This morning we will be in Psalm 16. And so if you have not turned there yet, I would encourage you to be there as we will be in the word regularly. So what do you put your confidence in? What is the thing or the person that you confide in, that you trust? You see, I think for many of us, the question is kind of actually a difficult question to answer because in reality, we put our trust and our confidence in a lot of different things. I put my confidence in my vehicle this morning to get me from Portland down to Salem. We put our confidence in our families to care for us, to love us, to be there in our time of need. We put confidence in our financial stability. And we put confidence, as we're thinking of the election, in our political leaders, that they're gonna bring the change that is needed. But the thing about confidence is that it is rarely static. At some point, our confidence in all of these things begins to be shaken. Rarely does something or someone live up to the expectations we've placed on it. And in those moments, where is our confidence then? Where is our confidence when we go to start our car in the morning and it won't turn over? Where is our confidence in our family when we feel like we're in our time of need and our family seems absent or distant? Where's our confidence in our financial stability when inflation continues and we're wondering, am I going to get by this month living paycheck to paycheck? Or where's our confidence in our political leaders when the promises on the trail seem to rarely be actualized in office? The reality is our confidence is only as strong as the thing we place our confidence in. And each time we're let down, we become a little less optimistic, a little less trusting. And this morning, we find ourselves in Psalm 16, where David is actually talking to God about a confidence that he has in God and God alone. David is looking at God and ultimately praising him for what he has done and reflecting on that, seeing that what he will continue to do David sees God as the one who he can trust, the one who will protect him, the one in which he can find a refuge. David places all of his confidence in God because he sees God as the only one who will never waver, for he is forever faithful. So the question is, where do you put your confidence? Now listen as I read from Psalm 16, and so you guys know, you guys are reading from ESV, I'm reading from CSB, so you'll notice a little bit differences as we read. Psalm 16. Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you. I said to the Lord, you are my God, I have nothing good beside you. As for the holy people who are in the land, they are the noble ones. All my delight is in them. The sorrow of those who take another God for themselves will multiply, and I will pour out their drink offerings of blood, and I will not speak their names with my lips. Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing. You hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I will bless the Lord who counsels me even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me because he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices. My body also rests securely for you will not abandon me to shield. You will not allow your faithful one to see decay. You reveal the path of life to me. in your presence is abundant joy, at your right hand are eternal pleasures. Our psalm points to a confidence that is rooted in God. And this morning, I want to urge you all to take refuge in God, for he will never fail you. Take refuge in God, for he will never fail you. And really, we see David kind of outline this in three ways that we see we can take refuge in God because he will never fail us, why we can trust him. As we look at the goodness of God, the provision of God, and lastly, the protection, I mean, the power of God, the goodness, provision, and power of God. So where and why can we take refuge in God? Because first, the goodness of God will never fail you, as we see in verses one through four. And verse one really sets the stage for Psalm 16. You kind of argue, this is David's thesis statements for this entire Psalm. And it's out of this Psalm that every other argument is being built upon. He says, protect me, God, or preserve me, ESV, for I take refuge in you. And though we don't actually know specifically the life circumstances that are going on in David's life that led to him writing this Psalm, we know throughout David's life that time and time again, he was calling out to the Lord for refuge. Refuge ends up being a theme through so much of the Psalms as oftentimes it's David calling out to God. Because David lived a life of one troubling situation after another. It could have been one of the many attempts that King Saul had on his life. It could have been the turmoil within his own family as he had his own children trying to form coups against him. Or just the countless nations that surrounded him throughout his reign. Yet regardless of the situation that he found himself in, he takes refuge in God. For God is his shelter, his stronghold. He's placed all of his confidence in him. He trusts the Lord to keep him safe in the midst of the storm. God is the one that does not waver. And why can he place such confidence in God? Well, verse two, I said to the Lord, you are my Lord. I have nothing good besides you. David sees God as the good God. that there's actually no other God that is good. You could argue that goodness courses through his veins. God cannot do evil. The totality of one's goodness is found in the Lord. I mean, the author James in the New Testament says as much when he says, every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights. And so that means for us that we can't find good outside of any other source but God. God alone is the source of all good and that should challenge us for how we think about good in our lives. Are we looking for good in other places apart from God? Do we say, yeah, God, you're my everything and I have nothing good besides you. And yet God, you're not quite enough. So I'm gonna go somewhere else. I mean, the reality is we do this every time we push boundaries with our girlfriend or our boyfriend. And we're saying, God, ultimately intimacy with you, it's just not quite enough right now. It's not good enough. We do this when we hold back from the Lord, our time, our treasures, our talents. As we're forgetting that he's actually the giver of the gift. It's not mine anyways. We love the gift, but neglect the goodness of the giver. And we do this every time we take matters into our own hands, because we're not certain if God will actually come through this time for me. Yet we see David giving us the correct heart posture. I have nothing good besides you. He's ultimately saying, God, you and you alone are enough. And you will always be enough. I will not look to other places to be filled because my contentment rests in you and you alone. So what would it look like this week for you to rest in the goodness of God? And maybe that starts with reflecting on his character. As every aspect of his character, from his holiness to his judgment, is actually good. For he is good. Or to reflect on God's goodness in your life, the many gifts that he has given us. For God is good, and he is good to his people. And David seems to reflect on this goodness in verses three and four, as it's as if he's looking out over the kingdom and looking at the people that God has entrusted to him. He sees God's goodness on display. As we see in verse three, he talks about these holy people who are in the land where all of his delight is in those people that are following after God. But we notice that he begins to juxtapose the delightful people in verse three with idolatrous people in verse four. He juxtaposes delight to those following God and sorrow to those following another God. These people are worshiping other gods. As he says, that the drink offering of blood realistically alludes to pagan spiritual ritualistic practices. For many of these pagan societies, they would literally sacrifice their own children, sacrifice other humans to try to appease their gods, the offering of blood. And David's saying, I am loyal to the Lord. I have nothing to do with idol worship and I won't even utter the name of one of these false gods. I mean, the Ten Commandments told the Israelites they would have no other God but Yahweh. Nor were they to make idols for themselves. We see that in Exodus 20. But even it goes further to say that they won't even speak the name of a false deity. Because by giving them a name, you're actually giving them credence. You're saying there's validity. I'm showing allegiance, commitment. God wants his people to do nothing with idols. Exodus 23, you must not invoke the name of other gods. David lays out the negative ramifications of worshiping something other than God. Sorrow. He's ultimately saying that when you walk away from the goodness of God, You are walking into a sorrow, but a sorrow that is actually multiplying and building upon itself. And though we don't live in a day and age where we have what we would say are gods or idols, we're not worshiping gods like they would in the Old Testament. The reality is we're still all worshipers. All of us are worshiping something because we were all made. to worship. It's in our bones, our DNA. The reality is we were made to worship the one triune God. And so anytime we place our allegiance in something else, we place our hope, our confidence in something else other than God, we're actually elevating that thing above God. So what are you worshiping? Or maybe even to put another way, who or what occupies the majority of your thought life? What receives the most time and attention in your life? Or lastly, what is the one thing that you're like, yeah, I couldn't live without that? You see, as we wrestle with those questions, we're actually answering who our functional God is. Is it money? that you're always thinking about how to make more money, how to invest that money, how to find security in that money, and the fear of not having it actually causes anxiety to well up within you. Is it your relationships? Do you quote-unquote worship your family, your spouse, your significant other? Does what they think about you dominate all aspects of your life? Or is it yourself? Have you become your own God, the center of your life? Your life is about kind of making the best you now. You place your needs, your wants, your desires above all else. Get ahead at all costs. You being the one to decide what is true and not really caring what other people have to say. Well, if you're in that position, I heed you to warn, to listen to the warning from this psalm. Because David makes it clear that those who worship other gods, all you will get in the end is sorrow. A sorrow that multiplies and grows and grows. And I think if we're honest with ourself, we've all had these experiences before where we've placed our hope and our trust in something other than God. This is whether you're a Christian or not. And you've seen how you placing your hope in that thing ultimately just lets you down at the end of the day. Because misdirected worship will always let you down. Because we're ultimately worshiping something that we were never meant to worship in the first place. It will fail you. In 2005, Tom Brady did an interview on 60 Minutes. Tom Brady is arguably the best quarterback of all time. And at this point in 2005, he was early in his career and he had already won three Super Bowls and been Super Bowl champion twice. And this man, football was his life. He woke up thinking about football and laid his head down on his pillow thinking about football. And at this point in his career, he's really living the dream that so many athletes aspire towards. I mean, to think at that point of being that young, and he has the accolades that somebody that's been in a league for 15 years would love to have. He's living the dream. And yet he reflects in this interview on his career up to this point. And he comes to this conclusion, this is what he says. Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, hey man, you've reached your dream, your goal. Me, I think there's gotta be more than this. To which Steve Croft asks him, what's the answer? Tom Brady's response, I wish I knew. I wish I knew. He had the life that so many people dreamed of, arguably had it all, and yet was still longing, arguably still had sorrow in his life that he was trying to overcome, trying to find a goodness to fill. And it wasn't there. Because even at the peak of his career, he feels let down. Because even a career like that, it's going to fail you if you put all your hope and confidence and trust in that. I mean, what does he just say? What would it profit a man if he gained the whole world but lost his soul? So what or who are you worshiping today? And is that thing worthy of your worship, worthy of your trust? Or maybe a better question, what's gonna happen when that thing fails you? What will you do then? The Psalm is calling us to direct our worship to the only one who is worthy of worship. Augustine reflecting on this psalm. He looks at the sorrow actually with a hopeful note. And he says, these sorrows are not to bring them to ruin, but to make them long for a doctor. These sorrows that come from idolatry ultimately show us our need for a God who is full of goodness. And so if you're here this morning and you don't know Jesus, I want you to think about your own life and where you're placing your confidence and your trust, your hope. Is that thing actually living up to your confidence that you placed in it? What are you gonna do when it fails you? See, a psalm like this is directing us to remove the sorrow from our life that multiplies for a goodness that is never fleeting. Because God will never fail you. So I urge us to look to God this morning, the one in whom all, and I mean all goodness dwells. For he is himself goodness. And he will never fail you for everything he does is good. For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. Romans 8. In him is all good. And apart from him is sorrow. His goodness is unending and unfailing. We can take refuge in God because his goodness never fails us. But the beauty is there's more. Secondly, we can take refuge in God because his provision will never fail us. Let me read verses five through eight again. Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing. You hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I will bless the Lord who counsels me, even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me because he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken. In these four verses, David's really highlighting two ways in which he sees God providing for him. Physical provision in verses five and six, and then relational provision in seven and eight. David entrusts himself, take refuge in God because he's saying, God, I look and I see that you have physically provided for me. Again, if we notice kind of this trio of my language in verse five, my portion, my cup of blessing, you hold my future. It's this intimacy and security that David has as he looks to his God. And the particular language David uses should be reminding us of the promised land. My portion can be translated as allotted portion. The boundary lines, the pleasant places, all of this is pointing us back to David reflecting on the distribution of the land, the allotted portion for each tribe following the conquest and Canaan. Which is really just a testament to God's faithfulness as God is faithful to his word and brought his Israelites into the promised land. He was the God that went before them, the God that fought for them, and ultimately the God that provided for them. And it's this God who holds David's future. David's looking, he's ultimately saying, God, you were faithful in the past as I look at this land, and I know that you will be faithful in the days, years, and decades to come. He places his confidence in God. He rests securely because we know that the God of the past is the same God today and to come. And it's just fun to even note that the kind of land that God gives his people, what kind of land is it? It's pleasant land. He's saying God gives his people great gifts. He gives them the best, this land flowing with milk and honey. I mean, we see the goodness of God on display in his provision. And the beautiful thing is that the God of David is our God today, unchanging. And as God provided for his people then, God provides for his people now. God is our portion, our cup of blessing, our future. And this is the recognition that God is our provider and our sustainer. I mean, it's as simple as if we ate today before we came together, or if we're gonna eat after today. It's just seeing that that's a simple way in which God provides, giving us our daily bread. It is a good gift from God. See, even as I look out over this congregation and thinking that not only has God provided us with food, but God's actually provided us with family, with a spiritual family, as its brothers and sisters, in the church, spiritual moms and dads, spiritual grandmas and grandpas. And maybe since I'm like up at Henson, it's like spiritual cousins or something like that, as you know, we're close but a little distant. That's God's provision. It's his caring for his people. The God of the past is the God today. And yet God doesn't just provide for his people physically, but God also provides relationally. We see that in verses six through eight as the Lord is our counselor. He's here for us when we need to gain clarity, understanding, to discern the path set before us. And the beautiful thing is that nothing is too difficult for God to provide counsel into. Even at night when those troubling thoughts creep in, those thoughts are no trouble to God. Remember the words of David in Psalm 23. So even as an aside, if you're here this morning and you're like, I have troubling thoughts, I have concerns and fears and legitimate anxieties. Like, go to God. With the fears of the night, you can go to God because the beauty is in God there is no darkness. So even the darkest night to us, he still brings light into. His rod and his staff are there to comfort us. He pursues you with truth and wisdom. And God doesn't leave his people alone. But no, rather God surrounds his people. He cares for them, counsels them, guides them. And we see this most clearly as Christians through the embedding of the Holy Spirit. I mean, all of those who are in Christ have been given the Holy Spirit. And you guys know another name for the Holy Spirit in the New Testament? The Counselor. As Christians, we have been given the Spirit. And so literally the Counselor lives within us. I mean, Jesus says, the counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. That's John 14, and a chapter later, he refers to the counselor as the spirit of truth. You see, the counsel that we receive from God is actually just pointing us back. to Jesus time and time again and saying, in him you can find refuge, in him you can find truth. Because if he is the spirit of truth that is proclaiming things to you, then we know everything that comes from the spirit will be true, that we can cling to. And this reality magnifies the fact that we can place our refuge in God because his truth will never fail us. He is truth, he cannot lie. And so do we see him that way though? As the counselor, as the spirit of truth? When we're seeking counsel, where do we go first? Do we go to God? Do we go to his word and saying, what does your scripture say? What do you have to say about this? Or are we really quick to just jump to outside counsel? And maybe we eventually get to scripture, but that's not our starting place. I mean, the reality is I was even convicted of it this week as I thought about how often I'm searching for some form of information and the first thing I do, whether this is like information on life or information on a book of the Bible or some questions, I pull out my phone and I go to Google. And I'm just, I was challenged to think through like how great, we live in a culture and how great it is that we're able to have technology and applications at our fingertips. And yet I'm going to that instead of going to this and saying, hey, what does God have to say about my question, my concern, my worry? What would it look like for you this week to prioritize the Lord of truth as you seek counsel, as you seek guidance? In verse 80 says, I will always let the Lord guide me. that this letting is an act of submission. As he's ultimately saying, God, you are the guide of my life. It's submitting to his ways, his desires, his path. To let God lead means, well, we must follow. That means we don't run ahead down the path and yell back to God, hey God, I found the way to go, just follow me. which if we're honest, many times we feel like that's how we function. But rather it's us submitting and listening to his voice. It's following his lead willingly and cheerfully. I mean, I absolutely love the picture that David provides us for how God guides us. Because as I said, we shouldn't be way out in front down the path yelling to God. He doesn't give us a picture of God way out in front yelling back to us, hey, you better hurry up the pace, come catch up. But no, where is God? He's at my right hand. The language of right hand personifies strength and support and action. that he's our protector, but it also gives us this element of intimacy and proximity, as God is right next to his people. I think of my youngest son, Jack, he's two years old, and going on walks with him, and every time we get to that crosswalk, I'm at his right hand and I grab it and I lead him across because I know where we're going and I want to protect him and make sure we get there in an orderly way. And you know, as a two-year-old, you're wanting to veer off and go crazy, but I've got his hand. And so there's a security and protection element there. And in many ways, we're a lot more like the two-year-old when it comes to our relationship with God. And yet God is the good father who holds the hand of his children. and I'm gonna be at your right hand because I'm going to lead you where we need to go. And so you can trust me because I know where we're going and I will get us there securely. That's why he says, because he's at my right hand, I will not be shaken. That with God beside us and guiding us, we'll be secure, we'll be strong, we'll be stable. We can take refuge in him because we know we will not be shaken. because our God has us. We can put our refuge in God because his goodness will never fail. But not only will his goodness never fail, we've just seen how his provision will never fail. He has, does, and will continue to provide for his people, both physically and relationally. But now we move to the third reason we can take refuge in God. And it's here in many ways that we've reached the crescendo of the psalm. If we have verse one kind of setting the thesis, verses nine through 11 is where everything has been building to get to the climax of David's thoughts. Where he ultimately argues we can take refuge in God because his protection will never fail us. The protection of God, verses nine through 11. He says, therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices. My body also rests securely, for you will not abandon me to Sheol. You will not allow your faithful one to see decay. You reveal the path of life to me. In your presence is abundant joy. At your right hand are eternal pleasures. Verse nine begins with the word therefore. And again, it's as if this entire psalm is building to this conclusion. Yes, God is good. Yes, God provides. But ultimately, we can take refuge in God because God protects us in this life and even in death. I mean, we see this triplet again of the my in verse nine, as he says, my heart, my whole being, my body. It's as if all that he is, his heart being the seat of his emotions and affection, his whole being is glad, rejoices and rests securely. But why? Because God will not abandon his own. God will protect him, God will preserve him. Verse 10, for you will not abandon me to Sheol. You will not allow your faithful one to see decay. Sheol was understood to be a place where dead bodies would rot. It's a place of corruption, a place of death. But David's always saying, I don't fear death because then I'm confident that God will not abandon me. God won't even take me there. Not only that, my body will not see decay. And so the question is, how can this be? How can David say that with confidence that God will protect his people? Well, friends, it's only possible through the only faithful, holy one, Jesus Christ. I mean, in Acts 2, Peter actually provides us with the Christological reality of this psalm. Peter says, brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David. He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah. He was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay. God has raised this Jesus. You see, David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, speaks prophetically in this psalm of Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah, the true heir to the throne of David, the perfect and faithful son of God, who let the Lord wholly guide him. Remember the words in the garden, not my will, but yours be done. And Jesus demonstrated his faithfulness in life and in death. For on the cross, Jesus died for you and for me. But friends, death could not defeat him. Sheol could not hold him. Decay could not degrade him. But no, Jesus rose from the grave. And now all those who trust in him, all of those who take their confidence, this and other things, and turn it to the one true God, Jesus Christ, you find security. You find lasting refuge in God, your protector. And so if you're here this morning and you do not know Jesus, this is the heart of why we gather on a Sunday morning. This is the heart of the gospel, that Jesus died for sinners like you and me. And to turn to him is really to say, I'm gonna get rid of all other things that I place confidence in, and I'm gonna turn to Jesus. To repent is this idea of turning to Him and believing He is who He says He is. Placing your confidence in Him. And the beauty is that when we place our confidence in Him, His faithfulness, becomes our faithfulness. His righteousness becomes our righteousness. And so like David, we can proclaim this Psalm with confidence, knowing that we will not be abandoned to shield, that our body will not see decay, but rather a beautiful inheritance is coming. With Christ, you will not see decay, but everlasting life with God. You see, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate proof that God will never fail you. If God can be your refuge in death, then we know God can be our refuge today in life. And this reality encourages us in this life and the life to come. I mean, Christian verse 11 shows us the true blessing of resting in God. He says, you reveal the path of life to me. In your presence is abundant joy, at your right hand are eternal pleasures. God has revealed the path of life to his people. And we know that path. I mean, that path is Jesus Christ. John 14, six, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. But Jesus also told us that this path is not gonna be full of roses, rainbows, and butterflies. But no, it's a cross-shaped path. Jesus reminds us that we will face hills and hardships. He says narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life and few find it. But Christian, we take hope in the fact that we know the end. We know the final destination, abundant joy and eternal pleasures. We can endure the road set before us. And in him and him alone is abundant joy. And friends, this is not just a future hope, this is actually a present reality. Do you want to experience abundant joy? Well then pursue his presence this week. Rest in his presence. Remember that when you go to his word, you are actually engaging with God. that when you pray, it's not just words thrown up into the air that you're hoping he somehow sucks up like a vacuum, but he's engaging with you. Scripture and prayer are not mental exercises, but relational encounters. So what does it look like to encounter God this week as you spend time in prayer, time in your word? I encourage you as you go to prayer and scripture this week to go with the mindset of, God, I want to experience abundant joy. Show me yourself. Show me this joy that is in you, this goodness that is in you. And God protects us in this life as he ultimately leads us to the life to come. So may we this morning take comfort in that fact that he is the one that holds us all the way through. That when life is hard and stress is eating you up and the dark days feel like it's just rearing its ugly head, take refuge in him. For you know that the Lord is at your right hand and he counsels you. Even in the darkest nights, he protects you. When you get that diagnosis that has the potential to change the entirety of your life, take refuge in Him. For though your earthly life may forever change, remember that your eternal life is protected in Him, where eternal pleasures await. Or when life feels like one uncertainty after another, and this path feels like it's full of switchbacks and you feel like you can't see more than 10 feet ahead of you, Take refuge in him. Remembering that he is the God who holds your future. And again, he is the God that protects you through all of life. This life may have its temporal pains, but the life to come has eternal pleasures. So keep your eyes on Jesus, take refuge in him. For ultimately the joy in this life is but a foretaste of the joy to come. when we get to see God face to face in the new heavens and the new earth. As we sang, where it's not be thou my vision, but you are my vision. As we stand before our creator, as we stand before our savior. This Psalm ultimately ends with directing our gaze to heaven, to a life of eternal pleasure. For there we will physically dwell with God forever in his presence. For there our corruptible bodies will become incorruptible as we get to sit alongside and worship our Lord. There will be no more tears, no more death, no more grief, no more crying, no more pain. All of these things will be replaced with abundant joy, with eternal pleasure. And as we walk this path, Christian, remember where you're headed. We are headed to the presence of God. our Lord and Savior. He will never fail you in this life because He has already secured you in the life to come through His Son. So as you reflect on your life today, who or what is your confidence in? And can it weather the storms that life throws at you? Or have you already begun to see the cracks in the wall and the foundation crumbling? How secure do you feel in this life? How secure do you feel in the life to come? Do not put your confidence in the things of this world. For the things of this world are fleeting. But rather put your confidence in the one who created the world. The grass withers and the flower fades, but God and his word stand forever. So take refuge in God for his goodness never fails you. His provision never fails you. And take refuge in God because he will never fail you because he has protected you through his son, Jesus Christ. To him be all glory, honor, and praise. Let's pray. Lord God, we do praise you for a psalm like this, where David cries out to you, enjoy looking at your faithfulness, that in the midst of the trials and tribulations of life, he can cling to you as the God in whom we can take refuge. And so God, may we rest confidently in you this morning, that you are our shelter, you are our protector, God, may we rejoice in you as the good God, as you as the God that provide, and as you as the God that ultimately has protected us through your Son, that through Jesus, we have life and have life abundantly. Thank you, Lord, for loving us and caring for us enough to send your Son, that we may be with you for eternity. It's in your name we pray.