"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.

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.

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.

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.

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." Psalm 16

What is daily sustaining grace?

“Not grace to bar what is not bliss, Nor flight from all distress, but this: The grace that orders our trouble and pain, And then, in the darkness, is there to sustain.” John Piper, Sustained by Sovereign Grace, 6/19/1996

“Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you

As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;

That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend

Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

I, like an usurp'd town to another due,

Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;

Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,

But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.

Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain,

But am betroth'd unto your enemy;

Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,

Take me to you, imprison me, for I,

Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,

Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me." John Donne (1572-1631), English Poet

Pursuing Joy in the Difficult Seasons

1. I have set the Lord always before me (always continually before me).

2. He is at my right hand. The one who stands at your right hand is the one who defends an accused in a trial.

3. Not shaken/Not wobbly.

QUESTIONS

1. Why is Verse 1 the lynchpin of Psalm 16? (Romans 8:13, Philippians 2:12-13)

2. Donne writes, “Except you enthrall me, I never shall be free. . .” What did he mean by this? (Note the argument from last week’s sermon regarding the “joy of allurement”, verses 6-7)

3. How do we place the Lord continually before us?

4. What emotions are called forth as you contemplate Romans 8:31-35?

5. Why are believers people who walk with certainty and can remain steadfast in a very difficult situation?