May it please almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let
us turn to the book of Psalms and Psalm 16 and we'll read verses
five and six. Psalm 16 and reading verses five
and six. The Lord is the portion of mine
inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The lions are fallen unto me
in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. Perhaps for our young people
just to mention that The Book of Psalms are really a bit different
from most of the rest of the Word of God in so far that they
really are written again mostly by David, not all of them, one
by Moses and some by Asa. But the great blessing is that
the Psalms describe our spiritual life. They describe the spiritual
life of David as he wrote them. And it's a wonderful thing for
us today, as we now walk upon the earth, that the spiritual
lives of the people on the earth, those who've gone, those who
are there with us today, those who are to come, will all have
a spiritual life. And that spiritual life can be
traced out in the Word of God. you and I read the Word of God
and especially the Psalms, we can find in the Psalms therefore
the testimony of David, that man of God, concerning his life. And so we're thankful indeed
as we have the book of Psalms, there are many prayers of David
in it, and we're thankful for it. Indeed, it commences his
16th Psalm with a prayer when he says, preserve me, O God,
for in thee do I put my trust. Well, that's a good start, isn't
it? It'd be a good start for all of us today. If we have that
concern, that God will preserve us as we travel through this
world, many temptations, many difficulties, but he's able to
confirm For in thee do I put my trust. Well, the word of God
encourages us, trust in me at all times, ye people pour out
your heart unto me. And it's a good thing for us
to be reminded of that great truth, to come to our God in
prayer every day, often every day, again, The Apostle Paul
uses that wonderful phrase to pray without ceasing. Well, it's
a good thing to remember that as we pass through life, we pass
through day by day, we continue to pray to Almighty God. Well, we come down in this Psalm
to verse five, David tells us the Lord is the portion of mine
inheritance, and of my cup, thou maintainest my lot. The lions
are fallen unto me in pleasant places, yea, I have a goodly
heritage. What a mercy it is that such
words are recorded to encourage us today to believe that what
David said were true. The Lord was his portion. rejoiced in his God. He loved to speak about his God. He loved to hear from his God
and therefore how very true it was the Lord was his portion. That's a great blessing and it
would be a great blessing for us today if we can humbly say
the Lord is my portion the lord is the portion of mine inheritance
you see david was able to look forward beyond this time i would
look forward to that inheritance which god had prepared for him
and you know all of us need to have the wonderful privilege
of knowing that there is an inheritance prepared for us. We're passing
through this veil of sin and this veil of tears. We're on
a journey. We are indeed as pilgrims and
strangers on this earth. This is not our rest. It is polluted. What a blessing with you and
I know the truth of such words and therefore are blessed and
wonderfully favoured with the presence of our God as we travel
through life. To know that God is with us,
that God is guiding us, that God is directing us and that
God is leading us into all truth as it is in Jesus. So if the Lord is our portion,
that will be precisely what it is. We shall love to be found
meditating on what the Lord Jesus Christ has done. It'll be the
joy and rejoicing of our soul. It won't be something we don't
want to think about. It won't be something that we
don't want to hear about. It's something that we are on
the stretch after, because we know that the knowledge of God
is so precious. It is so valuable. Indeed, it
is, as the hymn says, more precious than gold. It's far more precious
than the things of time, because it brings to us the things of
eternity. Well, we read together in that
chapter in Deuteronomy, which was the beginning of the Song
of Moses, beautiful words. And in the ninth verse, this
is what it said, as Moses spoke, for the Lord's portion is his
people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. Just think of that. It's very
humbling, isn't it? To think that for the Lord's
portion is his people. The Lord condescends to make
us his portion. And if he condescends to make
us his portion, really it's, he condescends to show us that
he is the one thing needful and that I without him perish must. What a mercy tonight, then, if
you and I have the desire that Jesus Christ is our portion,
and if he's our portion, to be familiar with what he passed
through in his life on this earth, to recognize the agonies that
he endured to redeem our soul. See, this will be portion for
us this will be food and drink to our soul this will be more
important than our daily food and so it'll be a mercy if Christ
comes and draws near to us and draws us to himself don't forget
those words in the Song of Solomon, where the bride says, draw me
and I will run after thee. That means what it says, drawn
to the saviour, drawn to his bleeding side, to recognise the
value to us of his life, the value to us of his death, of
his resurrection, of his ascension and the value of us today, of
his intercession for us in glory. What a mercy then, what room
there is for meditation, to come to our Saviour and to be thankful
indeed that he is our portion. What a blessing it is then to
know that the Lord's portion is his people. He condescends
to rejoice in us, unworthy as we are, because he's paid the
price to redeem our soul. Yes, that great price which is
upon our head because of our sins, the sins throughout our
life that had to be payment made to secure our freedom and that
was a payment that was totally beyond our capabilities and therefore
what a mercy that the Lord Jesus Christ condescended as we've
sung in that second hymn in love to our souls. to come into this
sinful world in order that you and I might be redeemed. And therefore, look forward to
the wonderful inheritance of one day being with Christ eternally,
where there will be no separation, where there will be no sin, but
peace and joy and eternal rejoicing. Well, says David, the Lord is
the portion of my inheritance. He had a humble and yet a blessed
confidence in these truths. His hope was in his God. He wasn't relying upon what he'd
done, what he'd said. No, he was relying upon what
his God had done. And may you and I be in that
same situation even today and rejoice in this great truth. The Lord is the portion of my
inheritance. And then he says, and of my cup
thou maintainest my lot. Well, we perhaps remember The
cup is also referred to in another psalm of David's, a very well-known
psalm, Psalm 23. And as he comes down to the end
of that short psalm, in the fifth verse of that 23rd psalm, this
is what he says. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies, Thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup runneth over. That means his cup was filled
with good things, his cup was filled with the gospel, his cup
was filled with that revelation of what Christ would do. There's
many Psalms, the 16th Psalm, is a very prophetic psalm with
regard to the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, he's able to come
and say, and of my cup thou maintainest my lot. He was maintained. God had kept him. We know that David was allowed
to fall into very terrible sin. but he repented of it and God
heard his cry and God delivered him and God brought him out into
a wealthy place and God blessed him and did maintain him as you
read through the life of David many times he cried under his
guard many times his God delivered him many times his God encouraged
him and spoke to him and directed him and we today come before
the same God this unchangeable God this God that David was so
fond of and so pleased to be able to exalt for what he done
for him and of my cup thou maintainest my lot. To think that he was
maintained and we can think perhaps of this lot and it follows on
to the next verse which is the lions have fallen unto me in
pleasant places it's rather a strange expression but it would seem
to indicate as Israel of old of course for each given a portion
of land each given a lot to inhabit So the Lord graciously gives
his people a lot to inhabit, a place where God condescends
to come and to meet with them, a place where God condescends
to come and bless them, a place where God comes and speaks comfortable
words to them, words of encouragement, and they are maintained therefore
in their pilgrimage as they walk through this world, God maintains
them. And here it is that blesses them
with this cup filled with all his goodness and with all his
favor. Indeed, as the Psalm 23 goes
on, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life. I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. He had a humble but a true confidence
in his God. Yes, he believed God would be
with him. God would indeed fill his cup so that his cup ran over. It's a mercy isn't it when God
fills our cup and it runs over as we meditate on his mercy,
on his goodness, on his grace, on his favour, and of his love
toward us. You know, there's so much room,
isn't there, to meditate upon these glories. And as the Holy
Spirit enables us so to do, our cup, that which holds these blessings,
is filled up and we have reason, much cause to praise our God. Well, says David, the Lord is
my portion, a portion of my inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest
my lot. What a blessing that is to know
the Lord maintains our lot. And then he says, The lions have
fallen unto me in pleasant places. Pleasant places, we don't deserve
a pleasant place, do we? The Lord does that for us, which
we couldn't do for ourselves. And as we read, he led them forth
by the right way in this place. where the lions are fallen. There they are. The Lord fixes
the lions. He fixes our habitation naturally. He fixes our habitation spiritually. We should not think we can just
wander off wherever we want to naturally or spiritually. The
Lord knows what you and I need and what a blessing it is to
realize the wonder of it. I'm here to think that these
lions fallen unto me in pleasant places. Well, it's a favour if
you and I have been blessed with those profitable times of meditation
in his name. So there have been pleasant places
to us and we've rejoiced in them and we've blessed God for them
and we thanked our God for them. What a wonderful mercy and what
a wonderful blessing that is. Well, you may remember, with
regard to this place, the Song of Solomon tells us words about
a garden. And he tells us, a garden enclosed
is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. You see, we are as it were, a
garden enclosed. God maps out our path. We're enclosed with his mercy
and love and he keeps us there so that by his grace we don't
break through the hedge that a serpent will bite us, nor keeps
us. And what a mercy that is, what
a wonderful favour it is, what a wonderful blessing it is. And
the whole purpose of course is this, The lions have fallen unto
me in pleasant places, yea, I have a goodly inheritance." Really,
the Word of God encourages us from Genesis to Revelation to
look forward to that goodly inheritance. Because to all the Church of
God, there is a goodly heritage, a goodly inheritance. which by
the grace of God one day we shall be found. It's a wonderful thought,
it's a wonderful prospect, it's a wonderful blessing to realize
that God is so very, very gracious and therefore deals with us in
love to our souls. And it's through, of course,
the wonderful work of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. in dying
to take away our sins. The apostle Paul, when he wrote
to the Ephesians, he spoke about this inheritance. And he tells
us, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will. That's very humbling to think.
that Almighty God's will toward us is one of love, his will towards
us that we should one day inherit this inheritance and the Lord
has predestinated us, what a mercy, he's predestinated us to inherit
this place in glory, a place that no one can take from us. No, we won't arrive at heaven's
gates and be told, well, there's no room for you. There's no place
for you. Because if we have in our hands
that blessed certificate that Christ has died and shed his
precious blood, we shall hear really those words which we read
when Laban spoke to Jacob so many years ago. Come in! Thou blessed of the Lord, wherefore
standest thou without? There will be a welcome to every
born again child of God and it will be a warm welcome and it
will be a gracious welcome. We of course will be, well we'll
be amazed I suppose, we don't really understand how we will
be at that time, but all we can know is this, we shall be blessedly
happy and eternally happy and a happiness which cannot be taken
away from us. What a mercy it is then that
we have such a God, such a gracious God and such of blessing God. Well, tonight, may we indeed
ponder these words, because they are wonderful words of truth. The Lord is the portion of mine
inheritance, all of grace, and of my cup, all of grace. Thou maintainest my lot, all
of grace. None of these things could we
do ourselves, but we can bless God. for his grace. It's no wonder,
is it? That dear old John Newsome was
able to pen those words, amazing grace. How sweet the sound that
saved a wretch like me. All of us are wretched sinners. What a mercy that we can join
with John Newton say yes amazing grace to me how sweet the sound
and it is surely because the lions have fallen unto me in
pleasant places yes by his grace I walk before him I know his
presence I know his love I know his mercy and I stand amazed The lions are
fallen unto me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. This was a humble confidence
that David had. And I believe by the grace of
God, God's people also have a humble confidence that they can rejoice
in the truth of God, the truth of God, which changes not. and
to know that we have a God who is the same yesterday and today
and forever. And what he has said stands fast. We indeed can stand fast and
hold fast onto the promises of God, which are indeed yea and
amen in Christ Jesus. Well, tonight, may we rejoice
in the gospel and praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Amen.