Complete Satisfaction in God

Psalm 16.

I'm going to title this Complete Satisfaction in God. For one thing, there's a confidence that things are taken care of.

And there's also contentment because it's taken care of. When you have satisfaction in God, you're confident in what He's doing. And you're content with what He's given you.

I think this psalm entails all of this and really beautifully explains. And what we as believers are to have in our hearts, in our relationship with God. And that's complete satisfaction in Him.

I'll admit that we don't often do it as well as we should. But when David wrote this psalm, he had it going right. And so we need to pay attention to what he's saying there.

Alright, Psalm 16. Starts off with a mictum of David. It says, 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 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. I think I could read that over and over all day long.

It's just a wonderful, wonderful psalm. One of my favorites. Well, let's deal with this title mictum to start off with. And scholars widely differ on the meaning of this term.

So you can almost make up whatever you want. But we'll see some of these that they say. Some define it as a musical term. Some define it as overlaid with gold.

Which ties into the next definition. Maybe a precious jewel. And some define it as secret meaning. A mictum. Spurgeon, going off that last definition, says this is the psalm of the precious secret.

He liked that title for it. And whether he was citing the title mictum or not, the meaning of this psalm ought to be precious to all believers. And it's definitely a secret to those who are lost and don't know Christ. They cannot fathom it.

But it's also used in the titles of Psalms 56 through 60 as well. And each of these psalms have something in common that they conclude on a happy and triumphant note at the end.

So that's about all you know about the mictum. And that may not be worth anything. But there's my attempt at explaining it. So a mictum of David. Alright, so verse 1.

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. Divine preservation is what I see here. Divine preservation. Now David is praying from the standing as one who has salvation, right?

It's not really a correct use of the English language. But you cannot be preserved if you have not first been served, as it were. He is saved and he's asking God to preserve him.

And that means to keep, sustain, protect, harbor, defend, shelter. Preserve me, O God. It reminds us our salvation in both life and death depends entirely on God's protection.

David knows this. God alone. He alone is able, our almighty God. Listen to the words from Psalm 62. For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence.

For my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation. My fortress. I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory.

My mighty rock. My refuge is God. That's what David's saying here. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. Well, this is a common phrase in God's covenant community.

The place of refuge or the cities of refuge. Remember hearing about those in God's law prescribed. Other Psalms talk about this too.

O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge. Save me from all my pursuers and deliver me. In the Lord I take refuge. Psalm 17, wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior, of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.

So David is always saying this in the Psalms. This is cities of refuge. Something's happening. All right, so refuge.

What is a refuge? It's a place of strength, defense, might, protection. And in this, I think it's definitely a place of settled hope.

A place of settled hope. In you I take refuge. So, see the parallelism there. It's God and refuge.

You and refuge. These words are interchangeable here. Because of who God is and what He does, He is a refuge to His children. So just think about that first verse.

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. There's a lot there. It's divine preservation. God protecting His children.

Verse 2. Gracious sovereignty. Gracious sovereignty. I say to the Lord, You are my Lord. If you notice in your Bibles, the first Lord is in all caps.

The second Lord is big L in the rest lowercase letters. What's saying, Lord Yahweh, I say to Yahweh, You are my Adonai.

You are my Adonai. You are my Adonai. So Yahweh, God has the right to require anything of Him, anything He pleases. Why? Because He's the supreme, almighty creator of all things.

He is almighty God. He is Yahweh. Then, because He is, He's submitting to Him as master and His ruler. So His correct theology led to correct conformity.

You are the creator of all things. Get that right. What does that mean for me? That means you're my master and Lord. Because you are the creator of all things. And He says, I have no good apart from you.

I mean, think about it logically. What good could there be outside of this reality? If God is creator of all things, an almighty master of all things, then what good could you get apart from Him?

Nothing. Nothing. Only good you could ever have is from your Lord, your master. And David observes the prevailing grace in his life. He recognizes God has been good to him.

I have no good apart from you. I've seen it before and I know it for the future. There's grace. Sam Storm says this quote, The measure of our satisfaction is the degree to which we both can both trust and rejoice when all we have left is God.

When everything is stripped away, we can see whether or not we're satisfied in Him or not. Psalm 73, 25, Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

And then C.S. Lewis said this, He who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God only. What's worth, of great worth, is God.

And in contrast between our goodness and God's goodness, God's goodness toward us is unmerited. We don't deserve it. And then what about our goodness?

Well, our goodness is an illusion. For only God is good. As Romans 3, 10 says, There is none good, no, not one. The Old Testament says our righteousness is as what?

Filthy rags. You know, we are not good in and of ourselves. So when David says, I have no good apart from you, it's a very true statement. It's a true statement for all of us. All right.

Verse 3, As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight. There's a devoted mission here that the Lord gives us. Devoted mission.

As for the saints in the land, that's pretty easy to figure out what that means. It's the godly who live on the earth. These are fellow believers who have also tasted God's goodness.

Just follow his train of thought here. You preserve me. I take refuge in you. You are my master and Lord, and I have no good apart from you. Now I'm turning to my fellow believers here.

They are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight. Where did their excellence come from? Why are they good? Why is it good to take up arms with them, as it were?

It's because God has also given them goodness. His grace has fell on them as well. And God places us in a community of believers so that we can effectively reflect his goodness to one another.

We're not here to show how great we are to one another. We're here to show how God is great in us so that we encourage one another and build one another up for the work of ministry.

So by loving and serving others, we also love and serve him. Psalm 119.63 says, I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts.

And that's what we are. That's what we are here. Community of believers. So there's a devoted mission here. Here's a quote from John Calvin. We ought, 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.

And this we will actually do if we wisely reflect in what true excellence and dignity consist. And do not allow the vain splendor of the world and its deceitful pomps to dazzle our eyes.

What's of worth the goodness of God? Don't let anything else pull you away and say, well, no, this is better. This is good. No. The community of faith is important.

And we need one another to remind each other of the goodness of God. Isaac Watts penned this hymn text. It doesn't rhyme completely in English, but it does in British.

But I'll just read it in my language. Oft have my heart and tongue confessed how empty and how poor I am. My praise can never make thee blessed nor add new glories to thy name.

Yet, Lord, thy saints on earth may reap some profit by the good we do. These are the company I keep. These are the choicest friends I know. All right.

Verse 4. Verse 4. Moving along. Refused perversion. That 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. Well, that's a contrast from the devoted mission in the previous verse.

I'm going to do ministry with your saints, O God, and then I'm going to turn away from evil. Now, those who run after another God, these are those who have a focused pursuit on idolatry.

That's what he's referring to. Idolatry was rampant in David's day. And it's rampant in our day. It's always been a problem. Putting anything before God and running after it.

Those who run after another God. And it tells me that they never actually catch it. They think they're going to catch it, but they keep pursuing something that's unattainable.

And why it says here that their sorrows shall multiply. It's a result of their sinful actions. The object that they seek for satisfaction leaves them full of want and regret.

And Jeremiah says this about the children of Israel in the Old Testament. It says, For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and they hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

What good is a cistern if it doesn't hold water? It's pointless. But they dug it out. They worked at it. This is going to give us water, but it won't hold water.

And that's the same kind of thing. It's a pointless pursuit. The sorrows multiply. They need water. They need something. But they can't get it from these false gods. And the more they pursue, the more crazed they become.

It's the way sin works. It gets us mired down in the muck. I think that's where he's going on the next phrase. Their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out.

And this is referring to idolatrous and abominable practices. The cutting of oneself and the sacrificing of children. Molech was very popular in that day.

And Isaiah talks about it. Isaiah 115. It says, When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen because your hands are full of blood.

Isaiah 57. You who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks. Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion.

They, they are your lot. To them you have poured out a drink offering. You have brought a grain offering. Shall I relent for these things? And these drink offerings of blood are so abominable.

David knows, and every Israelite would know this who studied the law, that God saw this in a, you know, he hated it. And he judged it.

And he warned him against it. And so, what's David doing about this? He's denouncing their practices. He's denouncing it. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to take part in this.

Or take their names on my lips. These were perversions of God's law and God's wrath was upon all who did such things. And the phrase, take their names on my lips, could be referring to the fact that David didn't really want to name these false gods, these false practices.

He's so disgusted by them. And God says that through Hosea in the Old Testament. He says, For I will remove the names of the bales from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more.

Proves that these false gods have an end. They will not remain forever. And the principle of defaming sin is found throughout the Bible. We don't hold it up in high esteem and gawk at it and say, Look how gross this sin is.

No. We call it what it is. It's a defamation of God and His character. And if we get to handle that in our own lives, I think we'll deal with our sin a little bit differently as well.

Ephesians 5, starting with verse 3, verse 5.

has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Therefore do not become partners with them. For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Lord, take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them, for it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. We just studied that a few weeks ago in Ephesians 5 with Pastor Don.

Defame sin. Sometimes we get caught into the society here, watching these movies and everything, and it's almost glorifying sin, and we are entertained by it, and we suddenly find ourselves, what am I doing here?

Am I actually supporting this in some way? And I can't leave this without mentioning, you know, these practices of sacrificing their children to Moloch, and we're similarly doing this in our nation with abortion, sacrificing children.

And God's not happy about that either. And I think we often get into the mindset, well, that's just the way things are going to be. It's the way our country is, and I'm sorry for that, but we need to call it what it is.

It's murder, and we need to stand up against it. It's not honoring to God, and we shouldn't have any party to it. All right, verse 5 and 6, fulfilling inheritance, fulfilling inheritance, the Lord is my chosen portion and my cup.

So God has already promised to be good. He is good inherently, but He's already promised to be good to us, His children. And the term portion, this is referring to God's apportionment of the land of Canaan.

Remember, each tribe, almost all the tribes were given land, and the Levites didn't get any land. But do you remember what they were promised as apportion? God said, I will be in your inheritance.

No land but God Himself. You can find that in Numbers 18, verse 20. And the word chosen could denote priceless or treasured.

You are my treasured portion. Better than any allotment of land, I have God. And there's nothing better than that.

And the word cup is often used for sustenance or food or drink. It reminds me of Psalm 23, verse 5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. And then surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. He is our cup, our portion. When it says, you hold my lot, He's saying, you hold my place or my inheritance.

You're in charge of holding it. It's not going to be taken away. In the claiming of land, it sometimes happened that rightful owners were dispossessed because no one was able to defend them.

The claim would either go unproven or it wasn't properly registered or there's some dispute over it. But David is resting on God's security for his future.

And we have this same security. Ephesians 1, verses 13 and 14. In Him, you also, that is in Christ, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory.

The Holy Spirit is the seal of our inheritance. He's the guarantee until we acquire it. So, in the same way, we are secure in Christ. Next phrase, the lines have fallen for me.

And these lines are measuring cords used to mark off the land. Hold it over here like they would a chalk line or whatever it is. The lines have fallen for me. And David's allotment has already been decided is what he's saying.

My inheritance is sure and steadfast. I don't have to worry about it. Again, complete satisfaction in God. There's confidence and there's contentment there.

And the lines have fallen for me. I don't need to worry about it. And where have they fallen? In pleasant places. This land is a refuge, a place of good, a place to revel and to rejoice in the presence of God.

And now we're getting closer to the heart of the issue. The presence of God is the most satisfying place to be. John Piper says this, the goodness of God, the very foundation of worship, is not a thing you pay your respects to out of some kind of disinterested reverence.

No, it is something to be enjoyed. In the end, the heart longs not for any of God's good gifts, but for God Himself. That's why the apportionment to the Levites is so interesting and wonderful.

No land for you. I will be your portion. That's what we all should strive for. You are our portion, O God. We long for you, not just the blessings inherent with knowing you.

Indeed, he says, I have a beautiful inheritance. All believers have access to this splendor. This inheritance is worthy, satisfying, blessed, and spectacular because this inheritance is our Lord.

You ever wonder, if I just had something else, I would be happier? And he's trying to tell us, we're deprived of nothing now that is required for a happy life.

You have everything you need in God. You can be completely satisfied in Him. Almost to say, stop looking.

Look to me. verse 7, supernatural wisdom. It says, I bless the Lord who gives me counsel in the night also. My heart instructs me.

So the Lord is the one who gives David counsel. He distinguishes his source of understanding by thanking and praising His name. You give me counsel.

David had a theocentric or God-centered mindset in his life. His chief goal in life is to love God and live for Him. And you get the idea here that God is giving him fatherly instruction.

The Lord gives me counsel as a father would give counsel. Proverbs 3, 1 and 2. My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments. For length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.

So the Lord gives counsel to David. In the night also my heart instructs me. In the night also. Well, while you're sleeping? Well, not necessarily, but at night when he's studying God's Word again.

The Spirit also implants and informs the heart of the counsel of God found in His Word. If we study God's Word throughout the day, many of you have heard talk about, well, I go to sleep thinking about a passage of Scripture that I read today or I wake up thinking about it.

As it's moving around in our minds, the Spirit is working to implant that truth on our hearts so that it will change us, make us more like Jesus. And so the psalmist's conscience has been divinely altered.

There are lasting results from meditating on the wisdom of the Lord. So in the daytime and in the night, in the night also my heart instructs me. Here from Proverbs 2 here, for the Lord gives wisdom.

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of the saints.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path. For wisdom will come into your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

If you don't study God's word, if you don't spend time meditating on the truths of the scripture, this is not going to happen. It's not just going to happen by osmosis or being in close proximity to the Bible but not reading it.

You have to get into it and study it and it does change us. And that's also where the community of believers comes to bear. We can help one another and challenge one another, hold one another accountable and remind each other of the goodness of God.

Get in his word. And our father is continually teaching his children. So get in his words so that you can receive instruction. Verse 8, empowering confidence.

I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand I shall not be shaken. What a great way to think. I have set the Lord always before me.

I don't see anything else in life primarily except for God. I see God first and then everything else is interpreted in that. David was fixated on the Lord.

And so should we be. God was primary in his mind, his chief goal, his point of persistent focus. And being fixated on God, he who is your Lord, Master, Savior, who has your only good, only good that you can have, this gives you confidence.

There's confidence in knowing him and being with him in his presence. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Now the right hand, sorry lefties, but the right hand symbolized strength and favor in the Old Testament.

I think it symbolizes that today too. The right hand is the appointed place of favor where it says Christ Jesus is at the right hand of the Father.

That's a point of strength and favor. God's presence was powerful to David and this also shows that God is our advocate and defender. He's right there beside us.

He's giving us counsel. He's defending us against the attacks of the enemy. He's speaking on our behalf. This should give us confidence.

And I shall not be shaken. This powerful presence of God brings stability to us. Psalm 21 7, For the king trusts in the Lord and through the steadfast love of the Most High, he shall not be moved.

Psalm 62 2, we read this a while ago, he only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress, I shall not be greatly shaken. Proverbs 12, 3, No one is established by wickedness, but the root of righteousness, the root of the righteous, will never be moved.

We're not shaken because God is at our right hand. So we should not be derailed as believers for God's grace toward us remains constant, keeping us in Christ.

And then William Grinnell says this, we fear men so much because we fear God so little. We let man derail us. We get sidetracked because we don't have our focus on God.

We're not confident in him enough to hold fast, not be shaken. All right, verse 9, the first part of verse 9, therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices.

There's utter joy here because of his active presence who I am in the Lord is an effervescent worshiper of Christ. He is here, he brings me joy, and I worship him, and that brings more joy, and this keeps bubbling over more and more joy.

And this is why it still ties in with satisfaction, complete satisfaction in God. Psalm 92, 4, For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work. At the works of your hands I sing for joy.

So God makes us glad by working, and then we sing for joy. It just keeps going on and on. That's just a picture of eternity. We're going to be worshipping him forever in full joy.

Faith in God's ability calms our minds and replenishes our whole being with the fullness of joy. Here's the famous quote from John Piper. God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him.

God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him. He wants us to be satisfied in him because there's no one more glorious than him that brings him glory.

All right, the second half of verse 9 and verse 10. my flesh also dwells secure for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your holy one see corruption.

It's a resurrection promise here. A resurrection promise. This passage obviously prophesies of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.

You've probably heard some of these things, especially that last part, let the holy one see corruption, I'm not going to let that happen. In Acts 2, Peter quotes much of this passage.

He says, I saw the Lord always before me, that's where he sets him in front of him, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad, 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.

And he actually finishes out the psalm. So he quotes from David here. And then Paul also does that in Acts 13, verse 35. He says, you will not let your holy one see corruption, as he's making a case for the resurrection of Christ.

But David's writing it also on his own behalf. He's saying, Lord, you will not let your holy one see corruption. You've called me to a task, and you're going to see me through.

This is also a promise for us who are in Christ, that we shall be resurrected in the last day. In life and in death, God has secured our eternity.

Our relationship with God does not end with death. And that's the point of this. God's love toward us, God's favor toward us, is now and for all in eternity.

It's a resurrection promise. All right, the last verse, verse 11, you make known to me the path of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy.

At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Complete satisfaction. That's what we're aiming at here. You make known to me the path of life.

God grants his children special grace for holy living. You make known to me the path of life. I would not know it if you had not made it known to me.

So God gives us grace so that we know how to live. And if you read other passages in scripture that says the way of life or the path of life, you understand that he's actually talking about a little bit of discipline here.

Proverbs 6.23, For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproves of discipline are the way of life. Proverbs 10.17, whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life.

But he who rejects reproof leads others astray. Proverbs 15.24, The path of life leads upward for the prudent, that he may turn away from the shield beneath. So his discipline is a joyful blessing that leads to life.

So often we do not learn unless we fall on our faces sometimes. We need trials and tribulations to teach us more about depending on him, more about depending less on ourselves, recognizing where we need to change.

But it's all part of our pursuit of being satisfied in him. He disciplines us as a father would his children. In your presence there is fullness of joy.

In your presence there is fullness of joy. So his presence is the means joy is the result, the effect.

He brings about joy in us by allowing us to be in his presence. What a gift. What a gift. So how can we be joyless in our Savior's presence?

We can't be. Think about that next time you are in despair or really down. Think about just the presence of God in your life and what he is doing right now on your behalf.

And recognize there is always joy to be had. And we need to remind one another of that. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. So at God's position of strength and favor, which is his right hand, true commitment comes from knowing him all the more.

And I guess a very true statement is that we don't know him like we should. We need to know him more. Knowing him more will result in more joy and greater fruit in our lives.

Larry Crabb said this is often our cry, Lord, I know you are all I have. I know it. But I don't know you well enough for you to be all I need. And that's what we're aiming for.

Lord, we want you to be all, knowing that in our heart of hearts, you're all I need. So sometimes that path of life, we need some discipline. We need to have some things pulled away so that we recognize he is all that we need.

Here's a quote from John Calvin again. The empty pleasures and allurements of this transitory world leave the reprobate unsatisfied and disappointed. Unlike the solid, lasting fullness of joy which the faithful find in God alone and in which they may rest forever truly and perfectly happy.

Lasting happiness consists in resting on God alone. So in summation tonight, let's go back through these, we can be completely satisfied in God which is having confidence in him and contentment in him because of these things, because of his divine preservation, because of his gracious sovereignty, because of the devoted mission that he entrusts to us, because he has a refusal of perverted worship.

He wants us to refuse it too. He wants us to be a part of shunning evil and turning towards good. Because there is a fulfilling inheritance that is God himself.

His supernatural wisdom he imparts to us. How much more wisdom do we need? Where else are we going to find it? He's giving his wisdom to us. We can be satisfied in that.

There's no greater wisdom. The empowering confidence of his presence, the utter joy of knowing Christ, his resurrection promise, and then this final truth, he alone can satisfy.

He alone can satisfy. Where else are we going to find complete satisfaction nowhere else than in God alone.

It reminds me of our chorus we sing sometimes, I worship you almighty God, there is none like you. I worship you oh prince of peace. That is what I want to do from the heart.

I give you praise for you are my righteousness. I worship you almighty God, there is none like you. so complete satisfaction, complete satisfaction in God.

Thank you.