Lord God, thank you for your kindness to us this day. We continue to ask you to be with Linda and her family and comfort them, Lord, in their grief and hold them in your hands, Lord. What a testimony we heard Friday about Tom Daxon's life and his faith, most of all his faith. And we are grateful for that. We thank you for this day and for our being able to be together here today. And we thank you for warm clothes and warm drinks and warm rooms and buildings and homes. And we know there are many who don't have any of that. And so, Lord, we are we are grateful. We pray that you'd help us now as we look into Psalm 16. And as we read it, as we think on it, as we talk about it, Lord, guide us that our hearts would be lifted up and we would be encouraged in Jesus name. Amen. Alright, so let's turn to Psalm 16. Grab a Bible, grab a friend who has a Bible. So I'm going to read the whole Psalm, so pick it up. And so as we read it, Just, I know it's hard sometimes to multitask, but try a little bit to do a couple, two things as we're reading. Like, number one, listen. That's the first thing you should always do, right? But the other thing is, just, if something comes up, you go, we've heard that in a previous psalm. Just try to take note of that. And then also, if there's any kind of pattern that you see in the psalm. So here's Psalm 16, a miktom of David. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to Yahweh, 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 I will not pour out or take their name on my lips. The Lord is my chosen portion in my cup You hold my life the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Indeed. I have a beautiful inheritance I bless Yahweh who gives me counsel in the night. Also. My heart instructs me I've set Yahweh always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be shaken I Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices, and my flesh also dwells secure. 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, and your presence is fullness of joy at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Amen. All right, so we're in Psalm 16. I'm just calling this fullness of joy. I think it's a great way to put it because of what the psalm does and where the psalm goes. The fullness of joy. Very quickly, here's kind of an outline, and I do think the psalm breaks down into these three broad areas. And I worked hard at F-words, okay? Good F-words. Fealty, fulfillment, firmness, okay? And so there's an outline for you if that helps you. It helps me when I have outlines to kind of, as I'm thinking through it. So fealty, fulfillment, and firmness. First of all, I want you to notice the inscription. What is the inscription as it begins? What does it say? It's probably all caps in your Bibles, hopefully. Yeah, a miktom of David, okay? We don't know what a miktom is. You'll notice in a footnote it's some kind of liturgical form or it could be the strain, the particular tone of music that is to be used with the psalm as it is sung, whatever. something like that. But Mctom or Mctom of David is only used a few times. It's used in this psalm and it's also used in the psalms 56 through 60. And so a fun study would be to go through and find out what's the similarity of concepts between Psalm 16 and Psalm 56 through 60 to see if that's not, gives you some indication of what a miktom would be. I just wanted to point that out. We don't know for certain what it is, but it's likely a particular tone. I know like in Eastern Orthodoxy, for example, they have eight tones, right? And so during the season of the year, it's tone one. And then this season it's tone two, and they just, they cycle through it. It may be something very similar to that, this tone, that tone, the psalm. So there's one petition in this psalm. Does anybody see the petition? Yeah. Do what? Yeah, yeah, okay, so hold that, because we're gonna come back to it in a minute. And so you have one petition, but then the rest of the psalm is filled with loads and loads of thanksgiving. Woo-hoo, perfect Sunday for us to do the psalm, and I didn't even orchestrate it. How about that? All right, so loads of thanksgiving, focusing on appreciation and gratification throughout the psalm, okay? And so, as I said in my letter this last week, Thanksgiving is a centerpiece of the faith. Okay? And I'll come back, I'm actually gonna quote my letter. You know how weird it is to quote yourself? I just want you to know. It is weird. Okay. So, fealty. Let's look at verses one through four. Now, McTom of David preserved me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to Yahweh, you are my Lord. Notice how Lord is printed in two different ways there. I say to L, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, that's in Hebrew, that's Yahweh. But then it says, you are my Lord, capital L, little O, little R, little D. Does anybody know what that is in Hebrew? All you scholars, you Hebrew scholars? Adonai. You're my Adonai. You're my Master. You're my King. You're my Sovereign. That kind of stuff. And that's important. When you get to Psalm 110, which Jesus makes a lot out of, it says, Yahweh said to my Adonai, sit at my right hand and tell you, I've made your enemies your footstool. I mean, it's really important and it's intriguing, but anyways, okay. So, I say to Yahweh, 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. All right, so where is the single petition? Okay, here you go, Tony. Where is the single petition in this song? Yeah, yeah, very first words, okay? Preserve me, oh God. Okay, and so what's the request then? Yeah, preservation, right? But he didn't tell you what the trouble is. He just simply says, help, right? That's how it kind of begins. Rescue me, preserve me, hold me, okay? So think about why would there be this request. Think of some positive reasons and think of the negative reasons. Why would there be this request? Yes, yes. So that's why he goes on and says, for in you, I take refuge, right? And all the way through this psalm, he keeps coming back to how the Lord is his refuge. So there's a major positive reason for this request, because I know who you are. You are my refuge, okay? So what might be the negative reason? Doesn't state it, but the implication seems to be subtly there. What would be the negative? Yeah, he needs to take refuge from something. Yeah, yeah, so my goodness is nothing apart from you, okay? Yes. Yeah, yeah, so verse 4, So there's something going on with them so that whoever it is, because he's making a contrast here for a reason. So something's going on with them that's probably, in some sense, unsettling for him and he's crying out to God to preserve him. So there's kind of the negative reason. There's the negative reason and we have also the positive reason, okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a very positive thing, yes. It's a very positive thing. I already mentioned, I also mentioned, I already mentioned Lord, Lord. We already talked about that. But that's, keep an eye on that as you go through your Bible and you hear me, I'll say it in sermons. Most of you know this already. I've already said this enough times, but every so often we have people that come in that have no idea about that. And so you'll hear me continue to say that, but it's really helpful for you to remember all caps L-O-R-D in the Hebrew is Yahweh. And then when it's, by the way, also, if you get into Isaiah, If it's, I don't have a whiteboard. If it's capital L, little o, r, d, and then capital G, capital O, capital D. Okay, that'll happen in Isaiah. That means Adonai Yahweh. Does that make sense? So when you see the description of the deity is in all caps, capital G, capital O, capital D, or capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, you say that two times fast. That's just letting you know that is God's personal covenant name. And that's amazing that God wants to be known by His people. I mean, just stop for a moment. God wants to be known by His people. He says, this is my name. And He allows us to use it. It's pretty big stuff. At least it is to me, right? Okay. You know, I used to joke and say this, when we were in the Air Force, my commander and I were on our first name basis. He always called me Mike and I always called him sir, you know? So a name is really good, right? It's pretty cool. All right, so there you go. So what does David say about God? And what does David say about believers? And what does David say about the others? So there's three questions. What does David say about God in those first four verses? Earl's already mentioned one of them. Without you, I have no good apart from you. What else does David say about God? Yeah, my delight. Yeah, he'll get down there and talk about him being my delight. So in these first four verses, what does he say? Yeah, in whom is all my delight? Yeah, verse two, verse three, sorry, yes. What else? He's our refuge. Yes, you are my Lord, very personal. You are my sovereign, you're my master, you're my king. So here's the king, that's always interesting too. Here's the king of Israel bowing the knee to the king of Israel. Okay, that's huge. All right, so what does he say here about the believers? Those in the covenant community calls them, in the ESV, it's translated as the saints. It could be the holy ones in your translation or something like that. What does he say about the saints? Yeah, they're the excellent ones. Or majestic ones. Is that NIV? NASB, okay, and so it says the holy ones, doesn't it? Okay, so it does say saints, okay, good. There's all kinds of arguments in the commentaries. Is this talking about the holy ones, the angels, the majestic ones, or is this about the believers? But the way he puts it is definitely about the believers, okay? So he calls them the majestic ones or the excellent ones. And it's actually like it's in them he delights. Verse three, as for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones and whom is all my delight, okay? Yeah, that's right, it's good to have them around. They're gonna make nice neighbors, yeah. Good, okay, so then what does he say about the others? Go ahead, Bill, it's okay. Stay away from them, yeah, yeah. What else does he say about the others? Yes, not gonna be good for them. that our sorrows will be multiplied. You know, Friday we had the funeral with Tom Daxon, and I was pointing out in Romans 8 that we are promised as Christians that suffering has an expiration date. But I can't say that to people who aren't Christians, because there is hell. Suffering will not end, right? And so when you read that verse, I mean, you've got, and this is very interesting, that he will go and talk about Sheol later on down in this psalm, okay? And so truly verse four is, I mean, it's true. It's a reality, okay? What else does he say about the others? Anything else in there you see? Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, right, right, right, right. And it could be that, it could be, and this happens, you know how language works, it could be that the there is the gods, but then that wouldn't fit the middle part, their drink offerings, unless their drink offerings is referring to the gods, okay, which is possible, and very likely that that's what he's referring to, but that is a good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not involved in any ungodly worship. Not swearing by the gods. The sorrows of those who run after another god will multiply. Yeah, I'd have to go back and look at the Hebrew word again, but it is an engagement. So this morning, before confession of sin, we're going to be reading from 2 Corinthians 6, 14 to chapter 7, verse 1, a passage we often use to say that that clearly means no intermarriage from Christians and non-Christians. Actually, it's bigger than that. But it's this whole relationship of getting involved too deeply in some relationships that are intense with unbelievers. But it's interesting that language is used there. Some of that language seems to be used there as well. Yeah, so think about the context of that then. If you look at verse three and then verse four, what does that seem to imply about the people of verse three and those of verse four? I mean, David's not a world traveler. He's not getting on American Airlines and going clear off to Pakistan. He's pretty well strapped to a specific geography. What does that tell you about the, what's he referring to here then? We've run across this already once. Yeah, some people in Israel. So to go to Bob's question, some people in Israel bartered with the gods, or acquired the gods, or as the ESV puts it, run after another god. You can just go read Judges. And you've got a whole set of stories that'll depress you. I mean, you know, I mean, that'll help you to understand that verse, right? And so he's talking about people within his frame of reference, and most of them would be within, we would consider within the covenant. They may not be, obviously, apparently not believers, but they're inside the covenant boundaries, okay? And that's contrasted with the others inside the covenant boundaries who are the excellent ones. So how does fealty to the Lord extend outward? David's fealty to the Lord, fealty means loyalty. How does David's fealty to the Lord extend outward? Just look back at those verses again. Usually when I use the word, you'll hear this in the sermon, usually when I use the word outward, I'm referring this way, horizontal. Cause I'll often use, you know, our relationship upward and our relationship outward, right? So you understand what that language is? So when I'm using it, that's how I'm using it. How does his fealty to the Lord extend outward? Yes. Okay. And how does that work out? As you look at this Psalm, Psalm 16 verse three and four specifically. Yeah, yeah. And so he highlights and he focuses on and he's encouraged by the excellent ones, the saints that are in the land. They're my delight. Okay, and so he doesn't spend all of his brain energies on the others. 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. Okay, you see how that is playing out there? All right. Any questions about that passage? Yeah, yeah. Sure. Yeah, you can't fall off a horse on either side, yeah. Because if you do one, then you're Amish. And if you do the other, then, you know, I mean, there's an old Mexican proverb I was told by a Mexican pastor one time. He said, my grandma used to always say, tell me who your friend, he had a great Spanish phrase, though I didn't have a clue what it meant. So he had to translate it. He said, tell me who your friends are, I'll tell you who you are. So you could fall off the horse on either side. So yeah, Moose. Right, right. Sure. Sure. Right, and so this is also in worship language. So it's more than just bumping shoulders with them down at the gas station or even necessarily inviting them to your house because you show hospitality momentarily or whatever. There's something deeper going on here. It's almost that you hang out with them, your loyalty shifts. So it's those kinds of intense relationships, which is why I think 2 Corinthians 6, 14 through 7, 1, which like I said, we'll read before our confession of sin today, includes marriage, but it's more than just marriage. So remember that when we get to that passage. All right, so how is Psalm 16, verses three through four related to Psalm 15, verse four? I know several of you are probably going, I heard this before. Good on you. So how is verses three and four related to chapter 15, Psalm 15, verse four? Especially that, yeah, yeah, verse four, that first part. In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord. How is it related? Yes. Yeah. So remember Psalm 15 is who will dwell in the house of the Lord and the holy hill. It's these people who practice these traits. And here's one of the traits makes a distinction, which is what you see David doing then in chapter 16, Psalm 16, verse three and four. Do you see it there? Does everybody see it? Okay, so I just wanna, I'm gonna try to point out these previous, these connections with the psalm that goes before and maybe the one that goes after as we go through all these psalms because we need to remember the psalms were not put together haphazard. They didn't put it in Moose's spaghetti strainer and start popping it around and letting things fall where they fall. It was actually, there's actually something of an orderliness to the way the psalms are laid out. And usually there's a connection with previous psalms to this one and so forth. Okay. All right. Oh, I got ahead of myself. Here we go. Psalm 16 verses 5 through 8. Let's read that again. Now verses 5 through 8. Yahweh is my chosen portion of my cup. You hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless Yahweh who gives me counsel in the night. Also, my heart instructs me. I have set Yahweh always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be shaken. So what does it say about the Lord there? What is David saying about the Lord there? He doesn't have anything to say about believers or others, but he has a lot to say about the Lord. What are some of the things he says about the Lord? Okay? Yeah, all that language about the lions have fallen on me in pleasant places, he's attributing that to the Lord, yeah. Yep, you hold my lot. What's a lot, John? Oh! The brilliance that comes out of Louisiana. Oh yes, that's awesome. A lot, I mean, it could be property, right? You have a lot, property a lot, but also a lot can be possessions, other possessions, all the things that belong to his life's well-being in some sense, I guess is the way to put it. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, what's happened, yeah, what I have. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. What else does he say about the Lord? Okay, gives him counsel, right? The Lord who gives me counsel. What else? Yeah, my portion that goes along with what John was talking about, my lot. Okay, very good. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Like I've set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. Okay, so if you ever go to the hospital and I come in and read to you some scripture, I often will go to Psalm 73, where the writer of the Psalm talks about how he, you lead me by my right hand, and afterward you will receive me to glory. I hear that phrase, and it's very personal. I remember being a kid, and my dad would be standing next to me. I think I've told you this before. My dad would be standing next to me. We're on a road, right? And you know how crazy Oklahomans can drive, right? Don't you? Yeah. OK. OK. So we're getting ready to cross the road. My dad has helped me to look around and he grabs my hand. And I felt safe when nothing going to touch me and he walks me across the road. It's the same kind of thing. You hold my right hand. That's very personal. And it's a and it's a because he's a personable God, I guess is a good way to put it. OK. Yeah. Yeah. Very good. Great. I mean, it's the same thing as, it goes along with lot. It's just using surveying, probably using surveying language, because he talks about inheritance. And so, you know, if you inherit, if you inherit your property, there's going to be a survey. In fact, I've got a map at our house for our property, you know, has all the lines that belong to me. And so it's that same kind of deal, I think. Good way to put it. Okay, so that's how he describes the Lord, many different ways he describes him. So what are the things the Lord has done? We've already talked about those, the personableness of God, hold my right hand, controlling all things, good. So there's another connection with Psalm 15 here. Can anybody see the connection with Psalm 15 in verses five through eight? And I'll give you a hint. Look at the last part of verse eight. Yes, in fact, it's the same Hebrew word. Okay, so the very last line of Psalm 15, he who does these things shall never be moved, that word moved in the Hebrew is brought up here in verse eight, because he's at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. And I mentioned that last week, you can translate that word, it's a very intense word, as shaken, as rattled, as moved. Right. It's a really important word. So you see another connection there with Psalm 15 So here's you can dwell on that on the holy hill with the Lord and it's this person who will never be shaken and then David says You hold my right hand and I will not be shaken That's our confidence, right? That's our that really is our confidence Is him holding our right hand? Okay Doesn't mean we won't I have some anxiety on occasion, but overall, the general story of our life is, and I'm not shaking. That goes back to what I've said, I'm sorry, because he holds us. And that's why I've said before, when you look at the New Testament, one of the traits that should always show up with Christians is steadiness. how often it comes up in the New Testament, don't be trapped by those false teachers and lose your stability, right? I mean, this is a huge point. And you have to think about where we live and the moment we live in, how many people are stable in our world right now that we know, right? I mean, it's an unsteady place. Who should be some of the most steady, stable people in society then? Why? Because he holds my right hand. Right? So there you go. All right. And he holds our life. Yes. Very good. All right, verse seven shows a parallel thought, it seems to me. In fact, all of these verses go back and forth in parallels. Verse seven shows a parallel thought about the Lord's counsel and the heart's instruction. Okay, somebody's already mentioned nighttime, so that's good. So look at verse seven. I bless Yahweh who gives me counsel, and the night also my heart instructs me. So what's the parallel, the connecting parallel part? Who's the main driver in verse seven? Who said it? The Lord, yes, very good. The Lord is, okay. So the Lord gives me counsel, my heart instructs me. Well, how, that verse has already told you how. How does my heart instruct me at night? It's not a trick question. Yeah, yeah. Right. Right. Right. Mm-hmm. Right, right, right. So it's the Lord who's actually using my heart or working through my heart to give me instruction, counsel or instruction in the night season, okay? But it's the Lord who's in that driver's seat. By the way, the word heart is not heart in the Hebrew. This is one of those moments in Hebrew where it's pretty funny. It's my liver. My liver instructs me in the night season, right? That sounds, I love that. That's great language. John Robert knows what I'm talking about. He's had Hebrews, so he remembers. All right, so think about, so go back in time, not too many decades ago, let's say in your great-grandmother's day. When did the lights go out at the house? Your great-grandmother, sundown. and you're still wide awake, and you may have a fire going, you might have a lamp going, but there's no street lights. You're not going out there, because there's panthers out there, especially if you're in Oklahoma down in the Bogey Creek area, right? There's panthers out there. You're not going out there. You're going to hang around the house. You've got lots of spare time, right? And so it's in the night season. Now you've got spare time. And here's God's counsel that you've heard and you've ingested earlier in the day and now you're mulling it over at night. Does that make sense? Right. So I think that's a really cool picture when you read that in that kind of context. Here's what Ralph Davis says. I love his book and I highly recommend it. I don't remember the name of it. I forgot to put it on here. But anyways his book just just buy everything from Ralph Davis. It's all I could tell you Okay, here's what he says about verse 7 verse 7 then depicts a process Yahweh gives counsel through his word. That's how you know for sure for certain the counsel of the Lord you have his revelation He's given it to us made sure it was inscripted. We have it. We hear it. We read it and So Yahweh gives counsel through his word and the believer takes that word and ponders and chews on it even or especially during the night and finds that it becomes instruction and warning for him or her. I think that's a good way to put verse seven. And so I don't know how many of you are prone to become more anxious at nighttime When nothing's going on and you no longer can watch OSU getting beat by OU. Anyways, and you just have nothing else to do, and all of a sudden your brain starts whizzing. Anybody else had this problem? You could feel sorry for my wife. She has this problem all the time. I'm sleeping over there with a good conscience, a clear conscience, and she's over there going, right? But how many times in the night season do you find sometimes your brain starts linking into worries, fears, concerns, and you start, and it gets worse. It's like it starts feeding a monster. What a great thing, verse seven, maybe stop instead and start pondering the Lord's instruction, His counsel He's given you, and let Him then continue to hand you that instruction even in the night season. Okay. Anybody else on those verses? I have more, so. Yeah, right, right. Yeah. Right, right. Right. Yeah. Yeah, and that's kind of what David's doing. I mean, this whole Psalm, again, as I mentioned at the beginning, has only one request, and the rest of it is just packed full of thanksgiving. So the old song, count your blessings, name them one by one. That's kind of what he's doing in this Psalm here. Yeah, yeah. Yes. Yes. Okay, that's a good point. I don't hope everybody heard that. That's part of his preservation is the counsel he's given us and spending time with it. Okay, actually letting it be, let it infect your liver so it can instruct you in the night seasons, you know, or whatever. Far better the scripture to infect your liver than something else. But anyway, okay. So as you think about verses five through eight, what are some ways it guides you in your own outlook? We've already mentioned Thanksgiving, Part of God's preservation is his counsel. How else is it guiding your outlook? Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's great. It works for me. The guy, the guide on at the front of the, if you're marching a formation, everybody's got their eye on that guide on and he turns, he's listening to the commands and he turns, everybody just, you know, so all that works. Yeah. Great. Because where are we prone to look? Where are we prone to look? Everywhere but there, right? I mean, we're prone to look inside, we're prone to look at our neighbors, in comparison, in contrast, whatever, and instead, keeping our eyes on him, that's good. Yeah, right, right, yep. Good. So have you ever considered writing out a heartwarming, emotional, theologically and biblically rich descriptions of God to rehearse in your prayers on occasions? Have you ever thought about sitting down and actually writing out, let me go back through these terms, writing out heartwarming, emotional, think about Psalm 16, heartwarming, emotional, theologically and biblically rich descriptions of God for you to rehearse in your prayers on occasion. Have you ever thought about doing that? I would like to encourage you to do that. Spend some time actually thinking about him and why you have faith in him and confidence in who he is. Write it out. You don't have to write a thesis. I'm not asking you to write a thesis paper. Just do bullet points, if that works for you. Just do bullet points and then use that maybe once a week or on occasion and actually just go through and rehearse it and say, Lord, this is who you are. I'm amazed and you're my God. Woo! I'm really amazed. If you have done it, what did you notice? Anybody? If you've done this, what have you noticed? Anybody? Huh? Makes me more thankful. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Good. Yeah. And it brings me to actually confess my sins. Because I'll say, you know, I know this is true of you. And this last week, I didn't act that way because I didn't believe that. Because these actions showed clearly I was not remembering this. Yes, Fred. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, good, hold that thought, because Augustine's gonna show up here in a minute. Okay, good job, yeah. But that's a good place, you know, if you get a chance, read Augustine's Confessions. The last three books are really hard to read, because he gets into some esoteric philosophy, but when you read, especially the first 10 books or first 10 chapters, you'll notice he's telling his biography. but you will notice it's all in prayer. And the whole time he is rehearsing who God is, what he has done, is doing, and will do for his people. It's a huge, it's a beautiful, beautiful piece. And it is a great thing to be trained in doing yourself. Okay. Practicing the same thing. I mean, like for one, in one situation, he had some, something bad happened. And he says, as he's rehearsing, then he stops and says, but you know, cause you were there. And you preserved me even through that. Right? What a great way to work through those things. Very good. Somebody else? I saw another hand somewhere. Yes? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yep. All right. You ready to move on? Verses 9 through 11. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices, and my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol. Sheol, by the way, is, in Hebrew, is the place of the dead. In Greek, it's Hades. In Hebrew, it's Sheol. 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. So the firmness of verse eight, the firmness of verse eight, I've set the Lord always before me because he's at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. The firmness of verse eight opens up in the verse nine through 11. So where do you see the thought, the concept, I shall not be shaken expanded in verses nine through 11? I shall not be shaken. How is that expanded and opened out in verses nine through 11? Won't be abandoned. Yeah. Your path of life and fullness of joy. Okay. What else? I'm sorry? Security. Specifically in what area? Yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah. Good, good. So explain the way that verse nine and 11, I'm gonna skip verse 10 for just a moment. Explain the way that verse nine and 11 are actually deeply associated. How are verse nine and 11 deeply associated? Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells secure. You make known to me the path of life and your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. eternal promise okay eternal promise yeah okay yeah it doesn't just happen just for a few minutes right there's an eternity eternality to it so Bob was talking about the eternality that forever at the very end forevermore what else Yeah, that would be definitely a very secure concept. You've shown me the path of life, especially if you're used to taking foot trails, and if you've ever taken the wrong foot trail, and you end up in cactuses, yeah, that makes a lot of good sense. It's very much about security. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Very good. Okay, so you can keep thinking about that and work through that because they fit really together. Verses 9 and 11 also fit in with some of the sentiment of verses 5 through 8. Does anybody see anything? Just real quick because we want to start moving to something here in a second. Do you see any ways that verse 9 and 11 fit in with verses 5 through 8? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so there's even more. You can spend some time working through that and you'll see that there's more connections there. So how does this fit then, especially when you get to verse 9 and 11, how does that fit in with the Westminster Confession of Faith, Westminster Shorter Catechism number one? What is the chief end of man? Yeah, and glorify God and enjoy him forever is how we've got it in our shorter catechism. I love how the Baptist preacher John Piper tweaked it and added and changed it to by enjoying him forever. Glorify God by enjoying him forever. Okay, so how do these two verses actually fit in with that catechism? With a little John Piper spice thrown in there. I mean, is David glorifying God? Yeah, he's adoring him, right? So glorifying God, and is David enjoying God? There we go. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so that shorter catechism question actually is a good summary of this portion of Psalm 16, all right? Very good, all right. I still have fulfillment up there. I'm not at fulfillment anymore. Hey, I am, I am at fulfillment, but it's the wrong verses. It should be 9 through 11. So here's how I wrote this last week in the letter. Christians in North America are some of the most whiny, complaining, shrill people there are. We worry about everything, pray about nothing, and complain without ceasing. I would add to this that our social environment in this country is becoming more and more ungrateful. Across the generations, from boomers in Gen X to millennials in Gen Z, we are increasingly thinking we're entitled and have a right to prosperity. Therefore, we grumble, grouse, and gripe, world without end. But the scripture tells us that we Christians are to be some of the most thankful people in our country and community. In fact, thankfulness is a centerpiece of the faith. Being a thankful people is a serious gospel-driven Christian trait. from Colossians 2, 6 through 7. Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord. So now you know he's talking about the center of the faith. As you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and establish in the faith just as you were taught, abounding with thanksgiving. Notice that receiving the Lord Jesus, being rooted and built up and established in the faith and being thankful, all dance together. Thanksgiving is a centerpiece of the faith. So I also say, here's where Fred gets some credit here because now I'm gonna bring in Augustine. I also say in weddings, and I actually end up quoting Psalm 16, verse 11 as part of this, but I'm actually pulling this right out the wedding homily that I do. It is here in the depth and warmth of this marriage relationship where we begin to taste the depth and the warmth of the relationship with God that we were created for. Because in the same way we enjoy the intimacy and love in marriage, so also God made us to enjoy the intimacy and love of God. And that's usually where I quote Psalm 16, verse 11. You will show me the path of life and your presence is fullness of joy at your right hand are pleasures forevermore in that fellowship. or as an ancient African pastor, St. Augustine, once put it in a prayer, you awaken us to delight in your praise for you made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Okay, I think that's a great way to summarize Psalm 16. But I want you to take one final notice, verse 10. Notice verse 10, somebody read verse 10 for us again. out loud for all to hear. So I want you to observe how Peter uses this verse and how he develops its meaning. So we're all going to turn to Acts chapter 2 verses 25 through 32. Acts 2. So after he's talked about Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, all the way up to verse 25, he now says this, starting at verse 25, for David, this is Peter still preaching on that first Pentecost after the resurrection. For David says concerning him, concerning Jesus, I saw the Lord, here now he's quoting Psalm 16. I saw the Lord always before, he's getting ready to quote Psalm 16. I saw the Lord always before me for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced. My flesh also will dwell in hope for you will not abandon my soul to Hades or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life. you will make me full of gladness with your presence. Brothers, I may say to you with confidence that the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day, 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, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah, the Christ. that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses. So notice how he develops taking that verse, verse 10, but he takes it in that context, and he takes it and he develops it. How does he develop that verse? How does he run with it? What's his reasoning in that verse, for that verse? Right. David did, Jesus didn't. But notice he makes another connection. David knowing that he was promised that one of his descendants would sit on his throne, 2 Samuel 7. So it reminds you then as you're reading the Psalms, David is speaking personally, he's speaking as a king of Israel, but he also knows the promise that one of his descendants will sit upon his throne forever. And so there's always gonna be, whether David fully understood it or not, will always be this edge towards Christ in David's words, David's song. Always this edge moving in that direction, looking in that direction. And Peter brings that out here. Okay? But if that's true, well, hold this thought here. We won't go here because of time, but you can go see how Paul takes that same verse, Psalm 16, verse 10, and he develops it. If you're writing notes, Acts 13, verses 35 through 39. He does a similar thing with it, okay? Yeah, okay. So here's how an Eastern Orthodox priest who used to be an Episcopal priest that I know, how he put it in his book called Christ and the Psalms. His name is Patrick Henry Reardon. Even though it was King David saying these things, the voice speaking more deeply in Psalm 16 according to St. Peter is the voice of Christ. As the forefather and type of Christ, David was speaking in the tones of prophecy. David was praying in persona Christi. We're Western, we like Latin, so that should really make us happy, right? In persona Christi, in the person of Christ, David was praying in the person of Christ, looking forward to the one who was to come. I think that's a good way to put that, okay? And then you can also look at 1 Peter 1, verses 10 through 12, where Peter tells you, that the prophets of the Old Testament were filled with the spirit of Christ and were always pointing them to Christ. Well, David's a prophet as well. Peter says so. And so he's always pointing them to Christ. They didn't understand always what they were saying, right? But they knew it was going somewhere and they longed for that day. Psalm 16, verse 10 is one of those verses. And so, before I get to this, If Psalm 1610 was true about Jesus, what then do you know is true about you? That is a trick question, come on, come on. Did Jesus die and rise from the dead just for himself? Huh? He's the first fruits, right? Paul says it in 1 Corinthians 15. If Jesus rose from the dead, body, blood, bones, toenails, and hair, no longer subject to misery or mortality, our day's coming. Right? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Right. Right. Right. Right. So what does Psalm 16 encourage you to do in your own prayers? Yes! High five to John Robert. That's right. It's exactly right. Help us to think about, we can have our requests, but maybe we've got it wrong. We pray all the time about things and we almost never spend time adoring God and thanking him. Maybe we need to turn our bicycle the other way around and find out it actually pedals better. I don't know, you know. Psalm 16 is great. Not saying we shouldn't do the other thing, but I'm just saying Psalm 16 is a good corrective to help us with that. So how does it point you to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? As you look at Psalm 16, and yes, you can cheat and use Acts 2 and Acts 13, but how does Psalm 16 point you to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Who's holding your right hand? The Father, right? And so, and then it points you to Jesus. We already talked about that. How does the Holy Spirit show up here? I'm sorry? Yes, he continues to take that word, that counsel of the Lord, and he keeps working in on our livers. Right? In the night season. Yeah, very good. So does this Psalm guide your perception of the church? If so, in what way? Just think back to verse three and four. Just look back and reflect quickly on verse three and four. In the covenant community in David's time, in his frame of reference, there were the excellent ones in whom his soul delighted, and there were others. Never be surprised. I'm always surprised that Christians get surprised. that there's trouble in the church, okay, or that there's sinners, or people who claim to be Christians who do immoral things. I'm surprised when Christians are surprised that happens. We have all kinds of Bible reasons to never be surprised, and this would be one of them, okay? I'm sorry? Yes, yeah, so we have a choice. We could focus all day long on the other, or we can focus on the, in that sense, on the excellent ones, yeah. So where in the Westminster, I already gave you this, so I'm gonna see if you were awake during that part. Where in the Westminster Shorter Catechism do you maybe see a summarization of Psalm 16? Ah, number one! And what does number one ask? What's the chief in a man? And the answer is? Very good. Excellent. All right. That finishes my presentation of Psalm 16. Anybody have any questions or observations, clarifications, consternations, conflagrations, any of the shuns? Yes. Sure. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Good. All right. Anybody else? All right, next week will be Psalm 17. So you can prepare this week by reading Psalm 17. Let's pray. Lord God, we do pray with David that you would preserve us for you are our refuge. We have every reason under the sun and everything beyond the sun, every reason to trust you. You're the God who wants to be known. You're the God who counsels us. You're the God who holds us by our right hand. So we have no need to be terrified and anxious in that sense that disorients us, Lord. We have every reason to be some of the most stable and steadfast and sturdy people in our society. We thank you that in your fellowship is everlasting joy and the fullness of joy, Lord. And so we pray that you, even this morning, as we get ready to walk into the sanctuary and worship you, that you would draw us into that, that we would sense it and know it, that our hearts would be lifted up, adoring you for who you are, what you've done, are doing, and will do for your people. In the name of the one whom you did not leave in the grave, we pray, amen.