Sermon Psalm 16 Security and Confidence

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Psalm 16 Security and Confidence

April 27, 2014

In the weeks, months and years that followed Jesus' resurrection from the dead his followers tried to make sense of what they had experienced. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was an experienced reality in their lives. Their Bibles, a Greek translation of the Old Testament, was the bedrock of their faith. They would gather on Sunday mornings to bring together what they remembered about Jesus and to study what the Bible said. They were led in this by the Apostles. Both Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul preached early sermons on Psalm 16 to help the people of God understand the biblical foundation for our belief in the resurrection of the dead. Today we will do the same thing, but first, let's pray.

Holy One, you have made known to me the ways of life and have promised to fill me with the gladness of your presence. Keep me mindful of your guidance and your promise as I travel through this day,that my heart may be glad. Amen.¹

Psalm 16:1-11 ^NIV Psalm 16:1 A miktam of David. Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. ² I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."

King David, writing a thousand years before Christ, affirmed the trust he put in God. He knew that God had preserved his life and would continue to do so. He knew that God was the source of all his blessings, wealth and power. He rejoiced in the promise God had made to him that his descendants would sit on his throne forever. David's relationship with God was so strong, he felt confident and secure. And he wants us to know that if we follow this path we too will be richly blessed. Let's listen to what David says.

³ As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. ⁴ The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.

So, those who put their hope in God can expect to live securely, confident of God's blessings. But those who do not follow God and run after worthless idols cannot be so sure. If you put your hope on your money, you could lose it. If your hope is on your business or farm or job, it could go bankrupt. If your hope is on relationships or good health, these can fail. Our only source of hope, the only thing we can count on is God and God's faithfulness. So, how can we put our hope on God. Let's get back to David.

⁵ LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. ⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

God gives us confidence and makes our lives secure by giving us boundaries. If we live according to God's rules and do what he tells us to do then we will have less fear and feel more secure. But if we do what our culture tells us and we pursue wealth and power and processions then we lose our feeling of security because we may lose what we have. We have a choice. Let me tell you a story.

According to one of Grimm's fairy tales, “A man was a soldier, but when war ended, his parents were dead, and his brothers had no place for him.

A green-coated man with a cloven hoof appeared to him and offered to make him rich if he would for seven years not cut his hair, clip his nails, bathe, or pray, and wear a coat and cloak that he would give him. At the end, if he survived, he would be rich and free. If he died during the time, the devil would have him. The desperate soldier agreed and the devil gave him the green coat telling him he would find its pockets always full of limitless money and then a bearskin, telling him that he had to sleep in it and would be known as Bearskin because of it.

Bearskin set out, and gave much money to the poor that they would pray for him, to live out the seven years. After several years, he grew so revolting that he had to pay heavily to get any shelter. In the fourth year, he heard an old man lamenting and persuaded him to tell his tale: he had lost all his money, did not know how to provide for his daughters and could not pay the innkeeper, so he would be sent to jail. Bearskin paid the innkeeper and gave the old man a purse of gold as well.

The old man said that he would marry him to one of his daughters in gratitude. The oldest ran away, screaming, from the sight. The middle one said he was worse than a bear that had tried to pass itself off as human. The youngest one agreed to fulfill her father's promise. Bearskin gave her half a ring and promised to return in three years. Her sisters ridiculed her at length.

At the end of the seven years, Bearskin found the devil again and demanded he fulfill his promise. The devil then proceeds to bathe Bearskin, clip his nails and cut his hair until he is as good as new. Bearskin then demands that the devil say the Lord's prayer. The devil warns Bearskin not to push his luck as he has already won their bargain and disappears.

Clean and with his money, he dressed himself as a fine gentleman and went to the old man's house, where the older sisters served him, and his bride (dressed in black) showed no reaction to him. He told the old man that he would marry one of his daughters. The two older sisters ran off to dress splendidly, and Bearskin dropped his half of the ring into a wine cup and gave it to his bride. She drank it and realized that he was her bridegroom. They married.

Upon realizing who he was and what they gave up, one sister hung herself in rage and the other drowned herself. The devil knocked on the door to tell Bearskin that he had gotten two souls for the price of one.”²

So much for relying on the Devil to give us everything we want. Their are always strings attached. But scripture tells us there is another way of living. We can put God first. Listen again to David's psalm.

7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is 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.

Praise God and obey his commands. That's what you do to live a confident and secure life. God will always be with you, blessing you richly. But how do we know this to be true? What's the proof? Let's go back to David.

10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

The promise we have of eternal life, through the resurrection of the dead, is what gives us our confidence and security. We know that nothing will harm us because not even death has power over us. Even if we die we will live in the glorious resurrection. And we know this for certain because Jesus was resurrected from the dead.

So don't put your faith in things other than God because these things increase your fear. Hold on to what gives you security and confidence. Put your hope in God and his promise of eternal life. Praise God and obey his commandments. And live secure lives with confidence in the resurrection to eternal life. Let's pray.

Father in heaven keep us from following gods that deceive us. We are tempted to follow money, possessions, and power as ways to get what we want. But what we really want is confidence and security. So remind us again and again that confidence can only be found in your faithfulness. We pray this in your son's name. Amen.

1Kimberly Long, Feasting On the Word Worship Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013), 142.

2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearskin_(German_fairy_tale)