Sermon Tone Analysis

I’m jealous of two guys I’ve never met.

I believe I’ll meet them one day, but until then, I’ll remain incredibly jealous.

Let me tell you about them.

These two guys were just minding their own business, walking home at the end of the day, talking to one another about this and that.

And then, another man starts walking along with them, butting in on their conversation.

These two men were walking down the road from Jerusalem to a town called Emmaus.

And the man who joined them was the resurrected Jesus.

On that walk, we’re told:

This is why I’m jealous of the two men on the Emmaus Road.

No one knows what Jesus said, what books of the Bible he used, but Jesus made this much clear: every book of the Bible, every story, every page points to Him in some manner—all the Scriptures.

How I wished I could have heard what Jesus said on that 7-mile journey.

There is, to me, absolutely no doubt that the end of Psalm 16 speaks about Jesus.

Both Peter and Paul use Psalm 16 in different sermons they preached during their ministries.

And Jesus Himself might have referenced this very psalm to His buddies walking down that road.

This is a psalm of King David.

The heading of the psalm says as much.

This psalm is about David’s life—about his delight in the things of the Lord.

And yet, in some way, this psalm (like every other part of the Bible) is also about Jesus.

The opening verses of Psalm 16 begin with a statement of David’s relationship with God.

This psalm teaches us to:

Delight in a Relationship with God

The essence of David’s relationship with God is shown in the names for God he uses.

The first word is El, translated simply as God.

This is the most common name for God, but it highlights the strength and might of God (El means “mighty one”)—which is appropriate because David takes refuge in El, in Him.

In verse 2, David says what he’s going to say to the LORD (all caps), that is Yahweh—the personal and proper name of God, the name revealed to Moses at the burning bush.

The covenant name for God in relation to His people.

The third name for God is Adonai (Lord), meaning master.

It can be used of earthly masters or of God.

So when David writes this, he is saying, “I say to Yahweh, you are my Lord, my Master.”

The God of Israel is his master.

This clearly shows a clear relationship with the Creator God.

David relates to Him as El—as the mighty one in whom he can take refuge—and as Yahweh—the personal, covenant God—and as Adonai—Master and Lord, the one to whom he submits.

For David, God is Refuge, Lord, Master.

For David, God is everything.

And in fact, he states this rather clearly: apart from you I have no good thing.

Wow-y.

That’s some claim.

God is the source of all good.

Apart from Him, there is nothing good.

As James, the half-brother of Jesus put it:

David has found, in God, every good thing and everything he needs.

He will lose sight of this a various points in his life (like the natural, sinful, broken human he is).

But David has here come to the point of confessing this crucial truth.

He has a relationship with the Creator God, the God of the Universe, and for David, that’s sufficient.

David submits to God and finds God to be all he needs.

So much of our dissatisfaction, our envy, our tendency to worry about keeping up with the Joneses springs from our lack of satisfaction with God and our failure to believe that God is sufficient.

If we were truly satisfied with God and the unbelievable privilege we’re given of enjoying a relationship with Him, we would be a much more content people, don’t you think?

It’s at this point that we have to pause and ask a few questions:

Do you have a relationship with God? Can you, like David, refer to Him as my God and my Lord?

It’s not enough to know about God or to know who God is.

It’s not enough that your parents or grandparents or spouse have a relationship with God.

You must have a personal relationship with God.

For you who have a relationship with God, is it the most important relationship in your life?

Do you delight in your relationship with Him?

If you have a relationship with God, do you find Him to be sufficient?

If everything else was stripped away (family, friends, money, possessions, health) would God be enough for you?

Would you be satisfied with Him? Are you satisfied with Him, just Him?

How is your relationship with God? Do you have a relationship with God? Do you delight in Him?

If we know God as David knows God, nothing hereafter can ever mean as much to us as God does.

Our relationship with Him is paramount, primary, absolutely first.

When God is the One by whom we measure all else, it will follow that the immediate result of our relationship to God will affect our relationships to others.

Delight in God’s People

As a result of his relationship with God—his Refuge, his Lord, his Master—David is drawn to the righteous the holy people in the land; he delights in them.

On the other hand, David is turned away from the wicked—those who run after other gods.

David refuses to have a part with them in their worship—I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.

He wants no part of the wicked, but takes delight—DELIGHT—in the saints!

This is a very practical matter.

It’s a way we can measure our relationship to the Lord.

Do you love other Christians?

Do you find it good and rewarding to be with them?

Do you seek their company?

It’s a simple test, really.

Those who love the Lord will love those and love being around those who love the Lord.

The logic of the psalm makes this clear: If Yahweh is your master (v. 2), you will prize His people (v.

3).

It’s as if God says of our affections for Him and His people, the Church:

“You cannot care for Me with no regard for Her; if you love Me you will love the Church.”

- Derek Webb, “The Church”

If you have a relationship with God, you will take delight in His people—in being around them, in fellowship, in service, in worship.

The other side of this test, the other side of this same coin, also measures our relationship to the Lord.

Are you uncomfortable around those who sin openly and proudly?

Are you troubled by their values, shocked by their desires, repulsed by their blasphemy?

Or, are you at ease among the wicked?

Do you join in with them in their crude speech, their worldly behavior, their worship of other people and things?

Light has no fellowship with darkness.

You cannot serve two masters.

You can’t love God and love what He hates.

You can’t claim to follow Him in this direction and follow the world in this direction.

You’ll lose your soul trying to do so.

I love what James Montgomery Boice writes: “If, like Peter, you have no difficulty warming your hands at the fire of those who are hostile to your Master, it’s because you are from from him.

Best to get back to Him before you deny Him, as Peter did.”

The result of having a relationship with God will be expressed by delight in His people and a distance from the wicked.

The third part of the psalm describes the psalmists present blessings:

Delight in Present Blessings

For any who have dealt with the Lord for any length of time, for anyone who has enjoyed a relationship with Him, you could say “the blessings of the Lord are too numerous for me to say,” or “there is too much, let me sum up.”

For this song, the singer addresses only a handful.

“You have assigned me my portion and my cup”—The word portion can have two meanings.

It can refer to one’s portion of the land, one’s estate or inheritance.

Or it can refer to one’s daily portion of food.

Since verse 6 deals with land, and since portion and cup are linked together here, this is probably David’s daily food and drink (and by extension, other necessities).

David is looking to God for his provisions, his portion and cup.