Because of Covid-19, we are feeling vulnerable and fragile. Our stock market is yo-yoing like the days of 9/11 and we are being forced to close schools, universities, city hall, and now our church meetings. A few microbes from China has grounded flights, restaurants, and our collective lives. We fear for our senior adults and those who have compromised health around us. Where do we turn to in a time of crisis?
Find Psalm 16 with me if you will.
Today’s Scripture
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 4 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. 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:1–11).
1. God is My Fortified Castle
The very first words David writes is prayer for his safety: “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge” (Psalm 16:1). David’s prayer is simple, “Keep Me Safe, God.”
1.1 False Security
Pause and consider what makes you feel safe: locks on the doors and a dog to alert you. A lot of things make us feel safe today. If we think of our money, some of you feel safe when your money is in a bank. And some of you feel safe when your money is under your mattress at home. Some of you feel safe with bars on the window while others of you feel safe because of a gun or a weapon you have near your bed each night.
Nations will often trust in their defense systems. Our nation is blessed to have Special Forces such as the Army Rangers and the Navy Seals. Our own stock market reacts to the Consumer Confidence Index where the price goes up when we feel more confident about our future. David was a warrior and a king. Yet, he choose to trust God rather than is military prowess: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7).
In the middle of all this, we need repeat David’s prayer: “Keep Me Safe, God, for I take refuge in you.” Instead of all these false senses of security, you need to be like David here and say to the Lord, “You are my source of safety. God, if you were to fail me, I have no other place to go. I turn to you for safety. Where else would I go but to you? I find my refuge in you, God.”
1.2 Preserve Me, God
Do you see the very first word in verse one – it’s the word “Preserve.” It’s a word that means “to keep” or “to watch over.” The word “preserve” pictures someone who stays awake at night to keep others safe and secure. Many of us who are parents of teenagers have placed devices in their car to see where they are at all times. Though I cannot be everywhere all the time, I want to watch over my children to ensure they are safe and acting wisely. This is the idea found in verse one – it’s the idea of “God, watch over me.”
But David is not asking God to simply protect during a difficult battle or even through scary event… … no David’s prayer for safety is much bigger than this. For David is expecting God to keep him safe even through death: “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption” (Psalm 16:10). In other words, “I turn to you for safety above all other ways of being safe. You are my safest refuge.” You need to have David’s confidence in God: “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8).
Generations ago, Christians sang:
A mighty Fortress is our God,
A Bulwark never failing;
Our Helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing
In our computer age we live in today, you need to copy and paste his confidence in order to make it your confidence.
1.3 God’s Three Names
Here’s a clue on how do this: three different names for God are used here. In verse 1, God is “El” meaning God is the Most High. This is most common name of God in David’s day, He is the strong and mighty One. In verse 2, David goes a step further to say, “I say to Yahweh…” Yahweh was the name God Revealed at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-14). The name means “I am what I am” and Yahweh is self-existent; He has no beginning. In verse 2, David uses as third name for God, where God is called Adonai. This means God is my Master and my Boss. Put them together and you get a better picture of how much God means to David: God, you are the Most Mighty and Highest Being in my life, you have no beginning, and you are my boss. So put it together and David says, “I say to Yahweh, ‘You are my Adonai. God, you alone have always existed, you are my Master. Directs my life.”
Nothing will give you more day-to-day confidence in your life than having God direct your life. God gave Elijah the confidence as he faced the evil treachery of King Ahab and Jezebel. God gave Daniel the confidence to fearlessly confront the pressure of Nebuchadnezzar. And God gave the Apostle Paul the confidence to face the persecution for sharing Christ.
Shaun Cunningham took his son, Landon, to an Atlanta Braves/Pittsburgh Pirate spring training game earlier this year. It was Landon’s 9th birthday. Pirates outfield Danny Ortiz was swinging his bat when it slipped out his hand. What happened next could have been so much worse. While nine-year old Landon was texting his mother a picture of the game, 37 year old Shaun Cunningham went into “dad mode” to use his words. Dad deflected the bat only one inch from the face of his son and bat moved right over the boy’s head. God moves in to protect His children.
Guard me, Mighty and Strong God!
1. God is My Fortified Castle
2. God is My Cherished Crown
“… I have no good apart from you’” (Psalm 16:2b).
“I have searched around and I don’t own anything more valuable than you, God. You are my supreme value in life.” David is “all in” with God: “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot” (Psalm 16:5). He says in effect, “As you go, I go, God. If you stock falls, my stock falls. I’m with you for you are my chosen portion.”
2.1 How Do You Know if God is Supreme in Your Life?
Fathers and mothers in the room, one of the ways you know is your highest good is that God is the one thing you want to pass along to your children. God is the One possession, if you will, that you seek to share with your closest and dearest more than anything else. Parents put the Lord conspicuously before anything and anyone.
A quick review of how you spend your most precious resources will also tell you how much the Lord means to you. Look how you spend your time and your money. It’s also in the friends you keep: “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” (Psalm 16:4). He witnesses how people who chase after other gods only increase their sorrow. David prefers to hang out with those who love the Lord: “As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight” (Psalm 16:3).
2.2 How Do You Make the Lord Supreme in Your Life?
In a word, it is determination. The Lord is David’s Cherished Crown, his most valuable asset: “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8). Now, to set the Lord before you requires determination. Determined people are the opposite of lazy people. Lazy people live life like they are floating on lazy river – they let the river take them wherever. Determined people live their life by priorities. Like a big stone in a river, priorities determine the course of your life. Because the Lord means so much, you make the Lord a determined priority in your life.
I know we have a lot of Alabama football fans and recently I heard a story about the legendary football coach, Bear Bryant. The great coach at Alabama had his team on the field, and they were playing an archrival. There were only two minutes left in the game, and Alabama was ahead by five points. Alabama has the ball, and they’re on the opponent’s twenty yard line. But on first down, their first-string quarterback was hurt.
In comes the second-string quarterback on second down. Bryant instructs him: “I want you to go in there, and run three more plays. Regardless, don’t throw the ball; do not put the ball in the air. Just try to keep from losing yardage, if we don’t score. If you don’t score by then, the clock will be down so far that we’ll depend upon our defense to win the game for us.” “Yes, sir” was the young man’s reply. He runs two plays and on the fourth down with the clock winding down — this second string quarterback turns to hand it off but he bobbles the ball. He sees an Alabama receiver in the end zone wide open and against his coach’s instructions, he throws the ball. But watching the whole thing was an All American safety who intercepts the ball and is now racing down the sidelines to score a game-winning touchdown. To everyone’s surprise, this second string quarterback, the slowest man on the field, runs down this All American at the one yard line. When the play was over, the game was over because time had expired. The opposing coach asked Bryant, “How did you slow QB catch the fastest man on the field?” Bear Bryant said, “Well, coach, it’s like this. Your boy was running for six points, my boy was running for his life.” This was a young man who quickly got his priorities aligned properly. Determination is setting your priorities. And David had his priorities set – do you?
2.3 The Benefit of Putting God as Your Treasure
“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8). And when you do this – nothing will move you – nothing will shake you. And when you do, you are unshakable. Listen to the words of Psalm 46 for a moment: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) Even if an earthquake shakes up your life, you’ll have composure because of the security God gives you. “Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:2). Be like Joseph, who falsely accused and languishing in prison, nevertheless keep his confidence in God. Be like Job, who was falsely accused and languishing on an ash heap, nevertheless pressed God to answer his prayers.
2.4 The Lord is Good to Me
David says, “The Lord has been good to me” – “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance” (Psalm 16:6). Look again at verse nine: “Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure” (Psalm 16:9). And lastly, he finishes his prayer with immortal words: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). David is sure that God is not only his fortified castle and cherished crown in this life but also forever! Even death will not cancel out God’s goodness to David.
1. God is My Fortified Castle
2. God is My Cherished Crown
3. God is My Trusted Counselor
“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me” (Psalm 16:7). God gives great counsel. Later on, Psalms will tell us: “Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors” (Psalm 119:24). God counsels you through the pages of Scripture. God counsels you through prayer. And God counsels you through godly friends (verse 3). God is our refuge because He is available 24/7 for counseling. He is unsurpassed in His counsel to us.
You can tell that David is emotionally satisfied with God:
“for in you I take refuge” (Psalm 16:1)
“I say to the Lord, . . . I have no good apart from you” (Psalm 16:2)
“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup” (Psalm 16:5)
“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel” (Psalm 16:7)
“I have set the Lord always before me” (Psalm 16:8)
“because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8)
“in your presence there is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11)
“at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11)
CS Lewis has said, “The person who has God and everything else has no more than the person who only has God alone.”
Is God is My Fortified Castle?
Is God is My Cherished Crown?
Is God Your Trusted Counselor?
Conclusion
This psalm is quoted twice in the book of Acts. When the early Christians and apostles when to explain the meaning of Easter they turned to Psalm 16. Peter stood up at Pentecost and said this: “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. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:29–31). Do you remember when Jesus prayed His last words to the Father on the cross, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46)? When Jesus prayed those words, He put His life and His death in the hands of the Father. And how did the Father take care of Jesus: “He did not abandon His soul to Hades and Jesus’ flesh did not decay.” David wrote these words more than 1,000 years before Jesus Christ. And these words could not be true of David or anyone. Instead, they are only true of Jesus Christ for God raises Him up before His body experience decay. Raise your confidence in God today. He has a firm grip on every part of your life, including even your death.
