TBO Psalms: Fullness of Joy
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Psalm 16:1–11 (CSB)
Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you. I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good besides you.” As for the holy people who are in the land, they are the noble ones. All my delight is in them. The sorrows of those who take another god for themselves will multiply; I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, and I will not speak their names with my lips. Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I will bless the Lord who counsels me—even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely. For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay. You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.
Where does joy come from?
Where does joy come from?
I don’t know if you feel the same way as me but it feels like this semester has been a very difficult and frustrating one emotionally. I have felt burnt out and exhausted. I’ve felt lonely and discouraged. For the last six months my heart has just felt worn out. Stretched thin and at times torn to pieces by the decisions I’ve made and by the decisions others have made. I have found my call to ministry to be at times less about joy and more duty. I’m focused on hitting deadlines and covering logistics and all the while I am missing out on the joy of ministry. I’m sure you guys have felt this way in your walks with Christ as well.
David no doubt had seasons of frustration and emotional turmoil in his life. Here is a man after God’s own heart yet that journey often led him into valleys of shadows and death. David tells us where exactly we can go to find joy in the midst of our circumstances.
Joy in Christ as our Rest
Joy in Christ as our Rest
Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you.
David was a man who spent much of his young life either guarding sheep, on the run, or at war. These three hobbies of David did not lend themselves to rest and relaxation. To survive you had to stay vigilant. With sheep you had to make sure your flock was together and safe from wild animals. David also had to keep an eye out for his enemies to make sure he was safe and out of harms way. Sometimes our life can feel hostile, like we’ve been thrown into battle and are left on our own to figure out the chaos, but David found a safe place to call home amidst the warfare. He found refuge in the Lord.
Have you ever wondered where people slept in World War I? Living in trenches on the front lines did not offer many opportunities for soldiers to rest. However in most trenches there would be holes dug into the walls of the trench, about a foot above ground to keep water out, made so that soldiers could sleep while in the trenches. These holes became the soldiers hope for rest on the battle field. Our Lord is a refuge. He may not pull us out of our conflict but He does promise to give us rest.
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
With God as our refuge we begin to find joy in even the most strenuous of circumstances. Rest and joy are not feelings to be had but decisions to be made. With Christ as our refuge we choose to put our trust in Him.
Joy in Christ Alone
Joy in Christ Alone
I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good besides you.”
The sooner we recognize that this world cannot satisfy us the sooner we will find that God can. He alone is good. There is nothing good apart from Him.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
There is nothing good apart from God. If we try to find joy in anything apart from Him we will just be wasting our time. Paul experienced this first hand. Paul tells a story in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 of a time when he was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of satan to torment him, to keep him from exalting himself. He asked the Lord three times to remove it.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”
Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul had joy in his sufferings because of what Christ was doing in and through him. James says in his letter
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
We can find joy in our suffering because we know that God who, apart from Him there is no good, is working all things for our good.
Joy in Community with Christ’s People
Joy in Community with Christ’s People
As for the holy people who are in the land,
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
Coming to church shouldn’t feel like a burden or an obligation. It should create joy in us. Why?
Gathering with other believers is a reminder of what Christ has done for us.
Gathering with other believers offers opportunity for discipleship and accountability
Gathering with other believers offers opportunities for all to uniquely serve in His Kingdom
Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
Joy in Obedience to Christ
Joy in Obedience to Christ
The sorrows of those who take another god
for themselves will multiply;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
and I will not speak their names with my lips.
The world has a lot to offer us. It promises sin without consequence and that our selfish living will make us happy. This is not true. Sinful living only multiplies our sorrow in life. Doing the right thing in the moment might feel difficult but doing things the easy way doesn’t make life easier. If sin is not a part of God, and apart from God there is no good, that means that there is no circumstance or universe where sin could ever offer us the joy we so desperately need. Here David understands this. David wants nothing to do with sin and idolatry. To him they are enemies and thieves of joy.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Joyous, abundant life comes from trusting our Good Shepherd. Trusting that His ways are greater than our ways. That He has our best intentions in mind. Joy is a person and He is calling to us to turn from our sin and follow Him.
Joy in Christ as our Communion
Joy in Christ as our Communion
Lord, you are my portion
and my cup of blessing;
you hold my future.
As a king David I’m sure celebrated festivals and feasts throughout his reign. Any food, as long as it was kosher, cooked by the greatest chefs in Israel. The language David uses is like that of a feast. Here is all these options that look promising and look like they could satisfy. But David chooses the Lord as his portion. All these options and he says, this is the one that I want. This is my portion and my cup of blessing. More than that David is pointing to a specific event and festival that was his favorite. In calling the Lord his cup of blessing David is reminding the readers of the Passover.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Cup of Blessing
CUP OF BLESSING (τὸ ποτήριον τῆς εὐλογίας, to potērion tēs eulogias). A term referring to both the cup used in Jewish Passover ceremonies and the cup of wine used in the Lord’s Supper (e.g., 1 Cor 10:16).
Like David, Jesus invites us to make the Lord our portion and cup of blessing.
So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”
As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Our future rests in Christ’s death and resurrection. This new covenant founded on Christ’s blood and body has made the way for us to have eternal life. When I come to the table to take communion, I’m reminded of Christ’s sacrifice, and it brings me great joy. I have joy because I know that if it were left up to me my future would be death. But praise be to God, my future is in held secure in His nail scarred hands.
Joy in Christ as our Inheritance
Joy in Christ as our Inheritance
The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I think sometimes it is easy to forget that this world is not our home. We get so concerned with what we have that we lose sight of what is greater. David’s inheritance was nice. He got an large kingdom from Saul. He had wealth and popularity with the people. Life was good, real good. But David’s inheritance was temporary. Within two generations all the wealth David and his son Solomon would acquire would be split in half between the northern and southern kingdoms. David wasn’t putting his hope in earthly possessions but eternal.
“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith? So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Our inheritance is found in Christ
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.
In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will, so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory.
In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.
Joy in Christ as our Comfort and Guide
Joy in Christ as our Comfort and Guide
I will bless the Lord who counsels me—
even at night when my thoughts trouble me.
I always let the Lord guide me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
What more needs to be said? Our savior is a wonderful counselor, a prince of peace. When our thoughts trouble us we can trust in the Lord for guidance. When we aren’t sure what direction to go in we can trust that He will lead the way.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
in all your ways know him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Don’t be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
This will be healing for your body
and strengthening for your bones.
Joy in Christ our Hope in Life and Death
Joy in Christ our Hope in Life and Death
Therefore my heart is glad
and my whole being rejoices;
my body also rests securely.
For you will not abandon me to Sheol;
you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.
You reveal the path of life to me;
in your presence is abundant joy;
at your right hand are eternal pleasures.
This Psalm is one of my favorites because it was my friend Jason’s favorite. Jason was my pastor in St. Louis and actually gave me my first hired position in the church. My job title was “Pastoral Intern and Youth Ministry Catalyst” which means I was a slave but it looks really good on a resume. We were a church replant which means we were trying to help a church that was dying to re-brand and grow into a healthy church. I practically moved in with Jason and his wife Rochelle and their two kids. I did everything with their family. I remember Jason talking about this Psalm. It was his life verse. He loved Jesus and longed to be in the presence of Jesus because that is where his joy was. Jason passed away of a heart attack at forty-six about three years ago. I was devastated. Both Jason and another friend of mine passed away within a month of each other and I remember pulling out this Psalm and reading those hopeful words that my heart can be glad and my soul can rejoice because even in death I will not be abandoned.
A Story of Confidence in the Lord
A Story of Confidence in the Lord
1 Samuel 17
