Kootenai Church Morning Worship

Will you turn now in your Bibles to Psalm 16, if you're not there already? Psalm 16. This is our fourth and final psalm in our study of the Psalms. We did Psalm 1 and 2, which were the gateway to the Psalter. We looked at the themes and the theology of those two psalms, reminding us that those two psalms really frame the theology of the entire Psalter and give us some understanding of the themes that we can expect in the book of Psalms. Then we spent a few weeks in Psalm 37—well, more than a few. Fifteen I think it was. And now we're coming into Psalm 16. And we may at some point return back to the book of Psalms in the future; like between a series here and there, we might jump back in and grab two or three psalms and kind of work through them just to give us a break from other longer series in the Scriptures.
But we're going to end here with Psalm 16 because this is a well-known psalm, at least there's one verse toward the end of it that's probably more well-known than any of the rest of the psalm. And it is a short and concise psalm that is packed with theology and some significance. And then we are approaching Resurrection Sunday, and Psalm 16 is a prophecy of the resurrection of Christ. And we're going through Psalm 37, and I could kind of see that it was very possible that we might be ending Psalm 37 sort of in the ballpark of Resurrection Sunday. And as it turns out, by God's good providence, the timing has worked out really well. So Psalm 16, which is a prophecy of the resurrection of Christ, we're going to finish on Resurrection Sunday, Easter Sunday. And I've almost turned to this psalm a number of times over the years to just grab the last few verses of the psalm to preach it on a Resurrection Sunday. But without the appreciation of the rest of the psalm, I've kind of always steered away from that to other passages. And now, finally, we have this chance for me to work our way through this psalm, which is one of my favorites. I love this psalm.
So, today I'm going to introduce Psalm 16. We're not going to actually get into any of the verses of it. We are going to read through it, and I'm going to give you an outline of the psalm at the end of our time here together. But I'm going to give you sort of an overview of the psalm and an idea of its significance and kind of deal with the subject of the author. Who is it that wrote this? Why is that significant? Why is Psalm 16 significant? And how is it similar to some other psalms that are like it in the Psalter? And then we want to look at its place in the Psalter. It is where it is for a reason. And then I'm going to back up and kind of give you an overview and an outline for the weeks that are to come in Psalm 16. So with all that kind of precursor to the message, that was the introduction to the introduction to Psalm 16.
Now let's talk for a moment about the author. Let's deal with the author and then how this psalm is unique and what makes it unique. The author is David. You see the superscript of the psalm, the little words that are below the number and above verse 1 where it says, “A Mikhtam of David.” Those are known as superscripts to the psalms. Sometimes you remember they’re longer, indicating the occasion on which the psalm was written or sometimes to whom the psalm was written or for whom the psalm was written. Sometimes there's information there about how the psalms should be sung. This is just a rather short one. It is a mikhtam of David.
David, of course, is well-known, and I'm going to have to assume a relatively common understanding of who David is and the significance of his life for our purposes here today. If you are perhaps a little unfamiliar with David, I would recommend reading 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel. Read 1 Chronicles as well. It would kind of give you an overview of David and his life and the promises that God made to him. This psalm is attributed to David here in the superscript right above verse 1. It's also attributed to David twice in the New Testament. Once in Acts 2, Peter says that David was the author of this psalm. And then later in Acts 13, Paul says that David is the author of this psalm.
And that is significant because there are skeptics or commentators on the Psalms that deny that David wrote this psalm, even in spite of what Scripture says. They deny it not because of anything in the psalm and not because of anything in Scripture. There's no evidence internal to Scripture that suggests that David did not write Psalm 16. But the criticism or the doubt that David actually wrote this kind of comes along with the ideas of sort of a high criticism point of view that suggests that—basically here's the reason they object to David as the author of the psalm. They say that the theology of resurrection that is at the end of the psalm is too advanced for David's primitive mind, that that is a theology that would have developed much later in time, that David would have been unfamiliar with that. So you’ve got to leave it for the Greeks and the Athenians and those guys to kind of develop this idea of resurrection. So they try to date the psalm almost six hundred years after David lived.
But if you don't approach the Scriptures with that kind of anti-supernatural bias and anti-intellectual bias, and if you don't approach the Scripture with your conclusions already in hand, and if you just took the plain meaning of the text and the plain statements of the text, there's no reason to doubt that David actually wrote Psalm 16. In fact, David, I would say, was not unfamiliar with the doctrine of resurrection at all. The doctrine of bodily resurrection predated David by over a thousand years. In Job 19, Job, who lived either prior to or at the time of Abraham, expressed belief that he would see his Redeemer with his own eyes and stand on this earth in his own body to behold his Redeemer after his body had decayed in the ground. That was a bold and unequivocal statement of faith in bodily resurrection.
And Abraham certainly believed in the doctrine of resurrection, which is why he was willing to offer up his only son in obedience to God, who was the son of promise, because Abraham believed God will fulfill His promise. And since God has promised that his lineage would continue through Isaac, he was willing to sacrifice Isaac in obedience to God, believing that God could and would raise Isaac from the dead. So resurrection is not recent, some new dogma or some new theology that postdated David. It predated David by quite some time.
Now David's entire life really prefigures Christ in a number of ways. David, we think, believed that his life was in some way a reflection of another life that would come after him. And, as God was revealing to him and through him His design and intentions to save His people through a King, David saw his own life as the king of Israel in some ways as a precursor or a picture, an image, a type, as it were, of the King that was to come, who would fulfill all of the promises that God made to him. David was promised a kingdom. He was promised that his throne would be established forever and that God would sit one of his descendants on that throne and that he would rule over the nation of Israel. He was promised that his line would endure and that from his line would come the Messiah-King, the promised seed of Abraham that God promised to Abraham in the Abrahamic covenant. David knew that this One who would come from his lineage would rule the nations and judge the nations and come from his line, and so David viewed his own life as something of a sketch, a rough sketch or outline, of that King who was to come.
David suffered and was persecuted; that King who would come from David's line suffered and was persecuted. David was in many ways rejected; the King that would come from David's line was rejected. David was a shepherd; the One who would come would be the great shepherd or the good shepherd. David was born in Bethlehem; this King that would come—it was prophesied that He would come from Bethlehem. David ruled Israel, and this King that would come from David's line, He will rule over Israel.
And so there are statements in David's psalms and from David's life that are clearly messianic, like Psalm 22:1: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.” That was written by David. But the Lord Jesus Christ takes those words from David and puts them upon His own lips, not just to suggest but to proclaim that He Himself was the fulfillment of Psalm 22. That psalm that describes His garments being gambled for and His bones being out of joint and His side being pierced and His tongue cleaving to the roof of His mouth and His hands being pierced—all of that in Psalm 22 is fulfilled in Christ. Now David was in some sense suffering just as he describes in Psalm 22, but you read Psalm 22 and you realize that it sounds like David but it doesn't sound like David. I mean, David's explaining his suffering, but David is explaining his suffering in such a way that you say, yeah, David suffered some of these things kind of like that, but there has to come One after David who would suffer those things exactly like that.
And we see this all the way through the Psalms, David saying things that you say, “That's David saying it. It sounds like David. But man, that sure sounds like it's not David, like it's someone else.” Which is why the whole first chapter of Hebrews is one citation after another from the book of Psalms, where David is talking about his kingdom but not his kingdom, another kingdom, a Son who is not just his son but Yahweh's Son, that One who would rule over Israel, but not just Israel, but the whole world. So David becomes the shadow. Christ becomes the fulfillment of that shadow.
Now, that raises the issue that if Psalm 16 is messianic, and it clearly is because it is cited by Peter and by Paul as a messianic psalm, that raises the issue, How much of Psalm 16 speaks of Christ and how much of it speaks of David? Much of the psalm could come from David's lips. It speaks of David, it is as if David is writing it, David is saying it. But not all of the psalm can be said of David. We can say that everything in Psalm 16 can be said to describe Christ, could come from His lips, but there is one verse in Psalm 16 that could only come from the lips of Christ, and that is verse 10: “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”
The whole psalm could be speaking of Christ, but there is one verse that must be speaking of Christ because Peter and Paul both cite verse 10, making the argument that David died and he was buried and he did suffer decay, but there is One who would come from David's line who died, was buried, and has not suffered decay. That One is the Christ, and He rose from the dead. And it is in his Pentecost resurrection sermon that Peter makes that argument and cites Psalm 16, saying this cannot apply to David because David has decayed. This applies to the Holy One who died, was buried, and did not suffer decay, whom God did not abandon. That's the Christ. God raised Him from the dead, and Psalm 16 then is a prophecy or a prediction of the resurrection of Christ. That is what makes Psalm 16 significant.
But what is a mikhtam? What is a mikhtam? Have you been wondering that the whole time? Yeah, it's all fascinating. You're talking about David. That's all great. Good. Psalm 22, resurrection, got it. But occupied in my mind, in my heart, I want to know what a mikhtam is. Well, I'm not going to be able to answer that to you because there's little agreement on what a mikhtam actually was, but even though we don't know what it was, I'm going to spend right now an inordinate amount of time talking about mikhtams.
The later Hebrew language came to use the term mikhtam to describe an inscribed poem or an epigram—that is, a poem that was pithy and concise with short kind of punchy lines. That was a mikhtam in later Hebrew. Back in David's day, we don't really know what it was referring to. Some have suggested that a mikhtam is an atonement psalm, a song that you would sing when you came on the day of atonement to the tabernacle or the temple to offer up a sacrifice. It was a song you would sing in worship for that on a special occasion. But interestingly, none of the mikhtams really have atonement or offering as the main theme of them. So it probably wasn't an atonement psalm.
Some have suggested that mikhtam means “golden,” coming kind of from the idea of something that was mysterious or hidden, something precious like a jewel. So Spurgeon calls Psalm 16 the “golden psalm.” So a mikhtam could mean precious or central like a jewel, something you would find in the rough. That's possible. Really, no one really knows.
I think we can say this. We do know that a mikhtam was a type of psalm. That's probably the most obvious thing you've heard this morning, right? It was a type of psalm. It's included in the Psalter, so a mikhtam is a psalm, but it's not necessarily synonymous with psalm. So we might suspect that it is a kind or a type or a classification of a psalm. There are all kinds of different psalms in the Psalms. For instance, Psalm 15 is just called a psalm. You see that in the superscript of Psalm 15. Psalm 16 is called a mikhtam. Psalm 17 is called a prayer. Psalm 7 is called a shiggaion. I don't even know if I'm pronouncing that right. I don’t do Hebrew well. Psalm 42 is a maskil. Psalm 48 is a song. Psalm 80 is a testimony. And Psalm 145 is a praise. So these are the different classifications or kinds of psalms or songs that would be included in the Psalter.
Here's what is interesting. Out of the 150 psalms, 6 of them are mikhtams. Six of them are mikhtams. Psalm 16, which we're looking at right here, then Psalm 56, 57, 58, 59, and 60. Psalm 16 and then those last five, 56–60, those are the six mikhtams of Scripture. Now we can look at all six mikhtams. I'm going to mess that word up before I'm done with today. We can look at all six mikhtams and come up with some idea of what kind of a psalm a mikhtam was. So there are certain things that all six of them have in common, and considering these will give us an appreciation for Psalm 16.
So here's just a couple of interesting things about mikhtams. First, all of the mikhtams in the Psalter, all of them were written by David. None of them are without an author ascribed to them, and all six of them have David ascribed as their author. Now, it doesn't mean that only David wrote mikhtams or that nobody else ever wrote mikhtams. It doesn't mean that. It just means that of all the mikhtams that are part of our inspired Scripture, David happens to be the author of all six of those.
A second interesting thing is that they are all relatively short. You notice that Psalm 16 is eleven verses. You don't need to turn back there, but Psalm 56 is thirteen verses, Psalm 57 is eleven verses, Psalm 58 is eleven verses, Psalm 59, which is the longest, is only seventeen verses, and Psalm 60 is twelve verses. So you have eleven, eleven, eleven, twelve, and thirteen, and then the one that is the longest is seventeen verses. So it might be that a mikhtam was a psalm that kind of fit a cadence or a length that kind of had a prescribed format or a prescribed rhythm to the psalm, and anything beyond that was kind of stretching it a little bit. They're typically shorter songs, probably because they're pithy and concise.
And in terms of the content, all six of the mikhtams have these four features in common. So here's what I'm going to do. I promised you I was going to spend an inordinate amount of time on mikhtams. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you the four features of a mikhtam, and then you don't need to turn back there—you can if you want. If you think you're really good with clicking or turning, you're welcome to try and keep up with this, but I'm going to give you the feature of all six mikhtams, then I'm going to read to you from Psalm 56, 57, 58, 59, and 60 to give you an example of that feature of a mikhtam in each of those psalms. You keep your Bibles open to Psalm 16, and then I'll show you in Psalm 16 where that feature is the same as in the other five.
So here's the first one. All six mikhtams have these things in common. They begin with or contain a prayer to God. So, for instance, Psalm 56:1: “Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; fighting all day long he oppresses me.”
Psalm 57:1: “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by.”
Psalm 58:6–8: “O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord. Let them flow away like water that runs off; when he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.” Now, that's not the most gracious prayer, but it is a prayer.
Psalm 59:1: “Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.”
Psalm 60:1: “O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us; You have been angry; O, restore us.” See, all of them contain a prayer.
Psalm 16:1: “Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.” So Psalm 16 begins with a prayer. It seems to be a feature of mikhtams.
A second feature of the four: all six of these mikhtams describe trouble or danger. They begin with prayer and they describe trouble or danger, either explicitly or implicitly. Listen to Psalm 56:2–3: “My foes have trampled upon me all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me. When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.”
Psalm 57:4: “My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.”
Psalm 58:2: “No, in heart you work unrighteousness; on earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.” That's the psalmist speaking to the evil men that surrounded him.
Psalm 59:2–4: “Deliver me from those who do iniquity and save me from men of bloodshed. For behold, they have set an ambush for my life; fierce men launch an attack against me, not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord, for no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me, and see!”
Then look at Psalm 60:3, 11: “You have made Your people experience hardship; You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger. O give us help against the adversary, for deliverance by man is in vain.”
Look at Psalm 16:8: “I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” The implication is that there is something there that threatened the psalmist, a danger, a peril. Look at verse 9: “Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely.” There was something that made him feel insecure, but he sets Yahweh at his right hand and says, “I will dwell securely and I will be secure.” Why? Because I have Yahweh at my right hand.
A third feature of mikhtams is they express or contain expressions of holy confidence, holy confidence. Psalm 56:4: “In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?” Hear the confidence? “Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; this I know, that God is for me” (v. 9).
Psalm 57:3: “He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.”
Listen to the confidence of Psalm 58:10: “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.”
Psalm 59:9–10: “Because of his strength I will watch for You, for God is my stronghold. My God in His lovingkindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.” A holy confidence.
Psalm 60:4: “You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth.”
And then look at the confidence of Psalm 16:10–11: “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; 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.”
So they begin with a prayer, they describe a danger, have expressions of holy confidence, and then a fourth feature of a mikhtam is that they close with an assurance of ultimate safety and joy. Psalm 56:13: “For You have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living.”
Psalm 57:9: “I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.” Joy and assurance and praise.
Psalm 58:11: “And men will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth!’”
Psalm 59:16–17: “But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, for You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.” You can hear the expressions of joy and praise and assurance and security.
Psalm 60:12: “Through God we shall do valiantly, and it is He who will tread down our adversaries.”
And then look at the joy and assurance and the safety of Psalm 16:11: “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.”
So a prayer to God, a mention of danger, a confidence in God's goodness in this life, and assurance of joy and reward, and praise for the life that is to come. So a mikhtam, we could say, is probably the kind of psalm or a type of psalm, even a special music behind the psalm, but a psalm that expressed a prayer to God because of a danger that is faced, with the confidence that God would secure them in this life and bring them through to eternal life. All six of the mikhtams have those four features.
Now notice that mikhtams don't describe a change in circumstances. In other words, the authors talk about the danger that they face, the real peril that is there, but the mikhtams don't say, “Then God came in and changed everything, so now everything is great.” They don't describe that. Instead what the mikhtams describe is there is real danger or peril, but God is my God and He will see me through. He will deliver me in this life, and ultimately there is a life that is to come in which I will rejoice and praise Him. So the mikhtams come to this conclusion that God is worthy of our praise and our adoration, our confidence and our trust, even in spite of the circumstances that do not change, even if those circumstances do not change all the way through this life. Ultimately, they look to the future when God will accomplish their joy. They are convinced that God will make them happy and joyous and they will exult at His right hand. And they express that confidence even in the midst of all their trials and tribulations.
It's the type of expression that Paul gives in Romans 8:18 when he says, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Or 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” So the mikhtams teach us that there is a joy and a glory that is to come and that God will bring it to pass and He will complete the work He has begun in us. He will see it through and accomplish everything that concerns us, so we can sing and praise Him for His goodness and His kindness and His presence even in this world, looking forward to the world that is to come. That's what a mikhtam is.
Now Psalm 16, let's talk about its place here in the book of Psalms. I've mentioned before that the order of the Psalms is not accidental. It's not as if somebody wrote a good song and they think, We should add that one to our worship next Saturday. Where are we at? Well, we're at 91. All right, let's grab another one. This one's going to be 92. Let's put it in at the end of the catalog. Open up the three-ring binder, put the next one in, close it up. That's not how the Psalms were collected. There is not only a theological order to the Psalms, there is a chronological order to the Psalms. And not only is there a theological and chronological order to the Psalms, the five books of the Psalms all each have their own theological and chronological order. There was intentionality and design in not just having five books of the Psalms but also in the way that the Psalms themselves are organized.
There is an intentional order to it, an order that shows God's plan to redeem His people through their King. If you want one big idea for the Psalms, that one—I came up with that this week, so you could test it all week long if you want. I don't know if anybody else has come up with this, but this is how I would boil down the whole book of Psalms. It shows us God's plan to redeem His people through their King. So all of the Psalms is about that King, the first two books composed by David the king and the rest of them showing the progress of God's redemptive plan, both chronologically and theologically, toward that culminating end when God will redeem His people through their King.
So this is not going to come as any surprise to you, but Psalm 16 is perfectly nestled between Psalm 15 and Psalm 17. Did you notice that before this morning? Psalm 16 is right in there, conveniently between 15 and 17. And I would submit to you that there is a theme and a theology woven through Psalms 15, 16, and 17 that is very intentional. And I want you to see it. So turn back to Psalm 15. I know we haven't even gotten yet to the text of Psalm 16, but we will read it here in a moment. I'm going to tie all of this together with you so you can see 15, 16, and 17, they go together.
Psalm 15 is also called a psalm of David. You’ll notice the superscript there that describes it as such. Psalm 15:1: “O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?” In other words, what kind of man can stand in God's presence and see God's face? What kind of man can dwell with God and stand where He is at to dwell where God is and to enjoy in and bask in the presence of God's glory? What kind of man is fit for that? The rest of the psalm is going to answer that.
Verse 2: “He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart.” The man of integrity who does only righteousness and speaks only truth in his heart. Like Psalm 1:1–2: “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” He speaks the truth in his heart. He speaks the truth with his mouth. He does that which is righteous, does not walk in sin. The man of integrity, the man of righteousness, he can stand and see God's face.
What kind of man can see God's face? Verse 3: “He who does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend.” This is the love-of-the-neighbor commandment worked out here. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength—that would be to work righteousness and to speak truth in your heart. “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). Have you ever done evil to someone in thought, word, or deed ever? Have you ever thought evil of them? Have you ever spoken evil of someone? Well, that would disqualify you from dwelling with God. Only the person who never slanders with his tongue, who does not do evil to his neighbor, and who never takes up a reproach against his friend—that one is qualified.
What kind of man? Verse 4: “In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; he swears to his own hurt and does not change.” Have the enemies of God always been your enemies? Have God's friends always been your friends? Or have you ever in your life made God's enemies and those who hate Him your companions and your compatriots and your friends and your mentors and your business partners and your most intimate fellowship? Do you ever secretly wish to do evil or for evil to come upon others? Have you ever been the reprobate or have you always despised reprobates? Have you ever joined with the reprobate and partnered with them and participated in their evil? Have you only and always honored those who walk in holiness and righteousness and truth? Or has there been a time in your life when the righteous have been your enemies and the unrighteous have been your friends? Have you ever broken your word, said you would be somewhere or do something and you didn't do it and you didn't keep your word? Well, the psalm says, verse 4, that a righteous man, the one who can stand in God's presence, is one who always does everything that they say they're going to do and never breaks his word even if it means his own hurt, even if it means it costs him something.
What kind of man can see God's face? Verse 5: “He does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.” He's not greedy. He's not selfish. He's not opportunistic. He's not an idolater. He doesn't exploit others. He is kind. He's generous. He's seeking to use his resources for the benefit of others. So he uses everything that he has for the advancement of God's truth and God's people. That's the type of man who gets to stand in the presence of God.
Anybody here qualified? Yeah, I'm not. I think we're all disqualified from that. That's a daunting list of qualifications, isn't it? Of course, we could have seen that coming if we were to look back one more psalm. Turn back to Psalm 14. Look at verses 2–3: “The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” That's the indictment. Why don't you prove it, David? All right, Psalm 15. Who is the one who's qualified to stand in God's presence? This is the man. Psalm 14 is the indictment against us. Here's the charge. There's none who does good, not even one. Psalm 15, here's the commandments listed out practically. I’ve violated those, so therefore I am hopeless. I can't stand in God's presence. I read Psalm 14, I'm condemned. I read Psalm 15 and I am exhausted, overcome with guilt. There's no way I can stand in God's presence.
So what is my hope? Sounds like time for a mikhtam, Psalm 16, some good news. So then I get to Psalm 16:1. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in that Yahweh. You want hope? The one who has hope is the one who has taken Yahweh as his refuge. You want hope? Verse 8. The one who sets Yahweh continually before him, that is the one who has hope. That one will dwell securely.
So Psalm 15, who may dwell securely in the tent of the Lord? Who may dwell on His holy hill securely? This is the type of man. I'm not that man. OK, Psalm 16, set Yahweh before you. You will dwell securely. Because Psalm 15 describes the holy Man, the Holy One, who has never done any of these things, and Psalm 16 tells us that that Holy One is the one in whom we take refuge, and He is the one whom God will not abandon to the grave. He is the one who can dwell with Yahweh in His holy mountain. So you and I get into His holy mountain, not because we can fulfill Psalm 15—we can't—but because we trust in the Holy One of Psalm 16, who was not abandoned to the grave, and He Himself gets us entrance into God's holy hill.
See, we need to be righteous. This is why the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ is so essential to our salvation. Because our ability to stand before God in His righteousness and to see His face is not dependent upon our ability to keep Psalm 15 or the law. It is dependent upon the righteousness of One who is the Man of Psalm 15, who did that in our stead. So Psalm 16 steps in and says believe in that One, place your faith in this One. That One, Yahweh, is your refuge. He is the King, the Holy One whom God will not abandon to the grave. He is the One who will never see corruption. And because we stand in Him, we can stand with Him, where He is at.
Then Psalm 17 is a prayer of David, where David prays for God to look on him with grace and to deliver him, to preserve his life. And he prays there in Psalm 17 for God to overlook his transgressions and to pardon his iniquity. And he prays that God would give him grace as he strives to be the kind of man that Psalm 15 describes. But David ultimately knew that he is not the righteous man of Psalm 15 and that he is not the Holy One of Psalm 16. But he believed that by placing his faith in that Holy One of Psalm 16, he would be able to say those words at the end of Psalm 17. Read them with me. Verse 15: “As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.”
Notice how Psalm 15 begins. Who may see God's face? Who may dwell with Him? How does Psalm 17 end? “I shall behold Your face in righteousness.” I'm not qualified (Ps. 15). There is One who is qualified who rose again (Ps. 16). And because of that—Psalm 17—I will awake in His likeness and I will be like Him and I will be satisfied. Psalm 17 is a promise of our resurrection. Because of the resurrection of the One of Psalm 16, you and I will rise again in Psalm 17, and we will look again on His face. So in Psalm 15, no
man is qualified. Psalm 16—there is One who is qualified. He is the Holy One. And because of His qualification—Psalm 17—we will rise again, we will behold His likeness, and we will see His face.
Psalm 15 describes Christ, who knew no sin. He is the Righteous One, whose doing and dying is the salvation of His people. Psalm 16 promises the resurrection of that Christ. His resurrection will be ours, and because He is raised, we shall be raised. And so Psalm 17 promises that we will be made like Christ when we awake in resurrection. We shall behold His face in righteousness.
So do you qualify to stand before God and to see His face? Psalm 15—no. So what shall you do? Make Yahweh your refuge. Set Yahweh before you. Make Him the object of your faith, your confidence, your trust, and your belief, particularly that One who was the Holy One who died in your place and rose again in fulfillment to Psalm 16:10. And then in so doing, you can have confidence that you will look upon His face in righteousness and you will be satisfied and made into His image, in His likeness, when you awake in resurrection. That is the hope of the righteous.
Now, before we're done here, I want to give you an outline for Psalm 16 that we're going to use as we divide this up into the next three weeks. Psalm 16 is rather easy to divide, and I'll kind of go through this slowly so you can jot down this outline if you want to hold me to it over the course of the next few weeks. First, in verses 1–4—I'm going to give you the outline and then we're going to read through it. Verses 1–4 is a pledge of trust in Yahweh's protection. A pledge of trust in Yahweh's protection. Verse 1:
1 Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good besides You.’’
3 As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied; I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor will I take their names upon my lips. (Ps. 16:1–4 NASB)
That is a pledge of trust in Yahweh's protection in verses 1–4. The big idea of that or the central idea is that Yahweh is the trust and the refuge of His people. It’s a pledge of trust in Yahweh's protection.
Second, in verses 5–8 there is here a praise for the treasure of Yahweh's provision. A praise for the treasure of Yahweh's provision. Verse 5:
5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
8 I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Ps. 16:5–8 NASB)
That is a praise for the treasure of Yahweh's provision, and in those verses you see that Yahweh is the treasure and reward for His people.
Third, verses 9–11 is a promise of triumph by Yahweh's power. A promise of triumph by Yahweh's power. “Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; 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.” And in those verses we see that Yahweh is the triumph and resurrection for His people.
So a pledge of trust in Yahweh's protection, a praise for the treasure of Yahweh's provision, and then a promise of triumph by Yahweh's power. In verses 1–4, Yahweh, our God, is our trust and refuge. In verses 5–8, He is our treasure and reward. And in verses 9–11, He is our triumph and our resurrection. Yahweh is our trust, our treasure, and our triumph, our refuge, our reward, and our resurrection. There's so many outlines built into all those parallelisms there. It is a beautiful psalm. And we're going to take each one of those over each of the next three Sundays, finishing up our study of Psalm 16 with that promise of triumph and resurrection in verses 9–11.