The Lord Our Refuge

Freddy Lam

Transforming the Heart • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

Psalm 16

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BIG IDEA: In times of turbulence, the LORD Our Refuge provides us counsel, security, and everlasting joy.

What do we have to know?

Why do we need to know it?

What do we have to do?

Why do we have to do it?

This has been a pretty crazy summer. I am not talking about the heat and the temperature going up and down, and up and down. Last Monday I needed fall jacket while standing in line with Shannon to watch our first TIFF movie of the year. Today, I am sweating in this long-sleeve shirt. But I am talking about the violence we have seen. There was the van on Yonge Street swerving into mainly women walking on Yonge street, driven by an Incel (involuntary celibate: those who want to be in a relationship but couldn’t and are therefore angry at all woman - the fact that such a classification exist should gives us pause as to how far we have gone as a society), then there was the Danforth shooting on a regular evening leaving 2 dead and many injured, some with permanent life-altering injuries. We just had our 77th homicide yesterday, and the age of the shooters are getting younger and younger. I don’t know about you, but all these incidents do cause you to wonder, are we safe? Then we have larger scale disaster like Hurricane Florence and Super Typhoon Mangkhut pummelling United States and Philippines and Hong Kong respectively.

And if it is not these big social and natural concerns, there is the everyday threats and decisions. A health report you did not expect. A white envelope or email and you may be sent packing. A phone call from the school about your teenage son or daughter. A relationship abruptly ended because he said maybe we should see other people. And decisions like buying a house, switching your kids to a different school, going into retirement with a tight pension and some outstanding debt. Paying your ever inflating hydro and gas and internet and cell phone bills. Life is full of unexpected ups and downs. The question is: For those of us who know God, has our trust wavered? And for those of us who don’t yet know God, how are we handling all these demands of life?

GOD

We are beginning a new series called Transforming the Heart where we will be exploring a number of Psalms. The Psalms are roughly in the middle of the Bible, in the Old Testament, and are seen as largely poetry or songs. There are 150 of them altogether, and traditionally separated into five books: I. , , , , . They represent, alongside of the prophetic words, some of the most emotional outpouring of the relationship we have with God and humankind; from praises, worship, thanksgiving, confidence to lament, petition, trouble and doubt. It is only a general understanding Psalms is written or attributed to David, yet there are many other authors. I am sure throughout the series both Pastor Edward and Ken will reveal more about other facts and tidbits about the Psalm. Let us get back to at hand., which if you don’t have a bible is on page of your pew bible.

, along with 4, 5, and 11 Ultimately is about TRUST. Notice there is this word Mikitam of David. What is a Mikitam? No one knows exactly what it is. Some refer to it as a form of Psalms, others refer to the word as how the Psalm is used. Other Mikitam are , which are all Laments. Although David is mentioned, unlike the other Mikitams does not specify the occasion of the Psalm, such as David is fleeing Saul, etc.

There are 11 verses, which can be broken down into 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-9, 10-11. Let us look at them in pairs. Verse 1 and 2.

Taking Refuge in Yahweh

1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you.”

This is almost like the title of the Psalm, the main theme for the Psalm. David calls out to God with utmost trust. That’s odd. Why does an omniscient (all-knowing God) need us to tell Him we trust Him? Because the Psalms are not for God’s benefit, though verse 7 does hint at the possibility, but it is for our benefit as we declare our trust in Him, we will recall why we trust Him and how we are to trust Him again.

David begins, Preserve or more commonly, “Watch over me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” It is primarily about David’s relationship with God, His refuge. God is his protection, his shelter from whatever trouble comes. How is God his refuge? We will find out later in verse 9-11. He declares the reason why: You are MY Lord. The LORD is not just some third-party deity, but David expresses intimacy by saying MY Lord. Taken together, My LORD is MY REFUGE. This works as a pairing, except David adds then one more line. “I have no good apart from you.” This is an awkward statement, which can be roughly translated as “my welfare is not beyond your grasp.” It would be easier if it was “I am no good apart from you.” But it’s “I have… no good.” Perhaps the easiest way to understand this is to rephrase the negatives and say, God, who is the refuge, is MY good. This becomes important later on in verses 5 and 3-4, our next pairing.

Contrast of Saints and Idolaters

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

4 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 makes a contrast between saints and idolaters. He obviously places himself as part of the saint, who are the excellent ones. Are they excellent because of the moral uprightness, their integrity and their faithfulness to God? Well, verse 4, the contrast actually becomes the foil for understanding what he means by the excellent ones. Because David says the sorrows of those who run after another god, in other words, those who worship God half-heartedly as they pursue other pagan gods, or idolaters, their sorrow would multiply or increase. Hence the excellent ones are those who do not follow, run after the Baal and Asherah and other Canaanite gods. To separate this category of saints (which is what the word saint or holy ones mean, to set apart), David vows not to participate in two pagan rituals: drink offerings of blood and invoking the names of pagan gods. Well, you might say, didn’t the Bible speak of drink offering also? But if you look carefully, Jewish drink offering offered to the LORD is never with blood, but with wine, and also accompanied by animal sacrificial offerings, whose blood may be used not for consumption, but put onto the horns of the altar, the side and the base as part of atonement. Jews don't drink blood according to Leviticus! As for the second act, pagan rituals involve uttering the divine name in prayer, ritual, and magical rites within the pagan cult. But the Israelites cannot even speak the LORD’s name YWH dropping all the vowels as reverence for the one and only name for his holiness.

Having established the theme and the contrast between the saints who will find God as their refuge as oppose to the idolaters who won’t, we can now see three reasons why did David say to God, “I have no good apart from you?”

I. God gives us Himself as our True Inheritance

Verse and 5 and 6

5 The LORD is my chosen 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 does it mean to be a portion? First of all, the original language does not have the word “chosen” in it. Like , where God tells the Levites unlike the rest of the tribes, they have no allotted land and possession, because God himself IS their inheritance and portion. That is why David said You are MY LORD. Here lies an amazing truth. God is so immense each of us have him fully, but none of us have Him entirely. And cup symbolizes love, comfort, strength and fellowship, or simply all the benefits God provides. This line is paired with the next short line, “you” that is The LORD” hold my lot. To hold my in the original language means making sure something is not altered and cared for, whereas lot is everything that happens to a person. their ”destiny appointed by God;" David is secure in God’s hand.

The lines are measuring lines of the boundary of David’s domain given by God and David praises God for this inheritance to be most suitable. We must remember Judah, David's tribe was allotted the kingdom of Israel. But then he intensifies further and compares it not just being pleasant places, but beautiful inheritance. Perhaps he is saying the physical land is pleasant, but your very presence as portion and cup O God is beautiful!

So God’s goodness lies in His self-giving and security, both spiritually and also physically in the land to which David inherited.

Why else did David say to God, “I have no good apart from you?”

II. God gives us His Wisdom and Security which brings us Great joy

7 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

Now we come to the idea of Bless the LORD. If God is all sufficient, does blessing do anything to add to him or change him? We are surely blessed and feel blessed which evokes in us a heart of gratefulness and awe. But God, can he be blessed? When we sing bless the LORD oh my soul (ten thousand reasons), have we thought about what it means to bless him? It’s like adding one (blessing) to infinity, the result is still infinity. In what sense is God “blessed?” To bless the LORD is the desire to heap good unto His name and benefit on the one blessed, so in blessing the LORD his goodness is once again proclaimed and we in turn benefit in blessing Him by being blessed. The blessing comes in the form of counsel and instruction. In other words, God helps us to make the wise decision according to his character and purpose, so much so that my heart, which means innermost being, literally my kidney, continues to ponder and meditate on God’s truth well into the night. Verse 8:

8 I have set the LORD always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure

What does it mean to set the LORD always before me? It means protection, going back to the main theme fo refuge. God is in at the forefront not once in a while, or when you remember, but ALWAYS and in focus.

What is the meaning of right hand? Strength, favor, good fortune, authority, power are all apt descriptions of the right hand. Just an aside, what’s in God’s left hand: judgment. Now we can see why David is so sure he won’t be affected by the idolaters and his life is secure. He puts God first. The God who protects and guards with strength, authority and power. As a result, there is an intensification of emotion. David’s ‘heart’ or emotion center is glad (feeling joy). But this is the LORD who is ALWAYS before him, David isn’t just glad, he REJOICES (expressing joy)!, and not just his emotion, his whole being, and he repeat the reason, his flesh, that is his body DWELLS secure. God is his refuge, David dwells secure! Secure from what?

III. God delivers His Holy ones from the Grave and Decay

10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

or let your holy one see corruption.

David will not be forgotten or forsaken in death, because prior to the place of hell, Jews in the Old Testament believed in a place called Sheol where the dead goes. It’s been variously translated as a grave, even underworld. It may be David was experiencing a health issue or a dire circumstance where he can taste death. David refers now to himself as the holy one, is it in reference to saints earlier, of which he is part of, reminding himself he is wholeheartedly trusting God and not other pagan deities.

Some of us here who are more keen might notice verse 10 and say, where have I seen this verse before? You are right! Peter mentions this as a direct reference to Jesus and his resurrection when he was first filled with the Holy Spirit and went out in Jerusalem to preach. The holy one is Jesus, and the resurrection is NOT letting him see corruption:

30 xBeing therefore a prophet, and knowing that yGod 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 zhe was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus aGod raised up, band of that we all are witnesses. ()

So the third reason why “I have no good apart from you” is not only God himself and His rich inheritance, and Wisdom and Security which brings great joy, but also He promise to deliver His Holy ones from death and decay. Taken alongside of Peter’s use here, He promises salvaiton, beginning with raising His son Jesus and for all those who trust Him thereafter to have eternal life!

In summary then:

"The reasons given fall into three categories: (1) deliverance from death (16:10); (2) continued guidance (16:11a); and (3) the gift of divine presence (16:11b–c)."

Finally, verse 11 is our response in light of such a benevolent and gracious God who IS the good and my good, OUR Good.

IV. Response: My Joy is in Yahweh

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.

All these words are teeming with hope and abundance. Knowing God will be David’s refuge, where He pledges himself as his eternal inheritance, giving him counsel every step of the way in life’s small and big decisions, being his security, in fact, sealing his whole life that even death cannot separate him from the love of God, every path in David’s life is marked by the goodness of God. In God’s presence, the one whom David has set before him, he experiences FULLNESS of joy. And there are those right hands again, this time speaking of his love and comfort. To be in the gentleness of God’s right hand cannot be described as anything but pleasure, more than all earthly pleasures. And not just temporary, but forevermore. What a beautiful picture of the relationship we can have with the LORD our God, in spite of life’s challenges and fears.

YOU

So what have we to fear? God says he is our refuge when the going gets tough. When life throws you a curveball and you are stuck in a rut. We are all David in some ways. No, we aren’t a king in the Middle East, and maybe some of us are poets, or a warrior, or a musician (and David was all of those roles). But David experiences what we experiences. And through this Psalm, we discover why David see God as his refuge. Now apply this to any of the situations we spoke of at the beginning. For some of us, it means being convinced the job we are currently working at which we don’t like IS a pleasant place because God gave it to us. The family member we can’t stand is placed in our life so we can learn what it means to love. For some of us, it will be His guidance that we desperately need: financial decision, career decision, family planning decision. Making the right decision by first consulting Him who made us and knew us in our mother’s womb. For others, we need his assurance of security, secure in our relationship with Him. He will never abandon us. Security for our health, that even if the bottom falls out, His love remains. And for some of us just need to taste His joy as three quarters of this year has passed and it has been tough on you and your family.

I like to end this message from the way we began it. Let me read this Psalm slowly and what I want each of you to do is to close your eyes, put your pen or cell phone down, and just let the words seep into your soul this morning as you recall Our Good, THE Good, our Lord and God who is our ONLY refuge, our inheritance, our counsel, our security, and our joy.

16 A MIKTAM OF DAVID.