Psalm 16:1-6: Truth for the Storms Pt. 1

Scripture Reading

Lamentations 3:15–26 He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me with wormwood. He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.”… But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Intro

Where do you go when life gets hard?

When the storms of life rage?

When you’re stuck in the pit and you don’t see a way out?

How do you deal with trials and suffering?

Where do you go in the midst of the pain?

Where can you go for hope?

Psalm 16 is a Psalm of David that’s a Psalm of trust and faith in the Lord amidst the most difficult circumstances of life.

It could be fear…

Sickness.

The loss of a child, loved one, or spouse…

A broken family or struggling marriage.

Loneliness… Anxiety… the loss of a friendship.

Doubt of your faith…

Struggling with addiction…

All the bitter things of life… whatever those bitter things might be.

Pain… the things that hurt…

The things that cause the inward groaning of our soul.

All of us are going to suffer.

The question is where will you turn when that suffering comes?

What will you fall back on to carry you through?

Maybe you’re here suffering today.

Maybe you’re here and you’re just begging God for a little bit of hope.

In your heart and your soul… you’re asking God where are you!?… Why don’t you answer me!?… Why won’t you help me!?

What does God’s Word say to you?

Or maybe you’re here… and everything is going great.

You need this sermon too.

Because suffering will come… its part of our fallen, broken world.

And the time to get the theology to get you through that suffering is not when you’re fighting for your life.

Trust me… you’re going to be fighting enough just to believe it…

Psalm 16 gives us 4 truths for our suffering.

Four truths that can ground our life and keep us when the winds and the waves rage.

We are going to look at 2 today and Lord willing 2 again next week.

What is true in our suffering?

When our whole world is falling apart, what is true in the midst of all the hurt and the pain?

What is true when we are questioning God and wondering where He is or what is he doing?

Psalm 16 is a prayer of faith that… preaches faith.

A prayer of faith from one Sufferer to another that preaches the very truths we need to carry us through the storms.

All truths that are ultimately focused on God because at the end the day the answer to our suffering is not ourselves and its not even in fixing the problems that we have.

How do you fix death?

There are some things that just can’t be fixed this side of glory.

No!… The answer to our suffering is God and entrusting ourselves to Him and His promises and His sovereignty and His care.

Let’s start with the first truth to hold onto and fight to believe in the midst of our pain and suffering with point number 1…

I. God is Our Refuge and Deliverer

Psalm 16:1–4 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

I love how David starts… right before verse 1 we are told this is a Psalm of David…

Preserve me!

Help me!

There’s an urgency there.

You can also translate it as “Protect me!”… “Keep me!”… “Watch over me!”

Save me!… Deliver me!

For in you I take refuge.

God is our protection… our hiding place.

When we suffer the only thing we can do is run to Him.

David says, “I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

You’re my only hope… my only treasure.

The Lost Don’t Have the Lord

You know… one of the things I’ve been thinking about is how blessed we are to have the Lord.

Have you ever thought about what your life would be if you were lost?

Could you imagine suffering… going through pain… and going through it all alone?

No God? No hope?

One of the great blessings of being adopted by God in Christ is that when we are in trouble we can go to Him in prayer.

The lost don’t have that!

The don’t have a heavenly Father they can go to and say “Dad can you fix it?… Can you make it right?”

No… they suffer alone.

Psalm 46:1 says God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

He’s always there.

Your Heavenly Father is never farther away from you than a silent word of prayer!

And you have a Great High Priest Jesus who lives forever to always intercede on your behalf (Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:34).

Who is not unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but is able to give grace and mercy to help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

The first truth for our suffering is Run to your refuge in your time of need.

But God’s Not There?!

Now you might say… I run but God’s not there.

He’s not answering…

I pray and I pray and I pray and nothing’s there.

This is where faith comes in.

I have no good apart from you.

No hope!… No life!…

God you’re my only salvation.

Sometimes when you’re in what the Puritans called the Dark Night of the Soul all you can do is wait on the Lord.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

That waiting is faith…

That waiting is saying God you’re my only hope.

David continues…

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.

There is a contrast here with verse 4 where David talks about idolators so David is clearly identifying himself as one of God’s chosen people.

He’s preaching to himself that he belongs to God and has no interest in walking with or participating with those who walk outside the Covenant.

He belongs to the people of God and as a member of the People of God is a partaker and fellow participant in all of God’s good promises towards His people.

Application: True for You

Have you ever felt like this?

“I believe all those promises are true for others… I just don’t know if I believe they are true for me.”

We believe God’s promises… we just doubt God’s love for us!

But if you are a Christian… if you believe in Jesus Christ… you are part of the people of God.

And if you are part of the people of God all of God’s promises for the people of God belong to you!

If they are true for anyone they have to be true for you too!

Promises like Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Just because that verse gets taken out of context don’t let it be ripped away from you.

Psalm 56:9 says This I know, that God is for me.

If you belong to the people of God then God is for you!

Then David says…

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.

Here David is talking about idolators.

He says The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply.

Why?

Because they cannot save!

They cannot Deliver.

God alone is our Deliverer.

This is why I say wait on the Lord… there’s no where else to go.

When you’re crying and you’re a mess… when you’re drowning and overwhelmed with fear… your waiting serves to glorify God because your waiting says “There is no other God who can save!”

So those tears in the night… that inward grief… its not pointless… its worship!

Isaiah 46

In Isaiah 46 God talks about false gods… He says Bel bows down; Nebo stoops…

He basically says these gods can’t carry anybody.

They get crushed under all the weight.

But God says…

Isaiah 46:3–4 Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel,

Basically… the people of God both Old and New Covenant…

Listen to me those…

who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

In other words I’ve carried you since before you were born and I will keep carrying you… forever.

That’s God’s promise for you.

Preserve me O God for in you I take refuge.

Then David says…

…their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.

In pagan worship you would use sacrifices and drink offerings of blood to to “buy” the god’s favor and you would take their name on your lips to declare that all that god was and all of their blessings were for you.

And so what David is saying is that he will never take the names of false gods upon his lips…

The only Name he would worship or identify with is the Lord.

Back in verse 2 David said I say to the LORD… taking God’s own divine Name Yahweh on his lips… You are my Lord… or You are my God.

I have faith in you and all that you are… you are for me!

Doctrine of God and Suffering

This is where your doctrine of God matters in your suffering.

Taking God’s Name upon your lips… faith in the Lord… means that all that God is… He is for you…

He is your God! And all His blessings are yours!

Think of it like this… How does faith in an Almighty… Omniscient… Omnipresent God change everything for your suffering?

Almighty/Omnipotent

First… if God is Almighty nothing can stop Him from delivering you.

Jeremiah 32:17 Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

So whatever trial or obstacle comes into your life the Almighty Power of Almighty God is for you.

Omniscient

Omniscience essentially says that God knows all things and in His infinity is infinitely wise.

What does mean?

God never forgets you and He’s never caught by surprised.

He’s not unaware of your pain and He’s never confused as to what to do or how to get out (Exodus 2:23-25).

I think one of the most comforting verses in the Bible is Exodus 2:23-25.

Exodus 2:23–25 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

God was not far or distant from His people suffering… He saw and He knew.

As their God… As our God with His Name upon our lips… God moves to act and redeem.

To save… deliver… and make all things new.

And in regards to God’s providence… God never makes a mistake.

In His perfect and infinite wisdom God has decreed everything whatsoever that comes to pass.

If God is all knowing and infinitely wise… your life is not chaos… your life is decreed perfectly by an infinitely wise and infinitely loving God.

The question is are we willing to submit to it?

To bear with patience whatever God has decreed with an utmost faith and unwavering trust in the Lord.

Omnipresent

God’s omnipresence means that He is always there.

He’s not confined to one space or another, He’s everywhere at once which means He’s always with you.

Psalm 139:7–10 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

All God is God is for you.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe (Proverbs 18:10).

God is good and ever near to His people.

God and God alone is our Refuge and Deliverer.

Number 2…

II. God is Sovereign Over Every Detail of Life

Psalm 16:5–6 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.

These verses go back to the Land allotment after Israel had conquered the Promise Land.

God had brought them out of Egypt… through the wilderness… into the land of Canaan and that land had to be divvied up.

You don’t want a civil war right after Israel gets into the land so how do you divide the land between the twelve tribes of Israel?

The answer was by lot and make the whole thing God’s decision.

Numbers 33:54 You shall inherit the land by lot according to your clans. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit.

Casting Lots

Now casting lots was used to determine the will of God and can be found all throughout the Old Testament.

Basically you would have 2 stones of two different colors… probably one light and one dark.

What we think is that the light side of the stone represented a positive answer and the dark side of the stone represented a negative answer.

And what you would do is you would pray to the Lord asking your “yes” or “no” question looking for His will between two paths and you would “cast the lot” looking for a “yes” or “no” answer.

You would throw the stones and if the two stones turned up “yes”… turned up bright… that was the Lord’s answer and if the two stones turned up “no”… turned up dark… that was the Lord’s answer too.

Remember they didn’t have all the Scriptures like we do today and how would you determine God’s will without God speaking directly to His people?

Saul and Jonathan

We see an example of this in 1 Samuel 14 where Saul had made a hasty vow that no one could eat until he was avenged on his enemies (1 Samuel 14:24).

Jonathan… his son… did not hear this and ate some honey that he had found.

Well, when Saul inquired of the Lord whether or not they should go down and attack the Philistines that night… God did not answer (1 Samuel 14:37).

And Saul knew it was because someone in Israel had sinned.

When no one fessed up Saul said to the people, “You be on one side and Jonathan and I will be on the other.

Then Saul prayed 1 Samuel 14:41–42 “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped.

So not necessarily a yes or no answer but two choices.

Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.

This was how the Land was divided up that David is referring to here.

And the point is… the people of God trusted the Sovereignty of God down to the smallest detail of life.

Even the chance things of life all the way down to what was essentially the equivalent to throwing dice was in the Sovereign hands of the Lord.

Nothing… absolutely nothing happened by chance.

Should You Cast Lots?

Now as a quick aside does that mean you should cast lots to try and figure out the will of God?

You could do a lot worse.

At least in casting lots you are inquiring of the Lord… you’re asking Him… you’re seeking His will.

But for us in the New Covenant… we have the indwelling Holy Spirit who leads and guides and directs.

We have the Scriptures and so much of living out God’s will is living out the principles of God’s Word that we know to be true in whatever situation we find ourselves in.

And the Bible says there is wisdom in many counselors (Proverbs 15:22; 11:14).

My fear is if you’re always throwing out Gideon’s fleece so to speak…

Basically asking God for a sign… Do I take this job or that job… do I marry this girl…

You’ll always be looking for another sign to confirm it… How can you ever know?

Gideon was asking for the impossible… the fleece dry and the ground wet… the ground dry and the fleece wet.

But the danger in asking God for sign after sign after sign would be putting God to the test where we say God I want you to answer to me or we know God’s will we just refuse to do it (Deuteronomy 6:16).

How Do You Know God’s Will?

So how do you know God’s will?

I think it goes back to this idea of providence.

You use wisdom… you seek wisdom… you ask for counsel and advice.

You test options before you according to Scripture.

So should you marry this girl?

Does she love Jesus?

Does she have a gentle and quite spirit?

Does she want to have children?

Are we on the same path heading the same direction?

What do your parents think?… don’t ignore that.

Basically… whatever it is you lay it before the Lord and say, “God help me.”

Guide my steps.

Open and shut doors.

If its not your will don’t let it go forward.

You put it all in His hands and trust in his providence.

Assume God’s Providence

One the most helpful pieces of advice I’ve ever heard… the one that got me married… was “Don’t question the providence of God but assume it.”

Assume God is working in your life.

Assume God is directing your steps.

If you can honestly say, “I want the Lord’s will and all I want is to seek first the kingdom,” then do what seems right to you trusting God to lead you all along the way.

Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

All in His Hands

But going back to the passage… the reason we can do that is because we believe God is sovereign over every detail of our life.

David says The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

You hold my life!

You hold any “chance” thing that can even happen.

The Doctrine of God’s Sovereignty and God’s providence is one of the most comforting doctrines we have.

God is always always always in control.

Nothing in my life happens by chance… its all… every single bit of it… the good and the bad… its all in His wise, loving and sovereign hands.

The 1689 London Baptist Confession says this in Chapter 5:1 as a summary all the Bible’s teaching on God’s sovereignty and providence…

1689 5:1 God the good Creator of all things, in his infinite power and wisdom doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, to the end for which they were created, according unto his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will; to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy.

By wise it means that there are no errors in God’s providence… He never makes a mistake.

And by holy that there’s no evil… God is always good.

Psalm 145:17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.

Now does that mean nothing bad will ever happen in your life?

No.

What it means is that we can trust God even in the hardest of times.

God is good… He is in control… and all our life is in His hands.

Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 10:29-31.

Matthew 10:29–31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

We love this verse.

And we should!… its one of the most comforting verses.

But before we get to the comfort I need to remind you of the context.

Jesus said Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles (Matthew 10:16-17).

Is Jesus promising here a happy and easy life?

No… He’s promising them suffering.

And its in the context of that suffering that Jesus says Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows.

What does that mean?

That no matter what comes into your life, God’s got you.

If God cares even for the sparrows how much more does God care for you His beloved son or daughter adopted in His only beloved Son.

Will God give Christ for you and then leave you on your own?

Completely abandon you when you need Him most?

If God cares for even the sparrows falling to the ground and not one of them falls apart from Your Father… then nothing comes into your life apart from Him either!

Does God really got this?…

Is God really over this?

Is God really with me and in control?

The Psalmist’s answer is, “You hold my lot!”

All my life… down to even the smallest detail and even the chance things of life… is all in your hands.

Good?

Now I’m not saying this is easy.

None of us wants hard things… none of us wants to be Job.

The question is do we trust.

We believe God is sovereign… that’s kind of easy.

The struggle is do we believe that God is wise and that God is good?

Well how is God good?

How is God good at the hospital bed or at the graveside?

How is God good in your pain or on your darkest day?

Well for one…God comforts us… He promises to never leaves or forsakes us.

He is near to the broken hearted.

This is what I was talking about earlier… even when we suffer we still have the Lord

We also know that because God is sovereign He works all things together for His glory and our good (Romans 8:28-29).

Whatever comes into our life is exactly what is need and in precisely the right measure to magnify God’s glory and conform us to the image of Christ.

The unbeliever rages against the Lord… curses His life.

The Christian humbly accepts al things from His hand trusting His Heavenly Father that loves Him and has promised good… has promised redemption… has promised to wipe every tear from our eye and knows how to bring life out of the grave… knows how to bring us out of the valley of the shadow of death.

As Job said…

Job 1:21 Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

No Good Apart From You

How did Job say that?

He lost everything.

Everything in one day!

Because Job had the faith of Psalm 16… I have no good apart from you.

Remember how the Psalm started.

Help me!

Preserve me!

Keep me!

Save me!

And then he says The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

Why?

Because I have the Lord.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup.

No matter what comes into my life… I have the Lord.

He holds my lot… and He has given Himself to me as a beautiful inheritance.

Conclusion

Listen… I’m not going to lie to you.

This is not easy.

I’m not trying to sell you puppy dogs and rainbows.

When the storms come…

When you lose your spouse…

When you go in for a cancer screening…

When you’re health just won’t get better…

When you lose a job…

Struggle to make ends meet…

Or go on yet another date that doesn’t work out and you start wondering if you’re just going to be alone forever…

You’re going to be fighting for your life just to believe these things.

Its not like this theology that God is our Refuge and Deliverer and that God is Sovereign and in control of detail of my life just makes everything magically better and the pain all just goes away.

But this is the theology that can sustain you… that can keep you going on the darkest of days.

No matter what comes into your life God is your Refuge.

And no matter what comes into your life God is in control.

And that’s easy to say now but you’ll be struggling to believe it when the winds and the waves and the storms start to rage.

But that struggle is the faith that says God you’re my all…

I have no good apart from you.

You are my everything… my only hope.

I trust you.

I believe Help my unbelief!

Deliver me!

And the God who never lies will never leave your or forsake you and will always be faithful to His promise.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1).

Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident (Psalm 27:3).

For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock (Psalm 27:5).

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek” (Psalm 27:7–8).

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:13–14).

Let’s Pray