A Study in Psalms - Psalm 16

I want to welcome you back to our Summer of Psalms. We've looked at Psalm 3. We've looked at Psalm 8. Tonight we're going to look at Psalm 16. And each night I've been beginning with a question, and I want to ask the question tonight: who here can tell me what the last words of Jesus Christ was when he was hanging on the cross before he died?

Do you mean? No, not quite. Close. Remember, there were seven different sayings? What's the last one? Sorry? What was the last saying? No? Not that one. Anybody? Come on. Someone? It is finished? No. No. It is finished is number six. What's number seven? Into your hands, I commit my spirit. All right, you win a prize. This is a prayer book from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and I'll talk a little bit about him: how to pray through the Psalms. So, yeah, that's the last saying.

There were seven sayings on the cross by Jesus. And number seven, before he died, he says, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Luke 23:46. But do you know where did Jesus get that from? Amen. Boy, I should have a prize for you, too. I'm out of prizes, but Psalm 31, verse 5. And then you know the fourth saying on the cross. I think everyone knows this one, right? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That's from Psalms 22, verse 1. And then the thirst saying, which somebody brought up, John 19:28, he says, I thirst. Many commentators believe that's from Psalm 69:21, where it says, They gave me sour wine for my thirst.

So think about it. Three of the seven sayings on the cross come from the Psalms. Jesus loved the Psalms and he knew the Psalms. But even before the cross, Jesus demonstrated his knowledge of the Psalms. You remember in Luke 20, I call this the Great Question Chapter, they asked Jesus about taxes and about the guy who dies and has seven different, a wife, a husband dies, and the wife has seven different brothers, and then they ask him the greatest commandment. Finally, Jesus turns the table on them in Luke 20:41.

Jesus says, Whose son is the Christ? And they said the son of David. But he said to them, How can they say that the Christ is David's son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms. Jesus is going to quote Psalms. He's quoting Psalm 110, and Pastor Lance, in our study of Hebrews, mentioned that Psalms 110 is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament. It's actually quoted five different times in the book of Hebrews.

Then another place, Matthew 21, verse 42, Jesus says, have you never read the scriptures? And he says, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing, and it's marvelous in our eyes. Jesus is quoting Psalms 118, verses 22 to 23. And then in Luke 24:44, he's talking to the disciples, and he says to them, These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. So we have prophecies from Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms. And tonight we're going to look at one of those from the Psalms.

Jesus knew the Psalms. But did you know the Jews knew the Psalms? You know, they had 150 Psalms. It's a hymnal. It's a hymn book. Five hymn books put into one. We know, you know, rock of ages and how great thou art, and you know the hymns, I hope, or we used to, I think the older generation knows it. But the Jews knew all 150 Psalms. They would sing Psalm 113 to 118 at every Passover, so they knew the Psalms.

The Apostles also did. In Acts 1:15, Peter gets up. You know, they're saying all those guys are drunk. And Peter gets up and he starts talking. He says, Brothers, scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in the ministry. For it is written in the book of Psalms, may his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it, and let another take his office. So Peter quotes Psalm 69, verse 25 and Psalm 109, verse 8, there.

And I mentioned last week when the apostles got out of jail in Acts 4:24, and they went and talked to the church, it says that the people lifted up their voices, probably were singing this actually, and they sang, Who through the mouth of our father David your servant said by the Holy Spirit, Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and rulers were gathered together against the Lord and his anointed. So the apostles are quoting Psalms 2, which would be the second most quoted psalm in the Psalms.

We've been studying Hebrews on Sunday, and if you were to go through the book of Hebrews, it's pretty easy to see the Old Testament quotes in our new translations now, right? But there's at least 33 verses from the Psalms in the book of Hebrews. So Jesus knew the Psalms, the apostles knew the Psalms like we know our hymns.

I just gave a book out by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Do you know who Dietrich Bonhoeffer is? If you have not read his biography, I suggest you do. He was a great German theologian who lived and died in Nazi Germany. And you can imagine when he published that book in Germany in the 1940s. It's a little book called Psalms, the Prayer Book of the Bible. It just tells you how to pray through different parts of the Psalms. And he was calling Christians to recapture the importance of the Psalms. You can get that book on Amazon for about $5. But imagine what the Nazis thought. Here's a Christian pastor publishing a German book highlighting the importance of Hebrew scriptures. The Nazis weren't too thrilled. They threatened to fine him, but this man was not a coward. Many Christians in Germany capitulated, compromised, but not Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Three years later, he would be arrested and charged with the assassination of Hitler. And just three weeks before Hitler died, Dietrich Bonhoeffer would be executed. But he loved the Psalms. That's why he wrote a book on the Psalms. And he would say, Christ is the secret of the Psalms. And, you know, all through the Psalms, there are many, many prophecies about Jesus Christ. We're going to look at a few tonight. Some people say there's, you know, the MacArthur Study Bible has 20 if you have a MacArthur Study Bible.

So turn with me to Psalms 2 real quick before we look at our Psalm for the night. Psalms 2. Just look at a few of these tonight to get the gist of there are so many prophecies just in the Psalms. The Old Testament, there's completely, there could be up to 300. Psalms 2, verse 7, it says, I will tell the decree the Lord said to me, You are my son, today I have begotten you. That's the prophecy that God would announce that Christ would be his Son. And that's fulfilled in Acts 13:33 and Hebrews 1:5.

Turn with me to Psalm 16. We'll read it, but I'll just hit you with one verse right now. Psalm 16. You can get these out of your MacArthur Study Bible if you don't want to write them down. Psalm 16, verse 10 says, For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. That's the prophecy that Christ will be resurrected from the grave, fulfilled in Mark 16:6 to 7, and Acts 13:35.

Turn with me to Psalms 22. We mentioned this one. This one is another messianic psalm. Psalms 2 is a messianic psalm. 16 is. Psalms 22, it just has prophecy after prophecy. So the first one is the first verse we mentioned on the cross. Jesus said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And that's the prophecy that God would forsake Jesus Christ in the moment of his agony.

Look at Psalms 22, verses 7 and 8. It says, All who see me mock me, they make mouths at me, they wag their heads. He trusts in the Lord, let him deliver him, let him rescue him, for he delights in him. That's the prophecy that Jesus Christ would be scorned and ridiculed, fulfilled in Matthew 27, verse 39 to 43, and Luke 23:35.

Keep going. Look at Psalm 22, verse 16. It says, For dogs encompass me, a company of evildoers encircles me. They have pierced my hands and my feet. That is the prophecy that Christ's hands and his feet would be pierced. Interesting about that prophecy is this was written probably about a thousand BC. So, long, long before Rome became the world empire, Rome introduced crucifixion. So, when this prophecy was written, crucifixion was not the means of executing people. But they prophesied right. That prophecy was fulfilled in John 20:25 and Acts 2:23.

And then just a couple, the next verse, verse 18 in Psalm 22. They divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots. So that's the prophecy that others would gamble for Christ's clothes, and that's fulfilled in Matthew 27:33 to 36.

I could go on and on. Psalms 69 has several prophecies. Psalms 110, in our study of Hebrews, Lance has gone through these. There are several prophecies. Psalms 118, I mentioned today, Psalms 68, Psalms 45, Psalms 41, Psalms 40. So your MacArthur Study Bible has twenty, and I've just given you about six or seven, but some people have as many as 44. So there are prophecies all through the Psalms about Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

So let's go back to Psalm 16 and we'll look at this Psalm in a little bit of depth now. Psalm 16 begins with: The superscription says, A Miktam of David, 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. As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 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. 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. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel. In the night, also, my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Let's pray. Father, we ask, there's a verse in Psalms that says, Open our eyes that we can see wonderful things in your law. May you teach us tonight about this wonderful scripture in Psalm 16. And may we leave here today knowing more of you and what it is we're to do as your disciples. In Jesus' name, amen.

So this psalm, we mentioned Psalm 3 was a lament psalm. We mentioned that Psalm 8 was a praise psalm. So commentators would debate on this. It's definitely a messianic psalm because of verse 10. So many commentators would call it a messianic psalm, but I just wanted to note that others would call it a song of trust. And there are 10 of them: Psalms 11, 16, this one, Psalms 23, which I hope everybody here knows: 27, 62, 63, 91, 121, 131. These are called songs of trust, and they center their attention on the fact that God can be trusted even in difficult times. God's goodness and care for his people ought to be expressed. God delights in knowing that those who believe in him trust him for their lives and for what he will choose to give them. These psalms help us to express our trust in God, whatever our circumstances. So it's a song of trust, and it's also a messianic psalm.

We read the superscription, and I've told you I think it's important if it has, 114 of the 150 Psalms have superscriptions, and some of them, you know, like here. This is, you know, what's it mean? A miktam of David. There are six Psalms that say this, a miktam of David. This Psalm 16, and then Psalms 56 to 60 also have this superscription. So, what does it mean? Well, we don't really know. There's a lot of words in Psalms like this that we're not sure. Commentators will argue. Luther said the meaning of miktam means it's a golden jewel, and others have called it a golden psalm. So a miktam then would be a precious psalm, if that's the right way to know.

And it says a Psalm of David. We're in book one, one of five books that make up the 150. And 37 of the 41 Psalms in Book One are written by David. And this is the third one we're looking at. So, and we've also studied the life of David here. I think Lance preached 47 messages, and you can get that on CD if you want about the life of David here at Christ Community Church. And how David trusted God to deliver him from Goliath and many, many other enemies. But tonight we're going to see that David had confidence that when he died, his soul would not be left in Sheol. Sheol is the Old Testament. Hades is the realm of the dead in the New Testament. But David knew he would be someday resurrected from the dead. We'll also learn from Peter and Paul that this psalm was prophesying the resurrection of the Messiah.

This is a psalm of delight. It's a personal psalm. I don't know if you notice, and you can read through it again, the word my is used 12 times in 11 verses. My thoughts, my heart, my portion. So it's a very personal psalm that David is using. We don't know the exact time it was written, and we don't know the reason, but that's not important.

Our outline tonight is very simple, and I've taken this outline from a pastor called William Graham Scroggie. I just love this outline. Number one, looking above. Number one is looking above, verses one and two. Point two, looking around, verses three and four. Point three, looking within, verses five to nine. And finally, point four, looking beyond, verses ten to eleven. So looking above, looking around, looking within, and looking beyond.

Let's look at verses one and two, looking above. David is going to begin in verses one and two to look up to heaven in prayer in these two verses. He's going to basically say two things: save me and satisfy me, Lord. So let's do sub point one: Save me. He says, Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, You are my Lord. We don't know the circumstances of what's going on. He seems to be calling out for help here to save me. He seems to be in trouble.

We know that David, if he wrote at least 73 of the Psalms, we know 14 of them. We have historical accounts that tell us about the life of David. We looked at Psalms 3, when Absalom, his son, overthrew his kingdom. So we don't know the circumstance here, but David may be in trouble, or maybe he's just asking God to sustain him or help him. And he says that he needs to be preserved. Preserve means to keep watch over, and this is actually a frequent request in the Psalms. Psalms 140:4 says, Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from violent men who have planned to trip up my feet. Psalms 143:11 says, For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life. In your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble.

So David, you know, is used to watching sheep. And he would, you know, remember when he was going to go fight Goliath, and they said, no, you're too young. David told King Saul, your servant has killed both lions and bears when they came after the sheep. So here the little shepherd is asking our God, the shepherd, to protect him like a shepherd does. David's calling out to God to save him, and he doesn't just say the name of God once. Once again, we see the threefold of using God's name again and again. So notice in verse 1, and then verse 2, he says, preserve me, O God, that's the name of God 1. In verse 2, he says, I say to the Lord, capital Lord, that's God 2, name of God 2. He says, you are my Lord. That's the name of God 3.

So let's go through those real quick. The first one, he says, God. We have the abbreviated name here, El. You know, I'm sure you're familiar with El Shaddai. Well, here it's just the abbreviated form El, and in Hebrew it means the strong one. It means the supreme deity and indicates his strength and power. So that's the name of God One.

Name of God, two, we've talked about this both in Psalm 3 and 8. It's Yahweh, capital L-O-R-D. This is the divine title that points to the covenant relationship that God has with His people. And I talked a lot about that last week.

And then I talked about the small L-O-R-D is Adonai, which speaks of the sovereignty and authority of God. He's the master and ruler of our lives. Last week in Psalms 8, he kept saying, Oh Lord, our Lord, O Yahweh, our Adonai. So tonight we have it again. So if you put these three names of God together, El is God, my Maker. Then Jehovah or Yahweh is God my mediator, and Adonai is God my master. God my maker, God my mediator, and God my master. And David cries out and just says, Save me. Notice last week we talked about prayer. We said the petition was in the last Point three, right? Notice tonight it's in point one, and that's the only supplication we have in this psalm. That's the only thing David's asking, just to save me.

Let's move on to sub point two. After saying, Save me, the second part of verse two, he says, Satisfy me. This is a wonderful psalm. There is sentence after sentence I love. And he says, I have no good apart from you. So he says, Not just save me, but I have no good apart from you. He wants God to satisfy him. Only God can satisfy him as he's the source of all good things. I mentioned two weeks ago: when I die, I want on my gravestone the Psalm 73:25 that says, Whom have I in heaven but you, and there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. The New Testament says in James 1:17 that every good gift and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, in whom there's no variation or shadow due to change. David was satisfied in God. How about you?

There is a cemetery in England, and there are two graves in this cemetery. And the first grave says, she died for the want of things. That's the wife. Next to her is the husband's grave, and that gravestone says, he died trying to give them to her. There's not a lot of satisfied people in the Lord, but if you have Jesus Christ in your heart, we should live a life of satisfaction from God because God is the source of all good.

Next week, I'm going to quote a hymn right now, but next week we're going to sing some psalms. I don't know, 15, 20, 30 minutes, and then we'll look at a short psalm. But tonight, when I read this, I have no good apart from you. It reminded me of that hymn, I'd rather have Jesus. Do you love that hymn? I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. I'd rather be His than riches untold. I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands. I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hands. And the chorus goes, Than to be a king of a vast domain or be held in sin's dread sway, I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.

So in point one, we need to follow David's example and look to God in prayer and be satisfied. Let's look at point two, looking around, looking around, verses three and four. David secondly looks around, in point one, looking above, he looked up to heaven. Now he's going to look around here on earth. And he's going to look at two things. Number one, the saints are delightful, verse three. And number two, sinners are disturbing, verse four.

Let's look at saints are delightful. He says, As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. The word for saints here, and it's used quite often in Psalms, it means holy ones or separated ones. It's first used, I think, in Exodus 19:6. God says to the people of Israel, You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So, David discovered by experience it was much better to delight in the Lord's people than to have fellowship with the ungodly. David delighted in fellowship that he experienced with the believers. I love that verse, and we're going to look at this Psalm in a couple weeks. Psalms 84 that says, One day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. So, David wants to be around godly people. David wants to have fellowship with fellow saints.

The New Testament tells us the same thing. I think Lance quoted this Scripture just last week or the week before, 1 Peter 2:9 says, All believers are a royal priesthood. So we are priests, we are saints in that priesthood. So the saints are delightful, verse 3, but sinners are disturbing in verse 4.

David will go on and say, 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. As much as David delighted in the fellowship with the saints, he detests the deeds and character of the ungodly. David knew all about idolatry. He fought the Philistines and gone down to Gath, and they had an idol called Dagon, the Philistine idol. He'd been to Moab and seen Chemosh, the Moabite idol. He'd seen lots of idols. Saul would keep a lot of ungodly men on his payroll around him. David wanted no part or fellowship with these ungodly men, and he mocks their sacrifices and won't even take their names on his lips.

I remember a quote from Lance many, many years ago. He said, The company you keep in this world will often determine the company you keep in the next life. Or the company you keep in this life will often determine the company you keep in the next world. Psalms, the main theme all through Psalms, beginning with Psalms 1 all the way to Psalms 150, is a separation from sin that we are to separate from sin and sinful people. It begins in the very first verse in Psalms 1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. So you're a blessed man if you stay away from those three types of wicked people, he says.

The New Testament, again, James 4:4 says, You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. So either you're a saint, or you're a sinner. If you're a saint, then you should delight in the fellowship with God's saints. It's been wonderful to be back worshiping inside. These few weeks we've had together in one service on Sunday. It's been wonderful to meet new people. The singing's been up. It's just been wonderful to worship with the Lord's people. The saints were David's delight. I hope that they're your delight.

Let's look at point three, looking within, looking within. He looked above, he looked around him, and now he's going to look within. Verses five to nine. We have four sub points here: given by God, verses 5 to 6, guided by God, verse 7, guarded by God, verse 8, and gladdened by God, verse 9, and I'll repeat those once I get them.

So let's look at sub point one, verses five and six, given by God. He says, 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 words there. They're Old Testament metaphors. And this is one reason a lot of people don't like the Psalms because you have literally thousands of metaphors. Now, Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd. That's an easy one, right? We all know that one. But here you have four metaphors: portion, cup, lot, and inheritance. So a lot of times we read the Psalm and we don't understand these metaphors, but they're all through the Psalms, thousands of them.

But these four words point back to the conquest of Canaan. Remember when they had conquered Canaan and each tribe was given a portion of the land. And they would, they did by lots, and they all got their portion, and they all went to their, the 12 tribes went to their place. But one tribe, the Levites, they did not get a portion. They did not get a lot. They did not get a cup, okay? Because God said in Numbers 18:20, I am your portion and your inheritance to the Levites. That's what God said. I am your portion and your inheritance. So the Levites were forced to rely on God. Now they eventually got cities to live in, but unlike the other tribes.

What David is saying here is like the Levites who had to rely on God, I have no treasure I value more than God. The psalmist is content with what God has provided for him. We should take notice of this. I kind of mentioned it when I talked about the gravestone in England, because we live in an age of discontent, don't we? Discontent is one of the most striking characteristics of this century. It's particularly a mark of the baby boomer generation.

Then David goes on and he says, here's another wonderful line in this Psalm. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Who here can say that? The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Can you say that like David? You know, I look back in my life with trials, with tragedies, with uncertainties with my daughter and things like that, I can still thank God for the portion, the cup, the lot, and the inheritance given me, and what he's done in my life. I hope you can. So, first off, David says, I have been given by God.

Let's move on to verse 7, guided by God. He says, I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel. In the night, also my heart instructs me. You know, we like to make plans, don't we? We make plans. And then we go to prayer and ask God, bless those plans that I've already made, Lord. We put the horse before the cart, or the cart before the horse, don't we? David, though, blesses the Lord because he was always seeking the counsel of the Lord. God would instruct him. And I think we did this in our study of 1 and 2 Samuel, looking at the life of David, but there are at least nine times David inquires of the Lord. I'm just going to run through them, and you can write them down, and I'll tell you why it's important we look at this.

The first time David inquires of the Lord is in 1 Samuel 23, verses 1 to 3. And they said to David, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they're robbing the threshing floors. So, David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go and attack these Philistines? So, before David gets his army and musters them, he says, Shall I go and attack them? Just a couple verses later, it says in 1 Samuel 23, verses 4 and 5: David inquired of the Lord once again. And the Lord answered and said, Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.

Then, in the same chapter, 1 Samuel 23, you should call this the David inquiring chapter. In verses 10 and 11, David says to the Lord, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah. And he says, Will the men of Keilah surrender me up? And God says they will. Then David asks again, He says, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And again, the Lord said, They will deliver you. So David would leave. So he sought further counsel from the Lord. So, four times in 1 Samuel 23, David inquires of the Lord.

The fifth time David inquired of the Lord was in 1 Samuel 30. And this was after the Amalekites had come and had conquered Ziklag. David and his 600 troops were away, and they stole David's wives and all his property. So it says, David inquired of the Lord. Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them? And God said, Pursue them, for you shall surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.

The sixth inquiry of the Lord, you have to go to 2 Samuel, and it's in chapter 2, verses 1 and 2. And the Philistines had killed Jonathan and Saul. So David, it says, inquired of the Lord, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And God said, go up to Hebron.

Then in 2 Samuel chapter 5, David was made the king, and when the Philistines heard about David being the king, they mustered up their army and they came out to fight Israel. So it says, David inquired of the Lord. Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hand? And the LORD said to David, Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.

The eighth inquiry of David to the Lord was in 2 Samuel 5:22 to 25. Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the valley of Rephaim. Therefore, David inquired of the Lord and He said, You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. God said, Don't go up, but go around them, go in front of them. And you can strike them down.

The ninth inquiry is in 2 Samuel 21, verse 1. You remember that story? There was a famine in the land of Israel because Saul had murdered the, I think the Gibeonites that he wasn't supposed to. So David in 2 Samuel 21:1 says, David inquired of the Lord and the Lord answered, It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house because he killed the Gibeonites.

Nine times there, real quickly, I gave you that David inquired of the Lord. He was always inquiring of the Lord. He was always praying, Lord, what should I do? But contrast that to King Saul. King Saul, in 1 Chronicles chapter 10, verse 14, you can turn there, but, or write it down. 1 Chronicles 10:14. Sad verse, it says, He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore, the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. One man, David was a man after God's own heart, and he would constantly inquire. Constantly go to prayer. Write 73 of the Psalms, which are prayers to God. Nine times it says he inquired of the Lord, but not Saul, and God put him to death.

Corrie Ten Boom, I mentioned Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was killed by Hitler and the Nazis. Corrie Ten Boom survived the Nazi concentration camps. Another great testimony if you want to read her biography. She has a saying about prayer. She said, Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire? Think about that. Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire? I want you to think about that for a minute. Because if it's your spare tire, you just put the spare tire in the car. I'm never going to use it. Then one day you get a flat tire, you pull it out. It's kind of like someone who doesn't pray much. But boy, when they get an emergency, it's 911 and they're crying out to God. But prayer ought to be a steering wheel every morning in a quiet time, every night before you go to bed. So think about that. Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?

So, what do we learn from David? You know, I think I'll talk about this in Psalm 32 in a few weeks, but too often we mention David, we think of two things, right? David and Goliath, or David and Bathsheba, right? And because we're a cancel culture, we canceled David. Hey, adultery, murder, I don't want to deal with him. I'll talk more about that when we talk about Psalm 32. But David's nine inquiries show that he was a man of prayer, always intent to know the will of God and make his prayer line up with God's will. This is the main reason he was called a man after God's own heart. And it says, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will. That's what David did.

But for us, there's another verse. Psalms 48:14 says, That this is God, our God, forever and ever. He will guide us forever. So we've looked at given by God and guided by God.

Now let's look at subpoint number three, guarded by God, verse eight. He says, I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. David says, God is at his right hand here in verse 8, and he's also going to say it in verse 11. This is the first time in Psalms that we have this two-word right hand. Okay? It's actually used 40 times in Psalms. You'll see it in many Psalms. So when you go through the Psalms and read them, look for this phrase, right hand. It's a position of honor. It also means that God is near. He's at my right hand. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that is exactly where Jesus is sitting right now, at the right hand of God. It symbolizes power. It symbolizes stability. David had stability in his life despite the troubles he faced. This might be the key verse of this Psalm and the application for us tonight.

I don't know where you were on 9-11. I was in India, so I didn't know anything about it on 9-11. But on 9-12, I'm making my American breakfast. I would go over to the pastor's house for lunch or dinner. But somebody came running up and they said, Come, come, you need to come to the pastor's house. So I ran down two blocks and I walked in and they handed me the newspaper and it said Pearl Harbor 2. So that was 9-12. And I'm looking at the picture of, you know, the towers smoking. And, you know, just in a state of shock. We didn't have good internet, and we didn't have all the social media we have now, and we didn't have cable. So I'm looking at a newspaper from India telling me of 9-11. So I'm kind of in the state of shock, but I remembered a verse, Psalm 16:8, that says, I have set the Lord always before me, because he's at my right hand. I shall not be shaken. Now, 9-11 was horrible, but I'm not going to be shaken. God's still in charge. So, no matter what tragedy you have, no matter what trial you have, no matter what difficult circumstance you have, memorize Psalm 16:8. Say it over again: because I have set the Lord always before me, because he's at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

So David was given by God. He was guided by God and guarded by God, and number four, gladdened by God. Verse 9 says, Therefore, my heart is glad. My whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells secure. You see the my, my, my three times in that verse. Verse 9 here, when he says, my heart, my whole being, my flesh, he's talking about his entire body, soul, spirit being glad. Why is David's heart glad? Why can he rejoice, and why is his flesh secure? Well, he's found the secret to joy. It's a secret that we need to know. This joy is not happiness. Happiness is temporary because happiness is often based on circumstances in our life. We're not happy because we don't have a job. We're not happy because we don't have money. We're not happy because of problems and things.

But joy is everlasting because it's based on the presence of God within us. You know, Philippians is a very interesting book in the New Testament. Paul wrote that book when he's in prison, right? Prison is not a place to write about joy, right? You wouldn't think it would be, but Paul had joy. And when you read through the book of Philippians, for example, Philippians 4:4 says, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, Rejoice. There's 104 verses in Philippians. And you see the word joy, rejoice, or glad 15 times. Yet he's in a prison cell writing these 104 verses. Because Paul, no matter where he was, even in prison, had joy. That's why when he got beat with Silas and the Philippian jailer put him in stocks, they're singing songs at night. I wonder if I could do that. But he had joy. So when you look within yourself, do you feel God's presence? David was given by God, he was guided by God, guarded by God and gladdened by God.

But the best is yet to come. Point number four: looking beyond. Verses 10 to 11. This psalm is going to end with three beautiful promises from God that David and we today can look beyond and enjoy forever. These may be some of the most beautiful verses in the entire book of Psalms, or even the Bible for that matter, because it talks about the consequences of when a man or a woman commits themselves into the hands of God. Here, the psalmist is going to take a giant leap into the unknown, into an area that is almost beyond reasoning. That's why it's called the Messianic Psalm. And only because we have revelation from the New Testament can we understand it. So I have three points here, three P's: path, plenty, and pleasures.

So let's talk about path, the path of life. David says in verse 10 to the first part of 11, For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor let your holy one see corruption. You have made known to me the path of life. God made known to David the path of life. You know, in David's time, and you might not think of the Old Testament they understood about the afterlife, but just Psalms 133:3 says, That it's like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. The Jews believed in an afterlife, and they believed that they would go to Sheol. Hades in the New Testament, and this is the unseen world of departed spirits. It's not the grave, it's where the spirits would go.

Then David says, You're not going to let my body see, your holy one see corruption. So, first off, he's talking about himself. Because you know, the body, when it's in the grave, is going to dissolve. Most individuals today and most non-believers, when they think about death, they just think that's the end. They think I'm going to die, that's the end. I don't care what happens. They don't think about it. Not David. David had confidence that he would not be left in Sheol or Hades, the realm of the dead. Death posed no threat to David because he enjoyed great blessings and fellowship with the Lord. God would not permit death and the grave to interrupt that marvelous fellowship.

So for us today, this verse takes on a greater meaning because we have the New Testament. And believers today, we have the full doctrine of the resurrection, and we know that when we die, death will not destroy that fellowship we have with God. 2 Corinthians 5:8. The King James Version says, absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Philippians 1:23, Paul says, I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. He was struggling. He wanted to die and go and be with God because he knew the instant he died, he would be with Christ in heaven.

So, the second half part of this verse, nor let your holy one, I will not let your holy one see corruption. Okay, this could only be fulfilled by the Messiah. That's why we call it a messianic psalm. So turn with me to Acts chapter 2, and we'll look at what Peter says in Acts 2. This is one of the most important sermons ever preached on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2, you'll see how and why Peter will quote Psalm 16 and why we understand what David was saying.

In Acts 2, maybe let me start about, I'll start in verse 22. Acts 2:22. He says, Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know, this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. So he says, You crucified him. But God raised him from the dead.

And then in verse 25, For David says concerning him, he now will quote, he's not going to quote the Hebrew Bible, but he's going to quote the Greek translation of the Septuagint. He's going to quote Psalm 16, verses 8 to 11. I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore, my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover, my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades. Notice he says Hades there, Old Testament Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.

And then he says, 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 is in that tomb, is what he's saying. Being therefore a prophet, he's calling David a prophet. David prophesied. And David prophesied, knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne. He foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

So, you see what David's saying? David was prophesying that the Messiah would die, but the Messiah would be resurrected from the dead. And you know what happened at the end of this sermon? 3,000 people would come to the Lord, and the New Testament church was born.

Now, I won't turn there today, but in Acts 13. Paul is preaching. It's actually the first message by Paul, and Paul is going to preach a 26-verse message. And he quotes again, Psalms, this time he's just going to quote Psalm 16, verse 10. And he says, You will not let your holy one see corruption. And so you can turn there when you want to, Acts 13:35. And he says, David died, David's body saw corruption, but Jesus died and rose from the dead. And everybody who believes that has the forgiveness of sins. That's what Paul said in Acts 13 in his first message.

So both Paul and Peter use Psalm 16 using the same logic that David could not be talking about himself because he died and his body saw corruption in the grave. But Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead before his body saw corruption. David was a prophet speaking for Jesus. Psalm 16 is one of the most important Old Testament chapters used by the apostles to teach the resurrection of Jesus.

Now, moving on, he says, You have made known to me the path of life. Here's another sentence in this Psalm 16 that's so beautiful. You have made known to me the path of life. Jesus said in John 14:6, I am the way. The way is a path, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus showed us the way. He showed us the path. He chose us. He gave us eternal life. The book of Proverbs, Lance is teaching the children on Sunday, has many, many verses about the path of the wicked and the path of the righteous. So I'll just give you a couple. Proverbs 2:20 says, So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. Lance mentioned that Proverbs is a book written to children, and it's instructing them to stay on the righteous path. We mentioned Psalms 1. There's a path for the righteous. There's a path for the wicked. Choose this day whom you're going to follow. You know, Joshua said, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Proverbs 3:6 says, In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 4:18 says, But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. Proverbs 12:28, this is a wonderful verse. In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death. Oh, you may have physical death, but you'll be with Jesus forever, not spiritual death. Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, we know all believers in Jesus Christ will rise from the dead also, because Jesus showed us the path of life leading to eternal life.

So he talked about the path of life. Number two, in verse 11, let's talk about plenty, plenty of joy. Plenty of joy. He says, In your presence there is fullness of joy. David was able to see the truth of the resurrection. Peter and Paul would preach about it. David knew he would live beyond the grave because of what the Holy Spirit would do when he would die for our sins and rise again. David had joy over this. And when he meditated upon it, he would write this great psalm. David knew he would have joy on earth. Psalms 126:3 says, The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad. We're filled with joy. I inserted glad. We are filled with joy.

And 1 Peter 1:8 and 9, I think Lance quoted this Sunday or the Sunday before. We quote it quite often. It's a wonderful verse. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. If you have Jesus Christ in your heart tonight, you don't need to see Jesus. I don't need to see visions. I have the Word of God, but it fills me with joy knowing someday I'll see Him. So we have joy on earth, and we're also going to have joy in heaven.

Now we may have trials. We'll have tribulations, but there's going to be total fullness of joy forevermore when we get to heaven. I'm running out of time, so I won't read Revelation 21, but you know Revelation 21 and 22 is all about heaven, and it says in Revelation 21, verses 1 to 4, that there will be death no more. There's not going to be death. There's not going to be any mourning. There's not going to be any crying. There's not going to be any pain. There's not going to be Alzheimer's. There's not going to be cancer, there's not going to be Rett Syndrome. It's going to be a perfect place.

So we looked at the path of life and we looked at plenty of joy. And lastly, number three, pleasures forevermore. The last sentence. Another wonderful line says, At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. This is the ultimate prospect of the child of God. And I think Lance talked about this when we were in Hebrews 8, about the right hand of God. But where is Jesus now? At God's right hand. Where are we going to be? At God's right hand. Where is there fullness of joy? At God's right hand. Where are there pleasures forevermore? At God's right hand. There'll be many pleasures there, just a few of them: eternal life. You're going to have a home in heaven. You're going to have a citizenship. You're going to have rewards that you'll cast at Jesus' feet. And you're going to worship. There's not going to be any more Bible study on Wednesday night. There's not going to be any more evangelism, door-to-door, and short-term mission trips. There's not going to be any choir practice. And thankfully, there'll be no more elder meetings. We'll just worship day and night when we get to heaven. Pleasures forevermore.

I mentioned two weeks ago this beautiful verse from Psalm 16:11 is the verse that my sister Ruth chose to put on her gravestone. She knew she was going to lose her battle with cancer. She fought it for ten years, and she knew the path of life was difficult and had many unknowns, but she also knew that the path of life led to the heights of heaven. She planned her entire funeral out from who would sing, who would speak, who would do everything, to ultimately what she wanted on her grave. And she wanted Psalm 16:11 on her grave. She's home with Jesus now, as are all of our loved ones who know Jesus Christ, who received and believed in Jesus Christ.

David said, You make known to me the path of life. We know the right path. The Bible tells us we have the Bible to stay on that path. He says, in your presence, there is fullness of joy. Joy here on earth, and ultimately, joy in heaven, right? And he says, At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. There's going to be joy eternally in heaven. Are you absolutely sure you're going to heaven? If there's any doubt tonight, please see me after this.

I saw a picture, two pictures this week that illustrates the word forevermore. I think I saw it on Twitter, and somebody had posted it, and they had like, and there's a picture of a thumb. Somebody had stuck their thumb like at the beach, and when they pulled the thumb up, there were a bunch of grains of sand on it. And the picture was titled This Life. The grains of sand represent, I guess, a year for each grain of sand. The second picture below it was a picture of a desert. And there were billions and billions and billions of grains of sand. And that picture said, eternal life. Think about that. Just 60, 70, 80 years, if God grants us. But in heaven, forever and evermore. I thought that picture of the desert was wonderful.

So David looked above, David looked around, David looked within, and David looked beyond. I hope you'll do that with this Psalm. It's a beautiful personal psalm that teaches us a lot. Next week, we're going to sing some psalms, and then we'll look at psalm number 20.