I invite you to turn in your Bibles tonight to the book of Psalms, Psalm 16, we will consider tonight. If you're using the Pew Bible, I believe that is found on page 535, if I'm correct, Psalm 16, a mictum 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 lions 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've 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 or 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 forever more everybody wants to be happy everybody wants to experience joy and satisfaction. C.S. Lewis has this well-known quote about joy and satisfaction. He says, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us. Like ignorant children who want to go on making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea, we are far too easily pleased. This psalm is a psalm about joy. It's a psalm about pleasure, about satisfaction and happiness. But like much in life, there's a way to this joy, happiness, satisfaction. Now, if you were to Google how to be happy, which I recently did, you'll come across all kinds of steps to joy and happiness. And those steps will have something to do with you looking inside of yourself and finding joy in yourself some way, somehow. That's not what this psalm is about. This psalm gives us steps to joy, certainly, but these steps are about us looking outside of ourselves, looking away from ourselves and looking to our Lord, our God, our Savior. This psalm presents us with four steps to joy and ultimate satisfaction. First, acknowledge dependence. Acknowledge dependence. Second, acknowledge provisions. Acknowledge provisions. Third, acknowledge devotion. Acknowledge devotion. And finally, acknowledged satisfaction. David is the author of this psalm. The text says it's a mictum of David, a psalm of David. Now, right away, this tells us something, you see. This psalm, although it's about joy and satisfaction, this psalm isn't about some kind of happy, clappy joy and satisfaction. Like all the psalms, this psalm is realistic. It's realistic. Consider David for a moment. Consider the life of David. We know a bit about David, don't we? Although David was a great man of God, he was described as a man after God's own heart. He was the king of God's people. He was a great statesman and acknowledged warrior and leader. Although all of that, David's life was littered with difficulty, wasn't it? David wasn't born into royalty. David was chosen by God, picked by God to serve as king. Now, however, that might sound nice to some of our children to be picked to be royalty. For David at that time, that was a huge challenge for him because there was already a king, wasn't there? Saul was already king, but God had picked David over Saul. But what this meant for David's life is that David would be pursued by Saul for the rest of Saul's life. Not because of any fault of David, simply because the Lord picked him to be his vessel. And this meant that for a time, David would have to flee. He'd flee and live in the wilderness, which was more like a desert. I know a number of the men came back from a desert retreat this past week, but David's time in the desert wasn't like a campout. David was fleeing for his life. He lived in caves. He lived as an exile from his own people, away from his own family. Even for a time, dwelled among God's enemies with the Philistines. All in an attempt to escape Saul. And then sadly, he had to repeat much of that when his son Absalom tried to take the throne from David by force. So David knows what it means to face difficulty. He knows what it means to face trials. Trials and difficulty were not unfamiliar to him. Now, we're not told the exact circumstance of this psalm, but we see based on what David says here in verse 1, David is again facing some kind of difficulty. The psalm begins with a prayer in verse 1. Keep me safe. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. David is crying for help. He's crying for help. This is a prayer. The word preserve can also be translated as keep, protect, guard me. David's in some kind of trouble. And where does he turn? He turns to his Lord. He turns to his God. For it is in you that I take refuge, David says. See, this is acknowledged dependence, isn't it? This is David acknowledging his dependence upon the Lord. When one finds themselves in difficulty, when one finds themselves in trial, in temptation, where do they turn? There are a number of places and things that one might turn to. David here turns squarely to the Lord his God. And in doing that, he's really living out what he will later say in Psalm 20. Some trust in chariots, others in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. What a beautiful declaration that is. declaration of dependence it's exactly where david is even the face of trial suffering difficulty whatever it is that david faces here he confesses his dependence upon the lord and this really shows us the first step here towards joy now the fact that the context of this psalm isn't shared here i think kind of helps us today right it helps us to more easily apply this psalm to ourselves Not knowing the difficulty that David faced here helps us to easily sympathize with him. We all face trials of various types. Difficulties, temptations, trials. Jesus said in John 16, in this world you will have trouble. Christians will face trouble, difficulty in this life. Christians will be tempted by sin. sadly that's the the mark of the day and age that we live in right a dark dying sinful world and death is really the ever-present reminder of this fact and if the lord tarries each and every one of us will have to face death one day but here's the thing death and difficulty in life those don't have to rob us of the joy that we can have in the lord gem girls my daughter is a gems girl and i know that you guys are memorizing nehemiah 8 10 and that passage ends by saying that the joy of the lord is our strength what a beautiful passage the joy of the lord is our strength again death difficulty doesn't have to rob us of our joy if our joy isn't determined by our circumstances see even in the face of great difficulty even death itself trust in the lord our god can lift us up out of despair restore to us that joy and that strength that we have in the Lord now we're all familiar with Jesus's words in John 16 in this world you will have trouble but do you remember what comes before and after he says I tell you these things so that in me you may have peace in this world you will have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world our hearts our peace our joy need not depend upon the circumstances of life or even death if our hearts our peace our joy are dependent upon the lord our god he's overcome this world he's overcome our circumstances and through jesus christ he has even overcome yes death itself you see what makes christians unique in this world is this very point we can have joy in the midst of difficulty. Everyone and anyone can have joy when things are going well, can't they? The world knows how to be joyful people when things are going well. But it's unique to Christians that even when things don't go well, because of our dependence upon the Lord, we can still have joy. And so we can now, with David, acknowledge our dependence upon him. and with that acknowledgement be encouraged and moved further towards joy and we see this happening in this psalm in verse 2 after david has taken his eyes off of his circumstances off of himself and now looks to the lord notice how this affects him verse 2 i say to the lord you are my lord i have no good apart from you notice davis here david here uses two forms of word Lord. The first form in verse 2 is in all capitals, right? And we know whenever we see this form of the Lord in all capitals, that stands for the covenant name of God, Yahweh. This is the ultimate name that God has given to his people. This is the covenant name of God. It reminds God's people that he is the promise-keeping God. This is a name that reminds David of who his lord is what his lord has done for him what his lord will fulfill all of his promises for david and so david says yes lord you are my lord and he again acknowledges his dependence here upon his great covenant faithful god who's good worthy of trust worthy of all of his affections even in the face of whatever it is that david is facing then notice else what david says i have no good apart from you i have no good apart from you wow that can only come from a heart that has really wrestled with who god is to them to be able to say i have no good apart from you it is god himself that David is captivated by. It's the Lord himself that David is now fixed upon. Imagine how this must have shaped David's perspective. Imagine how this must have shaped the difficult circumstances that David was facing. Those circumstances themselves cannot take away what David delights in. Because he delights in the Lord above all things. No good but you, Lord. And nothing can change for David who God is to him and what the Lord has done for him and nothing can separate him from the love of God, right? And that's true for us tonight as well, right? That's true for everyone who is trusting in Jesus Christ by faith. When our circumstances are dark, when they're difficult, when we still have the Lord and it's when we set our eyes upon Him that everything else falls into perspective. nothing can separate us from him nothing can separate us from his love he's the god who keeps his promises he's the god who keeps us and through the life and death of his son jesus christ he's proved that to us hasn't he he will not allow anything to separate us from him from his love he's dealt with the single greatest thing that could ever separate us from him our sin he's dealt with that in christ and so the fact of the matter is the truth is we have no good apart from him now in verses three and four we see that not only does david acknowledge dependence shape his view of his circumstances but it shapes his view of people as well this is always true isn't it that when we have a proper perspective of god we tend to have a proper perspective of people as well. See, when we're overcome with despair because of difficulty in life, what does that tend to do to our perspective of others? We're much more inclined to think the way David thought in Psalm 73. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Difficulty can contempt us to be envious of those who are not going through what it is that we are going through. That's not where David is here, is it? He begins with fellow believers in verse 3. He says, as for the saints in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. Delighting in God means delighting in his people as well. The saints are those who like david look to the lord in dependence they too are trusting in the lord they too are dependent to for him for all things they too know the goodness of god the faithfulness of god that's why in our afflictions we find comfort in the companionship of fellow brothers and sisters in christ right people who are like-minded like us dependent upon him however different our circumstances may be, we are all dependent upon our faithful God. And therefore, we find delight in our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we do so much that we want to share in each other's burdens, don't we? When we come across a burdened Christian, we want to share in their burdens. Our desire is to help them, to encourage them, to pray for them, to direct them to Christ, to their God who they can depend upon. See, saints are not people to be envious of. We're not to be jealous of each other even though our circumstances are different. We're not to be at odds with each other because we're facing different trials and difficulty. Now, when it comes to those outside of the church, they too are not people that we should be jealous of or envious of. Instead, David here points out in verse 4 the sorrows of those who run after other gods will multiply. You see, as I said, in the midst of difficulty, people turn to all kinds of different things to comfort them. People run after so-called gods, as David describes them here, to comfort them. Just think about the things that people turn to today. Drugs, drink, worldly pleasures, worldly possessions, all of which can only bring a fleeting relief, comfort, joy. None of them can give us a genuine, a true, lasting joy. And so David rightly sees the sadness of those who search after such things, their sorrow will only multiply. One of my professors in college used to say, he wasn't a Christian, but he would say, when Americans get depressed, they go shopping. I thought that was so insightful and true. When Americans get depressed, they go shopping. But since shopping will never be enough to comfort Americans, then they become shopaholics, don't they? which leads to unsustainable debt, which leads to more depression, and the cycle viciously continues. Sadly, the sorrows of those who run after other gods only multiply and multiply. While we see David steps to joy here, not only in his acknowledged dependence, but also through the acknowledged provisions of the Lord. David's acknowledgement changes his perspective on his difficulties doesn't it it doesn't change the difficulties themselves in this life we will face various trials various difficulties god doesn't promise to keep us from those difficulties but he promises to be with us he promises himself david comes to see this here in this text And insofar as he does, he takes another step towards joy. David's perspective is changed even more when he acknowledges what he has, his lot, his place, the provisions of the Lord for him. He says in verse 5, The Lord is my chosen portion, my cup. You hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. The language of verses 5 and 6 really come from the allotment of the promised land, where portions of the land and inheritances were distributed to the various tribes of Israel. And in doing that, David is acknowledging God's provisions for him. Now, it could be one of the most difficult things for us to do, but we must all, at some point in our lives, we must accept God's sovereign providences and provisions for us because they come from him. see because they come from him we not only can accept them but we can trust him in and with them and that's why god's sovereignty is so important for us isn't it arminian friends may not be theologically calvinistic but when it comes to suffering in life everyone becomes a functional calvinist god's providential care brings us unspeakable comfort in the midst of difficulty. Because we know that our good Lord is still in control. And because of that, as I've said before, there can be meaning in our suffering. He's working through our suffering. He's doing something even with our suffering. Joni Erickson taught a who faced being paralyzed from the neck down after a diving accident. She says in her book, Providence and pain. Evil is not uncontrolled. Because God reigns over all, nothing happens outside of God's control and plan. Even if we can't grasp at this side of eternity, our sufferings have a place in God's plan. Because even our sufferings fit into God's plan, we don't suffer in vain. Our sufferings have meaning because God uses them for his purposes. That goes right along with what Heidelberg catechism says when asking about god's providence and what we understand of it it answers we can be patient when things go against us thankful when things go wow and for what is future have good confidence in our faithful god and father that nothing will separate us from his love we can be patient in affliction we can be thankful in prosperity and for what is future have good confidence in our God. And even more than that, God promises to be with us in our suffering, doesn't he? David comes to see this truth more profoundly through the single greatest thing God has given to David himself. He's given David himself. The Lord says, or David says, the Lord is my portion, my chosen portion and my cup. You see, it's not only that God assigns our portion in life but david is saying here god himself is our portion god has given himself to us the lord is my chosen portion now today we know this clearly don't we we know this most clearly in jesus christ our lord our god our emmanuel god with us god gave himself to us in jesus christ coming to this earth, living for us, dying for us. In Christ, God bound Himself to us by the suffering, life, and death of Christ. Talk about providence. The single greatest or the single worst event in all of history was packed with meaning and significance where God was doing something marvelous for us. In the single worst event in history, God was saving, redeeming, reconciling us to himself. See, this is why Paul can say in Romans 8, God works all things for our good. It's not a cliche, that's a truth. It's a Christian truth, it's a foundational truth of Christianity. It's profound. That's why David now says, the Lord is my chosen portion. my cup, the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. I have a beautiful inheritance. David is acknowledging what the Lord has granted to him providentially is exactly what he needs, exactly what he now desires, the Lord himself. Can we say this? Can we say this tonight along with david can we say the lord is our chosen portion are we satisfied with his providential care with he him himself because he's given himself to us have the lines fallen for us in pleasant places that statement is absolutely beyond a shadow of a doubt for those who are in christ the lines have fallen for us in pleasant places we indeed have what a beautiful beautiful inheritance the lord the lord has given himself to us yes we still need things in this life yes we still desire things in this life but right now right now we have the single greatest thing that we could ever need or want the lord shouldn't that put everything into perspective for us. Again, we see David is now finding his delight and joy, not in his circumstances, not in the things that he may or may not face, not in the things that he may or may not have. He's finding his delight, his joy in the Lord. David, having acknowledged his dependence and God's provisions, turns next to respond with acknowledged devotion to the Lord. Verse 7, I will praise 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. Here we see David's acknowledged devotion. Verse 7 begins with praise. I will praise the Lord. How is it that David has gone from preserve me, Lord, save me, protect me, keep me, help me, to now praise the Lord. praise the lord because he's acknowledged his dependence he's acknowledged god's good provisions and now he's acknowledging his devotion and praise to the lord and that too is a step a step towards joy i bless the lord david is worshiping isn't he he's worshiping the lord his god he's devoting himself fully to the lord and we know that when we worship the lord we can't help but be overflowing with thanksgiving, right? Yes, with joy. So David is right here. He's moved closer and closer to being fully satisfied with God himself. What joyful progress he's made in trusting the Lord so that in any circumstance, whatever it is that David faces, he's bursting forth with praise delight isn't that what paul alludes to in philippians 4 rejoice in the lord always again i say rejoice let your reasonableness be known to everyone the lord is at hand notice one's perspective hinges upon the lord the lord is at hand paul says and then he goes on do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to god there's the devotion set yourself apart to lord and what happens what's the result and the peace of god which surpasses understanding will guard your hearts and your mind in christ jesus that's where david is blesses the lord blesses the lord he says who gives him counsel who gives him counsel through these steps to joy David is realizing something. The Lord has been with him all along. He's been counseling David. That's what he says here. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel. In the night also my heart instructs me. Now just a note on the text here. When David says that in the night also my heart instructs me, he's in no way saying that he's looking inside of himself for instruction. Our Our hearts cannot instruct us in the ways of the Lord on their own. It's not what David is saying. What we're going to see here is really, this is Hebrew parallelism. David is using parallelism where two statements are made and should be understood each in light of the other. It's the Lord who gives him counsel, David first says. And so much so that David's heart is shaped and fashioned in such a way that even at night his heart counsels him instructs him it's as if like what i said when david says i the i only have the only good i have is you lord imagine the heart that can say that see the holy spirit takes the words of scripture impresses those upon our hearts so that even at night our hearts begin to instruct us inform us jesus describes something like this in john 14 when he's speaking of the ministry of the holy spirit he says the holy spirit whom the father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that i have said to you the holy spirit takes the words of jesus impresses those upon the heart of jesus's followers you see we're not mystics we don't look into our own hearts to simply instruct us the holy spirit works in conjunction with the word applying god's word to our hearts so much so that he can bring to memory the words of scripture david describes that as instructing shaping us then even at night our thoughts were counseled by them by god really david realizes this truth and so david here shows that he's a man devoted to the lord he's devoted in in praise he's devoted and and seeking out god's word david's a man who devoted himself to the lord and in that devotion he satisfies, I'm sorry, he saturates himself with God's Word. Friends, we all need the counsel of God, right? We need the wisdom of the Lord, the instruction of the Lord, which comes to us through God's Word. And we especially need all of that in the midst of difficulty, trial, temptation. How are we going to see straight? How are we going to expect to see clearly when our lives are turned upside down by those trials, by those difficulties? We'll only see straight if we've already focused ourselves upon God's Word. It's interesting, David says, in the night also his heart instructs him. I know personally when our lives are given to suffering and trials and temptations, It's those things that tend to haunt us at night, aren't they? When we lay our heads down on our pillows, what goes through our minds in those moments? Discouragement, despair, depression, thoughts of how could this have happened, thoughts of what will we do, how will we be able to deal with this situation? At those moments, we're like David back at verse 1, aren't we? Preserve me. oh lord keep me guard me but where we go from there determines whether we will have peace and joy in the lord or not david says at those moments his heart which has been shaped by god's word instructs him again the idea here is that david's heart has been so shaped by god's counsel that at those moments of doubt and discouragement when those things can creep in there's god's counsel, instructing him, shaping him, strengthening him. Listen to what Charles Spurgeon says about this. He says, we have a saying among ourselves, the pillow is the best counselor. And there's much truth in the saying, especially if we have first committed ourselves in prayer to God and taken a prayerful spirit with us to our bed. In the quiet of our silent hours, undisturbed by the passions, unharassed by the conflicts of the world, we can commune with our own heart and be instructed and guarded as to our future course. So here's David, not with his head on a pillow because he's in the wilderness, with his head upon a rock, nevertheless meditating upon the word of God, and so much so that his heart is even counseling him, a heart that is shaped and fashioned by God's word. Remember, it was David who will go on to say, your word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. It was David who says here in verse 8, I have set the Lord always before me because he's at my right hand. I will not be shaken. Again, David's ability to stand firm, to not cower in fear is because he has set himself apart to the Lord, to the words of the lord and in doing that he's strengthened so the question before us tonight is are we doing this are we setting ourselves apart to the lord are we devoting ourselves to the lord are we getting into his word and allowing his word to get into us so that when difficulty comes and again it will come remember jesus's words you will have trouble in this life knowing his word will be the difference between us having peace and joy in those moments there's comfort there's peace and joy in god's word but we must devote ourselves to him and his word now when we put this all together when david after acknowledging his dependence upon the lord acknowledging the provisions of the lord and acknowledging his devotion to the lord what comes next but satisfaction satisfaction at this point in the psalm david has reached the ultimate joy satisfaction in the lord that's where david arrives in verse 9 after stating everything that he says in this psalm he comes to a therefore therefore meaning all of this amounts to his heart is glad his tongue rejoices even his body or flesh dwells secure. Here again, more parallelism. David isn't simply saying that his heart is glad, his tongue is glad, his body is glad. No, he's saying all of himself, the complete being of who he is, is satisfied. Every part, every aspect, his whole person rejoices, is secured. His entire being has been raised up not out of difficulty but even in the midst of it although this affects his entire being that doesn't mean that this is some kind of esoteric mystical joy or satisfaction it even affects him physically he says here his body dwells secure just as discouragement and despair can wreak havoc upon our physical bodies so joy and satisfaction can reinvigorate us physically can encourage us now this satisfaction that david speaks is this this overwhelming sense of joy in the lord he says applies to him in two ways here david first speaks of how this joy and satisfaction applies to him in death verse 10 for you will not abandon me to the grave nor will you let your holy one see decay remember verse one david praying for preservation with verse one in mind maybe maybe david is facing death here that's maybe what he's facing and so he says even before death itself i'm strong i'm encouraged this brings to mind psalm 23 doesn't it even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. And why? You are with me. Your rod, your staff, they what? They remove that death? They remove my difficulty in trial? No, they comfort me. Because even before death, God will not abandon us, his people. He will not abandon us? What would God abandoning us look like? It would literally be hell, wrote in it. It wouldn't amount to the saints seeing decay, corruption, death. Now we know David here is speaking by the Holy Spirit, referring to more than just himself or the saints here, don't we? This text points us to Christ, doesn't it? In Acts 2, when Peter is preaching, he says this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men God raised him up loosening the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it for David says concerning him and then Peter quotes this verse God the father didn't abandon Jesus to the grave and he will not abandon those who are in christ whether david you me god promised this hundreds of years ago before christ that he was faithful to his promise he raised christ from the dead he will be faithful to all of his promises to us as well now david's joy and satisfaction doesn't only apply to the hope of the resurrected life after death with his joy and satisfaction applies to present life as well verse 11 you make known to me the path of life you will fill me with fullness of joy in your presence with eternal pleasures at your right hand david has arrived hasn't he he's arrived at satisfaction and joy the greatest pleasure in all of existence knowing god the lord himself the most profound thing that we can have is knowing the Lord our God. David says, you made known to me the path of life. You will fill me with joy, eternal pleasure at your right hand. What David is saying here is that God himself is David's pleasure. God himself is. God is the joy. God is the happiness. The pleasure that humanity seeks can only be satisfied with God himself. Friend, don't pursue happiness for the sake of happiness don't pursue joy for the sake of joy pursue the lord and find discover lasting true joy and happiness part of being a minister means that there are times when i have to be away from home but you know my favorite part of being away from home is coming back home and when i come back home what do I hear but the voices of my children dad is home and they can run over to me and they give me a hug and they delight in me don't they and in their delight of me I find myself delighting in them how much more should we delight in our heavenly father who is always with us we have him he's given himself to us may we not be a people as c.s lewis is quoted as saying a people who god finds our desires too weak may we find our satisfaction our joy our happiness in knowing Him through Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for a text like this. An encouraging text, Lord, in all situations. We pray and ask that You take the truths of this psalm and that You plant them deep inside of our hearts, Lord. Shape and fashion our hearts by them, as David says, so that, Father, at all moments of our lives, our hearts may instruct us. Lord, may we be a people in pursuit of You. May we be a people who delight in You. Father, You indeed have created us to delight in You, to glorify You. May we find delight in that, Lord, and you receive much glory in that. We thank You for Christ. We thank You that You didn't abandon Christ to the grave, Lord, And that for those of us in Him, we can have that sure confidence, that certainty, You will not abandon us either. Lord, we have a beautiful inheritance. The lions have indeed fallen for us in pleasant places. We have all eternity to spend with You. We thank You and pray this in Christ's name. Amen.