Full Rejoicing and Perpetual Pleasantness
Psalm 16
(NIV)
The pursuit of happiness. How is your pursuit going? How many times have you said, "I could have ..." or "I should have ..."? C.S. Lewis once wrote:
How often have you found this to be true? The question is, what are the pleasures we have pursued, and are they the real ones? The psalmist sings about the real thing in Psalm 16, and that is what Pastor Jon explores with us this morning as we are invited to reflect together on the Psalm. In verses 3 & 4 he talks about the other gods we pursue in a hopeless quest for happiness, while the real source is neglected, while we doubt if the real God will really come through or be there for us. Yet, this psalm reminds us of what is real, of what is really satisfying, or what the real source of happiness and joy actually is.
Where is our focus? Where goes our energy go? To what extent have we embraced this psalm and learned to sing it not only with our voices, but with our lives?
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1
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.”
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.
5
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.
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 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.