Untitled Sermon

Psalm 16

Christ Our Refuge

Psalm 16

[Introduction]: What a joy it is to gather together as God’s people, two services under one roof, all lifting our voices up to God in worship. What a joy this is for me and encouragement for my soul.

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Psalm 16. This is God’s Word to us today…

Read the full text.

Pastoral Prayer

[Opening Sermon Introduction]:

Big Idea: In God alone, we find the joyful satisfaction our hearts desire and the confident security our souls long for.

Look w/ me to verse 1

The Psalmist says, “Preserve me, O, God, for in you I take refuge.

This plea for God to preserve is a theme we see throughout the life of David. In Psalm 86, he asks the Lord, “Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant who trusts in you!” Just last week, we walked through Psalm 3, where we saw David fleeing from his son, and he says to God, “Arise, O LORD! Save me!” It wouldn’t be hard to imagine David pleading with God to protect him as he’s fleeing from King Saul in 1 Samuel, chapters 19 and 20. David was in some type of danger. You don’t ask for protection unless you believe you’re in actual danger, and what David does in moments of crisis is: he runs to God. He pleads with God, “Preserve me! O God. For IN YOU I take refuge!” David desires security! He longs to be safe! He’s desperate for shelter! Yet, he knows the shelter he’s looking for isn’t in the people around him, nor the things he can touch… The security that his soul desperately longs for is found only in God. This is why after he’s delivered from the hands of Saul just two chapters later in Ps. 18, he sings this back to the LORD, “1 I love you, O Lord, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. ” (Ps. 18:1-2)

David had been through enough to know that he could trust the LORD… And he does. This is why in verse 2, he says, “I say to the LORD, you are my Lord I have no good apart from you.” He’s confessing his faith in the God of covenant while at the same time acknowledging his submission to God, his master. He knows God as both promise-keeper and ruler of all the earth! This is the life of every true Christian! Jesus is both our Savior and our Lord! J.I. Packer, in his book, Knowing God, says, “God has set Jesus forth both as Savior from sin, whom we must trust, and as Lord of the church, whom we must obey.” We run to Him for safety while at the same time we joyfully submit to Him as our master.

David also says, “I have no good apart from you!” It’s not that David doesn’t enjoy anything else. We see he delights in the saints in verse 3. What David is saying is that God is his supreme good. God is the ultimate treasure in David’s life. God Himself is David's highest reward… When anyone receives the gospel, the greatest gift they receive is God Himself.

In “God is the Gospel,” Piper raises the question, “If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?” If you had everything in heaven but no Christ, would you be satisfied? The point he’s making is, that in the gospel, the greatest reward you ever receive is God Himself. There’s no greater prize than Him… And David knew this to be true.

[Transition]: Not only do we receive God, but we also receive His people. That’s what we see in verse 3: “As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.” The saints are God’s people. The saints are those who have been saved by God and brought into the family of God. David says he admires them! He adores them! He delights in them because they love and obey his God! Because we live in this fallen world, the Church will never be a perfect place. We see this in scriptures, we see this in history, we see this here… And yet, the beautiful thing about the church is that, even in its imperfections, we’re still the bride of Christ! We’re still the bride of Christ! And what did Christ do for His imperfect bride? Ephesians 5 tells us that Christ LOVED His Church! Jesus loved his church! And to prove He loved His Church, “He gave Himself up for her, 26 that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, 27 so that He might present His church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, THAT SHE MIGHT BE HOLY AND WITHOUT BLEMISH!” This is what Christ does for His Church! And this is why David in delighting in the saints.

[Transition]: In contrast to the excellent ones in v. 3, in verse 4, David says, “The sorrows of those who run after other gods shall multiply; their drink offerings I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.” Notice this is the first negative thing in the text. This is the first time he says something about suffering or sorrows, and note it’s directly correlated with being far from God.

Speaking of those who chase after other gods, one theologian says, “They chase empty dreams, clouds without water, illusional aspirations and goals, and hopes that will never materialize.” This is the foolishness of idolatry. We cling to created things rather than the creator, and we expect those things to give us what only God can! This is the foolishness of idolatry. In Psalm 115, the psalmist says, “4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6 They have ears but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk.” [Pause for a sec]These things are indeed worthless… We spend our entire lives running after idols… And for what? David says, “The only thing you get in return is sorrow.” All they bring back to you is suffering! What you think will make you happy will only bring you harm. And David says, “I won’t have any part in this.”

[Transition]: Instead of chasing idols, he knows where to find true satisfaction. Look at verses 5 and 6. “5 The LORD is my portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”

What David is getting at here is he’s content with what God has given him. In the Old Testament, you hear words like “portion,” “cup,” “lot,” and “inheritance,” and these words give us Promised Land imagery. Each tribe would get their bit of the land and their property. But the only people who didn’t get any of the land were the Levites. They were told, “The LORD is your inheritance…” They didn’t get land like everyone, they had God as their portion! And what David is saying here is he’s content! He’s not worrying about what he doesn’t have, he’s enjoying the things he does have, and he’s finding true satisfaction in the One who is his portion.

[Transition]: Because of all these things, David says, in verses 7 and 8, “7 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. Because of God’s protection, His goodness, and His blessings, David gives praise to the LORD! Because not only does God give David Himself, but He gives David His counsel. He gives David wisdom. He gives him instructions. He guides him. And David says, “8 I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” God gives David His counsel, but He also gives him His presence. God is always near… He’s never M.I.A. He’s never too busy. He’s always there. [Illustration]: A friend texted me a couple of days ago. His wife is pregnant, and they were at their first doctor’s appointment, and he said, “Man, I wish you were here.” While thousands of miles may separate us, nothing can separate us from the presence of God… He doesn’t miss out on anything. He’s always there. He’s always present. Because of this, David can confidently say, “I shall not be shaken…

[Transition]: Reflecting on all the great blessings of the LORD, David is more than confident that God will preserve him in the current moment—he’s confident that God will preserve him even in death! “9 Therefore my heart is glad, my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.” There’s a joyful pep in David’s step. His heart is happy. His soul is at rest. His body even experiences a sense of calmness and composure. After reflecting on the LORD, he now rests safely and securely in the hands of his Father… How so? “10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol (the place of the dead),” which simply means, even in death, God will not abandon him. David has that much confidence that even when he passes away, God will not leave him! Then he says, “or let your Holy One see corruption (decay).” But the problem we have is David dies, and his body does decay and sees corruption. So what is he getting at here when he says, “or let your Holy One see corruption”? Well, in Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and preached the gospel and it says about 3 thousand people were saved. And guess what passage he pulls from to proclaim the good news about Christ? Ps. 16! In Acts 2, Peter says,

25 For David says concerning Him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

26

therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.

27

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.

28

You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

David clung to past promises and believed that God would one day make due on His Word! And He does!

When David wrote Psalm 16, he foresaw Christ's resurrection. And this is good news, isn’t it? This is great news! This is the reason we get to gather in worship this morning! It’s not because we’re “good”. David wasn’t good! He didn’t perfectly take refuge in God. He didn’t always find contentment in the Lord. He didn’t always acknowledge God as master. And neither do we. When you need a refuge, do you always run to God or do you somewhere else? Are you perfectly content with all the Lord has given you, or are you looking around the corner and wishing you had more? Can you truly say that God is your only good, or do you seek your own good apart from God? If we’re honest with ourselves, we’d say we fall short of these things, AND YET…We get to sing songs to God and praise Him for His marvelous work of salvation because we KNOW and BELIEVE That Jesus Christ died for our sins... and He rose again!

Because of what Christ has done, we get joy now and one day, joy forever with Him.

[Conclusion]: Until then, we continue to look to Christ as our refuge. He is our highest good, and He is our ultimate treasure. And in Him alone, we find the joyful satisfaction our hearts desire and the confident security our souls long for.

Pray