Confidence In The Lord
Sermon Notes
We continue our study through the Psalms named Melodies of Encouragement.
Have you ever reached a point in your life where you want somebody to be or do something for you that you cannot be or do for yourself? Have you ever faced a situation where you are confident, except God intervenes, you are doomed? Sometimes, it is a situation with sickness, an accident, a broken relationship, or even death. We all go through problems and circumstances, and we need someone or God to help us in different ways. Several times this year, I found myself in a situation where the doctors couldn’t tell what was happening, given all our scientific advancements. I knew I was doomed unless God helped them figure out the problem.
That is what David was going through, being driven into the wilderness of Ziph by Saul. David, though anointed by God to be king of Israel, was on the run from Saul for about 15 years and needed God to help him. He felt like he had been driven from his inheritance.
However, in this Psalm, David was not complaining or crying for revenge. Instead, he displays trust and confidence in God. We do not hear other voices or God speaking in this Psalm. There are no enemies, no oppressed cries, and no accusers, just David expressing his confidence in God. David is simply affirming God as his protector, provider, and preserver.
God is enough for all your needs.
God is our Protector (1-4)
Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
3 I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
David begins with prayer, demonstrating confidence and rest in God.
The metaphor of “refuge” suggests a safe place far from harm and oppression. David was careful to highlight that he takes refuge in God. It demonstrates confidence resting in God. Like all of us, David had options. He could take refuge in the wilderness, in the army he had built, in his abilities to escape the pursuit of Saul. Instead, he chose to take refuge in God, expressing confidence in God’s care for him.
Many people take refuge in other things because they cannot trust God to keep them safe. They spend enormous amounts of cash buying security equipment to keep them safe. Where do you find security?
They think their relationship with God is insufficient for their protection—They need something more. David believed the best thing he could have is “relationship with God.” “Apart from you, I have no good thing.” The Hebrew preposition “apart from” means “over, above, and upon” you. It expresses the thought that there is nothing equal to God, which is a good thing. God is the “highest good” you can ever experience in life.
If we are honest, believers and skeptics know that the relationship with God dominates all human life and lays claim to the whole man. In Psalm 73:25, David expressed, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
The “noble ones in whom is all my delight” in this passage are the Israelites in whom the writer delights. Meaning God’s people are also “good gifts” that he gives to his leaders. These are saints who live on the land.
4 “Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.”
In verse, David contrasts God’s protection from his enemies with what others do for security among the nations around them.
The sorrows of those who worship other gods will increase. We live in a time and age where other gods are plenteous. The gods the media has created for us to worship, the personality cults of religious and political leaders we ought to worship, the gods of economics that we worship, and many other gods we have created ourselves that we worship. Then, there is a god of self that we worship. Teenagers “Meenagers”: focusing on nothing but me.”
When we take our refuge in God, we surrender to him and trust in his ability to keep us safe. We don’t have to get up every 30 minutes to check whether everything is okay (Psalm 127:1-2).
2. God is Our Provider (5-8)
“Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely, I have a delightful inheritance. 7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
You are my “portion” refers to the Levites who had the Lord as their portion. The Lord promised the members of the priesthood to be their share and inheritance (Nub 18:20; Dt 10:9).
If you have the God who created the land, the people, and all resources as your portion, then you have everything. And the “my cup” represents the food and drink that sustain individuals. God promised to bestow on his children the blessings, promises, and fulfilments in measure.
Therefore, “portion” and “cup” are metaphors for God’s sustenance. David is not afraid of whether God will provide for him and that he will also secure what he has given him. He is our “Jehovah Jireh,” the provider. If he can feed the birds of the air and clothe the lilies, he can provide for you.
For the Lord makes “my lot secure.” God does not only secure what he gives us here on earth. He has also secured what he’s prepared for us in heaven. There is no need to fear or be in doubt about God’s ability to secure what he has given us, whether children, spouses, jobs, whatever, etc.,
The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places, I have a delightful inheritance (v.6)
Depicting the land distribution by casting lots following the conquest of Canaan. The metaphor “the boundary lines” have fallen in pleasant places demonstrates that only God gives prosperity and progress in life.
The nature of God’s benefits is such that they may be described as “pleasant” and “delightful.” God gave his people a pleasant land as an inheritance, so they rejoice in the bounty of God’s goodness.
God gives us pleasant and delightful inheritance so we can praise him. It also describes the fellowship with God that David enjoys. The God who provides counsel and instruction always deserves our praise. “I will praise the Lord, who counsels me, even at night, my heart instructs me.”
David can say that the Lord gives him counsel by day, which helps him to live wisely. At night, God instructs him through meditation with his inner self.
I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore, God is always at his right hand and confident in God’s goodness, grace, and fatherly instruction. David said I will not be shaken. You do not need to be shaken by anything. The role of the Holy Spirit in the NT as our comforter, helper, and counselor.
3. God is Our Preserver (9-11)
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay. 11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
"Therefore, my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices." The grounds for David's joy are twofold:
(1) God is the sovereign master to whom he fled for protection;
(2) God has been good to him by providing for him.
He has not been disappointed; hence, the section begins with "therefore," showing his confidence in the Lord.
He may die and go to the grave, but the Lord will not permit his beloved to suffer eternal alienation. The phrase "see decay" is a metaphor for total isolation and banishment from God's presence. The primary significance of this text is the confidence of David that his relationship with God will not end with death.
In the NT, the apostles Peter and Paul (Acts 2:27, 31; 13:35) quoted this passage as Messianic prophesy about the death of Jesus. Though Christ died, his body was not abandoned to decay, for he rose again from the grave.
David died and was buried, and his physical body saw decay, but Jesus, as the son of David, rose from the dead. Death couldn't keep its hold on him (Acts 2:24).
The resurrection of the Lord gives ground for the confidence of all believers that we shall not suffer corruption. God will resurrect his beloved and crown them with his glory. God is concerned about your body. Though it may be hurting right now, our bodies may be wasting away; be assured that God will resurrect your body. It will not be the kind of body you have right now susceptible to sickness and diseases, but a renewed body specially made for you by God that will never fall sick or die.
The "path of life" signifies the way that leads to life. It's the kind way of wisdom and understanding built on the fear of God. In the presence of God lies the lasting joy in fellowship with God forever. It will all happen in his presence.
Application:
In Jesus Christ, we have protection and refuge in God, for he promised, "I will never leave you or forsake you. I will be with you to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20)
Jesus taught if we abide in him and his word abides in us, then we can ask for whatever we need, and he will do it for us (John 15:7).
Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. (John 11:25-26).
Our relationship with Jesus guarantees our protection, provision, and preservation. God is enough for all our needs, and confidence in the Lord is a great treasure.