Easter Sunday

Psalm 16, a mictum of David.

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.

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.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup, you hold my lot.

The lions 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.

For you will not abandon my soul to shield or let your holy ones 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.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

God's holy and authoritative word.

We want to be protected from threats of diseases.

So we exercise, eat healthy and get vaccinated.

We want to be protected from the threat of intruders.

So we get security systems and cameras.

We seek physical security.

We also want social security.

Not the government benefits, but security in our relationships, in society.

So we fastidiously avoid undesirable social situations.

We try to ward off potential embarrassment.

We seek significant others who can grant us social security.

But it's not security alone that we seek.

We also seek happiness.

We earn and save money so that we can buy things that make us happy.

We cultivate relationships with people that we enjoy.

We eat and drink tasty things.

We seek pleasure and happiness in the shows we watch, the places we travel to, in the activities that we do.

But the human desire for security and happiness always face an insurmountable roadblock called death.

It doesn't matter how successful you are.

It doesn't matter how rich you are, how beloved you are, how famous you are, how respected you are, how happy you are.

Death brings an end to it all.

Life insurance might provide for your loved ones, but there is no thing that actually ensures your life.

And this is what human beings fear most of all.

They want security from death itself.

But do they dread it and hide from it?

Death comes knocking on every single person's door all the same.

Psalm 16 is attributed to David.

No one knows what a migtom is,

but we know that David had many close brushes with death.

He was familiar with this threat.

And in this psalm, David is grappling with that fear of death, that primal fear.

But he concludes in the end that there is only one place where we can obtain true security.

A life that will never be cut short by death.

That there is only one way to experience unfiltered and uninterrupted happiness,

and that is in the presence of God.

The giver of life.

The source of all good.

And that's the main point of this psalm,

is that those who make the Lord their chosen portion

will have eternal life and fullness of joy in His presence.

In the first eight verses, we'll look at choosing the Lord as our portion,

what that looks like.

And then in the last three verses,

we'll look at the resurrection life and fullness of joy

that God promises to those who choose the Lord as their portion.

David begins by addressing God directly in prayer in verse 1.

This is a simple, desperate prayer.

We know from verses 10 to 11 that David wants God to preserve him from death.

Preserve me, O God.

Because if you don't, I'm going to die.

Especially nowadays, people who used to avoid thinking about death studiously

have been forced to confront this issue head on.

And so we cry out to God,

Preserve me, O God.

Protect me.

Spare me.

Rescue me.

Why?

For in you I take refuge.

This is the reason that David gives to God

for why God should preserve him.

For in you I take refuge.

It's similar to when people say to each other,

Please help me.

I'm counting on you.

Please help me.

I have no one else to turn to.

When a person says that,

He's saying that he's putting all his legs,

eggs into that one basket.

He's going all in.

He's not saying,

Preserve me, O God.

But it's okay if you forget.

I have a few other refugees lined up that I can turn to.

He's not saying,

Preserve me, O God.

But don't stress too much about it.

You're my backup option number three.

You're my backup option number three.

No, David says,

Preserve me, O God.

For in you I take refuge.

I have not taken refuge anywhere else.

In you I take refuge.

I have nowhere else to turn.

I'm counting on you.

I have no hope beside you.

I'm desperate.

Please, O God, preserve me.

If you want security from death itself,

if you want eternal life and fullness of joy,

you must make the Lord your chosen portion.

And what does it mean to make the Lord your chosen portion?

You need to make Him and no one else your refuge.

When you are afraid of getting sick and dying.

When you're afraid of getting old and dying.

When you're afraid of getting into an accident and dying.

To whom do you turn?

To a doctor?

To a therapist?

To an insurance salesman?

Do you medicate yourself with alcohol?

To an insurance salesman?

Do you binge watch shows to find fleeting escape from the harsh realities of life?

There's only one hope for eternal life.

And that is in the Lord God Himself.

When you feel alone.

When you are worried.

When you are afraid.

To whom do you turn?

To your spouse?

To your counselor?

To your friend?

To your parent?

There is no better husband than Jesus Christ.

Who is the bridegroom of the church.

And there is no better friend than Jesus.

Who laid down His life for His friends.

There is no better counselor than the Holy Spirit.

Our comforter.

And there is no better parent than our Heavenly Father.

Who loves us.

So will you turn to God as your refuge?

That's the Christian's impulse.

The Christian's first recourse in every situation is preserve me, O God.

For in you I take refuge.

After addressing God directly in verse 1,

David then turns to his fellow worshipers around him.

Psalms are songs that the Israelites used in corporate worship.

And so David now addresses the congregation in verse 2.

I say to the Lord,

You are my Lord.

I have no good apart from you.

The first word, Lord, in all caps,

is a stand-in for the proper name of God.

Yehovah,

or Yahweh, some people say.

The second word, Lord,

however, is not in all caps.

And that's a word that many of you have heard.

It's the Hebrew word Adonai,

which means Lord,

or Master.

David is saying,

I say to Yehovah,

You are my master.

I have no good apart from you.

I have not pledged allegiance to other gods.

I have not worshipped any other gods.

I say to you,

Yehovah,

you alone,

you are my master,

and I am your servant.

To make the Lord our chosen portion

is to pledge allegiance to Him

as our master.

To submit our purposes to His,

to align our priorities with His,

to subject our desires to His.

It means to say with the psalmist,

I have no good apart from you.

To put it another way,

all that is good that I cherish

is within you.

I desire nothing besides you.

All that makes my life worth living

I have found in you.

To use the words of Psalm 73, 25 to 26,

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth

that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 16,

If anyone would come after me,

let him deny himself

and take up his cross and follow me.

For whoever would save his life will lose it,

and whoever loses his life for my sake

will find it.

For what will it profit a man

if he gains the whole world

and forfeits his soul?

Or what shall a man give in return

for his soul?

To take up one's cross

and follow Jesus

is to die to oneself,

to subject oneself completely

to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ,

to make Him your only portion.

That's what Psalm 16, verse 2 means.

Psalms 16:2

I have no good apart from you.

You're all the good I seek.

My deepest desires,

my loftiest hopes,

my greatest dreams

are all found in you, Lord.

I forsake all else to follow you.

That's what it means

to make the Lord your chosen portion,

to pledge allegiance to Him

as your master.

And as David's addressing the congregation,

he can't help but express

his affection for them as well.

He says in verse 3,

As for the saints in the land,

they are the excellent ones

in whom is all my delight.

The word saints is literally holy ones.

It's a word that parallels

the word translated holy one in verse 10.

It means consecrated people.

Those who are specially set apart for God.

When you make the Lord your portion,

you can't help but delight

in the Lord's people.

They are the excellent ones,

says David.

The word excellent means magnificent,

glorious, or prominent.

It's used to describe

a mighty towering cedar tree

in Ezekiel 17, 23.

The same word is used to describe

God's majesty and might,

which it compares

to the mighty crashing sea.

He says the Lord's might

is mightier than that.

Psalm 93, verse 4.

Psalms 93:4

That same word is also used

to describe nobility.

The rulers,

the noble ones among men.

In Jeremiah 14, verse 3.

Jeremiah 14:3

To the Christian,

the excellent ones of the earth

are not the rich

and the powerful.

They are not the people

with verified Twitter accounts.

They are not the people

with doctorates

from the most esteemed institutions.

No, the saints in the land.

They are the excellent ones.

In whom is all my delight.

Why?

Because they

are my adopted brothers and sisters

in the family of God.

Because they

are my fellow citizens

and comrades

in the kingdom of God.

Because they

love

the God I love.

Because they

serve

the God

I serve.

Because their hearts

beat for the same things

that my heart beats for.

Because they

their tears

fall for the same things

that my tears

fall for.

Because they

have tasted

what I have tasted.

Because they

have seen

what I have seen.

That the Lord

is good.

They are

the excellent ones.

They are

the noble ones.

John Calvin

says this

in his commentary

on this psalm.

he says

this passage

therefore

teaches us

that there is

no sacrifice

more acceptable

to God

than when we

sincerely

and heartily

connect ourselves

with the society

of the righteous.

And being

knit together

by the sacred

bond of godliness

cultivate

and maintain

with them

brotherly

goodwill.

In this

sorry

we ought

to

therefore

highly

to value

and esteem

the true

and devoted

servants of God

and to regard

nothing

as of greater

importance

than to connect

ourselves

with their

society.

do you

aspire

and

strive

sincerely

and heartily

to connect

yourself

with the

society

of the

saints?

this

resurrection

Sunday

and every

Sunday

there is

nowhere else

I would

rather be

than to

celebrate the

Lord Jesus

Christ with

you all.

truly

the saints

of the

land

the

consecrated

ones

the

set

apart

people

all of

you

who know

the

Lord

you are

the

excellent

ones

the

noble

ones

in whom

is all

my

delight

there is

no

society

in all

the

world

that I

would

rather

be

a

part

of

that I

am

more

proud

to be

a

part

of

there is

no

company

in all

the

world

that I

prefer

to

this

the

company

of

the

saints

sinners

saved

by the

grace

of

God

but what

about

those

who do

not

belong

to

God

those

who do

not

worship

God

verse

4

sets

up

the

contrast

it

says

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

those

who

make

the

Lord

their

chosen

portion

will

have

eternal

life

and

fullness

of

joy

in

God's

presence

but

those

who run

after

another

God

shall

multiply

sorrows

sorrows

the

word

sorrow

can

also

be

translated

pains

or

troubles

an

idol

is

anything

that

we

replace

God

with

as

our

chosen

portion

what

is

your

supreme

treasure

in

life

what

can't

you

bear

to

lose

what

preoccupies

your

mind

and

occupies

your

heart

more

than

God

some

people

in

the

world

worship

gods

that

they

have

fashioned

with

their

own

minds

or

with

their

own

hands

they

rely

on

them

as

their

refuge

instead

of

relying

on

the

true

Lord

but

this

is

not

the

only

kind

of

idolatry

in

the

world

many

people

give

their

hearts

to

the

idols

of

beauty

sex

wealth

comfort

control

substances

social

prestige

power

many

people set

themselves

up

as

gods

they

bow

to no

one

but to

their

own

selfish

desires

there

is

payoff

to

all

of

these

idolatries

by the

way

they

do

something

for

you

that's

why

people

turn

to

them

however

fleeting

it may

be

but

eventually

the

bill

that

they

can't

pay

comes

due

sooner

or

later

because

running

after

another

god

multiplies

sorrows

we were

all once

like this

some

of you

may still

be running

after other

gods

and I

implore

you

because

you

will

surely

be

disappointed

you

will

surely

become

enslaved

to

these

idols

it

will

surely

end

in

death

you

will

not

find

the

security

and

happiness

that

you

are

looking

for

but

it

doesn't

have

to

be

that

way

you

can

turn

to

the

lord

and

experience

eternal

life

and

fullness

of

joy

and

so

David

distances

himself

from

those

who

run

after

other

gods

he

says

their

drink

offerings

of

blood

I

will

not

pour

out

I

will

not

take

their

names

on

my

lips

only

name

I

will

have

on

my

lips

is

the

name

of

the

Lord

the

only

people

that

I

will

delight

in

are

the

saints

in

the

land

so

David

continues

in

verses

5

to

6

the

Lord

is

my

chosen

and

my

cup

you

hold

my

lot

the

lions

have

fallen

for

me

in

pleasant

places

indeed

I

have

a

beautiful

inheritance

when

the

Israelites

first

conquered

the

promised

land

that

the

Lord

had

given

them

they

divided

up

the

land

by

lot

it's

the

account

you can

find

in

Joshua

13

to

21

the

Lord

himself

chose

what

each

tribe's

portion

would

be

that's

why

it

was

decided

by

lot

and

in

the

ancient

world

in

an

agrarian

society

land

was

everything

it

was

your

very

livelihood

and

even

more

importantly

because

the

promised

land

was

connected

to the

covenant

promises

of

God

to

be

inherited

from

the

land

to be

cut

off

from

the

land

was

to be

cut

off

from

the

covenant

community

itself

so

each

tribe

of

Israel

had

its

chosen

portion

or

an

allotted

portion

and

David

belonged

to the

tribe

of

Judah

which

had

its

allotted

territory

but

David

was

also

familiar

with

the

bitter

experience

of

being

disinherited

of

being

excluded

from

the

land

of

Israel

and

being

alienated

from

the

people

of

God

in

1

Samuel

26

18

to

19

David

is

chased

by

King

Saul

who

because

of

his

envy

of

David

tries

to

kill

him

and

David

says

this

to

Saul

why

does

my

Lord

pursue

after

his

servant

for

what

have

I

done

what

evil

is

on

my

hands

now

therefore

let

my

Lord

the

king

hear

the

words

of

his

servant

if

if

it

is

the

Lord

who

has

stirred

you

up

against

me

may

he

accept

an

offering

but

if

it

is

men

may

they

be

cursed

before

the

Lord

for

they

have

driven

me

out

this

day

that

I

should

have

no

share

in

the

heritage

of

the

Lord

saying

go

serve

other

gods

David

knew

from

personal

experience

the

bitterness

of

being

driven

out

from

the

promised

land

he

knew

the

feeling

of

being

told

you

have

no

share

with

us

go

and

serve

other

gods

but

David

learned

from

that

lonely

painful

experience

how

to

claim

the

Lord

alone

as

his

chosen

portion

and

cup

you

might

remember

that

there

was

one

tribe

in

Israel

that

actually

never

received

any

land

it

says

in

numbers

18

20

and

the

Lord

said

to

Aaron

you

shall

have

no

inheritance

in

their

land

neither

shall

you

have

any

portion

among

them

I

am

your

portion

and

your

inheritance

among

the

people

of

Israel

the

tribe

of

Levi

the

priestly

tribe

that

Aaron

belonged

to

received

no

inheritance

or

portion

because

God

said

to

them

I

am

your

portion

you

have

no

land

to

farm

but

I

will

provide

for

you

you

have

no

portion

but

I

will

be

your

portion

instead

of

working

the

land

you

will

serve

me

in

my

temple

I

myself

will

be

your

inheritance

and

David

is

grabbing

a

hold

of

that

language

that

promise

here

in

verses

5

to

6

when

he

says

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

David

is

using

the

language

of

land

allotment

figuratively

not

literally

the

word

translated

pleasant

places

in

verse

6

is

the

same

word

that

translated

pleasures

in

verse

11

to

refer

to

the

eternal

pleasures

that

you

find

in

the

presence

of

God

alone

so

David

is

not

saying

that

God

has

given

him

a

generous

bountiful

portion

of

physical

land

he's

saying

that

the

Lord

himself

is

his

allotted

portion

and

cup

as

was

the

case

for

the

Levites

because

those

pleasures

forevermore

are found

in

God

alone

if

David

were

referring

to

literal

land

here

this

verse

would

only

apply

to

rich

and

prosperous

Christians

who

can

look

around

themselves

at

the

poor

and

less

fortunate

people

around

them

and say

smugly

oh the

lions

have

fallen

for

me

in

pleasant

places

indeed

I

have

a

beautiful

inheritance

but

that's

not

what

this

verse

means

at

all

instead

it

means

that

if

you

make

the

Lord

your

chosen

portion

if

you

make

the

Lord

your

inheritance

you

will

be

satisfied

in

him

do

you

think

the

Levites

fell

snubbed

when

they

were

omitted

from

the

land

allotment

do

you

think

they

felt

short

changed

well

actually

God

that's

nice

of you

to offer

yourself

as

our

portion

inheritance

but

I'd

really

like

that

real

estate

over

there

instead

you

see

that

one

over

there

with

the

grass

and

the

well

on

it

no

way

not

a

chance

but

isn't

that

what

we

do

brothers

and

sisters

so

often

God

has

offered

up

himself

to

us

he

has

given

us

his

very

heart

he

has

given

his

only

son

Jesus

for

us

he

has

poured

out

his

very

spirit

into

our

hearts

and

then

we

say

well

I

really

like

that

house

I

really

like

that

job

I

really

like

that

promotion

I

really

like

that

internship

I

really

like

that

man

I

really

like

that

woman

I

really

like

that

vacation

God

I

think

I

feel

like

I

have

the

lines

that

fall

for

me

in

pleasant

places

if

you

get

that

thing

for

me

but

God

says

to

us

I

am

your

portion

David

says

to

God

you

hold

my

lot

meaning

God

is

the

one

who

chooses

the

allotment

God

is

the

one

who

holds

David's

fate

his

destiny

his

lot

in

life

in

his

hands

David

is

completely

entrusted

to

him

totally

disposed

to

the

will

of

God

you

hold

my

lot

you

direct

my

steps

you

are

my

chosen

portion

and

my

cup

and

therefore

the

lines

have

fallen

for

me

in

pleasant

places

and

I

have

a

beautiful

inheritance

whether

I

am

rich

or

poor

healthy

or

sick

married

or

single

respected

or

despised

you

are

my

portion

and

that's

a

pleasant

boundary

indeed

what

good

is it

for

a

man

to

gain

the

whole

world

yet

forfeit

his

soul

what

good

is it

for

a

man

to

own

the

whole

world

yet

not

know

God

as

his

portion

David

didn't

have

an

easy

life

by

any

stretch

of

the

imagination

of

course

some

good

things

happened

to

him

he

caught

a

few

breaks

here

and

there

like

all

of

us

but

after

his

father-in-law

became

envious

of

him

he

chased

him

tried

to

kill

him

for

two

years

during

that

time

his

wife

was

given

away

to

another

man

he

had

his

family

and

children

kidnapped

one

time

by

marauders

and

the

man

who

followed

him

tried

to

kill

him

because

of

it

he

lost

one

of

his

children

in

infancy

another

one

of

his

sons

was

murdered

by

another

one

of

his

sons

and

one

of

his

sons

rebelled

against

him

staged

a coup

tried

to

overthrow

him

and

nearly

succeeded

because

of

his

sin

David

his

sin

the

plague

broke

out

in

the

nation

of

Israel

and

he

had

to

bear

that

guilt

on

his

shoulders

David

was