The Changes God Makes

Sense of Our Security

“Preserve me, O God...”

A cry for protection.

Isaiah 41:10 “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Other translations use the word “protect” or as the NIV simply states “Keep me safe...”

We don’t know if there was a specific circumstance in the Psalmist’s life that motivated this cry for protection.

How long will we last if God ceases to preserve us?

Often these kinds of prayers serve just as much as a reminder to us as they are a request of the Lord.

“for in you I take refuge.”

For a thorough treatment of taking refuge in God go back to Psalm 11.

What does this actually mean? It sounds nice but is it just a platitude?

A refuge is a place or state of safety from danger or trouble.

Things to consider about the reality of finding refuge in the Lord.

Finding refuge in the Lord is at least in part a function of our trust in Him. Psalm 62:7–8 “On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah”

Finding our refuge in the Lord is primarily having a spiritual and eternal perspective.

God has enabled us to take refuge in Him by sending us His Comforter.

God has promised us eternal refuge from all pain both physical and emotional in heaven.

Perhaps another verse that should come to mind as we consider the Lord’s refuge is John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.””

Finding refuge in the Lord is more than just a platitude. It is having peace amid trouble and hope when the world has none.

Hebrews 13:5–6 “...I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?””

The Lord is on His throne. (v. 4a)

Speaking generically a refuge is only as good as the materials it is built out of.

We are confident in the refuge the Lord provides because we are confident in His sovereignty.

If you have lost sight of the myriad ways in which the Lord functions as your refuge perhaps it is because you have lost sight of who He is and what He is like.

Outside of God our sense of security comes from things that can be taken away.

Source of Our Good

“I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord...”

“I say to Yahweh, You are my Adonai.”

Yahweh is the name God gave Himself in the book of Exodus. It speaks of His self-existence and eternality.

Adonai is more a title God possesses than a name. It means “someone in power, authority or influence; a master or ruler”

“I have no good apart from You.”

When we walk with the Lord He is the source of our good.

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

We might say that the change here is more in our awareness than in the source. When we walk with God we become more and more aware of the goodness of God and how He extends that goodness to us.

The context of James 1:17 is a discussion about the source of temptation. God does not tempt anyone but in contrast every good thing comes from Him.

This has always been true and hundreds of years before James wrote his epistle the Psalmist here recognizes the goodness of God.

Substance of Our Delight

You will never be more content in life than when you manage to find your delight in what God delights.

If what brings delight to the heart of God is also what brings delight to your heart you may even find that inner peace that everyone is searching for.

The Psalmist gives a specific scenario. He delights in God’s people.

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

Psalm 147:11 “but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.”

He delights in us and we delight in Him.

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 70:4 “May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!””

Verse 5 serves as a contrast in God we delight in Him and those that are His, but sorrows are multiplied for those that run after other gods.

The Psalmist makes clear that he is separating himself from the idolaters.

It is very easy to separate ourselves from idolatry as we see it in the OT. I don’t bow before idols after all.

Idolatry make look different in western culture but it is very much alive.

It should ever be our prayer that the Lord would help us to identify the places of idolatry in our hearts and help us to cut it away.

But honestly, I believe an effective way to remove idolatry from your heart and mind is to teach yourself to delight in God and His delights.

Size of Our Inheritance

Now at first this sounds pretty good doesn’t it? We should take care to understand exactly what kind of inheritance we are talking about.

The Psalmist uses a phrase unknown to us. “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.” (v. 6) Some translations include the word “boundary” to aid in our understanding. The idea is essentially that someone has inherited land and where the boundary lines have been drawn is favorable for them.

Now remember that this is poetry and we are not dealing with literal land. Rather the Psalmist is using what was probably a common phrase in his day to communicate the immensity of the type of inheritance he is talking about.

So the Psalmist describes his inheritance in two ways.

Immense

Beautiful

But what is the content of his inheritance? - It is the Lord Himself v. 5

“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup...”

The Bible is full of references to the inheritance believers have in Christ.

Ephesians 1:11 says, "In [Christ] we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will" (ESV).

Other passages that mention a believer’s inheritance include Colossians 3:24 and Hebrews 9:15. Our inheritance is, in a word, heaven. It is the sum total of all God has promised us in salvation. In short it is Him. A relationship with Him unfettered by sin.

“you hold my lot.’

We do not use the world “lot” in this way anymore but you may be familiar with it from Scripture when they speak of drawing lots.

The closest we come to using this word in this way is to say “this is my lot in life”.

The Psalmists point is that his lot is not random. It is held and determined by God.

So, yes God changes the size of our inheritance when we know Christ because He is our inheritance.

Selection of Our Counsel

Another change God makes when we walk with Him is who we select to go to for counsel.

Primarily, we now go to Him for counsel. At night when we can’t sleep we let that counsel marinate in our hearts. We let it instruct us in His ways.

I love the way that the Psalmist describes the Lord’s position in His life.

“I have always set the Lord before me...” - communicates goals and guidance

“because He is at my right hand” - how can He be both before me and at my right hand? Because He is God. He is always before me, He determines my goals and provides me with guidance. He is at my right hand to encourage and edify me. Therefore I will not be shaken.

Wrong ideas of God

“God is my Co-pilot”

Oh your right, God is the pilot and I am the co-pilot. - Still Wrong!

God is the pilot, there is no co-pilot (trust me He doesn’t need one.) and you are a passenger.

If you are in a plane that is going down and you find out that there is a pilot on board are you going to ask him how to land the plane or are you just going to let him do it?

Sum of Our Joy

“Therefore my heart is glad...” - The personal result of all that God has changed in my life is a heart of gladness.

“and my whole being rejoices...”

When God gives us our sense of security and is the

Source of our good

Substance of our delight

and determines the size of our inheritance

and we select Him as the source of our counsel

He becomes the sums of our joy.

We will know joy when we rest in His security.

“my flesh dwells secure”

This is a eternal security as well. “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” - This becomes messianic.

“You make known to me the paths of life”

When we receive the fullness of our inheritance where are we? In heaven, in His presence. “in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Which of these areas do you need to improve upon?