Readings: 1 Kings 19:11-21 | 1 Peter 3:8-17 | Luke 5:1-11
Text: Psalm 16
“I teach you how to shun and flee
What harms your soul’s salvation,
Your heart from ev’ry guile to free,
From sin and its temptation.
I am the refuge of the soul
And lead you to your heav’nly goal.” (LSB 688:4)
Psalm 16 is a wisdom psalm, meaning that it communicates to a person the will of his Creator, warning them away from the perilous paths, and pointing them on the way that God has ordained which leads to eternal joy.
The old joke is that men never ask for directions, even when they are obviously lost. A hiker who loses his way would sooner sleep under fir branches and wipe his rear end with poison oak than to call for help. It’s only with shame after scads of search and rescue volunteers spend hours searching for this wayward hap that he is found and brought back to safety.
Sin has left us in worse condition than such a person. Not only do we not think we need reorientation, but we will insist the entire time that we had a clear picture of the whole situation, including the intent of our heavenly Rescuer.
David, in the Holy Spirit, writes:
1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the
excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
What do we look for to preserve us? (Keep, guard, watch over)
- Money, courts, a hero figure, or some clever self-hatched plan?
- None of these have the ability to preserve or provide refuge.
- The only refuge for people is the true God. There is no genuine good without Him.
4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall
multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
What is the clear picture for someone who is lost? They don’t know their peril until it is pointed out. They don’t know they’re standing on unstable ground or that it will reach freezing temperatures at night. Similarly, those who look for refuge, for good in everything but God, will experience the due consequences of that.
- Anxiety, pain, and worry are all the “sorrows” that they will experience.
- It’s more than a neutral choice. It’s not a “choose God and life will be right as rain.”: “Run after” is the word for “bride price.” It’s actually to pay what is most precious for a person in exchange for that which is not God.
- These false gods in whom we trust demand sacrifice—“offerings of blood”—from you and they will not and cannot deliver. They will demand acknowledgement and if you give it to them, more and more of your faculties.
- Consider:
- Money and how fast it can be lost
- Courts and what ongoing cost is needed
- Heroes who are themselves sinful, mortals
- Self-made solutions like drugs or alcohol and how quickly they get out of hand.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be
shaken.
- It is not that the saints will be free of sorrows, of anxieties or pain or worrisome times; it is only because such a person is resting, moving, and breathing in the Lord’s care, comes an awareness that all things are in His care. Even if the trial should mean the end of one’s days, they look forward to a more enduring dwelling place after death.
- So while men try to plumb the depths of knowledge and find meaning in the material world and one’s own feelings, the one whose lot is held by the Lord has greater understanding still. They know the full aspiration of a human being: to fear, love, and trust in God above all things, and to love others as themselves.
- Far from losing sleep over the state of the world or the broad future of mankind, one who hears the Lord’s counsel and has a heart instructed by Him will see that their vocations are laid right in front of them. In all joys and sadness, the Lord is a very present help.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being
rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
Thus the true joy and contentment of a person is found. They are satisfied through and through. They know better than to try to be sated by food or pleasure, or by any other temporal allurement.
Yet, how can these “crown jewels” be obtained? How can the aim of every human pursuit meet its desired target? One starts to think that it must be earned, as earthly treasures do. Those who live in extravagant houses had to work and sacrifice for them. They had to have the drive and personality. They had to give up their families to achieve career and financial goals.
This is what we often read into “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.”
We are right to read this as a reference to Christ, as St. Peter does (Acts 2:27-31). However, there’s even more to this term “holy one” (Heb: ḥasid) It’s derived from a word we already know: ḥesed, the word translated as God’s steadfast love, mercy, or faithfulness. Holiness is not a measurement of a quality about us, but about trust in the Lord’s mercy and faithfulness.
The response after Communion is far more than a randomly picked Psalm verse: “O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good” is fleshed out. More than just “Amen.” We say: “For He is good and His mercy [ḥesed] endures forever.” This is the response of the heart enlivened to faith, renewed to walk in His ways, to set the Lord always before oneself.
So it is the faithful who rightly receive and cling to the character and instructions of God, and in this there is no end. While the person without such faith will strive to better and extend this mortal life, the recipient of the Lord’s faithfulness confidently confesses:
11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
And that is why we sang in the last verse of the Hymn of the Day:
Then let us follow Christ, our Lord,
And take the cross appointed
And, firmly clinging to His Word,
In suff’ring be undaunted.
For those who bear the battle’s strain
The crown of heav’nly life obtain. (LSB 688:5)
To Christ be all the glory, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Leave a Reply