Transcript

Joy Resurrected From Despair

Psalm 16:1-11
April 20, 2014 • Resurrection Sunday
Pastor Randy Smith

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It doesn't take much nowadays. Just turn on the news and listen to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Could this be the start of World War III? Iran's nuclear program continues to grow. What if they enrich enough uranium and develop a long range missile? Genocide in Africa, Al Qaeda reorganized, tragedy off the coast of South Korea and a Malaysian jet airliner containing 239 people is still lost. On the home front: frequent natural disasters are claiming lives and property. Is the next super storm just around the corner? Religious freedoms that made our country great seem to be eroding by the second. A federal standoff with firearms in Nevada and a recent poll suggested at 60% of Americans can't trust their President. In the home itself: interpersonal conflicts, difficulty paying the bills, failing retirement plans, a winter that never ends and the start of another allergy season.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure each of us could add to this list the things that can bring us down and rob us of our security, peace and happiness. Even to the most positive and optimistic thinker, the bad seems to outweigh the good. Just momentarily dwelling on this stuff, much less living each day in the midst of it, can drive anyone with a heart of concern into a spirit of despair and despondency.

Sadly, some never seem to overcome that spirit. Others seem to rise above it through a variety of means they have chosen to employ. What works for you? What enables you to get out of bed, put a smile on your face, provide energy to get through the day, maintain hope for a better tomorrow, live with a purpose, enjoy the life that you've received and sleep well when your head hits the pillow?

The author of Psalm 16 that we just read from Holy Scripture is David. David was Israel's greatest King that faced his share of successes and failures. On some occasions he must have been the most envied man on the planet. In others, he found himself facing the consequences of sin-filled choices or the pressures of leading a nation. He is definitely at one of those low points when he composed Psalm 16. Many believe he was looking at his own death square in the face. So we need to ask, what worked for him?

The answer is found in verse 1. "Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You."

So trouble hits. Where is the first and most trusting place you run? Where is your refuge? The complaining carousal? Mind numbing materials? A finite person with no capacity to alter your circumstances and truly understand your heart? When trouble hit for David, he ran immediately to God as he said in verse 1 for his "refuge," his place of shelter. He knew the name of the Lord is a strong tower and not just a flippant figure of speech to express excitement. He knew God was an ever-present help in time of need, not just to save him, but to be with him personally throughout eternity.

And because he found his refuge ultimately in God, verse 1, David does something remarkable throughout the remainder of this Psalm. The moment he felt safe in the arms of God, trusting in His wisdom and goodness and sovereignty, David never looks back, his heart was at peace and he spends the rest of his ink in Psalm 16 praising the very God he's trusting.

Last summer when Hailey and I were climbing Mount St. Helen's in Washington State, my heart dropped when I started drawing air bubbles from my hydration pack. We were only three-quarters of the way up, and the sun was bearing down on us as we stood exposed with no shelter in the lava ash. Hailey was down to only a bottle herself. Should we continue to the summit? Can we even make it safely back down to the base if we turn around here? We pressed on (maybe not the wisest decision) and returned to the car partly dehydrated. But when we got back, it was all the liquids we could consume. We went from a position of danger to immediate refuge. When we found our refuge, nothing on the old volcano mattered anymore.

For David, it was the same the moment he found his refuge in God. The fear and anxiety and bitterness and grumbling and despair that often sinfully accompany difficult situations and reveal a lack of faith, were replaced with an inner tranquility when he placed himself in the strong hands of his God. The other things just didn't matter as much anymore.

His thinking immediately changed and his heart overflowed with praise in verses 2-11. His praise was the evidence of his faith. His faith connected him to the God that showered him with hope, knowing that God always works things together for the good of His people.

So the progression is simple: Times of trouble leading David to God for his refuge. Then God as his refuge resulted not in sin toward God, but rather praise to God.

So let's spend the rest of our time looking at the ways David praised God in the midst of a difficult situation even when the circumstances of the troubling situation had yet to change. Praise for God is the evidence that a person has found his shelter in God and not the uncertain and unstable refuges surrounding him that promise relief but never deliver.

First, David expressed his commitment to God. Look at verse 2, "I said to the LORD, 'You are my Lord; I have no good besides You.'"

When we read the Bible we can't deny that David had some good stuff, cool toys in his closet. But when he viewed his treasures in light of God's greatness, his treasures paled in comparison. You see, David did not have God tacked on as one of many good things he enjoyed. If that were the case, time with God would be shared among his other gods. The true God did not have first place among everything . The true God had first place in everything. In David's mind, all of his good things came from God who is the source and fountain of all goodness. Therefore the good stuff was not a means to draw his heart away from God, but rather the good stuff was a means that he might greater praise God for the good God that He is. What incredible praise! David revealed his commitment to God by confessing he had no ultimate good besides God.

This is security in God, and it's seen with the two descriptions of God used in verse 2 that many people would find contradictory. In verse 2, David called God "good" and he also called Him "Lord." We know what "good" means. "Lord" means ruler or boss or sovereign. To David, God's goodness was not bound up in God being Santa Claus and giving him everything he wanted, but rather the trust that not he, but God was in ultimate control as Lord to determine what was actually good in David's life. It was absolute submission to God as Lord that resulted in absolute delight in God's sovereign goodness. So only as David submitted to God as his Lord did he discover the true goodness that his soul craved. The question is, can you say God is your ultimate good even when you don't get the stuff you think you need? You can only say that if you truly believe that He is your Lord.

A second element of David's trust in God was a correct view of other people.

Look at verse 3, "As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight."

When a heart is right with God vertically, it will always have a great affection for God's people horizontally. Evidence that you love the Lord will be seen in a love for that which He loves. And God loves nothing more than His people. So as they are precious in God's sight, the man after God's own heart found the Lord's people precious in his sight as well.

There is no doubt in my mind, after going on sixteen years in fulltime ministry, that those who love the Lord the most are the ones that often have the greatest affection for the local church, God's people. Like David, they delight to be around God's people, knowing oftentimes that God uses His people to encourage and assist and bear burdens when we go through these tough times. The church is a sanctuary from the evils of the world, a place that is the closest visible manifestation of the peace of heaven here on earth. We find God when we find ourselves in close fellowship with God's people.

On the other hand, David says in verse 4, "The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied; I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor will I take their names upon my lips." While David was thankful for those who loved God, he was wise concerning those who opposed God.

There is a fine line we walk as Christians. On the one hand we are called to love all people and treat all people with respect as those made in God's image. Yet on the other hand, we are called to stand for truth and not be pulled into the alluring evils of the world around us. When he was walking with the Lord, David had the grace to balance these priorities. He loved people, but in his love for people he never compromised his faith. Why would he ever trade his joy in the true God for what he called, verse 4, the multiplied sorrows of following false gods?

Third, David expresses his full confidence in the Lord. Look with me at verses 5 and 6. "The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me."

Did you know that a faith that can't be tested should not be trusted? David was not a young man at this point. He had walked with the Lord for years through the strains and difficulties and uncertainties and trials of life. You'd think if God didn't work, he would have found by now some other means for his security. I'm sure back then in David's time like now, there was a whole list of alternatives. Money, popularity, even people have proven to let you down. David had it all! That is why David learned through experience that God was his, words used in verses 5 and 6, "portion" and "inheritance" and "cup" and "lot" and "heritage." He could conclude by faith that the script that God composed for his life had "fallen to [him] in pleasant places," he says. There was no need to hunt after false gods. It was knowing that even though he might not like the circumstances, God had ordained them for his very best, and therefore he could have confidence in everything that came his way.

More security in God, verse 7, "I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; indeed, my mind instructs me in the night."

More security, verse 8, "I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

More security, verse 9, "Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely."

As some of you might have seen on my Facebook page my 5-year old son last week had a confrontation with a cactus. Let's just say he wasn't too interested with the Nike Missile Tour at Sandy Hook. If you've grown up in New Jersey, I'm sure you have experienced these noticeable prickly friends yourself. Flat green heads with brown spots, each spot containing hundreds of tiny needles. I'd like to say Shane first ran to God. He didn't. He ran to his favorite refuge, his mother. And through the tears, the first identifiable words out of his mouth: "Why weren't you watching over me, mom?"

As a young boy places his confidence in his mother, David placed his confidence in God. He set his God, verse 8, "continually before [him]." He knew therefore he would, verse 8, never be "shaken." It resulted for David, verse 9 in a "heart" that was "glad" and a "heart" that "rejoices."

How much joy? Skip down to the middle of verse 11. "In [God's] presence [there] is fullness of joy." Don't miss what's being said here in Holy Scripture. You have the opportunity not just for joy, but the fullness of joy. But the fullness of that joy is only found in God's presence. "In Your presence is fullness of joy."

You see, when we are plugged into God through Christ, God's joy just pulsates into our life. And when we experience the joy of the living God, we'll never want to return to the unsatisfying refuges that this world has to offer. It's like no longer wanting to fish for tadpoles in a stagnate pond once you've reeled in an 80 pound tuna. Or who wants fast food hamburgers once you've gotten your mouth around a tender filet mignon?

I suppose the question is, why we don't we run hard after God's joy when it's offered to us so freely? Do we have a foolish belief our false gods will bring us greater happiness? Possibly we have a perverted belief that God doesn't want us happy? I'd make the case that when you are like David here most satisfied in Him, that He as the true passion of your heart will be most glorified in you. Remember, David is praising God here. What glory is brought to God when His people find their greatest joy in Him! As C.S. Lewis once famously said, "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 an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

David continues in verse 11 saying, "In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." David had the confidence that all he expressed in this Psalm would not only be his lot now, but would extend into all of eternity, "pleasures forever." Why is that? Because David knew that when he began this relationship with God that he would forever be in God's presence. And while in God's presence, he would always enjoy pleasures now and "pleasures forever."

And that leads us to the heart of this message. How could David be confident that he would be in the joy of God forever? Because David knew where he was going after death, and immediately after death he would experience heaven and a closeness to God that he never experienced here on earth.

Look at verse 10. "For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay."

Sheol is the place of the deceased, the grave if you will. David faced all kinds of enemies during his life, but the greatest enemy for David is the greatest enemy each of us will face: death. Yet even when the curtain of his life closed, David knew that God would be with him and his soul would not rot in the grave, but be immediately transferred to God's presence. Like David said in that other famous Psalm of his: "Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (Psm. 23:6).

Christians celebrate in a very special way this morning the reason we can have a confidence even in death, a confidence that should exceed even that of David.

It's interesting that when the apostles were preaching in the early church, twice in the books of Acts, once by Peter in chapter 2 and then once by Paul in chapter 13, directly cited this verse of Psalm 16. They saw the Messianic implication that while David spoke of himself, it had a greater meaning as the Lord in this verse spoke of the Messiah to come.

Here is how Peter put it: "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of His descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses" (Ac. 2:29-32). And Paul: "Therefore He also says in another Psalm , 'you will not allow your Holy One to undergo decay.' For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; but He whom God raised did not undergo decay" (Ac. 13:35-37).

The point, while David spoke these verses of himself, we know his soul went to be with the Lord, but his body was still in the grave and in that sense did and was experiencing decay. Therefore there must be a greater fulfillment that pointed to David's descendent that would reign supreme on David's throne forever and never experience bodily decay in the grave.

It was Jesus Christ, God's "Holy One" as verse 10 declares. When He made atonement for sin, He was rejected by the Father . He cried for the Father just like we learned in Psalm 16 and was rejected as He was bearing and receiving the punishment for our sins. He died and he was buried in the grave. But in three days He rose. As the Psalm predicted, no time for decay. The Father brought back the Son to show His approval of the Son's work and grant that same blessing upon death to all who will trust Jesus Christ by faith.

It's not a message of works. Here is how former New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, put it: "I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I'm not stopping to be interviewed. I'm heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It's not even close." Sorry, Mr. Bloomberg, your answer is not even close to what the Scriptures teach.

The bottom line is: that we are all sinners. We can't get to God, and that is why Jesus had to die on our behalf. Only He put an end to sin and only He conquered death and sin and Satan by rising from the grave. Have you given Him your life? Are you a child of the living God? Can you claim the blessings we have learned in this Psalm?

Life is filled with trials. But with Jesus Christ we can have hope that God is with us and that because of Christ's work, God will hear us. We can have the confident assurance even greater than David that the sting of death is removed and we can dwell forever in His presence, starting now into eternity, resurrection life, where there is "fullness of joy" and "pleasures forevermore."