Psalm 16 | Deep Satisfaction in God

Have you ever experienced the disappointment of chasing something with all your heart and once you reached that something it left you feeling empty?

Career

Possessions

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Psalm 16 challenges us to consider where true satisfaction is found. David, discovered that this deep satisfaction is found in God alone. This psalm isn't just a poetic reflection; it's a testimony of a life deeply rooted in God’s goodness.

What does deep satisfaction in God look like?

Resting in the Goodness of God

We don’t know the circumstances of Psalm 16.

David begins by declaring to the Lord God, “In you I take refuge.”

Not a word picture, “You are like a refuge” (A concept)

A reality: “In you I take refuge.” (A close-relationship).

One of the ways the verb “to seek refuge” is used in Scripture is to describe someone seeking shelter under God’s wings.

A place of safety: “Hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked.” (Ps 17:8-9)

A place of deep satisfaction: “The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.” (Ps 36:7)

A place of peace: “In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” (Ps 57:1)

A place of closeness with God, “Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!” (Ps 61:4

A place of joy: “for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.” (Ps 63:7)

A place of loving care: “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge. ” (Ps 91:4)

Safety, deep satisfaction, peace, closeness with God, joy, and loving care are the words associated with God’s “wings”. No wonder David writes in the following verse, “I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.””

God is the only that can truly satisfy my heart. I can fully trust that my welfare is secure in the one who works all things for my good and for his glory.

Enjoying the Presence of God’s People

In vv. 3&4, David makes a contrast between God’s people “in whom he finds delight” and “those who run after another god.”

This is a logical connection: Those who delight in the presence of the Lord will also delight in the presence of God’s people.

God’s people are a gift. We are God’s gift to one another.

One of God’s good gifts is fellowship with other believers (v.3)

Application: Make Sunday gatherings your priority.

“Church should be the reason you miss everything else. Not everything else the reason why you miss church.”

To be practical, there are seven reasons we need other saints:

1. We need the fellowship of God’s good gift.

2. We need the instruction of God’s good gift.

3. We need the accountability of God’s good gift.

4. We need the rebuke of God’s good gift.

5. We need the comfort of God’s good gift.

6. We need the love of God’s good gift.

7. We need the presence of God’s good gift.

Josh Smith & Daniel Akin

Embracing God as the Ultimate Treasure

In v.5 David writes,

“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”

David uses four powerful words to describe God as his ultimate treasure: portion, lot, lines, and inheritance.

These four words are a reference to the time when Joshua allocated the promised land among the 12 tribes (Joshua 13-19)

Joshua 14:1–2 “1 These are the inheritances that the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel gave them to inherit. Their inheritance was by lot, just as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses…”

Each tribe would receive a portion of the land by lot marking the boundary lines of their territory. This land was to be their inheritance from the Lord.

Out of the twelve tribes only eleven received a portion of the land. Joseph received a double portion( Ephraim &Manasseh) thus the land was divided among twelve tribes.

12 tribes:

Reuben

Simeon

Judah

Issachar

Zebulun

Dan

Naphtali

Gad

Asher

Benjamin

Ephraim (son of Joseph)

Manasseh (son of Joseph)

What about the other tribe left out? Scripture tells us that the tribe of Levi was told the following in

Joshua 13:33 “33 But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, just as he said to them.”

Numbers 18:20 : “20 And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.”

Deuteronomy 18:2 “2 They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.”

The priests and the Levites did not have the security of their own tribal land but had to rely on God for their provision and security.

James Orr, commenting on Deuteronomy 18:2, says, “In possessing God, the believer possesses all things.”

“you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.”

When we have Jesus, we have the greatest treasure in the universe.

A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89, Volumes 1 & 2: Commentary (Commentary in Expository Form)

If God is the believers’ portion, it means that he is their possession and the constant source of supplies for life. When people put their trust in the LORD, he gives them himself and therefore all the provisions in life they could need.

Embracing God as my ultimate treasure allows me to live secure even when the world is not.

Praising God for His Continual Presence

David praises God for his continual presence which provides counsel and comfort. We call this, “a personal relationship with God.”

In v.7 David praises God who gives him counsel which in turn shapes David’s heart.

How does David position his heart to receive this ongoing spiritual transformation? One clue is found in v.7. David writes, “in the night also my heart instructs me.” The night speaks of David’s private time of prayer and meditation in God’s Word.

We see Jesus in the gospels doing the same thing. He would get up very early in the morning, while it was still dark and go to a desolate place where he could get alone with the Father and pray.

David and Jesus experienced a sense of delight in God’s presence and counsel as they slowed down in their day to be in God’s presence before doing things for God (Eternal Perspective: Investing with the End in Mind).

In v.7 we see David’s heart being counseled (instructed) and in v.8 we see David’s heart being comforted:

Psalm 16:8 “8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

Warriors would carry their shields on their left arms and fight with their right hand. This also left them vulnerable to attack on the unprotected side. (Allen Ross)

David is comforted at the reality that God himself is his strength and shield. That is, God provides David with support and protection because the Lord himself is at David’s right hand.

David was a man who faced lots of adversity, yet he was confident in the Lord and declared, “I shall not be shaken.” This is a heart that is being comforted by the reality that apart from the Lord himself, David has no good.

Delighting in God in This Life and the Life to Come

Listen to vv. 9-10:

“9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.”

Here we see David expressing what every heart yearns for: to find deep satisfaction.

Our hearts are restless, said Saint Augustine, till they find their rest in him.

Here’s how the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it:

Q1: What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever. Westminster Shorter Catechism

Can this be even possible? I have good news for all of us this morning. Psalm 16 is about Jesus. It’s about his death and resurrection.

Psalm 16 is quoted twice in the New Testament.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached in Jerusalem about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Acts 2:24–28 “24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 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.’”

Peter then declares the following:

“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.”

David’s body did see corruption. His body decayed and turned into dust. So Peter concludes that David must have been talking about someone else.

Acts 2:30–33 “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.”

I’ll come back in a second and make a connection between Psalm 16 and the Holy Spirit

Paul preached in Antioch and used Psalm 16.

Acts 13:32–37 “32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “ ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’ 34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, “ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ 35 Therefore he says also in another psalm, “ ‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’ 36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37 but he whom God raised up did not see corruption.”

Conclusion:

Psalm 16:11 “11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

The one true God offers and delivers deep satisfaction while false gods offer empty promises, they leave us wanting.

John 7:37–39 “37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Psalm 16 point us to a reality that is fulfilled in Christ—the one who not only faced death but conquered it, offering us the promise of eternal life and joy in His presence. When we embrace God as our ultimate treasure, we find a satisfaction that transcends our circumstances. Jesus invites us to drink deeply of the living water He offers, so that our souls may be truly satisfied. In Him, we find the path of life, where there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Let us leave today with hearts that are not only filled with this truth but are also eager to live it out, resting in the deep satisfaction that can only be found in our God.