I preached on Psalm 16 on Sunday. Here is my text.
The psalm we are looking at this morning is Psalm 16. Let me read it to you.
Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. (Psalm 16:2-6)
“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:7-11)
Last week Max, from Psalm 40, vividly brought us back to the time when we first became a Christian—the beginning of our journey with God—reminding us of when we were lost and helpless in sin and the joy of being lifted out of the darkness that threatened to overwhelm us.
When I read this psalm about a month ago, I read it as from the other end of the journey. I’m not saying that David wrote this as an old man; I don’t know this. But the psalm reads like a series of conclusions and you only draw these kinds of conclusions after having spent time in experience, not just a singular life-changing experience, but over a period of time in normality.
Most of us have been Christians for some years. I became a Christian as a young boy at the end of the 60s at a gospel campaign, stepping out of my seat to go to the front of the hall as the congregation sang “Into my heart, Into my heart, Come into my heart Lord Jesus”. The preacher had asked the night before whether we knew where we would be if by some chance we died that night, and whether we would like to make sure that we will be with Jesus, and I desperately wanted to be sure.
That was more than 50 years ago. I was in std 6 or form 1. I think that most of us are more or less the same: no longer young Christians but have walked with God for many years.
I hope, as we listen to God’s word to us this morning, listening to David as he looks back at his journey with God, that we will also spend some time thinking and contemplating about our own journey.
How has it been? Has it been good to walk with God over all these years? In what way? Has God proven to be the fount of life, of love and of goodness? This is no longer about getting to heaven, finding forgiveness, being made righteous. This is about the life you have experienced with God over the years. As we do so, I would like us to draw our own conclusions, as we consider David’s own conclusions: who do you choose God to be to you?
When we look at what David said to God, it is easy to think that he was merely saying things that God wants to hear, because what David said were conclusions that were rather absolute: I choose You; I reject all others. But I believe that in direct and personal communication with God, David tends to be honest, saying what he thinks and feels. And we should do so likewise.
A few weeks ago I was leading the discussion at TLR on Psalm 69 and I asked, what do you think of what David said to God in the psalm and Elder Peter said that he felt David was being very whiny and in asking God to curse his enemies he was being a bad example that we should not follow. Many others shared his feelings while others still said that they appreciated his honesty nonetheless. I made the point that however we may feel about the content of David’s communication with God, the psalm is a part of Scripture. Peter was right to say that he cannot commend what David said but the example to us is not about saying the right things to God but that in our private time with God, the right thing to do is to be honest. After all, he already knows what is in our heart.
Over our journey with God there would have been good times as well as difficult times, times when our relationship with God was strained. The emotions of these moments, hopefully, would have faded, and now we can draw more clear-headed conclusions.
As we explore David’s conclusions in Psalm 16, I hope you will ask yourself whether your own conclusions are in sync with his, likely not in detail but in sentiment, and then ask why, what makes you come to such conclusions.
Let’s now look at Psalm 16 in detail.
“Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, you are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
We should not read the first part as a cry for help because this is the only place in the psalm where David makes a request. Rather, it is the appropriate response in keeping with who God is to him. Switching things around and rephrasing it slightly makes it easier to get:
“I say to the Lord, you are my Lord, in you I take refuge; keep me safe, my God.”
The whole idea of telling God, “you are my Lord” is to let go of your self and entrust yourself to him, sheltering under his tent. It is akin to the marriage vow, saying, you are my husband, or you are my wife; there is an element of exclusivity in the confession.
It is one thing to do this, as we all have done, when we first got to know God; it is another to say it now, having walked with him for many years. You can call it a rededication but not in the sense that we had backslided. It is a renewal of vows but in a much deeper and meaningful way, based on a lifetime of experience.
In the final part of the statement, David says “Apart from you I have no good thing.”
This is not only the reason or basis that David makes his confession “You are my Lord” but also it is a commitment not to look elsewhere.
Let me paraphrase it in the way I read it:
“My God, you are all good and so I commit myself to you and say, “you are my Lord”. I will find my good in you and not anywhere else. You will be everything to me. I put myself in your care. Keep me safe.”
God reveals himself through Scripture that he is good. As we walk with him we must surely have tasted and know his goodness. We are familiar with what Paul said in his letter to the Romans:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
But David goes a step further here: as long as I’m in your care, it’s all good.
Further along in the psalm, he writes:
“Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”
“Portion”, “cup”, “lot”, “inheritance” basically points to the life that David lived, the destiny that God had in store for him. This is not just about the final outcome but all the years that had taken place. Along the way good things and bad things happened. I don’t think we can put David on a different level of experience just because he ended up a king. He lived a lot of life and went through a great deal. As he looks back at the life lived, he tells God, If I may put in my own words,
Lord, you are my Lord; my life is in your hands. I know everything passes through you, the good and the bad. I have made good decisions and bad ones; good things happened, bad ones too but in the end I accept all that has happened as from the goodness of your heart. No regrets. I’m satisfied. I’m happy. I’m grateful. It has been good.”
David’s decision to commit himself exclusively to God is not based on a fairy tale life where everything seems to fall in place the way he wants—we know that David’s life was not a walk in the park; many of his psalms were indeed desperate cries for help. Yet despite all that he experienced, including the years of hiding as Saul sought to kill him, the death of his faithful friend, Jonathan, the death of his first child with Bathsheba and the rebellion and subsequent death of his son Absalom, he still came to the conclusion, “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance”.
What about you? If someone important to you asks you, “should I put my life in God’s hands? Can I trust God? Is he truly good? How has your experience been?”, can you answer affirmatively and with that same conviction and faith?
In the past couple of weeks I have been looking at Jeremiah chapter 2 and there there is a very different picture from Psalm 16. God had called Jeremiah to be his prophet and this was the time when Babylon was going to destroy the nation and carry her people into exile, executing God’s judgement on his people. Let me read to you what God said in his opening remarks:
“‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,’” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 2:2-3)
The Jews started well but along the way things changed.
“What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.”(Jeremiah 2:3-8)
Further along, God continues:
“You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord: Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to you no more’? Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number.” (Jeremiah 2:31-32)
“Have I been so bad that you choose to stray so far from me?” This is a very different outcome. What went wrong?
Israel started well, relying on God to see them through the challenges of their life but when they started enjoying the life that God brought them into they began to chase after the life that their neighbours lived. In Christian language, they chased after the world. They wanted a king so they could lead themselves. Their relationship with God devolved into rituals and empty worship. Even when God brought them troubles they did not turn to him but instead turned to alliances with Egypt and Assyria. And they had picked up the religious practices of their neighbours.
In that prophecy, God likened the way Israel chased after gods and idols to an animal in heat:
See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving—in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. (Jeremiah 2:23-24)
As Israel grew up, they went chasing after what the world offered.
John writes, in his first letter, this:
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)
In my younger days, I understood the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes to be basically sexual lust and I didn’t understand what the pride of life meant, basically taking it to mean pride in general. But now I know; it is this lusting after all that the world offers and the pride that we possess because we have accomplished much in life. The pride of life is the opposite of the spirit David displayed in Psalm 16. This is when God has less and less relevance in your life and heart.
You can only know how difficult it is to turn your back on all these when you are much older.
Paul showed us the way when he wrote this:
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” (Philippians 3:7-9)
Paul considers the gains of the world to be loss because they hold him back from Christ. The gains of the world lulls us into thinking that we are somebody, that we are doing great things, and we are more reliant on the ways of the world, the power of the world, because we seek the glory of the world.
It is not that we suddenly drop out of church although some do. Most of us maintain our ties with the church and so we can pretend that nothing is wrong. But the truth is that God is less and less relevant in our lives and much of our spiritual endeavour is tokenism, token words, token actions. The world has the lion’s share of our attention and passion and energy.
When God sent prophets to confront them, Israel denied any wrongdoing. After all, they still maintained their religious obligations. And this was their downfall:
“Yet in spite of all this you say, ‘I am innocent; he is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ Why do you go about so much, changing your ways? You will be disappointed by Egypt as you were by Assyria. You will also leave that place with your hands on your head, for the Lord has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them.” (Jeremiah 2:35-37)
It is never too late to return to God. The biggest mistake is to pretend that everything is OK because that is unacceptable to God.
As we look back at our journey with God over the years, what conclusions do we draw from both our experience and the knowledge of God we have gained? How relevant is God in your life? How much would you say the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life drives you? What is the shape of your spiritual life today?
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)
These conclusions that David arrived at shapes the spiritual life that he now enjoys:
“I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.”
Firstly he no longer runs with the world. What the world seeks is not his thing because he knows that their ways, which are contrary to God’s ways, will lead to no good. Instead he enjoys the company of those who love the Lord, encouraging them and letting them encourage him as they journey with God. He loves the things of God, the word of God, the thoughts of God, the will of God.
“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord.”
Secondly, he keeps God close as his counsellor and instructor. He enjoys the wisdom of God and the truth of Scripture. They are precious to him because they lead him to pastures green and quiet streams, and they accompany him through valleys of the shadow of death and he knows ultimately they will lead him to the joy of God’s presence.
“With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.”
Thirdly, he feels secure in the knowledge that God will stand by him. The world wants to make him insecure so that he will chase after what they offer, but he will not be shaken.
“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
Finally, he looks forward to the life ahead, excited to have many more years with God by his side.
What is the shape of your own life with God these days? Are you keeping close to him, learning a lot more from him, knowing that his wisdom will lead you in the paths of righteousness, goodness and joy? Are you secure in his love, his sure hand on your life, even as death approaches as it must for all of us? Do you look forward to finally enjoying your rest in his presence? Is life these days rich and filled with joy because you now know to enjoy that which is good and righteous or are you tired and without passion, still trying to accumulate what this world offers? Is God’s will even more clear to you now and you embrace your lot with gratitude or are you just getting by?
There is a song from my youth that I’d like to end the sermon with, that perhaps can be a song for us at this time in our journey:
All my life, through the good and bad of life
Whether I should gain or lose, still I choose
To live my life, every moment all for thee.
Walking oh so close to Thee
While I′m learning every day
come what may To trust in Thee
Take away the doubt that hides Thy perfect will
Give me faith instead and with Thy Spirit fill
Then all my days, be the guardian of my ways
And I’ll know the glory of all Thy Love for all my days