Free From the Lies: A Final Meditation on Psalm 16

     Unshackled from lies, full of freedom and joy –isn’t that where we all want to be?  There is such a burden lifted when we know that our entire lives are held safely in the hands of King Jesus, even when everything else seems overwhelming or insurmountable.  Only then can we truly rest in peace.  Towards the end of Psalm 16, King David expresses this condition in his response to the beautiful promise of God’s faithfulness and abounding love for his people.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.  ¹⁰For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.  ¹¹You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

     David rejoices!  Our flesh dwells secure with the King of all Creation!  He has gone through so much to get to this point – years of shepherding out in the fields, being brave for the name of the Lord in the face of Israel’s cowardice against Goliath, years on the run from Saul, and the list goes on.  David also struggled with his own grave sin, such as his adultery with Bathsheba.  He chose not to control his own passions, but gave in to temptation.  Yet he knew the redemption that was to come for him through King Jesus.  Can you see David with me - kneeling, hands upraised and thankful for the glorious redemption of the King which would come through his descendant Jesus?  In his song “I Will Wait”, Marcus Mumford describes well such a position of humility:

But I'll kneel down
Wait for now
I'll kneel down
Know my ground

Raise my hands
Paint my spirit gold
And bow my head
Keep my heart slow

Cause I will wait, I will wait for you

     In this position of surrender in his heart, David knows what Jesus has done for him.  Despite the mistakes and disappointments of his life, he would always be in the palm of God’s hand and would never be abandoned to an eternity away from him in hell.  The Lord would illumine his path as he walked through life.  At the end, he would rest from his labors on this earth and go to be with God.  The presence of the Lord, that deep indwelling of the Holy Spirit, was with David and would continue to be with him until he saw the face of our holy Lord himself.  There was much suffering in David’s life on earth, but pleasures and ultimate joy awaited him in heaven.

     As God’s child, I can claim these promises for myself.  We can and should rejoice in what Jesus has done for us!  He has seen us in our wretched estate, and has made us his holy ones!  He has picked me up from the dirt and filth of my lustful thoughts and my pride over my accomplishments.  He has become my portion and my cup, and I can rest in the peace of knowing that he will forever protect and guide me, no matter how I feel in the present moment.

     In conclusion, I’d like to mention some more of my personal experience with this psalm and acknowledge some of the people who have made it so precious to me.  As I said earlier, I discovered the beauty of this psalm on my own at first.  However, I went to a program through my church denomination in the summer of 2011, where this psalm became the theme psalm sung by the youth at the program.  Many times in this first year at college, I have been discouraged, wondering where God was in the midst of my campus and my struggles.  But one day, walking along to somewhere, I remembered singing Psalm 16 with these youth.  I remembered our last day together, and I saw my old friends Emory and Abby hugging each other as they cried over the bonds of friendship our group had formed and the beauty of this psalm.  I looked around and I saw people like Emily, Sidney, Jesse, Dani, Caleb, Hannah, Jonah, Ethan, Michaela, Jonathan, and all the rest of these youth who have caused me to remember that there are other students embracing God’s promises for themselves.  When I remembered our voices singing together, I was pushed on to persevere and remember that the Lord Himself is my portion.  He carries me through to this day in the midst of confusion and difficult work, causing me to rejoice in himself.  It is a perfect example of the saints cheering on those who persevere in Hebrews 12:1-2:

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

     The cry of my heart is that Christ would fix my eyes upon Him and the truth expressed in this beautiful Psalm, which has become my anthem and my song.  Mumford expresses this well again:

So tame my flesh
And fix my eyes
That tethered mind free from the lies

‘

     As you think about this Psalm, I hope that you will see the incomparable beauty and security of resting in the Lord and delighting that he is your portion and your cup.  May our minds be fixed upon Jesus, who loved you enough to endure the cross, knowing that he would rejoice in seeing us unshackled from Sheol and from corruption.

Guest Post by Elizabeth Magill 

My Portion and My Cup: A Meditation on Psalm 16:1-8

     The Lord speaks to people in different ways, and one of the ways he has spoken to me is when he will bring to mind a part of a verse that applies to a current struggle.  In the spring of 2011, God brought Psalm 16 to my attention in this way.  He has since used it as a promise and an anchor in learning to love him more than the expectations and dreams for my life, on which I tend to stubbornly insist.

     Psalm 16 is an incredibly powerful passage of Scripture that reflects the spiritual and physical struggles of King David.  He cries out for God to preserve his life and to help him find contentment in the lot which he is given.  He praises the Lord and speaks the simple, potent truth which we all need to hear – that there is absolutely nothing better and more secure than having the Lord Himself as our eternal portion in life.

¹Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge.  ²I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” (Psalm 16:1-2)

     David begins this psalm by crying out to the Lord to protect his life.  He had many challenges during his life, both from the circumstances of his life and the consequences of his sin.  There were times when he was fleeing from Saul who wanted to kill him, and the only hope he had for his physical safety was God’s protection.  Other times, his spiritual life was gravely in danger and he needed refuge from the lies and hatred of the devil.  In all these things, we can imagine King David kneeling down before the Lord, hands folded and praising him – “I truly have no good apart from you.”  As sinners, not one blessing comes to us apart from the great mercy of the Lord.  Let us rejoice in being his servants, for there is no greater place of peace.

³As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.  ⁴The 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 people of God have been saved by him and will ultimately be victorious in the end.  David delights in the community that they offer and longs to be a part of them.  He determines that he will stay within this community and will not run after another god.  Idolatry was rampant in Canaan and the lands around it.  For David, worshipping those other gods meant pouring out blood for them and repeating their names in worship or prayer.

     Personally for me, there is not a completely different religion with which I am struggling.  However, there are many idols which I have worshipped in my life by spending time, money, energy, and thoughts on them – figurative “drink offerings of blood.”  Throughout my life, I have desperately wanted to attend one of the most prestigious universities in the nation.  Being much younger than my siblings, I watched them go through college with success and I determined to get the best SAT scores and be smarter than all of them.  I was driven by this competition with my family members and fellow peers, causing me to work hard in high school and think that I could go to whatever school I wanted.  I applied to several schools with cutthroat acceptance rates, as well as a couple back-up schools.  I’ll never forget the night when I scrolled down a webpage at 12:15 am in the morning and found out that I was accepted to the school of my dreams, into the program of my dreams.  However, I’ll also never forget the day a couple weeks later when I scrolled down a webpage to find out that the financial aid I had been given would cause me an astronomical amount of debt.  It seemed unfair, because it was due to a unique financial situation in my family that I couldn’t control.  So many times I told my dad – “This is my big break!”  I could get a good job and pay off the debt later.  Here was the culmination of years of looking to academics as my god.  When I struggled socially or felt alone, I looked ahead to college in which I would “prove everyone wrong” and be successful, even if I felt small now.  My identity had been founded in my own ability and not in the way in which God loves me and allowed my hate to be nailed to him on a cross.  But then, then comes the beauty and the turning point of this psalm.

⁵The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.  ⁶The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

     The psalm takes a paradigm shift here, for David has been proclaiming what he will do in his relationship to God as he lives the world.  However, here I can see him raising his hands to God and crying out, “YOU hold my lot.”  It is not David or I or any of us who hold on to God, but it is He who holds on to us and has freely given himself to be our portion.  This is the statement of absolute surrender and rest – YOU hold my lot.  Because Christ holds our lot, we know that all will be well eternally.  There may be great blessing that comes in this life, but the lines will surely fall for us in pleasant places eternally.  Our inheritance is living forever with the one who loved and redeemed us, his broken enemies.  The university I ended up at is exactly the place where I need to be – I can see that Christ is “holding my lot” here and has directed me to places where I am needed and can be used to make His name known.  When my dreams for friendships and relationships have been broken and unfulfilled, Christ still holds my lot and I can rest in peace about the future.  He will perfectly provide for every situation, even if it is different than I expect or hope.

⁷I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.  ⁸I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

     David blesses the Lord, thanking him for the counsel that he gives him.  Although our hearts are often wayward and can be “deceitful above all things”, the Lord nudges us in the right direction through His Word, Christian community, circumstances, and His still, small voice in the middle of the night.  With this God at our right hand, we will never be shaken.  What precious, precious words these are!  Though we feel alone, though the tears come from our eyes in the still of the night, though we suffer the darkest nights of pain, yet we shall never be completely uprooted.  Our God is alive and present – He knows where you are, though you feel lost.

     As you think on the greatness and nearness of God in all our circumstances, meditate on these verses from Psalm 73 that reiterate the promise well:

               

²³Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.  ²⁴You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.  ²⁵Whom have I in heaven but you?  And there is nothing on earth that I desire beside you.  ²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Guest Post by Elizabeth Magill 

A Beautiful Inheritance

Recently I had the wonderful experience of attending the Reformed Presbyterian International Conference. I suspect that many of the people reading this will have attended as well, but if you don’t know what I am talking about, take a look here. Several times during the conference we had the opportunity to worship God in a corporate setting, and it was during one of those worship services that I realized what we were doing was really beautiful. At a point in one of the worship services I was overcome by a sense of tremendous joy, that at first I could not explain. Why was this so wonderful? And then we sang Psalm 16.

Psalm 16 explores the blessings of being part of the people of God by explaining the two-part inheritance God gives to his saints. In the first part of the psalm, David (the author)  focuses on the many benefits of living on earth as a child of God, before ending by explaining his hope for eternity.

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.” (Ps. 16:1-2)

The beginning of David’s Mikhtam (Psalm 16's title) is a cry to God for refuge. However, it is not a cry of despair, but rather of great hope, as seen in the rest of the psalm. Acknowledging he has no good apart from the Lord, David begins to outline what he calls his “beautiful inheritance” (v. 6). He opens with a discussion of two kinds of people.

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. (vv. 3-4)

There are two camps here. There are those who worship other gods, and those who worship the true God. David makes a clear distinction between the two, saying that excellence is only to be found in those who have been set apart to serve the Lord. On the other hand, he refuses to even speak of idolaters.

Do we think this way? Do we make our closest friends those whom Christ has redeemed? In whom do we find delight? One of the most magnificent parts of the inheritance that we have as believers is being put into a Church. If redeemed by Christ, we are made members of his body, and in that context we have a group of unique individuals, all with different gifts to contribute, all working toward the same end goal.

I think again of the RP International Conference. Here was a group of 2000+ people from all different backgrounds. One might assume that when stuck in the same place for a week these people might have trouble getting along. But I was actually amazed at how well everyone meshed. It was evident that Christ was the uniting factor.

So fellowship with the saints is part of the our earthly inheritance, but David doesn’t stop there.

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. (vv. 5-9)

Among the blessings mentioned here are security, counsel, instruction, beauty, leadership, foundation, and joy. If no good is to be found outside of God then all good is the Lord’s to give! While the world promises things that will be pleasurable for a short while, real gladness, wisdom, and pleasure come from God alone. God makes this point in Jeremiah by using a metaphor: “for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jer. 2:13) All good comes from God. Apart from him are only cheap imitations that can “hold no water”.

Again I ask, do we think this way? Have we set the Lord ever before us? Do we view wisdom, pleasure, and safety as gifts from God? If we do it should fill us with gladness. David says, “Therefore… my whole being rejoices.”

After singing verse 9 I was beginning to realize why worship with all those believers was so amazing. We are a blessed people! But then we sang the rest…

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 forevermore. (Psalms 16:10-11)

At the end of the psalm, David gives the second part of our beautiful inheritance. Not only does God give us good things while we live on earth, but he extends our inheritance into eternity! You see, for the believer, death is not the end of the story. If we are God’s children we have great hope, and that hope is outlined in verse 10. Not only is the psalm speaking of our eternal life, it is speaking of Christ’s resurrection! Romans 6:5 gives us that wonderful truth, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Because Jesus was not abandoned to Sheol (the grave, or Hell), neither will we be!

The reason I found worship with a large group of believers so wonderful was that we were corporately praising the God who has given and is giving us good things on this earth and who has promised to provide for us forever! There we were as his saints, thanking him for what he has done across the globe. And to think; we get to spend eternity doing just that!

Psalm 16 tells us that if God is our refuge we have a beautiful inheritance that we receive both in this life and eternally. It is a wonderful psalm to sing when thankful, or to express our dependence on God. It is all the more joyful when sung with a group of close friends who have all been redeemed by Christ. What a beautiful inheritance God has given us!