If you would, turn in your Bibles to the book of Psalms. We'll be looking this evening at Psalm 16. Psalm 16 is one of those portions of Scripture where the purpose for which it was given is without doubt and is abundantly clear. As we saw in the New Testament sighting of it, this is a Psalm that's primary purpose was to prove and to prophesy the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And certainly there are other complementary and supplementary purposes of this psalm, complementary lessons to learn, and we'll learn a few of those. But first and foremost, this is a resurrection psalm that points us to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the resurrection hope that we have in him, the hope that we have in our rest, the comfort that we have in death through him. So with those thoughts in mind here now, God's pure, pure word from Psalm 16, all 11 verses. A mictum of David. Preserve me, O God, for in you I put my trust. Oh, my soul, you have said to the Lord, you are my Lord. My goodness is nothing apart from you. As for the saints who are on the earth, they are excellent ones in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied, who hasten after another God. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take up their names on my lips. O Lord, you are the portion of my inheritance in my cup. You maintain my lot. The lions have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance. I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel. My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me because he is my he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad. and my glory rejoices, my flesh also will rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life, and your presence is fullness of joy at your right hand. Our pleasures forevermore." This ends the reading of God's Word. David begins in verse one with a petition, as he often does, here a petition for the Lord to preserve him. And as we've seen throughout the Psalms that we've looked at up to this point, when David's crying out for preservation or deliverance, he's crying out for preservation or deliverance from all of his enemies, from the world, the flesh, and the devil, as it had manifested itself in his days, crying out. for the Lord to preserve him and to keep him, as we've seen before, from being moved, from stumbling off of the narrow path. And also, per David's practice, we see him enforce his petition with an argument, something we often need to be reminded of doing, in which we are seemingly every Psalm we look at. And it tires me not to remind you and myself that we need to be doing this in our own prayers. You see, David knows, he knows that those who trust in the Lord are promised preservation by the Lord. He wrote Psalm 12, 7, which as we saw, God promises to preserve and to keep the poor and the needy, that is those who trust in him. And so knowing this, David cries out for the Lord to preserve him for that because I have trusted in you. Once again, David appealing to God based on who he is and what he does. Preserve me, O God, because I trust in you and you preserve those who trust in you. So preserve me, O God. And in verse two, David goes on to initiate a conversation, in essence, with himself. Oh, my soul, you have said to the Lord, you are my Lord. My goodness is nothing apart from you. You see, David, not merely with his mouth, but in his heart, confesses the Lord to be his Lord. Though a king of men, David is a man who has a servant disposition, sees himself as a man in submission, joyful submission to the Lord his God. And he confesses that his goodness is nothing apart from the Lord. And in this we see a confession of David, a confession of his own creatureliness and his own servanthood, that he is indeed a servant. David knows himself to be but a creature of the dust. He knows himself being a creature of the dust, being a creature, that anything good he has is derived. He has nothing good in and of himself. David knows as a saved sinner. that any good work he does, any good he does is not at all from his own ability, but is wholly from the Spirit of Christ working in him. As a servant, David knows that any good he does that the Lord commands him to do, even when he does it, He is but an unprofitable servant who has but done his duty, just as all of us are, even when we do those things the Lord has called us to do. Unprofitable servants doing but our duty, no good of ourselves, no merit in the eyes of the Lord. After having confessed and spoken, we could say, spoken of his own creatureliness and servanthood, David goes on in verse three to speak as a king, to speak as the Lord's anointed. He says, As for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones. in whom is all my delight. Now the saints and you, like David, have no excellence whatsoever in and of yourself. You have no excellence in and of yourself. Rather, you are excellent because God has declared you to be excellent. For God has made and is making you excellent. He has put excellent, perfect, spotless, white robes of righteousness around you. He has crowned you with a royal crown of holiness in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has put the name, you have the name of your Lord placed upon you. And so you see, David sees the saints, speaks of the saints, speaks of you, and not as you are, not as they are in and of themselves, but as the saints are in the Lord Jesus Christ. excellent ones in whom is all his delight. So beloved, we need to learn from this, we should learn, how much more we ought to be delighting in one another. And not because there is anything delightful in us. There is much sin that remains in us, and yet, as David, we ought be more delightful in, more delighted in, one another because of how excellent We are in Christ. Delight in your brothers and sisters. Not because they're delightful, but because they're excellent in the Lord Jesus Christ. When I was thinking of this, what came to mind was a couple of C.S. Lewis's famous quotes, where Lewis says that if you saw Right now, think about this right now, this very moment. If you saw one of your brothers or sisters as they truly are in Christ, or as they will be in glory, you would be strongly tempted to worship any single person in this room. That is how glorious, that is how excellent. Think of people falling down before angels. We're told that we will be as angels in glory in heaven. And Lewis goes on to say, after that, that your brothers and sisters, if they be in Christ, are one of the holiest objects that could ever be presented to your senses. And David, with this kind of mindset, proclaims, excellent, excellent are the saints in whom I delight. So having spoken of his own creatureliness and servanthood and the excellence of the saints, David goes on to speak about those who hasten after other gods, goes on, their sorrows, he says, their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take up their names on my lips. this language here of the multiplication of sorrows, echoes of God's curse upon Eve in the Garden of Eden after the fall. I mean, you remember, essentially, Eve hastens after. another God. She hastens after Satan, puts Satan in the place of God, lusts of the eyes, lusts of the flesh as she partakes of the fruit that God had told her not to take. And what is the curse that he pronounces upon Eve amongst others is that he will multiply her sorrows, that he will multiply her sorrows. And so it always has been the case since the beginning and it always will be the case that those who hasten after other gods, those who lust after the idols of their own hearts will suffer the multiplication of sorrows. And again, is this not a lesson that you know to be true in your own life? Ask yourself, what good has ever come your way from hastening after an idol of your heart? From the lust of the flesh, from the lust of the eyes, what good, what multiplications of goodness have ever come to you? Whatever God it may be, sex, money, power, fame, reputation, food, things, spouse, children, parents, whatever it may be. If you serve these gods, if you set any of these things or anything else upon the altar in the throne of your heart, where only Christ is to be, multiplication of sorrows awaits you. It's guaranteed whether now or in the life to come, it will eventually lead to the multiplication. David goes on to say, their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take up their names on my lips. And this language of the drink offerings of blood seems to be a reference likely to the practices of the Canaanites and the Israelites who copied the Canaanites that are mentioned in Psalm 106, verses 37 to 38. when Israel is condemned for offering sacrifices of their sons and daughters, for offering the sacrifices of innocent blood to the idols and to the demons of Canaan. And then in Exodus 23.13 and in Joshua 23.7, we see that this taking of one's name, this taking of a God's name upon one lips is essentially shorthand for swearing by, for bowing down to and for serving another God. And so essentially in verse four, David is saying that he will have no part. He will resolve to refuse to partake in the idolatry of the nations. He will not offer the sacrifices they offer, nor bow down to the gods that they bow down to and serve. And again, beloved, another lesson. You need to refuse, refuse to sacrifice to and to bow down to and to serve the gods of our culture and of our age. Resolve not to offer the sacrifices of your time, the sacrifices of your health, the sacrifices of your family to the gods of money and things. These are the gods of our age, sex, money, power, things. And these are the sacrifices that our culture offers up on the altar to them, in worship of them, giving of our time, not necessary time, excessive time, giving of time, sacrificing health, sacrificing family. These are the idols. These are the sacrifices. And like David, you must resolve, resolve this night to not offer them up because these gods are insatiable. They will require of you drink offering after drink offering after drink offering of your time your health and your family until you are dredged dry and they will spit you out like a cheap whatever. No care at all. Thank you. Bring another to sacrifice to me. Resolve to refuse to offer the drink offerings of our culture to the gods of our culture. David goes on in verses 5 to 6. He wants nothing to do with the false gods and idols of the world because he already has more than he could ever need or want. He says, O Lord, You, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup, the background here to David's words or God's words to Aaron, the high priest in Numbers 18 20. Then the Lord said to Aaron, you shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them. I, I am your portion and your inheritance among the children. of Israel." This is the promise to all of God's people, to you, to the true saints, faithful in Christ. You have not been promised an earthly inheritance, but a heavenly inheritance. Indeed, the very God of heaven itself. David goes on to say that the Lord maintains His lot That is, the Lord preserves His inheritance. 1 Peter 1.4 tells us that your inheritance is reserved in heaven for you. As I was reflecting on this, I couldn't help but think about an earthly inheritance that was once promised to me as a younger child. I had a grandpa who had a really nice Corvette. And he always promised me from the time I was very young and growing up that that Corvette was my inheritance from him. So I was excited my entire childhood to finally get this Corvette from my grandpa. And later in life, his health started to decline. He had his own business. His business started to decline with it. And eventually he had to sell the Corvette to pay for a surgery that he needed. I was disappointed and devastated at the time, but after being converted, I've often been thankful of that providence. We heard on Wednesday, whoever may have been here for the Thanksgiving service, the language Paul used of learning contentment, learning by practice, okay? The Lord has taught me by practice and by His Word the uncertainty of earthly inheritances. And so are all earthly inheritances. But beloved, not so, not so with your heavenly inheritance. For God says that it is above, it is far above all earthly circumstances. It is far above what must rust or moth could destroy. It's far above what any thief could reach. You're told that nothing Nothing can separate you from the love of your God in Jesus Christ. Nothing can keep Him from giving Himself to you and from bringing you to Him. And so can we not say, can we not all say this night with David, oh, how the lines have fallen to me. How pleasant the lines have fallen to me. I have a good inheritance, indeed the best, beloved. Your God, your inheritance is your infinite Lord, your infinite God. And your portion is communion and sweet fellowship with Him in glory forever. And David knows as well as we do that these lines These lines haven't fallen to him by chance, but his good inheritance, our good inheritance, has come to us by pure, sovereign grace. And this is what David's getting at in verse 7. He says, I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel. My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I say what I say because the counsel that David is speaking of here is that counsel that has come to him from the counselor of counselors, the Holy Spirit, who in David's effectual calling has enabled him, has enlightened his mind and persuaded him to embrace the Lord as his portion, has counseled him to embrace Jesus And he continues, this counselor of counselors, continues to instruct. And the word here is really the word for chastise, so discipline by instruction and correction. Continues to instruct and correct David in his inner man, warning him, preserving him, keeping him on the path of life. And so David says that he now always sets, he always sets the Lord before him. He always sets the Lord before him as that glorious object of his trust and hope, as his rock and his refuge, as his portion and his blessedness. And David again in verse 8 takes comfort in the Lord's preserving grace. He says, Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. You see, because the Lord has promised not to leave him or forsake him, David is confident that he shall not be moved, that he shall not stumble, that stumble unto death from the narrow path. You see, David isn't confident. He doesn't say, I won't stumble because I'm excellent. He says, I won't stumble. because the Lord is at my right hand. He is confident, boldly and humbly in the preserving grace of His Lord and Savior. And therefore, David goes on to say, therefore my heart is glad, my glory rejoices, my flesh also will rest in hope. It's interesting here by glory, David means his tongue, his tongue. It may sound weird, but in Psalm 30 verse 12, it's very clear that glory is used with reference to the tongue. And if you caught it in Acts chapter two, The Greek word for tongue is put in the place of glory here. So glory in the Hebrew refers to one's tongue, you see. So his heart is glad. He rejoices with his tongue, that is, with his mouth, with his words. He sings praises to his God. He says that also his flesh will rest in hope. You say, why? Why, David, is your heart so glad? Why does your glory rejoice? Why is your flesh rest and hope? David goes on to tell us. He says, because you will not leave. His God will not leave His soul in Sheol. He will not leave His soul in the grave, in the estate of death. Nor will He allow His Holy One to see corruption. He will not allow His body to be corrupted. to rot, to be decomposed, you see. But He will raise him from the grave, which is essentially what David says in his next words. He says, You will show me the path of life. So not only will you not allow my body to see corruption, or the body of your Holy One to see corruption, but you will raise me up and lead me on the path. Lead me to everlasting life, David is saying. And then David ends again by speaking of the everlasting blessedness of everlasting life. You see, for David to be in the presence of his God, is fullness of joy. It's not some vacation, it's not some amount of money, it's not some thing. It's God being in his God's presence. And he says that your right hand are pleasures forevermore. So in Psalm 16, summing up what it says, we see David trusting and rejoicing in the Lord, his God and his inheritance, which is the Lord, his God. And we see his hope in the resurrection and everlasting life with his God. But we also know from the New Testament that from verse 8 onward, at minimum, David was self-consciously, self-consciously not speaking about himself. But being a prophet, you remember, being a prophet, knowing that the Lord had sworn an oath to raise up from the fruit of David's body, according to the flesh, to raise up the Christ, to sit on his throne. In foreseeing this, David speaks not of his own resurrection, but he speaks of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's his body his body, his soul that was not left in the grave. And it's only his body that did not see corruption. He was raised from the dead. And I don't know about you, but when I was saying about the resurrection just like 30 minutes ago, I'm not floored enough by this as much as I should be and as I once was. I still remember shortly after being converted, sitting on the side of my bed in Trafalgar, Indiana, and reading about the evidences of the resurrection that the Bible gives us. We believe them because the Bible gives them to us, but it's amazing the evidences of the resurrection that the Bible gives. I mean, hundreds of people saw Jesus Christ alive after he was crucified, dead and buried. Multiple people went to his grave and saw an empty tomb. And then the people who wanted to deny it, the enemies of the cross, What is the best that they could do? It was to create a lie that the body had been stolen. And what does that imply? That they knew the tomb was empty. That Jesus Christ was risen from the dead. Your Savior rose. I'm not seeing enough smiles and stuff. That is insane. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Let that settle in. Reflect on that. Fulfilled in history. This promise written a thousand years before it happened, two thousand years ago today. Empty tomb. Alive. And therefore, in light of that, the scriptures tell us that the whole world is to know that God has made this Jesus both Christ and Lord, and that he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness through this Jesus Christ. And thus he commands all men, women, and children to repent of their sins and to believe on this Jesus Christ crucified and raised for sinners. And so turn, turn from trusting in your own goodness, Stop believing the lies that any are good, that any are good apart from the Lord. Stop, cease hastening after other gods, lusting after idols of your own heart, knowing that because if you do not The multiplication of sorrows that may come your way in this life, do not even compare to the infinite sorrows that would await you in hell. If you do not cease from hastening after other gods, there is no hope for any apart from Jesus Christ. There is no hope in rest. There is no comfort in death. There is no fullness of presence and joy. Only fullness of wrath awaits those who reject this God, man, this Jesus Christ. And so come to Him tonight. He offers Himself freely to you, guilty, idolatrous, sinner, though you may be, if you sit here, dead in your sins. But He offers Himself freely, freely. So embrace Jesus Christ. Embrace the gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Receive him. Rest on him tonight. Heed his voice, calling you to repent and to believe on Christ, crucified for sinners. And to the saints. To you, excellent ones in Christ Jesus, remember the blessedness that you have tonight in Christ. Remember the hope that you have in rest. Remember the comfort that you have in death. And our catechisms unfold what we could call a nine-point hope that we have in death. Remember, one, that the moment your body dies, your soul will immediately be made perfect in holiness. Two, Then you will be received into the highest heavens. Three, there you will await, there you will await, I'm sorry, there you will behold the face of your God and Savior in glory and in light. And then four, there you will await the full redemption of your bodies, the reunion of body and soul. And then on the last day, once the weight is up, you will be raised up in power and glory, your holy soul reunited to a holy and glorified body. And then you will be caught up into the clouds and sat at his right hand. And then you will be openly acknowledged as righteous in his sight, openly acquitted of all of your sins through his blood. And then you shall join with Christ in the judging of the reprobate angels and men. And then, beloved, then you shall be received into the new heavens and the new earth, where you will be forever free from all sin and misery, filled, filled with inconceivable joys, filled with inconceivable joys. Think of it. made holy and happy in both body and soul, not only in the everlasting communion that you will have with innumerable saints and innumerable angels, but preeminently in the face-to-face vision and everlasting communion that you will have with your triune God in the face and in the person of Jesus Christ. That is the rest that the saints have in hope or that's the hope that they have and rest. That is the comfort that you have in death. And never forget, too, that it's a certain comfort. It's a certain hope for Christ has already died. He has already been raised. He has already entered into heaven and he is fully purchased. No take backs. Fully purchased this hope for you. through His blood. And He has promised to never leave you, never leave you, nor forsake you. If you are His, you cannot stumble, the stumble unto death. You will be preserved to the end. So, beloved, let your heart be glad. Let us respond with tongues and words of rejoicing, because in Him you have this hope. and rest.