Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

Christ was once a mystery in the Old Testament but now it is solved by the empty tomb and the expla- nations of the New Testament writers. “Michtam’ also appears on the inscriptions to Psalm 56, 57, 58, 59 and 60. All of these psalms are ones of distress and desperate prayer in the face of the enemy yet they all end with either, praises, exalting, rejoicing, singing or declarations of trusting in the Lord. Because Peter and Paul attribute verses 8-11 directly to the prayer of Jesus it can be assumed that David was speaking about the life of Christ as well as his own. What a wonderful thought that we could live so close to him that the story of our life is in reality the story of Christ living through us. The prayers of Psalm 16 are best described in the life of Christ by the events of the Last Supper and his im- passioned prayer in the garden of Gethsemane.

I HE IS MY REFUGE - 1-4

“ Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge.”(1)

David prayed this prayer countless times in his life as he escaped from his many enemies. Jesus prayed fervently in the garden prior to his crucifixion and found refuge in the strength of his father’s love. He prayed that his soul would be preserved through the suffering and his body would be preserved in death until the resurrection moment.

“I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Master! All the good things I have are from you.’ The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them.” (2,3)

David was amazed at God’s great goodness to him and the promise that his dynasty would last forever: “ Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And now, Sovereign Lord, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving me a lasting dynasty! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign Lord?” (2 Sam. 7:18, 19) At the end of his life David made a list of the many heroes of his army: “ He (Benaiah) did many heroic deeds…” (2 Sam. 23:20) Godly people genuinely honor and esteem those who have helped them throughout their life. At the Last Sup- per Jesus loved and honored his disciples by washing their feet, sharing the Passover meal and pray- ing for them: “ He now showed them the full extent of His love.”(John 13:1)

“ Those who chase after other gods will be filled with sorrow. I will not take part in their sacrifices or even speak the names of their gods.”(4)

David was the pattern king for all of the subsequent kings of Judah. God measured them by whether they worshiped Him wholeheartedly as David did or whether they turned aside to other gods. Their worship became their identity. • Negatively- “ (Ahaz) did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestor David had done.” (2 Chron. 28:2) • Positively- (Hezekiah) did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.”(2 Chron. 29:2)

Each of us are kings/queens and priests before God and our worship will also be measured by the standard of ‘wholeheartedness’ set by David.

II HE IS RIGHT BESIDE ME - 5-7

“ Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance! I will bless the lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.” (5-7) David united Israel, defeated all of his enemies and inherited the land promised to Abraham. Be- cause of his wholehearted worship of God he experienced unprecedented blessing and victory. “ And David realized that the Lord had made him king over Israel and had made his kingdom great for the sake of his people Israel.” (2 Sam. 5:12) He particularly was fond of the night seasons where he would hear from God and worship him.

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