This sermon follow up is from the sermon series, "Psalms: The Greatest Hits, Vol. One". Check out the links at the bottom of the blog post to watch or listen to the sermon and to find out more information about Stone's Throw Church.
THE MEANING
THE MEANING
Psalm 16 was most probably written by David and yet
this song is not about David. It is
about Jesus. Isn't that a big leap? The Apostles did not think so. Peter quotes directly from this Psalm in his
first public sermon which is recorded for us in Acts 2:25-31. Paul backs up his buddy Peter in his sermon
at Antioch in Acts 13 when he quotes directly from Psalm 16 and applies the
words to the earthly ministry of Jesus and his resurrection.
The trust that one can imperfectly have in God is
modeled perfectly by Jesus in his earthly ministry. This song shows us in a very practical way
the relationship that Jesus had with the Father. He trusted in Him even unto death knowing
that he would be raised by the power of God even after the brutality and
finality of death by crucifixion. In this
Psalm we see a very real and human Jesus.
“This
psalm’s purpose is to reveal the perfect relationship between the human Jesus
and [God the Father], to describe His relationship with humanity, and to
foretell His resurrection and His eternal future.
Once again, it would help us to understand the ebb and flow of the song
so that we can farm as much theological and practical meaning from the lyrics
as possible. We can break the Psalm up
into 4 sections for the purpose of our study.
Verses 1-2 relate Jesus’ relationship with God the Father. He trusts the Father and the Father is absolutely
behind His Son. Jesus stresses
throughout the Gospel accounts that He is walking in the Father’s will and that
he has come to exclusively obey the will of the Father. We also see on several occasions (Jesus’
baptism and the Mount of Transfiguration) that the Father is behind the
ministry of Jesus.
The second section found in verses 3-4 tell of Jesus’ relationship to
all mankind. Simply put, Jesus loves
God’s people. One day they will be made
his brothers and will inherit all that is Jesus’. Additionally, Jesus will reject those who
have rejected him.
The third section found in verses 5-8 reveals the source of Jesus’
ministry. His relationship to the Father
is of first importance to him. He does
not move unless the Father has ordained it.
Every minute of Jesus’ ministry had been planned from all eternity. Jesus was able to accomplish his ministry
because the Father is unshakeable in his strength.
Finally, in verses 9-11, we see a picture of the resurrection of Jesus
from the grave. Jesus is not afraid to
die. Jesus’ bold predictions and
confidence in trial demonstrate his confidence and trust in God. This is why the Psalmist writes that God will
not abandon the Messiah to the grave. We
are treated to a glimpse of the resurrection and it’s power over death because
of Jesus’s resurrection.
THE MESSAGE
“The psalmist, however, in the joyful confidence of faith looked the
grim reaper in the face and said, “Yes, but God …”This is a majestic Psalm about Jesus’ trust
in the Father and the victory he has won on our behalf.
Additionally, this is a tender Psalm that also tells of his
humanity. Spurgeon writes, “Tempted in
all points like as we are, the manhood of Jesus needed to be preserved from the
power of evil; and though in itself pure, the Lord Jesus did not confide in
that purity of nature, but as an example to his followers, looked to the Lord,
his God, for preservation.”
Where do you turn in times of trouble?
We have been trained to call our counselors, our spouses, our kids, our parents
or our teachers when we are up the creek.
We have been taught to read the latest self-help book rather than the
Word of God. Others of us turn to drugs,
alcohol, food, spending money, buying crap, or self-medicating with some other
addiction. Our nature is to turn from
trouble and steer into more trouble. But
Jesus shows us what it means to turn to the Father when we are in trouble and
to trust in Him through dangerous or grievous situations.
On the first Good Friday 2000 years ago, Jesus was in serious trouble
and he knew it. The crowds had turned
from him, his best friends were wary of him, a disciple had sold him out to the
mob, the government was bearing down on him, and the religious zealots wanted
him dead. So what does Jesus do? He turns to the Father in prayer and asks God
to give him the strength to do what must be done – to complete his
mission.
God would protect Jesus from death.
In the same way, God is your protector. God is absolutely devoted to you when you are
in Christ. Jesus showed us in his
earthly ministry what it means to live under the protection of God. Protection does not mean that we won’t face
hardship. Jesus faced much hardship and
so will we. Protection does mean that
you will be able to accomplish all that God has called you to accomplish – no
more and no less. If our desire is to
live by the will of God then we can have full confidence that all that He means
to purpose through us will certainly come to pass.
God
delights in you. Look closely at what the Psalmist
says in verse 3. God delights in saints,
meaning those who have been made holy.
Look at yourself. You and I both
know that we are not holy – at least not perfectly holy. God hates sin. How then can He delight in us? God delights in us because of what Jesus has
done for us. And remember, that what
Jesus has done for us has always been God’s plan and that His plan was
fashioned out of love for us. Paul tells
us in Romans 5 that Jesus died for those who hated God so that we might be made
the friends of God. This is all of
grace. Nothing else can explain why God
would do this. As a result of what Jesus
has done, and your faith in Christ which unites you to Christ, God delights in
you.
Other gods
will destroy you. We have been raised by our culture
to believe that other gods offer refuge.
Sex. Money. Power.
Popularity. Nice clothes. Nicer cars.
Big bank accounts. Popular
ministries and churches. Good
looks. Hot wife. Sexy boyfriend. These are all gods who destroy. They are not necessarily bad things or bad
people. But our trust in them as gods is
what destroys. Why? Because sex cannot offer real refuge. Money will eventually run out or be left in
our will to someone who is not us.
Clothes from the ‘80’s should never be worn in the new millennium and
yet you were told that your Air Jordan’s would bring you much happiness in
1989. You get the point. Other gods bring sorrow to those who run
after them.
Jesus is
your inheritance. The Psalmist writes, “Indeed I
have a beautiful inheritance.” In Romans
we are called co-heirs with Jesus Christ.
How is that even possible? We did
not do what Jesus did. We couldn’t do
what Jesus did. We are disobedient fools
and Jesus was perfect in all ways. And
yet, we are told that because we are united to him by faith that we will
receive what Jesus’ receives – resurrection and glory! I can only imagine what Jesus must have felt
when he was tied to the Roman whipping post.
He must have held on to the promise of the Father of a resurrected body
not only for himself but for all of God’s people.
Because of the resurrection inheritance, nothing can shake you from
the grip of God. When the Psalmist
says that God is at his right hand he is not insinuating that Jesus is the
co-pilot. Instead, this is an expression
to demonstrate the closeness of God to his Son Jesus. In turn, it tells us of how close God is to
us. Because God is “at our right hand”
we have nothing to fear in this life or the life to come.
This song is not just about a present reality or even an earthly
reality. The final verses give us a
future promise that last forever. It is
in these words that we see the Old Testament understanding of resurrection. The Psalmist praises God because he knows
that his body, though it may die, will ultimately be restored and
resurrected. This is what he means by
“the path of life” the “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore.”
Ultimately this section, “prophesies the Messiah’s physical
resurrection from death as a result of His perfect earthly walk with God, and
His subsequent seating at God’s right hand.” We are united to Jesus in this
resurrection. His resurrection means our
resurrection.
The Psalm presents us with the unique relationship that Jesus in his
humanity had with God the Father. This
is the model for our walk with God the Father.
We fail miserably at times but God is gracious. Will you trust God when times are rough? Will you rest in His unshakeable grip? Will you believe that God will make all
things new as promised by Jesus and proved by His resurrection?
THIS WEEK
·
Take some time to pray through Psalm 16 this week.
·
What are some areas in your life right now where
you are not trusting God? Be specific.
·
What comfort do you find in this Psalm?
·
Why is the resurrection of Jesus proof of God’s
love for you and that He will accomplish His will in your life?
If you want to hear more about this you can download/watch/listen to the entire sermon here.
Check out our free iTunes podcast and subscribe today.
No comments:
Post a Comment