Please note : As a result of a technical hitch, the sound on the video does not kick in until around 13 minutes. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Sermon: Sunday, 18th January, 2026
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Psalm 16
A few years ago, most of us didn’t lock our phones. Now we use fingerprints, face scans, and backup passwords, just to feel safe. We insure our homes, our health, and our cars. All of this tells us something about the world we’re living in: people are increasingly unsure of what can really be relied on. We’re all looking for security, because deep down, we know how fragile life is. Many people who feel they lack security become very anxious. We just want to know things will be ok.
1. Secure in God
Where or who do you run to when things go wrong? Who is your refuge, your safe place? Where does your security lie? Psalm 7, and 11, and 46 all begin as this Psalm does: ‘Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.’ (Pslam 16:1) In some Psalms we know the exact reason David needs refuge. He might be being pursued by King Saul or by the Philistines. However, here, we are not told. Perhaps, it’s severe illness he struggles with as death is a theme which dominates the end of the Psalm. In any case, what we see here, and all over the Psalms, is that God’s people instinctively take shelter in God himself. When we are in trouble we look to God. Whatever the problem might be, the best thing we can do is get on our knees and pray and ask for help.
Remember that David is the king. He is a wealthy king who has been successful in battle again and again. It would be easy for David to begin to trust in himself and in his own strength and gifts. He could trust in his army or in his money. But David is a man close to God. He knows that all he has comes from God and that without God he is nothing. Who else can David turn to in order to protect him from death? Death comes to us all. Death is no respecter of money and power. Who can forgive our sins but God? Who can take us through the valley of death but God. I love it when Jesus asks his disciples if they are going to leave him and Peter says: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’ (John 6:68-69)
‘The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.’ (Proverbs 18:10) Do you want to have safety in this life and the life to come? Would you like to live under the protection of God? Following Jesus is the only way! Many people are self-reliant in their problems. They think they can handle anything. The truth is that I cannot handle anything without God. Sometimes, even as a Christians we can revert back to self-reliance. What do you do in times of trouble? We can look first to ourselves or to friends, or even alcohol. We can distract ourselves with entertainment or hobbies or travel. Real and lasting security is in God alone.
2. Delighting in God
Again, David is the king, but he knows who the boss is. He knows who is truly in charge of the universe. It is the LORD: ‘I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord.’ (Psalm 16:2a) We might think we are in charge of our own lives, but the truth is that we did not ask to be created. It was nothing to do with us. God made us and he is in charge. We live in his world and we breathe his air. David says: ‘… apart from you I have no good thing.’ (Psalm 16:2b) Of course, this does not mean David doesn’t regard his health and family and friends as good things. He does. But he knows that all these good things come from the hand of God. And it is his relationship with God and trust in him which is of far greater importance than anything money can buy. He is saying, in effect, you LORD are all I really need. You are my supreme treasure. You could be the wealthiest most successful man who ever lived, but without God you lack what really matters and what we have been made for – a relationship with God. ‘What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?’ (Matthew 16:26)
3. Delighting in the people of God
‘I say of the holy people who are in the land, ‘They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.’ (Psalm 16:3) We cannot say ‘I love Jesus, but I’ve no time for Christians.’ What do all Christians have in common? We are sinners for whom Christ has died. We are those who have been rescued by Jesus. And this gives us such a strong bond with Christians all over the world. ‘…we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people…’ Colossians 1 v4) Love for other believers is one of the hallmarks of being a true follower of Jesus. It is not an optional extra. When people come into this church this love must be evident and obvious.
We should genuinely look forward to meeting one another week by week. And if someone is missing for a week or two, we should take an interest and check in with them and make sure they are ok. If someone is struggling then we reach out to them. ‘… in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.’ (Philippians 2:3-4) Let me ask you: do you have a special love for the people of God? David does.
4. Delighting in God exclusively
Britain is a pluralistic society. Most people encourage us to validate all religions and none as equally valid. But for David, truth is more important than offering false validation. In v4 we are told that David will not take the names of false gods upon his lips. In fact, David warns that worshipping anything and anyone other than the LORD is a road to misery.
Who or what is your god? You might say, ‘I don’t have one.’. But we all live for something or someone, and that is your god. And the scary thing is that ‘good things’ can easily become ‘God things’. It’s good to be sensible with our money, but it is a short journey from there to money becoming what we live for. The same goes for our possessions. If we love things too much, then our possessions begin to possess us, and we forget all about God and the needs of other people. We become selfish consumers, interested mainly in our own wants, needs and feelings. Let us be clear: living for anything other than Jesus will not bring lasting satisfaction. Those things will not be any use as you lie in your hospital bed, close to meeting your Maker. Again, let me ask you, who or what are you living for? Where will this lead you in the end?
5. A rich inheritance from God
Have you ever received a financial inheritance? Perhaps you have and it made a significant difference to your life. Perhaps you received money and that helped you buy a house. An earthly inheritance can make a difference for a short time. The beautiful language of this Psalm teaches us that for David, God himself is his ‘delightful inheritance’ (Psalm 16:6) and that is something which can never be taken from him or lost. He says (verse 5) that God alone is his portion and cup. We know what it means if someone says ‘My cup is running over’. We have all we need and more. Here, David is saying that in knowing God he has everything he could ever wish or hope for. Listen to Paul’s similar words: ‘But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith…’ (Philippians 3:7-9)
When Joshua conquered the land of Canaan, the LORD divided up the land, and boundary lines were drawn so that each family had their own inheritance. Some land would have been more fertile than others. When it comes to having friendship with God as our inheritance, David says (verse 6) that the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for him. He does not mean that as king he has a huge amount of real estate. He is speaking of spiritual blessings here. In fact, when the land was divided in Joshua’s day, the Levites were the only group not to receive land. We read in the book of Numbers; ‘And the Lord said to Aaron, ‘You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.’ (Numbers 18:20) The same is true for all Christians today. God is our portion and inheritance. What more do we need?
This includes forgiveness of sin, being adopted into the family of God as his precious sons and daughters and being guaranteed a place in Heaven forever, all paid for by Jesus’ blood. We are rich beyond our wildest dreams. Our cups are full. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
At my in-service training this week, I was reminded of the story of the Scotsman who boarded a ship bound for a faraway country. Being a thrifty Scot, he wanted to save money on food and so took lots of cheese and biscuits onto the ship. However, after many days, the cheese got hard and the biscuits soft and he felt really hungry. He asked the captain if it were possible to eat on the ship after all. The captain said, ‘Of course you can. Your food is included in your ticket.’ We are so like that man. We have everything we need in Jesus Christ – his love and acceptance and forgiveness and even his power. And yet so often we live in spiritual poverty because we look to our own resources. Let us not be like that. Let us understand that all we need is found in Jesus.
6. True guidance from God
‘I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.’ (Psalm 16:7) David is a man who knows that in the Bible, God’s Word, we have totally reliable instruction. We don’t have to live in this world not knowing what will happen to us when we die, or who God is and what he is like, or what he wants from us. The Bible tells us all of that and it tells us plainly. Do you know your true meaning and purpose in this life? If not, seek the LORD from his Word, the Bible. David learns God’s Word and, in the night, he meditates on it. What a wonderful privilege to have such a supernatural book.
7. True hope at life’s end
Verse 8 is brimming full of confidence. But not self-confidence: ‘With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.’ (Psalm 16:8) If we lose our health, our job, our friends or whatever it might be, we will not be shaken. Why? Because we still have the LORD. And he works all things together for our good. He has a plan. He uses our suffering to purify and strengthen us. David goes on to make a magnificent statement of faith here: ‘Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead…’ (Psalm 16:9-10)
Each human life is precious as we are both body and soul – David has confidence that both will be preserved after death. Is this just wishful thinking? That would be pointless. It is rooted in reality. Because Jesus has risen from the dead and conquered death, those who trust in him in this life can share David’s confidence. Do you have this hope for life after death? If not, please pray to Jesus now and confess your sin to him. Simply ask him for forgiveness and ask him to take charge of your life. Then, and only then, can you share in David’s confidence.
Let’s end this morning looking at a puzzling part of the Psalm. Verse 10 says that God will not let his ‘holy one see decay.’ The key question is this – who is David speaking about? He cannot be speaking about himself. David did die as we all do, and his body did decay. No, this is not about David himself but is rather a prophecy about another who would come from David’s line, the Lord Jesus. When he died on the cross, his body did not see decay and he rose from the dead on the third day. ‘Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.’ (Acts 2:29-32)
Do you fear death? As Christians, we don’t need to. Why? Because Jesus rose from the dead, and he promises that all those who trust in him and follow him and know him will also rise from the dead one day. For us, death is but the entry point to Heaven. How wonderful the prospect of Heaven sounds: ‘You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.’ (Psalm 16:11) If you want things to be ok, you must place your trust in Jesus.