May God be pleased to bless us
together this morning as we consider his word. Let us turn to the
Book of Psalms and Psalm 16 and we'll read verse 6. The Book of Psalms and reading
Psalm 16 and verse 6. The lines are fallen unto me
in pleasant places. Yay, I have a goodly heritage. Sometimes we find statements
in the Bible which are quite difficult for us to understand. And I suppose this statement
here in this sixth verse falls into that category. The statement
says, the lions are fallen unto me in pleasant places. And we
may indeed wonder exactly what that means. Well, a lion, as
we may know, is used to mark out a certain place, a certain
area. On a building site, or on a farm,
or whatever you may have, the boundary has to be set forth
and it has to be marked out to establish where that boundary
is, where that line is. Sometimes the lines are straight,
sometimes the lines change with the contour and obstacles and
are not always in a straight line, but nonetheless there are
lines which are formed and in any household, in any a piece
of land which occupies, or a house which occupies a piece of land.
There will be a plan which will have been marked out at one stage
with lines to indicate the exact limit of the right of the owner
to that piece of land. You may remember that when Israel
came into Canaan, their individual sections for the various tribes
was given and it was marked out as the area which they were to
inhabit, which God had given to them. And so as we think then
of this as an area marked out, we can think of that in a natural
way, in a physical way, in each of our own lives, in our own
homes, we can appreciate the areas of our home, the boundaries
of it, and that which by God's grace we possess. But then we
need to consider the Word of God, of course, is a spiritual
book and it uses natural illustrations to direct us to the spiritual
implications. And so this is very true with
regards to these words here. The lions are fallen unto me
in pleasant places. That means that our spiritual
boundaries are marked out, and we move around within those spiritual
boundaries. And we read here that this is
a pleasant place. The lions have fallen unto me
in pleasant places. It's not as though it's a place
which is not inhabited, It's a place which is inhabited, it's
a place in which we dwell, and it's a place in which we observe
the goodness of the Lord. And if that is so, then truly
it is a pleasant place. And in order to be a pleasant
place, it needs to be a place which is profitable for us. a place where we are spiritually
growing. It's not a place where we stagnate. It is a pleasant place. There
may be places which are not so pleasant, but here the psalmist
is homing in on this position and he says, the lions are fallen
unto me in pleasant places. It means surely the area the
situation which God has given to us. He's marked it out in
each of our lives. He's marked the borders. They
are lines which enclose us and therefore we live in this pleasant
place. Now, spiritually, if it is to
be a pleasant place, it is a place where we shall eat and we shall
drink and we shall feed And what must that be? Well it must obviously
refer to the blessings of God. And what are those blessings
of God? What are those pleasant places?
Well those pleasant places surely are to be found in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And so as the Spirit of God may
confine us into areas which are pleasant for our benefit and
the growth of our soul. It's not as though we're wandering
aimlessly in a place where we are not hedged in, we're not
kept in, but it is a place where the lions have fallen unto us
in pleasant places. It's a marked out area where
we shall benefit and prosper. And as we consider that in a
spiritual aspect, it must really be to have a knowledge of the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are many places, are
there not, in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, where we can
be instructed, where we can be blessed and favoured. And to recognise that here we
have the Lord's graciously as it were, enclosed us. It may
be like this, we are a garden walled around. The Lord walls
our area and within that area the Lord condescends to teach
us and to direct us and to bless us. And what a favour it is to
know that the Lord's hands upon us for good, that we are being
instructed, instructed in righteousness within these borders, within
these lines, and as we are therefore directed to the Lord Jesus Christ,
to think then of some of those places, some of those enclosures. Surely, as we think of the Lord
Jesus Christ, we must come surely and recognise that of course
he was born into this sinful world in that manger in Bethlehem. And we do well to realise the
truth of these things and to not just associate the birth
of Christ with what we term Christmas time. It's good to remember special
times, but we should not limit our view to just those periods
of what we term Christmas and Easter. We should desire that
these areas should be constantly before us, so that we may be
blessed in our consideration of them. And may it be that here
we have an area here which we are directed into to consider
the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if that is so, we will recognise
that it is a pleasant place. And why is it a pleasant place?
because the Lord Jesus Christ had to come into this world in
order that you and I should be saved from our sin. Without Christ
there would be no salvation, and therefore without the birth
of Christ there would be no salvation. And so how important it is for
us to be directed to Bethlehem and that situation, that humble
surroundings that the Lord Jesus Christ was born into. We may think sometimes, well
why is that relevant to us today? Why is it important? We can read
about it in the New Testament and surely that's adequate for
us. Well, it is and we bless God that it is there, but the
relevance of it is that it has an application to our spiritual
life in this way. We could not ever justify ourselves. We could never pay the price
which was required to atone for our sins. Because we are born
in sin and shaped in iniquity, our condition is therefore very
needy. And so we have to look right
back, and if we look right back, we look to the Lord Jesus Christ
as being in our place. We refer to it as He is our substitute. Now, the Lord Jesus was our substitute,
indeed to die for us, but in order to die for us, He had to
be born for us. And in order to be born for us,
he had to be a suitable substitute. And that suitable substitute
had to be so low to pick up and stand in the place of the very
poorest person that ever lived in this world. Otherwise, if
you and I were ever in that condition when we looked around, as some
people must do to think, well, I really have no possessions
in this world, nothing at all, and my state, my position is
really very, very poor. No one would be able to say,
well, the Lord Jesus Christ, he came into this world as a
great natural king, and therefore he wouldn't understand about
my situation. He was born in a very humble
condition in that manger in Bethlehem. Yes, no great place was it, no
big hotel, no wonderful hospital, just in a very poor manger. And there he was laid there,
the place that the animals ate from, where the food was put. No doubt it was cleaned out and
there he was laid in that situation. And so we have this position
here. The lions have fallen unto me in pleasant places, to be
able to consider the Lord Jesus Christ. It would be good if we
are surrounded like this, and we don't step outside of considering
the Lord Jesus Christ. The boundary is set, and Jesus
Christ is in the midst. And if Christ is in the midst,
and we go back to His birth, wondrous birth. Not only then
was he born in those humble circumstances, he was also born to Mary that
Virgin. And the Virgin birth is something
which is often belittled, but how wonderful it is to realise
it was the Spirit of God that overshadowed Mary, so that she
conceived the Lord Jesus Christ. We see there the wonder and the
perfection of the work of Almighty God. And we know, do we not,
how when Mary went to see Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist,
how Elizabeth was three months pregnant and the baby leapt in
her womb. It was wonderful news that Mary
had. Great news. And so that news
was transferred to the shepherds as they were feeding their flocks
by night. And we know what a glorious time
that was when the glorious host of heaven appeared and told them
of the good news unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. Now that was good news
to those shepherds. It was good news to John the
Baptist. The truth is, is it? And has
it been good news to you and me? These lines have fallen unto
me in pleasant places. And then as we perhaps trace
out some of these pleasant places. You see, they're pleasant to
us. They weren't pleasant necessarily
to the Lord Jesus. Indeed, He lived a life of of
poverty. And we know that he lived for
those 30 years in that backwater, in Nazareth, with his father,
that carpenter, and as his brothers and sisters were born, he lived
with them in very humble circumstances. We're not given any details,
and it would be wrong to us to make up any details. We just
know that there he was for those 30 years in that humble situation,
and willing to live there. An amazing thought, isn't it?
The God, almighty God, willing to live in a backwater in this
earth for 30 years as part of the great plan of God to save
his people from their sins. Now it'll be good if you and
I are surrounded as it were, with these lines, these boundaries,
and kept within these boundaries, to consider Him. And that those boundaries may be
such that we're not desirous, as it were, to break out, out
of these boundaries, to realise the blessing that is contained
within them. And so, as we think of Him, the
Blessed Saviour then, when He was revealed then, revealed to
John the Baptist. What did John the Baptist say?
Those great and glorious words, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world. Now it would be a good blessing
time if you and I are given that faith also as we see the Lord
Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God. And by faith we may be able to
Behold Him, behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin
of the world, and to hope that our sins have been taken away
because of what the Lord Jesus Christ did when He was upon this
earth in that great and glorious sacrificial death. But we also
trace out in these pleasant places They are, to the soul, a pleasant
place. Again, I say to the Saviour here
to endure much opposition, but to us, if we are within this
compass, they are good and pleasant for our soul to consider. When we think of the Lord Jesus
Christ at that time in the life of John the Baptist, being baptised
of John the Baptist, coming to him, And John the Baptist saying,
I have need to be baptised of thee, and come is thou to me. The Lord Jesus said, suffer it
to be so. And so the Lord Jesus sets before
us that wonderful example of being baptised in Jordan's river,
and rising coming up from the water, and John being able to
declare that he saw the dove descending upon him, and those
words, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, a
wonderful example to us, and we should not pass over the implication
of what that baptism meant. It was an outward sign of an
inward faith, which is so important for us today to realise, but
also it sets before us the life of the Lord Jesus, as he went
down to the water, realising what he had to endure, all the
sins of his people, and then rising again, more than conquerors,
over sin, death, hell and the grave. Baptism has a very real
significance. It's not just something to be
belittled and pass over, no consequence. It would be a great blessing
for you and me if we are found within this place, these lines
fall onto us, in pleasant places to realise the importance of
Believers' Baptism. It is an ordinance of God. There are only two New Testament
ordinances. One is Believers' Baptism and
the other is the Lord's Supper. Compare that with all the Traditions
of the Old Testament, all those ceremonies. And today we're blessed
with just these two very simple examples the Lord Jesus Christ
set before us, so that we might be able to be a true follower
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the lions have fallen unto
me in pleasant places. And it is a pleasant place. It is a pleasant place. To follow
the Lord in the ordinance of baptism is a pleasant place.
It is an answer with good conscience. And those of us who have followed
the Saviour in this way, I'm sure none of us have ever had
any regrets. We're all so thankful that the
Lord enabled us to follow the wonderful example of the Lord
Jesus. And the Lord Jesus said it before
us, didn't he? It wasn't something to be passed
over, something to be ignored, something to think of no consequence. It's there as a wonderful example
to lead us into the sufferings of Christ. Now surely, anything
that leads us into the sufferings of Christ must be good and must
be beneficial in our spiritual life. The lions have fallen unto
me in pleasant places." And then as we ponder the life of the
Lord Jesus, what did it consist of? What did it consist of? A life of service. A life of
service. A life of doing the will of his
Father. Never pleased himself. A life
of temptation. We're given some little insight
into that, aren't we? When the devil came and tempted
him after he was baptised, setting forth those three important temptations. And how did the Lord Jesus respond?
How did he answer? He quoted the devil's scripture.
My friends, that's the only way that you and I will be able to
resist the devil, is to point him to the Word of God. Now what
a blessing then to realise that Here we have, we're surrounded
as it were, not only with hedges, but with the Word of God, which
surrounds us. And to have that, we're able
to then to be able to resist the devil, as we're able to refer
him to the Word of God. These lions have fallen unto
me in pleasant places. And think of what the Lord Jesus
Christ faced and endured. No possessions of his own, no
home comforts, Nowhere to lay his head. What an example we
have. To think of our own lives, by
comparison, how comfortable they are, their own homes, comfortable
beds to lie upon, many blessings. The great example of the Saviour.
Now you see, this is a pleasant place to be able to meditate
upon what the Lord Jesus Christ faced and endured and went through,
so that your soul and my soul might be saved and eternally
blessed. It's the great and glorious picture
we have of a saviour. There's no greater blessing than
to meditate upon what Christ has done. And we have his whole
life to meditate on. He went about doing good, didn't
he? He went about healing. We might
sometimes think we need healing. Naturally we do. We also need
healing spiritually. It's good to meditate on the
Saviour's work in this respect. And so the lions have fallen
unto me in pleasant places to think of this, what the Saviour
did when he was upon the earth. We have much detail, don't we,
in the New Testament of what the Lord Jesus did. and how he
came to a blind man and how he healed him, gave him sight. A lame man he healed, a withered
hand he healed. We might feel that in our lives,
just like that. Now it would be a pleasant place
if we stretch out our faith to see how the Lord Jesus healed
in so many ways. The woman stretched out her hand
and touched the head of his garment. Virtue passed from him to her
and healed her. Oh, you see what virtue there
is in the Saviour. What a pleasant place it is to
think of what the Saviour has done and what the Saviour still
does. The lions have fallen unto me
in pleasant places. So think of the life and all
that he did and think of your own life and your own needs in
a spiritual aspect. How you may feel to be perhaps
withered. You may feel you need the Lord
to come and that you're able to stretch out your hand. You
may feel lame. You may feel unable to walk as
it were. You may be feeling that you're
stuck now as a beggar on a bed and you can't get up. The Lord
Jesus came, didn't he? And he raised people He raised
people from the dead. You think of that occasion in
the life of Nazareth. Raised from the dead. We may
feel perhaps to be dead in our spirits. The Lord can raise us
from the dead. See what a wonderful situation
we have here. A pleasant place. I think the
Lord perhaps surrounds us and keeps us in within these lines,
within these boundaries. Enables us to consider him."
What a wonderful favour then, to look to the Lord Jesus Christ. And then as we move on, we come
towards the end of his life. What did he do then? Well, he
instituted that second ordinance of the Lord's Supper. Why? So that you and I might remember
him. He says, remember me. Remember
me. That's the reason that you and
I are called to be one of those who forsakes all and follows
the Saviour and come and sit at the Lord's table to remember
Him. And to remember Him in a special
way really. It is to remember the cost of
our salvation. Lest we forget. It's so easy
in this material world to forget the cost of our salvation. Therefore
the Lord has graciously instituted this supper of remembrance, lest
we forget. So as we gather round the table
of the Lord to partake of those symbols which represent his broken
body, and his shed blood. Now, my friends, this is a sacred,
pleasant place. A place of remembrance. The lions
will fall unto me in pleasant places. A place of remembrance
to remember the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, it's a good thing, isn't
it? If the Lord has brought us here,
we're able to say, Not something past, but something present. The lines are falling out to
me in pleasant places. And to be found walking in this
way. It is a pleasant place because
what does it show? It shows the love of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Doesn't it? It shows really the
fulfilment of His amazing love. Love was set forth, was it not,
when he was born in his humble circumstances, the Lord of life
and glory condescending to come right down into the most humble
situations for love of his people, for love of you and love of me. And then to live those 30 years
in that outback in Nazareth, and then to be revealed and to
be submitting unto his father's will. You see, that's the great
thing, isn't it? We have the example of submission. The Lord
submitted himself. My friends, that's his example
for us today. To submit ourselves to him. Because this is a pleasant place. It's a pleasant place. Because it brings us into union
and it brings us into communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
no greater blessing than to submit to the will of our Saviour. The will of our God. No submission, you know. You
won't find real peace. You won't find real blessing.
You only find that when God gives that grace to submit to the will
of His Father, and to give us grace to submit to His gracious
example. The Word of God is here. We have
the Word of God, and it is a wonderful blessing to be a true follower. And so we see here the lions
are falling unto me in pleasant places. It would be a blessing
if you and I this morning can be found within this place, or
at least desire to be within here, within these lines, these
boundaries, which are set around us in pleasant places. And then you see, if we leave
then the upper room, my friends, we need to tarry there, tarry
in the upper room, because it was there that the Lord Jesus
Christ expounded His wonderful truth to those 11 disciples. You can read of in the 14th,
15th and 16th of John's Gospel. a wonderful sermon really to
those favoured disciples. We should be thankful that we
have a record of that for us to read and to be instructed
by. And then also to be found here
thinking and pondering over his high priestly prayer in the 17th
of John. To think of what the Lord Jesus
Christ prayed for. Who did he pray for? Who did
he pray for? He prayed for his people. Is
that not a pleasant place? Is that not a glorious place
to be found within the compass of the prayers of the Lord Jesus
Christ? I pray not for them, but I pray
for those whom thou hast given me. To think then we come within
that compass of those for whom The Lord Jesus Christ gave His
life, those for whom the Father had given Him, given His Son,
those people to redeem, to save, to deliver from the wrath to
come and to hear and to meditate on this pleasant place as we
ponder the Lord's prayer in that 17th of John. And then also then
to move on, to think of the Saviour then, in Gethsemane. How quickly perhaps we pass over
it again, we may limit our thoughts more and more, especially to
the Easter time, but we should think of Gethsemane throughout
the year. To come into that, it's a pleasant
place of remembrance, to think of what the Saviour endured. Think of the burden. He was exceedingly
sorrowful, even unto death. He came to that place and pleaded
with his father, if it be possible, let this cut pass from me, nevertheless
not my will, but thine be done. You see, the utter submission
to his father's will. My friends, it was a tremendous
ordeal which was before him. Let's never underestimate, therefore,
the great cost of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ, there
He was in Gethsemane's garden, sweating as it were, great drops
of blood. Angels came to Him and strengthened
Him. And I believe, you know, as you
and I may ponder that as a pleasant place to think that even today,
angels come and strengthen His people. I need you to come and
strengthen you and me, perhaps to pass along that way, ordained
by God, which we felt we would never be able to. We weren't
strong enough. We were so weak to think the
Lord sends angels to strengthen us, to help us, to enable us
to walk that path, that path the Saviour walked. So we have
the which is indeed a pleasant place for the Church of God. I mean in a right way, it's a
very solemn place. These things are very solemn
places, but to our living faith, they are pleasant places because
it's in those places where we feed spiritually and we grow
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. And then of course, in the judgment
hall. Judgment, there it was. He was
condemned for sins not his own. He was righteous. He was sinless. And yet he was condemned. And
he was condemned to bear our punishment. Substitution. Wonderful thought. There he was,
you see. in that judgment hall. He opened not his mouth. He was
righteous. We were unrighteous. He was standing
in our place. He opened not his mouth. We're
guilty. He was guiltless. He stood in
our place. Is that a pleasant place? to
meditate upon, to think of the saviour there, all the evil,
humiliation that he had to face, utter humiliation, so that you
and I might receive the gift of eternal life. He humbled himself
and became obedient unto death. even the death of the cross.
He humbled himself. Do we humble ourselves? The lions have fallen unto me
in pleasant places. And then go to the cross. Go
to the cross and see the Saviour there. Suffering. facing and enduring the hiding
of his father's face. And then being able to speak
those words to that dying thief, what glorious words they were,
this day shall thou be with me in paradise. And then dismissing
his spirit, it is finished, the great work of redemption, complete. Yes, so 33 years. passed by and now the Saviour,
uttering those words, those words of triumph, it is finished. Is that a pleasant place to come
and stand by the cross and hear those words? For us, it is finished. And then, rise in the dead. Oh yes, a conqueror. Death could
not hold him. and we shall rise through His
death, through that power which overcomes death, the power of
the resurrection, that Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead a conqueror. And just ponder this, we are
more than conquerors through Him. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that a pleasant place?
Isn't that a glorious place? The thing that we are confined
within, the compass of these great glorious truths. It's a
pleasant place to know that you and I are more than conquerors
through Him. Does that not bring from our
heart praise to our Saviour? To think of that. And then ascended
to His Father. And now today, in glory, interceding
for His people. So we have this wonderful picture. The lions have fallen unto me
in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. That's the outcome. A goodly
heritage. That means a place reserved in
heaven. A place which God has gone to
repair for all his people. It's an inheritance which is
incorruptible and which is undefiled and that fadeth not away. That's
what we have before us. If we are these who are able
to come within the compass of these words, the lions have fallen
unto me in pleasant places, he says, yes, that's true and this
is also true. Therefore, I have a goodly heritage. There won't be a goodly heritage
for those who know nothing of these pleasant places. These
pleasant places will be a reality to the living, lively child of
God. And we will want to live there,
we will want to be there. And then we shall be looking
forward to this goodly heritage, to that place which God has gone
to appear in glory, where we shall see His face, and never,
never sin. There we shall be in eternal
happiness with the saints of God, praising the Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ, throughout eternity." Well, surely that
is indeed a goodly heritage. It's not a bad heritage, is it?
It's a goodly heritage. And it's that which is set before
the living Church of God. So this morning, let us think
of these things, think on these things, ponder them, and may
they be related to our own lives. We must recognise that each of
us has our own life to live. We each have to die. We each
have to stand before that judgement seat of Christ. Let us not pass
things off as irrelevant and of little consequence, find ourselves
concentrating upon the poor things of this world. David here, a
man blessed with many things, many comforts, many favours,
but here he looks beyond, he looks at these glories, these
things which are concerning the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the essential things, the all-important things, the all-glorious things.
And so may we understand in some measure the truth of these words
and bless God for them. The lions are fallen unto me. It is true. I am within this
boundary. The Lord is teaching me. He is
showing me. He is instructing me. He is leading
me. He is blessing me. The lions
are fallen unto me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly
heritage. Amen.