August 10, 2003
Title: The Golden Psalm
Text: Psalm 16:1-11
Introduction
1. The title of this Psalm is "A Miktam of David"
A. This is the first of 6 (Psalm 56-60 are the others) Psalms that contain "Miktam" in the title.
i. Commentators don’t all agree on the meaning of "Miktam"...
ii. but most of them indicate that it is related to "Gold"
iii. And all 6 of these Psalms are especially beautiful.
B. The price of gold at the close of business on Friday was $356.20/ounce
i. During the last 10 years, Gold had a high $414.80
ii. and a low of $252.80
iii. Silver, on the other hand is about $5.00 per ounce.
iv. Here is an ounce of silver.
v. Of course, an ounce of gold would look about like this...only gold.
C. Because of the beauty of this passage of Scripture, I’ve entitled this study, "The Golden Psalm.
D.
i. And as we "dig into the earth" of Psalm 16,
ii. I’m sure we will find some wonderful "nuggets" for us to enjoy.
iii. And perhaps we will even "strike it rich".
2. Read Text: Psalm 16:1-11
Body
1. Strike It Rich in Prayer Ps 16:1-4
A. David realized the power in prayer
i. Many of his Psalms are actually prayers.
ii. And David was a richer man (not financially...but spiritually)
iii. because of his prayer life.
B. David starts out with a prayer for safety.
i. Throughout the Psalms, you can find David’s prayers for safety.
ii. My family has taken a lesson from David’s book....
iii. We frequently pray for safety.
iv. Before we take a trip in the van, even a short drive into Belleview,
v. we pray for God’s watchful care upon us.
vi. We pray for the safety of our children.
vii. Many times, during the benediction prayer, I will pray for the safety of our church people as they travel.
C. And we are richer from making those prayers!
i. Because God answers those prayers!
ii. He does hear us when we pray!
iii. He does watch over us and keep us safe.
D. Along those lines, David indicates that God is his refuge.
i. We too, can find refuge.
ii. When all around us the battle rages...
iii. there is a place of safety...
iv. there is a place of refuge...
v. and that is in the arms of God
E. In verse 2, David acknowledged to God that He is his Lord and Master.
i. He says "Apart from you I have no good thing"
ii. With God...life is precious...like Gold...
iii. but apart from God...life is like so many filthy rags.
F. In verse 3, David thanks God for other followers of God...because they are such a blessing to him.
G. And then, in verse 4, David acknowledges that there are those who turn from God...
i. and chase after other gods...
ii. but that he, David, will do no such thing.
2. Strike It Rich in Praise Ps 16:5-8
A. Then, in verses 5-8, David turns to an attitude of praise.
i. He acknowledges that God is in control
ii. and that God keeps him securely.
iii. In verse 7, he praises the Lord for His good counsel.
iv. He says, "I have set the Lord always before me".
v. That is a good practice for us as well.
B. When our hearts turn to praise...
i. when we keep the worship of the Lord always before us...
ii. in the words of David, we "will not be shaken"
iii. The KJV says, "I shall not be moved"
3. Strike it rich in prospects Ps 16:9-11
A. One of my favorite movies of all time is LadyHawk.
i. It is set in Medieval times.
ii. In it, Matthew Broderick plays a young thief named Phillipe Gaston who has escaped from Aquila, a supposedly escape-proof prison.
iii. And a former Captain of the Guard, played by Rutger Hauer, wants to break IN to this prison...
iv. and he has enlisted the help of Phillipe Gaston...against Gaston’s wishes.
v. And Phillipe...the mouse, says, "I’m still a young man, you know, I’ve got
prospects.”
vi. Here he is, dressed in burlap...
vii. a pick pocket...
viii. a criminal on the run from the king’s men...
ix. his life isn’t worth more than a plugged nickel...
x. And he says, "I’ve got prospects"
xi. Of course, coming from him, it seems hilarious...
xii. what kind of prospects does he have?
xiii. But...by the end of the movie, he actually ends up in the castle...
xiv. confronting and defeating the bad guys.
B. Life for us is similar to Phillipe...
i. there’s nothing fancy about us...
ii. we are just a sinner...
iii. Not much going for us...
iv. everything is against us...
C. But then Christ comes...
i. He does a miracle in our lives...
ii. and suddenly, we have prospects.
D. David says, "Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices"
i. He praises the Lord because God "will not abandon
ii. In verse 10, David says "you will not abandon me...nor will you let your Holy One see decay"
E. In Peter’s 1st sermon on Pentecost...
i. He quotes from the passage of Scripture in Psalms...
ii. and after he quotes these verses, he says...
iii. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life,
Acts 2:31-32 (NIV)
F. David, perhaps unknowingly, foretold the resurrection of Christ...
i. Peter himself found the richness of this passage of Scripture...
ii. and tonight, we too, can find the richness of the knowledge that the resurrection gives us great cause for praise!
iii. And because of that, we have prospects!!
iv. We have hope!!!
v. We have struck it rich!!
G. David tells God, "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand"
i. We have ETERNAL prospects...
ii. We will enjoy eternity simply being in the presence of the Lord in heaven.
iii. How’s that for prospects?
iv. Once we were filthy...
v. sinful...
vi. going nowhere...
vii. but because of Christ, we have prospects!
viii. We have prospects in this life...
ix. and we have prospects in the life to come...
x. we truly are rich!!
Conclusion
1. You may have heard the saying, "There’s gold in them thar hills"
A. Well, there’s gold to be found in Psalm 16...if we will but look for it.
B. We can strike it rich in prayer...
i. there’s refuge and safety and security to be found in prayer.
C. We can strike it rich in praise...
i. Praise has a way of giving us focus...
ii. when our eyes are on Christ...
iii. we can say with David, "I shall not be moved"
D. And we can strike it rich in prospects...
i. we may be just some criminal dressed in burlap...
ii. but when Christ comes....
iii. suddenly we have prospects...
iv. we have hope...
2. And that’s worth more than all the gold in the world!!
