with the God who provides. But this is also a God who
directs. (Read vs. 7 - I bless
the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.) Have you ever been going through a
difficult time, or facing an important decision, and you go to someone in
your life you who trust to get their advice? And you know how much of a help it is
– even if the advice itself may not lead to a solution – just to
be able to talk to that person and seek their counsel? David says, ‘you know who I go
to for counsel?’ The LORD
(Jehovah) – the one true God,
the great I AM who reveals himself to his people. Better yet, David says the Lord gives me counsel. And apparently David and the Lord had an
amazing thing going on here because it sounds like the spirit of David and
the Spirit of God were so used to communicating to each other, were so
wrapped up in the other’s business, that even during the night
David’s heart received instruction. Just think, the one who creates your
life can also counsel you in every way of your life, even at the level of the
most inner meditations of your heart. And yet, as amazing
as it is to think that the Lord directs by giving counsel, he also directs by
enabling his followers. Consider
vs. 8. (Read vs. 8 - I keep the
LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.) David has made a choice that he will
walk in obedience, keeping the Lord always before him. Now I think it’s most likely
that David had to make this choice on a regular basis, in both good times and
bad. He had to continually
decide, yes, I will keep the Lord before me – I will continually
pattern my life according to God’s way. Now guess what? David could only do that because
he’d also sought the Lord’s counsel, and because he’d
trusted in the Lord’s provision.
In other words, it was a choice of faith – but a faith made
confident because of what he’d already experienced with the Lord. Thus he could also claim that his Lord
was at his right hand. Every time
I see a reference to the right hand
in scripture it makes me stop and take notice, because it can refer to the
idea of strength, or a place of honor, or even at times to Christ
himself. In this context we hear
David saying, God is by my side, I can trust him to help me fight my battles,
I can rely on him no matter what comes our way. Is it any wonder then that David
declares, I shall not be moved. 3. GOD INSPIRES (a-trust/joy now, b-hope in life to come) The meaning of life
for David was found in the God who provides and directs. But David’s God also
inspired. One of the things I
like so much about the Psalms is that they are a reflection of total honesty
before God. They represent what I
believe is to be an example of the overarching life of worship and prayer for
the believer. Read through the
book and you’ll find people who rejoice in God, but who also cry out
when they feel abandoned and alone; you’ll see prayers of praise and
trust as well as prayers that question; there are psalms that celebrate
God’s mercy and that beg for God to act in righteous judgment; there
are declarations of walking in God’s way and there are confessions and
pleas for forgiveness when one has stepped from God’s path. But throughout all of them
you’ll pick up on a recurring theme – regardless of the
situation, regardless of the psalmist’s present frame of mind,
there’s always something in the psalm that speaks of God’s
goodness and faithfulness. And
such faithfulness inspires a trust and a sense of peace for this present
life. Look at vs. 6. (Read vs. 6 - The boundary lines have
fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.) Boundary lines, heritage – this
is the language of a man who understood his relationship to God as being part
of the Mosaic Covenant. God had
chosen them as a people and had promised them a land flowing with milk and
honey. They eventually inherited
that promise and David reigned as king in that land. Today our heritage isn’t so much
about a land promised to our forefathers, but we can still relate to the idea
David’s communicating here.
When we choose to walk in the way of God the boundary lines of life
fall in pleasant places. No, it
doesn’t mean that the path will never be unpleasant. Sometimes God does lead even through
the valley of the shadow of death.
But walking in God’s way protects us from so much – the consequences of bad choices, the influence of
evil, and ultimately eternal death.
You know, I can easily imagine that if David ever stopped and
considered how his life might have been
had he not followed God, then those times when he did have to walk through
unpleasant parts of the journey may have seemed a little easier to bear. And I know, from the text here, that
he’d learned to trust in God despite his circumstances. David’s God not only inspired trust but also joy. Let’s refer to vs. 9-10. (Read vs. 9-10 and make note about
“therefore” - that should always make you think something like, for this reason – [Therefore my
heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests
secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your
faithful one see the Pit.]) First
notice that David’s entire
being is involved here – heart is glad, soul rejoices, body rests
secure – he’s not talking about something that goes on simply in
his mind, or something that just involves his emotions. This affects every part, every facet
of his existence. And this sense
of joy isn’t something David experiences only in his present life
– it also points to a promise for the future. Again, some other
translations do a little better job in communicating David’s idea here,
but Sheol refers to the place of the dead, or what we would tend to think of
as the grave. To “see the Pit” implies
corruption or decay, but this isn’t so much the concept of a physical
decay. We know that eventually
David died and was buried, and if you could go and dig up his grave
you’d find that his remains had indeed decayed. This passage was, one, a metaphor that
communicated David’s expectation that he would not experience total isolation or abandonment from God’s
presence, even in death. Secondly
it points forward to the hope of the resurrection. This is something David, who even
though he lived before Christ, understood. Yet, it should be all the more
inspiring for us who live after the Christ event. Both Peter and Paul, in Acts, make
reference to these verses in speaking of how Christ was resurrected and his
body knew no corruption, and because of Christ’s victory over death in
resurrection those who walk in his way will also be resurrected. There’s certainly plenty of room
for speculation and opinions over how the Lord will return some day, but be
assured of this – scripture is clear that believers will have
resurrected bodies like unto Christ’s body. And that should inspire hope. CLOSING David pretty much
sums up his thoughts in the final verse.
You show me the path of life. David’s relationship was with a
God in the business of revealing – a God who revealed his self and the way of life in which to
walk. In your presence there is fullness of joy. The full truth of this verse is
something I don’t think can ever be adequately communicated in words,
something that can’t quite be understood until, like David, you
actually spend time in God’s presence. There’s a song that never fails
to minister to me, entitled “You Raise Me Up” by Josh
Groban. It’s the second
verse that always gets me: There is no life - no life without its hunger; Each restless heart beats so imperfectly; But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes I think I glimpse eternity. In God’s presence there is fullness of
joy. And, in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. The joy, the goodness that God
inspires goes on and on forever. How do you make sense of life? Have you found provision in that which
gives refuge in time of trouble; that sustains you, body and soul; that
offers fellowship of the most blessed kind? Does the meaning of your life provide
direction, giving you counsel of the right way to go and enabling you to say,
no matter what happens, I won’t
be moved or shaken? Is what
gives your life purpose something that inspires – inspires a sense of
trust regardless of circumstance; inspires joy that is so full and real you
can’t even describe it; inspires hope for all eternity? The God David knew was all these things to him. That same God is here today, and
offers the same kind of relationship to anyone who would seek it –
offers provision, direction, inspiration – offers a life full of true
meaning and purpose. ------------------- YOU RAISE ME UP (lyrics by Josh
Groban) When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary; When troubles come and my heart burdened be; Then I am still and wait here in the silence, Until you come and sit awhile with me. You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains; You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas; I am strong, when I am on your shoulders; You raise me up: To more than I can be. There is no life - no life without its hunger; Each restless heart beats so imperfectly; But when you come and I am filled with wonder, Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity. You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains; You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas; I am strong, when I am on your shoulders; You raise me up: To more than I can be.
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