PSALM 16

 ^{WITH GOD...
                   THERE ARE PLEASURES FOREVERMORE}

¹     Watch over me, O God, for in You I put my trust.

²     O my soul, you have said to the Lord,

     “You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You.”

³     As for the saints who are on the earth,

     “They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

⁴     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.

⁵     O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;

     You maintain my lot.

⁶     The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;

     Yes, I have a good inheritance.

⁷     I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;

     My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

⁸    I have set the Lord always before me;

     Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

⁹     Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;

     My flesh also will rest in hope.

¹⁰ For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,

     Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

¹¹     You will show me the path of life--

     In Your presence is fullness of joy,

     At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
 

           The truth of the Bible is that sin may bring short-term pleasure, but it always brings long-term misery and pain. Submitting to God may first bring short-term difficulty, but it always results in lasting joy and pleasure.  These short term difficulties come from our cleansing—from the purging away of past mistakes and being made whole and clean again through the blood of Christ.   And so the core of the Christian life is to seek lasting joy and pleasure in God alone.  His ways will never fail us. 

            Pleasure from the world’s perspective—such as “drink and sex and ambition” can not satisfy. The means will never match up with the desired result.  But in knowing and following Jesus Christ, as Psalm 34:8 invites us to do, “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” It’s an invitation to enjoy God to the full!

            Psalm 16 can lead us into experiencing joy and pleasure found only in God: “In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever” (v. 11).  When we make the Lord our supreme treasure, we will be satisfied with pleasures now and forever in Him.

            The world without Christ does not and can not know or understand.  Until they have agreed to see it for themselves they will never know of the blessings that await...
            “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” It’s an invitation to enjoy God to the full!

            We can agree that verses 8-11 speak prophetically of Christ, because Peter quoted them of Christ (Acts 2:25-28). So my third point is that all of God’s treasures are centered in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

MAKE THE LORD YOUR REFUGE AND SAVIOR (16:1).

           “Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.” We don’t know whether David wrote this at a time when his life was in danger or if he was reflecting on the general course of his life.

            Instinctively we try to protect ourselves from harm and danger. We avoid risks that could harm us, but the bottom line is that the eternal God, who spoke the universe into existence by His power... He is our protector. What He created He WILL watch over if we allow him to do so.  Colossians 1:17 states that in Christ, “all things hold together.” If He were to let go, we would literally fall into all types of evil and destruction.  We need the Lord’s protection constantly.

MAKE THE LORD YOUR LORD AND YOUR SUPREME GOOD (16:2).

            “I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord--in myself there is no good in me apart from You.”  
          

            Being a Christian, a follower of Jesus, means that the Spirit of God has opened your eyes to see Jesus as the most valuable treasure in the world. He is the pearl of great value, worth giving up everything that you have to gain Him. From joy over this discovery, you forsake all else in order to gain Christ.

MAKE THE LORD THE BASIS OF YOUR FRIENDSHIPS (16:3).

           “As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.” Making the Lord our only good (v. 2) does not imply separating from all people.  Rather, it is to put God at the center of everything, including our relationships.  If we can’t or find it difficult to do this, we may want to re-consider these friendships.  Do they cause us to walk into and participate in their sin?  Make the Lord your supreme treasure by making Him your supreme good—making Him the basis of your friendships.

WHEN THE LORD IS YOUR SUPREME TREASURE, YOU WILL BE SATISFIED WITH PRESENT TREASURES AND ENJOY HIS COUNSEL AND INSTRUCTION (16:7-8).

           “I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” David kept his mind so intently fixed upon the providence of God, he was fully persuaded, that whenever any difficulty or distress should come, God would be always at hand to assist him.  We would be correct to conclude that in all dangers, God promises certain safety.  With the eyes of faith, he can behold God as present with us.

WHEN THE LORD IS YOUR SUPREME TREASURE, YOU EXPERIENCE ETERNAL JOY AND PLEASURE IN GOD’S PRESENCE (16:10-11)

            “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol [Hell] nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” David had a hope beyond the grave to enjoy fullness of joy and eternal pleasure in God’s presence. That is your hope if you know the Lord as your supreme treasure.

           But you may be asking, still how can I know for sure?  “If I don’t go after worldly pleasures and instead seek pleasure in God, how can I be sure of the eternal joy and pleasure that God promises?”  

ALL OF GOD’S PROMISES OF ETERNAL LIFE ARE SECURED BY THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST (16:8-11).

            As the Apostle Paul explains (1 Corinthians 15:12-19), the entire Christian faith rests on the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead. If His body is in the tomb and has not risen, then the gospel is of no avail.  But Paul and Peter and many other faithful witnesses joyfully testify that God did not leave Jesus in the tomb. He was raised from death back to life.  His own spirit still remains here on earth to guide us.  That means that God’s promises of eternal joy and pleasure in His presence are secure for those who trust in the risen Savior!

            In “Desiring God”, John Piper explains how C. S. Lewis helped him to see that it is natural to seek our own pleasure. C.S. Lewis wrote (Piper, ibid., p. 17), “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

            Infinite joy and pleasure are offered to us in Jesus Christ. Sell all that you have to buy the field with that great, eternal treasure and you will have fullness of joy and pleasures forever in Him!