Psalm 16: The Path of Life Leads to Jesus

Introduction

"Higher, further, stronger." That is the rallying cry the contestants of Fort Boyard shout together to motivate themselves or to celebrate the end of their run. Youssef Chehade, from Église Connexion in Paris, opens his message on Psalm 16, titled "The Path of Life," with exactly these words.

He takes the time to set the scene, because his church is made up largely of young people and internationals who may not know this TV show. Fort Boyard takes place in an old prison built in the middle of the sea. A team has to get through several stages to collect money for a charity. On paper, it sounds simple. In practice, they face particularly intense challenges: balancing over an empty drop, jumping from the top of the ramparts, exhausting agility courses, and stomach-turning face-to-face encounters with snakes and spiders. With seven keys and the code word, the team gains access to the treasure room, where a fountain of gold coins pours out, and they have only a few dozen seconds to grab as many as possible before the gate closes.

The path of life is not so different from that show: it is full of trials, full of difficulties, full of unpleasant situations. The preacher thinks of that drawing where someone on a bike looks up at the top of the mountain, imagining the road to be a straight line, when reality is made of ups and downs. Psalm 16 is a cry meant to encourage and strengthen us in the face of daily challenges. But it also offers hope in the face of the greatest tragedy of our existence: death, the consequence of sin.

This message is part of a series on the Psalms at Église Connexion, following those of Arthur and Eduardo in the previous weeks. In four movements, Youssef Chehade shows how this psalm pushes us to look higher and further, and to gain the perspective that makes us stronger. Then he reveals who this psalm is really about.

Message Outline

1. Higher: Taking Refuge in God Among the Idols (verses 1 to 4)

The psalm opens with a prayer: "Preserve me, God, for in you do I take refuge." The psalmist speaks to God, asks him to preserve him, and declares that he takes refuge in him. But unlike the psalms studied in the previous weeks, this one does not say directly what the problem is. It does not talk about liars, as in Arthur's message, or enemy attacks, as in Eduardo's. It is perhaps more subtle: we do not necessarily know what David needs to be preserved from.

As usual, the best answer is the one found in the text, in the following verses: "My soul, you have said to Yahweh, 'You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.' As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the excellent in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips."

• The psalmist explains that there are holy people and idolaters, and he has chosen his side.
• He observes that idolaters are multiplying. It feels as though most of the people around him are idolaters. But he resists: he does not want to be like them and refuses to pour out offerings of blood in honor of foreign gods.
• This resistance is not easy. He is surrounded, overwhelmed. All he sees around him is idolatry. So he turns to God.
• On the other hand, he rejoices to see that there are holy and godly people in the land. He naturally feels affection, delight, and brotherly love for them, in the middle of an environment filled with idols.

This reminds the preacher of the story of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. A few years after David's reign, the people of Israel are deported to Babylon. Among the exiles, four young men are chosen to join the royal court, in a program meant to teach them Babylonian culture. This involved worshiping foreign gods and offering sacrifices to them. But these young men refused to commit idolatry: their worship was reserved for the Lord. Their friendship and brotherly love came from their shared worship of Yahweh in an idolatrous environment.

Naturally, this did not please the authorities, and they had to face threatening, deadly trials. So, exactly like David in this psalm, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego turn to God, call on him, and acknowledge their total dependence in their difficulties, as well as their limits. They acknowledge that he alone can preserve them. "In the face of trials, they turn to God. They look higher."

2. Further: Standing on God's Promises (verses 5 and 6)

For Youssef Chehade, Psalm 16 is one of the psalms that best describes the relationship between David and God. David says to him: "Yahweh assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure." In today's language, it is like telling someone: "You are the one I take delight in. You are the one who gives me rest. You are my assurance. You are my peace."

• These are words we do not say to just anyone. They are strong, valuable words, which we deliberately choose to speak to someone precious to us. We see here an intimate relationship, a covenant between God and David.
• The psalmist's assurance rests on who God is to him and on what God does for him every day: he gives him peace, he is the cup from which he drinks.
• But this assurance is not limited to the present. It also rests on what God has promised him and on what he will give him in the future: "The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance."
• David is certain that God will not abandon him, neither now nor in the future. He has the absolute conviction that God is faithful to his promises.

The text does not give a clear and explicit answer about the exact nature of this inheritance and this good possession. But we can connect it with the promise God made to David in 2 Samuel 7, when he announces through the prophet Nathan that his reign will last forever: "When your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your offspring after you, who will proceed out of your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son."

David therefore draws all his assurance from what God has promised him. He is in a difficult situation, but he hopes in God's promises. He knows what God has done for his ancestors, and he also knows that, for the future, God will keep him. God promised him a descendant whose reign would be eternal: his portion is secure.

If we continue the parallel with Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, their only assurance was God. Their hope was his help in the face of death threats, the fiery furnace, and the lions' den. They know what God did for their ancestor, who in this case is David. They trust him, they know that God takes care of them today, but they also know that, for the future, God will keep them and secure their portion, because he is faithful to his promises. God promised them a descendant who will reign forever. Their portion is secure too. "In the face of trials, the saints turn to God, and their hope is founded on God's promises. They look higher and further."

3. Stronger: Unshakable Because God Counsels (verses 7 and 8)

The preacher tells a story from the life of his church. Église Connexion recently celebrated its eleventh anniversary. During the church weekend in June, the last evening was played out as a game of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," about the history of the church and all sorts of anecdotes. The winners were sitting not far from the person who had organized the game. "I'm not saying there was cheating, but maybe it's a coincidence." In the original version of the game, you have the option of calling someone for advice, and that can win you the game. If the rules allowed you to call the game's organizer directly, and you were close to him, you would be totally guaranteed to get the right answer and win.

Back to the psalm. David says: "I will bless Yahweh, who has given me counsel. Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons. I have set Yahweh always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken."

• David receives God's counsel and, at the same time, even in difficult moments, he never lacks instruction.
• He says that he has God constantly before him, and that is why he is not shaken.
• Who can counsel like God, the Creator of the world? Imagine David's advantage in having God at his side to counsel and instruct him. Of course he does not stumble: he has God before him.
• This confirms a rather exclusive relationship between David and God. "Honestly, it's enviable." It is a relationship that makes you unshakable in the face of difficulties.

In the furnace and in the lions' den, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not alone either. God was with them and he rescued them. Even more striking is that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were walking around in the furnace, and Daniel was sleeping next to the lions. Do we realize that? Their strength was neither physical nor mental: their strength was their relationship with God, the God who loves them, the God who protects them. Unshakable.

"In the face of trials, the saints turn to God. Their hope is founded on God's promises, and that makes them unshakable. They look higher, further, and that makes them stronger and stronger."

4. The Incomparable Treasure (verses 9 to 11)

Back to Fort Boyard. The winner takes home a treasure, but has only a few dozen seconds to grab as many coins as possible before the gate closes. If time runs out and a contestant is stuck, the team risks losing all its winnings. And even if the tigers are locked in their cages (the preacher admits he forgot to mention the tigers in the treasure room), the pressure remains intense. All that stress only to give everything to a charity. "I fully understand the good cause, and it's great. But the adventurer in me, I'll pass; frankly, I don't think it's worth it. All that stress, and I can't even see where the treasure is."

The treasure of this psalm, on the other hand, is incomparable. It is neither a quantifiable treasure nor a temporary one.

• The psalmist says that he is full of joy and gladness. And this joy touches not only his heart, but his whole being: his spirit, his soul, and his body. "Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety."
• The psalmist does not fear death, neither physical death nor spiritual death: "For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption." We see here the timeless side of this treasure.
• We quickly think of eternal life, since he says that his body will not see decay. But the text adds that it is an abundance of eternal joy: "You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more."

Now, according to John 17:3, eternal life is knowing the only true God. So this treasure is a flourishing relationship with God, and it is eternal happiness. An eternal happiness that begins as soon as we meet God and grows throughout our lives, in hard times as well as lighter ones. In God's presence there is abundant joy even when nothing is going well. It is not only the destination that matters, but the journey: a flourishing relationship with God throughout life, in every circumstance. That is our treasure.

5. A Psalm About Someone Else

How do we get this treasure? How can we say "I can pick up this treasure"? How can we have a flourishing relationship with God? What assures us that if we cry out to God, he will listen to us? What assures us that God is with us and that he has promised us a good inheritance? What assures us that we will be unshakable?

Psalm 16 is not just a cry of encouragement to persevere day by day or to lift our spirits when nothing is going well. This psalm is not simply David's psalm, and we cannot claim it for ourselves today without seeing its prophetic side.

• In the first part, the psalmist was pursuing holiness. But we know that this psalmist fell by committing adultery.
• In the second part, he was receiving the beautiful promise of a good possession. Yet David had a son who chased him and wanted him dead.
• In the third part, he declared that his body would not see decay. Yet King David died, and his body rests today in a tomb. It has surely decayed.

The preacher then quotes the words of the apostle Peter in Acts 2:29-31: "Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay."

Psalm 16 prophesies and speaks of someone else: someone who remained perfectly holy, without any stain of sin before God. Someone who faithfully and constantly kept God before his face. Someone who literally conquered death, whose body did not see decay, and who today is seated at the right hand of God. "This psalm prophesies the coming of Jesus. This psalm is about Jesus."

• If we can claim this psalm for ourselves today, it is thanks to one person: Jesus.
• If we can speak to God and call on his help, it is because Jesus restored the path between humanity and God.
• If we can love God and take delight in him, it is because Jesus lives in us.
• If we are going to live an eternal life, it is because Jesus rose again and in him we have eternal life.

Having this infinite treasure, this flourishing relationship with God, is possible only through Jesus. He himself says so in his prayer before the cross, in John 17:3: "This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ."

6. The Path of Life Is Jesus

So what is this counsel that God gave David? What is this path of life that God makes known to us and that he made known to David? Jesus answers in John 14:6-7: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also." If we know Jesus, we know God the Father.

Youssef Chehade sums it up this way: the path of life is a relationship of exclusive worship toward God, which makes us depend on his love and his provision at every moment of life. A hope founded on who he is and on what he has done, what he does, and what he will do. "God is our treasure, as we just sang. And all of this is possible only through Jesus."

In conclusion, the preacher addresses two groups.

• To those who have not yet put their faith in Jesus: why was this psalm written? Why do we read it today? "It is for you, to tell you about Jesus, about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us. Jesus, God's beloved, God's only Son, loved you to the point of death to give you life. Come to him, do not wait any longer. He is gentle, he is beautiful. Jesus has conquered death and he lives. He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Come to him, in him is eternal life."
• To those who have put their faith in Christ but are not flourishing in their relationship with God: this psalm is clear. It calls us to look higher, toward God; to look further, toward the promises we have in God; to look to Jesus. "In Jesus, you have eternal life, eternal happiness."

"I am not minimizing suffering. I recognize that it is hard to turn to God during trials. But our God is near to us, he listens, he saves us through Jesus. Let us call on him, let us take delight in him, let us hope in his promises. Higher, further, stronger. Thanks to Jesus."

Key Takeaways

• In the face of trials, the saints turn to God: he is the only refuge, and the only one who can keep us.
• Their hope rests not only on what God is doing today, but on what he has promised for the future. He is faithful to his promises.
• The strength of David, like that of Daniel and his friends, was neither physical nor mental: it was their relationship with God that made them unshakable.
• The treasure of Psalm 16 is neither quantifiable nor temporary: it is a flourishing relationship with God, a joy that begins now and lasts forever.
• Psalm 16 is about Jesus. If we can claim it for ourselves, pray to God, take delight in him, and hope for eternal life, it is only thanks to him.

Personal Application

1. What do you need to be preserved from right now? What are the "idols" multiplying around you that make it hard for you to resist?
2. Can you sincerely say to God: "You are the one I take delight in, you are my assurance, you are my peace"? What keeps you from saying it?
3. Does your hope rest on what you see today, or on what God has promised for the future?
4. When nothing is going well, who or what do you turn to first for counsel? Do you have the Lord constantly before your eyes?
5. If you have put your faith in Jesus but your relationship with God is not flourishing, what would "looking higher, further, and looking to Jesus" concretely mean for you this week?

Verses Cited

• Psalm 16
• 2 Samuel 7:12-14
• Daniel 1
• Daniel 3
• Daniel 6
• Acts 2:29-31
• John 17:3
• John 14:6-7

Frequently Asked Questions

What does David need to be preserved from in Psalm 16?

Unlike other psalms, Psalm 16 does not name the problem directly. Youssef Chehade shows that the answer is found in verses 2 to 4: the psalmist is surrounded by idolaters, he has chosen his side, and he refuses to offer drink offerings of blood to foreign gods. This resistance is not easy, and that is why he turns to God, his refuge.

What is the treasure Psalm 16 talks about?

It is neither a quantifiable treasure nor a temporary one. According to John 17:3, eternal life is knowing the only true God. The treasure of Psalm 16 is a flourishing relationship with God, an eternal happiness that begins the moment we meet him and grows throughout life, in hard times as well as lighter ones.

Why do we say that Psalm 16 is about Jesus?

David committed adultery, his son chased him, and his body rests in a tomb. In Acts 2:29-31, the apostle Peter explains that David, as a prophet, was announcing the resurrection of the Christ when he wrote that God's holy one would not see decay. Psalm 16 speaks of someone who remained perfectly holy, who conquered death, and who is seated at the right hand of God: Jesus.