Psalm 16 says, Preserve me, O
God, for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said
unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord, my goodness extendeth not to
thee, but to the saints that are in the earth, and to the
excellent, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall
be multiplied that hasten after another God. Their drink-offerings
of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The Lord is the portion of mine
inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintain'st my lot. The
lions are fallen unto me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly
heritage. I will bless the Lord who hath
given me counsel. My reigns also instruct me in
the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before
me. Because He is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and
my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Thou wilt show me the path of life, In thy presence is fullness
of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
Now of course as we have been looking at the Psalms and we
are noticing the fact that though
David is the author, the human penman of these Psalms, these
are the prayers of Jesus Christ. And that's a sweet consideration. And of course,
the Scripture is always its best interpreter. And if we had any
doubts that these are the words of Christ, all we would have
to do is turn to Acts, the second chapter, in Peter's declarations
there to the those Jews gathered there on the day of Pentecost,
he plainly says that these are the words of Christ. Let's just
look at that. I wasn't really planning to read
that, but let's do that. Acts 2, and verse 22, Hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth,
a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs
which God did by him, in the midst of you as ye yourselves
also know. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. whom God hath raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning
him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on
my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my
heart rejoice, my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh
shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the
ways of life, and thou shalt make me full of joy with thy
countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and
buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore,
being a prophet and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to
him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,
he would raise up Christ, to sit on his throne. He sang this
before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was
not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This
Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore,
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth
this which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into
the heavens, for he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit
thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God hath made this same Jesus,
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." And so we read
these things and understand that as the Lord walked in the earth
as a man, He was truly a man. And I believe it is harder for
people to comprehend that than it is to comprehend the fact
that He was God or that He is God. Because we can understand
how He did the things that He did and that He rose from the
dead and all of these things as we understand the fact that
He is God. But yet, He did all the things
that He did in this earth as a man. Just as much a man as
any other man that ever lived in the earth. He was no less
a man. He was not a different man, except
in the fact that he, being born of a virgin, was without the
sin nature that every one of us is born with. He did not see
corruption in his death, nor did he see corruption in his
life. For he was tempted in all points like as we are yet without
sin. But make no mistake about it,
that when he was a man upon the earth, he put his trust in God. He put his trust in his Father.
That was the one to whom he looked at all times. And when he prayed,
he prayed to his Father, which art in heaven, even as he taught
his disciples. So he says here, Preserve me,
O God, for in Thee do I put my trust. Now, if the Lord Jesus
Christ prayed that he might be preserved by the hand of God,
would it not seem likely that those who are his followers should
pray the same sort of a prayer? O Lord, preserve me. O Lord,
keep me. Because you see, there is nothing
that keeps us. We don't keep ourselves. He keeps
us. And if He doesn't keep us, we
won't be kept. So it is behooved the children
of God to be constantly praying, O Lord, keep us. Now, I don't
really know anybody that is indwelt by the Holy Spirit who is not
praying that prayer. I mean, has He not sent the Spirit
of the Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father? I mean, who else
would we be wanting to preserve us but Him? O Lord, preserve
me. For in Thee do I put my trust. O my soul, Thou hast said unto
the Lord, Thou art my Lord. My goodness extendeth not to
Thee. Now this is kind of a strange
bit of language here and probably The word extended there is not
really used in the same way in which we would consider it. But
the Lord, I believe, here is speaking, if we look at the context
of what He is saying, is that He is saying, My goodness, that
is that which thou hast wrought in me, as He is God in the flesh
and all the goodness that is in Him as if there is any goodness
in any man, it must come from Him. Because the Scripture says
there is none good, no, not one. There is not a man born of Adam's
race as a sinful descendant of Adam that has any good within
him, not a spark as some of our illustrious politicians have
tried to tell us that there is, you know, that little bit of
spark of good in everybody. Well, there is not a spark of
good in anybody. The Lord Jesus Christ alone is
the one who is the author of all that is good, and He causes
goodness to be seen in His people. Now, comparatively, There are
good men, as we said a couple of weeks ago. There are good
men and there are bad men compared to men. But that's not the comparison
that we're trying to make, is it? I mean, because what difference
does it make if I'm good compared to this guy over here? It doesn't
really mean a whole lot. So that's not the goodness that
we're speaking of here. The Lord makes His people good
in Christ, and Christ is that One who is good. But he said,
My goodness is not given unto thee. That is basically what
he is saying here. My goodness extendeth not to
thee. That is the goodness that is in me by nature. Christ was
good by nature because He is the only begotten Son of God.
And therefore He is good by nature, but His goodness is not given
unto the Lord. Now, a lot of people think that
because they do good things, well, the Lord sits up and takes
notice. You know, they say, oh, well, in fact, sometimes you'll
hear men say, well, if you'll do that, it'll please the Lord.
Well, listen, the Lord is pleased with Jesus Christ. And if He's
going to be pleased with you, you're going to have to be in
Christ. Because that's the only way that a man can be found pleasing
in the eyes of God, is to be covered in the righteousness
of Jesus Christ. And so it is that he says, my
goodness is not given unto thee. That is, I'm not doing the things
I'm doing to enhance the Lord. Now some people think that they
can somehow or other add to the glory of God by doing certain
things. Now, it is true in the Scripture
that we are called upon to glorify the name of the Lord. But the
only way in which we can do that is as He enables us to do so. Because His glory, in the sense
of the perfection of it, can't be enhanced. It can't be enhanced. It can't be taken from, can it?
So what we do is merely recognize the glory of God and magnify
His name in it, in that which He's given us to do. So the Lord
says, My goodness is not given unto thee. That's not the purpose
for which He came was so that the Lord would be enhanced by
what He did, but rather, as He says here, but to the saints
that are in the earth. My goodness, extend it not to
God, but to the saints. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
came to give that which He was, as we come here today to this
supper, to receive and be reminded of that which He gave to us,
because this is the whole purpose for which He came. But to the
saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent in whom
all my soul is my is all my delight, to the excellent." Now that's
amazing, is it not? That the Lord would say, my people
are excellent. Because they are the apple of
His eye. They are those that He loves, the scripture says,
with an everlasting love. He loves His people. They are
excellent in His sight. That's why He came into the earth.
to pay their sin debt, because He sees them as that which is
excellent to Him, precious. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of His saints, but to the saints that are in
the earth, and to the excellent in whom is all my delight. The Lord is for the joy that
was set before Him endured the cross, that which He saw. That
possession which he knew was his, and he came and he paid
the price for it. And then he says, their sorrows
shall be multiplied that hasten after another God. These are
those that are in contrast to the saints. You see, the saints
are excellent in his sight. Why? Because he made them excellent.
He sees them as excellent. They belong to him. There he
is. But he says, in contrast to them,
he said, their sorrow shall be multiplied that hasten after
another God. Because you see, the Lord's people,
he said, my sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.
And another shepherd will they not follow? See, they don't hasten
after another God. God's people hasten after Christ. He said, their sorrows shall
be multiplied, their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, nor
take up their name into my lips. Is that not what the Lord said
in His prayer? He didn't take the name of the
wicked into His lips, did He? He says, I pray for them which
Thou hast given Me out of the world. I pray not for the world,
but for those whom Thou hast given Me. He said, Thine they
were, and Thou hast given them to Me. And so He says here, their drink
offerings of blood, He said, whatever they do. You see, there
are many who offer many things in their understanding of God,
even as Cain, he thought to make an offering to God, he said,
well, this will do. I mean, God should be satisfied
with whatever I bring. Now, isn't that kind of the way
that man by nature thinks? Whatever I decide to bring to
God will be fine. The natural man, he's not clamoring
to embrace the gospel. In his religious nature, he's
clamoring to worship God according to his own choice, according
to his own doing, according to the manner in which he decides
is okay. See, what I believe is as good
as what you believe, men will tell you. I mean, isn't that
the whole idea? One religion just as good as
another? Well, in a measure, that's true. One religion is
as good as another. You see, when Joshua stood at
the Jordan River and he said, when he told the nation of Israel,
he said, you know, you can pick out any god you want out of the
Amorites and the Perizzites and all these otherites that were
over there. He said, you can pick out anyone
you want. Because it doesn't matter which one you choose,
they're all the same. But he said, as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord. You see, he wasn't telling them
to make a choice between these gods and the Lord. He said, choose
any of them you want. He said, but we're not going
to serve any of them. We're going to serve the one
truth and the living God. And so he says here, Their sorrows
shall be multiplied that hasten after another God, because any
that is not found worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ is going
to be found worshipping a false god. The Lord is the portion
of mine inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The lions were fallen unto me
in pleasant places. He says that the Lord is the
portion of his inheritance. That is, the Lord has given him
the portion of his inheritance. The Lord is the author of it.
Because the Scripture does tell us that he chose a people in
Christ from before the foundation of the world. That's the Lord's
portion. That's that which belongs to
him. Those are those people whom the angel came to Joseph and
said, Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His
people from their sins." That's the portion of His cup. He's
the portion of His inheritance and of His cup. The cup that
He drank was the cup of suffering for the people of God. The Lord
gave it to Him. He said, It's Mine just as surely
as those whom Thou hast given Me. He says, the manner in which
thou would manifest thy glory would be to send me to die in
their behalf. You are the portion that thou
hast given me, that portion, the portion of mine inheritance
and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot, that
is, that which belongs to me. You maintain it. You have given
it to me. He said, did he not, in one place
he says, thine they were and thou hast given them to me. The
Father said to the Son, ask of me and I will give thee the heathen
for thine inheritance. And he did give him the heathen
for his inheritance, for the nations of the earth. from every
kindred, tribe, and tongue on the face of the earth, the Lord
has His people that He calls in His own time, according to
His own purpose. Thou maintainest my lot. The
lions are fallen unto me in pleasant places." That is, the boundary
is of My portion of that which Thou hast given Me. The lions
are falling unto Me in pleasant places. I have a goodly heritage."
The Lord is satisfied with that which He has been given. Now
have you ever been to a restaurant and you looked at the menu and
you saw a picture of something and it looked so good and you
said, I'm going to have that. And then when they brought it
out to you, and you looked at it, and you said, well, that
don't look just like that there in the menu, and you're not happy
with your portion. But you see, the Lord Jesus Christ,
He's happy. He's happy with the portion that
has been given. And He says, the lions are falling
unto Me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. I'm satisfied. with that which
thou hast given me. I will bless the Lord who hath
given me counsel. My reigns also instruct me in
the night seasons, that is, in the very depths of my soul I
am guided by the Lord. I have set the Lord always before
me, because He is at my right hand. I shall not be moved." Now surely David could say that,
could he not? But not perfectly. Why could
any of us ever say such a thing as that if it were not true that
the Lord is that One who has kept us? I have set the Lord
always before me. Who has done that? Do you know
anybody that has always set the Lord before them? No. There is not a man upon earth
who could say that honestly. I have always set the Lord before
me. But the Lord Jesus Christ couldn't,
because He came to do His Father's will. And He did indeed set the
Lord always before Him. He said, I came not to do mine
own will, but the will of Him that sent me. I shall not be
moved. Therefore my heart is glad and
my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. Now how did the Lord Jesus face
death? He faced death just like every
other man. He came into this world and He
had life coursing through His veins. And when it came to the end of
His life, that life departed from Him. Comprehend it. I don't understand
it. It is an amazing thing that cannot
be explained by men, how that he who is life died. I don't have to explain it. Because I don't understand something
doesn't mean I can't believe it. Because that is what the
Scripture says, that he died. He said, but my flesh also shall
rest in hope. Why do we know that to be true
of the Lord Jesus Christ? He said, Father, into Thy hands
I commit my spirit. He had no other hope. The Lord
Jesus Christ as a man had hope. Isn't that an amazing thing?
He had hope. He had faith. He walked perfectly in it. And
when it came down time to die, with the last breath that he
spoke out, he said, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Because he had hope. For thou
wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer, thine
only one, to seek corruption." You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
believed the promise of His Father that He would send Him forth
as the Savior of sinners and that He would triumph over sin
and that He would conquer death. And He believed it and He said
He will not go back on that which He has declared to do. Oh, what
a glorious thing. Thou wilt not suffer, Thine Holy
One, to see corruption." And He did not. The Scripture says
it arose on the third day. Now we know that naturally, so
they tell us, and I don't know this scientifically, but they
say that the corruption of the body begins after the third day. He didn't see corruption in His
physical body because He was pure. It was impossible. You see, it was a necessity and
it was a surety that he would rise on the third day. Now, he
said he was going to rise on the third day, and that in itself
makes it a certainty, does it not? But it is just like Brother
Johnson used to say, because something is predestined to happen
does not mean it does not have to happen. I mean, when he said
he would do it, he determined that he would do it, but he did
do it. It did occur. And he did rise
from the dead. Thou shalt show me the path of
life, and thy presence is fullness of joy at thy right hand. There
are pleasures forevermore. And he told his disciples, He
says, I am going away, but He says, if I go away, I will come
again, because I go to prepare a place for you, a pleasant place,
a place where there are pleasures forevermore. Now, the only pleasures
that we have fully embraced in this world are carnal in their
nature. I mean, that's our real, I guess, acquaintance with pleasure
is in the carnal sins. Yet those who are born again
have a foretaste. We have a taste to some extent
of the pleasures that are eternal. Maybe a glimpse here and there.
Paul said he was called up to the third heaven, and he heard
things that were unlawful to speak of. These things cannot be described in human
terms, but yet the joy of the Lord is our strength, and He
does give us a foretaste of those pleasures. But they are not the
pleasures that we have been acquainted with in the flesh, are they?
No, they are a greater source of pleasure than that. These
things, every pleasure that a man can have in this world passes
away. Every one. There is nothing that
can be extended in it because these things are corrupt in their
very nature. in the very fact that humanity
is involved in them, fallen humanity. But by the grace of God, we are
given the privilege to taste the pleasures of the Lord. Now,
this is just a foretaste of those pleasures when we are unable
to remember the Lord's death until He comes again. And He
gave us this supper just to do that. And this is kind of an
amazing thing. It's kind of a mixture of those
things which are carnal and those things that are eternal. Now
we say those things can't be mixed, and in the strictest sense
of the word, they can't. But the Lord said this. He said
this to Paul, He said, Drink this bread, eat this bread,
and drink this cup. Ye do show the Lord death till
He comes again." Now, dear brethren, there is no greater pleasure
for the sons of God who believe in the redemptive work of Christ
than to remember His death till He comes again. We remember His
death as one who is not dead. We remember His death as one
who is alive. Because somebody who is dead
cannot come back, but one who is alive can. And he said he
would. May the Lord give us a mind and
heart today to receive these things as He has given them.