Finding Refuge Series

As we learned a couple weeks ago, some Psalms provide us with historical context, which helps us to apply them. For instance, it’s helpful to know David had landed in a cave of despair when he wrote Psalm 34. We applied it this way: When you hit rock bottom, you’ll find that the Rock at the bottom is God Himself. Last week, Pastor Kyle masterfully guided us through Psalm 13, a Psalm of lament. He summarized it like this: No matter how you are feeling or what you’re going through, God is your ever-present hope.

As we come to Psalm 16, we encounter this introductory phrase: A MIKTAM OF DAVID. While commentators are divided on the exact meaning, it’s commonly understood as “golden.” It can also be translated as, “to cover as a precious secret.” Psalms 56-60 have this same title, and since these Psalms were written during times of peril, we can conclude that Psalm 16 is a sweet treasure written to help us in times of trial and tribulation. We could put it like this: When we run to God for refuge, we will find confidence and contentment now and forevermore.

Let’s worship as we walk through this Psalm. I see five anchors that will give us stability during the storms of life.

1. Protection from the Lord. We see this in verse 1: “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” The word “preserve” means, “to guard, to keep safe, to watch over.” The word “refuge” refers to a place of safety or shelter. Psalm 17:8 says, “…hide me in the shadow of your wings.” I met with a new person this week who gave testimony of God’s protection through some awful events in her life. When I heard her story, I immediately agreed with her.

God is our shelter and verse 2 shows us that He is also our satisfaction: “I say to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.’” There are three different names for God used in these two verses:

• “El” = God. This name emphasizes His role as Creator. On this Fourth of July Weekend, I think of this line from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” This makes me think of something Charles Colson said: “So as we mark this solemn occasion, let us seek a rebirth of true liberty, which is possible only when governed by divine law. For, without God, we can never have ‘liberty and justice for all.’”

• “Jehovah” = LORD (upper case). He is the covenant-keeping God.

• “Adonai” = Lord (lower case). This refers to Him as Master. Notice the personal pronoun “my,” which shows the importance of making sure He is our personal Master.

It’s important to know the different names for God. This past Sunday, I visited our new tween class for 5th and 6th graders. Listen to what Marcy wrote afterwards:

Our Tween group has continued to study the name of God, Elohim, Almighty Creator! Today we learned that since God created it all, He is King of ALL! We talked about our little kingdoms we’re in charge of here on earth. Maybe they are in charge of cleaning their room, homework, or feeding the cat. They wrote these things down on a crown. We then read Revelation 4:10, where we lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus…we took our crowns and laid them at the foot of the cross. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords! He is in control and because of this, as one tween said, “We can be at peace.” The tweens have come up with their group name, High Flyers! They are soaring higher as they study God’s Word, pray, and worship.