Revelation: Christ and the Churches

Psalm 16 The Golden Psalm Part 3 of 4

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2012-01-26

Synopsis: In this third part of the series on Psalm 16, Pastor John Weaver focuses on verse 8, 'I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.' He explains that this verse applies primarily to Jesus Christ, who perfectly kept the Father before His eyes and was not moved by any trial. The sermon then applies this confidence of trust to believers, urging them to set Christ before their eyes, know and do God's will, not be intimidated by the world, and remain faithful to the end.

[John Weaver] Psalm 16 and let's read the first eight verses. We've covered through verse seven today. Lord willing, we'll make it through verse eight and maybe I will be able to finish a nine through 11 in the next message, but notice Psalm 16, beginning with verse one. This is the golden Psalm. We're on part three today. David praise preserved me. Oh God, for in thee do I put my trust. Oh, my soul. That was set in the Lord. Dark, my Lord. My goodness extended not to thee, but to the saints that are in the earth and to the excellent in whom is all my delight. Their sorrow shall be multiplied that hasten after another God.

[John Weaver] Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer or take up their names into my lips. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen into me in pleasant places. Yeah, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord who had given me counsel. My reigns also instruct me in the night seasons. I accept the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand.

[John Weaver] I shall not be moved. Let me take just a few moments to review. Remember, this is indeed the golden Psalm. It is a Psalm that applies primarily to Jesus Christ. It is a true messianic Psalm. In the first part of this Psalm, verses one through three, we saw the confession of trust. We saw the confession of trust as it is expressed in prayer in verse one, preserve me, Oh Lord. Oh my God, for in thee do I put my trust. And then we saw the confession of trust expressed in prosperity. In verses two through three, where David was saying that there was nothing he could do to add to God. And of course I went on and applied this primarily also to Jesus Christ. where nothing that Jesus Christ did applied to God the Father. We've got to understand that God is absolutely perfect. Since He is perfect, nothing can be added to Him, nothing can be taken from Him. God is so righteous that nothing can aid Him or help Him, and He is so righteous that nothing can be taken from Him.

[John Weaver] So, what Did the work of Jesus Christ do the Bible tells us it went to the saints that are in the earth. To the excellent in whom was all of his delight. Everything that Jesus Christ did, he did for us. Certainly he honored God, the father outwardly externally in his obedience, but nothing was added to God. And then last week we looked at the commitment, the contentment of trust, and we saw the curse of idolatry.

[John Weaver] And the comfort of fidelity. So you have the curse of idolatry in verse four, their sorrow shall be multiplied that hasten after another God, their drink offerings or blood. Will I not offer nor take up their names into my lips? David said, I have so little. Respect or absolutely no respect for these false gods. I will not even mention them. I certainly will not attend any of their services. And then he talks about in verses five through seven, the comfort of fidelity.

[John Weaver] He says, the Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, my cup, thou maintainest my lot. And of course, I hope you'll remember that I went through the Bible and I showed you that when we were saved by the grace of God, we inherited the Lord. The Bible says in Romans chapter eight, that our inheritance is God himself. We are heirs of God. And then the Bible says joint heirs with Jesus Christ. So everything. that Jesus Christ received, we received because we're joint heirs together. But the Bible specifically said that we are heirs of God. So in the work that Jesus Christ accomplished, we became an heir of God. Well, the Bible also says, and I read it for you, how the Lord's portion is his people. So in this transaction, we got the Lord and he got us. And as I said last week, we got the better end of the bargain. But David says very clearly and the Lord says very clearly that Jehovah is his portion and God maintains his lot and the lines have fallen to him in pleasant places.

[John Weaver] And of course the Lord then is the counselor and our instructor as well. Now today we come to the third point and that is the confidence of trust. I'm only going to deal with verse 8 today. So look at verse 8. David says, I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved.

[John Weaver] Now we must remember that this verse applies directly to Jesus Christ. Yes. There's an application that you can make to David, but this verse has reference to the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in verse eight, the scripture says, I have set the Lord always before me. So. The import of this Hebrew word is I have equally set, or I have proposed.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to hold Psalm 16, but turn over in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 2, and if you don't mind, just mark that passage because we will come back to this verse in just a moment. I will call your attention to it again, but look in your Bibles to Acts 2 and verse 25, because here is the passage where Psalm 16 verse 8 is directly applied to Jesus Christ. Acts 2 verse 25, for David speaketh concerning him, that is concerning Christ. And then here verse 8 is quoted.

[John Weaver] I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Now right now all I want to call your attention to is the word foresaw. The Greek word here literally means to see before, to keep before one's eyes, and to be mindful of one's ways.

[John Weaver] Now, whole Acts 2, but go back to Psalm 16 and look at verse 8. David says, I have set the Lord always before me. What is David saying? I have set the Lord before me, my eyes are fully and completely upon him. I will not suffer. I will not allow my eyes to be removed from him. So it is not just David now who is setting his eyes upon the one true and the living God. It is also the Lord Jesus Christ who set his eyes upon his father. Now, what the Bible is teaching us is simply this, that as both David and our Lord set God before their eyes.

[John Weaver] It means they did not serve him with fits and feelings, stops and starts, up and down. No, no. Their service was constant and continuous. They put their hands upon the plow, so to speak, and did not look back. You know, I know that not everyone in this room was raised on a farm, but I was. And I had to plow ever since I was a boy. You know how you plow a straight row?

[John Weaver] You have to start the field off like this. You put the tractor or the mule, back when I was a boy, you put the tractor or the mule in the edge of the field. And you look up to the end of the field and pick out a post or a tree or some object that does not move. And you keep your eye upon that object until you get to the end of the field. When you get to the end of the field, you can turn around and look back and that row will be just as straight as an arrow. But I tell you what, if you keep turning around looking back while you're trying to plow that first row, you're going to have all kinds of crooks in it, I can assure you. It will be a crooked road and not be a straight road.

[John Weaver] You know what our Lord said in Luke 9 verse 62? Let me just quote it. And Jesus said unto them, no man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. So our Lord is telling us that David and he himself, the greater David, when they put their hand to the plow, they did not look back. They had their eyes fully and completely and totally set upon God. That's why the scripture in the book of Colossians chapter 3 and verse 2 says this. Set your affection on things above and not on things of the earth.

[John Weaver] In other words, you pick out the object that you wish to serve and honor and worship and obey. You fix your eyes upon him and you don't look back. And that's exactly what the scripture is telling us here. Now, before I go on with this verse, I want you to look at verse 8 again. Because there is another word there that is vitally important. He says, I have set the Lord always before me. Always before me. So our Lord is saying that He never deviated, He never turned, He never hesitated. that God the Father was always before him. I want you to hold Psalm 16, but turn in your Bibles to John chapter 5 to begin with.

[John Weaver] And let me just show you a couple of verses that will express the attitude of our Lord. Look in John chapter 5 and verse 31. I could multiply these verses, but these two will be sufficient to demonstrate The confidence of trust, look at it if you would please. John 5 in verse 30, our Lord says this, I can of mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge and my judgment is just because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the father who has sent me.

[John Weaver] Now I could stop right there and preach all afternoon. I could give you illustration after illustration how our Lord sought the will of the Father, never deviated, never turned. Do you remember how he's tempted of the devil? How the devil tried to get him to turn bread into stones to cast himself from the temple? And what did our Lord say? It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out the mouth of God. It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." He never deviated. He never took his eyes from the Lord. Even in the garden, when he prayed and sweat great drops of sweat as blood, what did he say?

[John Weaver] Not my will, but thine be done. He set his eyes upon the Lord. Look in John 8 and verse 29. I've often thought of this verse, would it be a blessing if you and I could truthfully say what our Lord said. Look in John 8 in verse 29, Jesus Christ said, and he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please Him. Oh, would it not be wonderful that if you and I could always do those things that please him. Now, what did David say? David said, I've set the Lord always before mine eyes. I suppose one of the answers as to how that we can always please the Lord is that we always keep him before our eyes. We understand that he is to be honored and worshiped in all things. The confidence of trust then becomes evident when we understand that it is our duty, our privilege, our honor, and our responsibility to exercise this same confidence in the Lord. That David did and Christ did to the father.

[John Weaver] You say, well, how in the world do we exercise that same confidence? Well, may I remind you of Hebrews 11 in verse six, let me just quote But without faith, it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh to God must what? First, believe that He is. And secondly, that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. Without faith, it is impossible to please the Lord.

[John Weaver] So we're to always set Him before our face. We're to acknowledge that He is and that He is indeed a rewarder of those who faithfully seek Him. Let me give you a quote from Joseph Carl. And some of you probably do not know the name Joseph Carl, but he was an old Puritan. And he was one of those expositors that took everything chapter by chapter, verse by verse, word by word. And Joseph Carl preached 40 years just on the book of Job. Just on the book of Job.

[John Weaver] I have many of his messages. He was quite an expositor. But here's what Joseph Carl said concerning Psalm 16 in verse 8. I've set the Lord's always before me. He that by faith eyes God continually as his protector in trouble shall not be moved with any evil that he suffers. And he that eyes God by faith as his pattern in holiness shall not be moved from doing that which is good.

[John Weaver] This thought, the Lord is at our right hand, keeps us from turning either to the right hand or to the left. It is said of Enoch that he walked with God, Genesis 5, 22. And though the history of his life was very short, yet it is said a second time in Genesis 5, verse 24, that he walked with God. He walked so much with God that he walked as God.

[John Weaver] He did not walk as men. He walked so little like the world that his stay was little in the world. He was not, said the text, for God took him. He took him from the world to himself, or as the author to the Hebrews reports it, he was translated that he should not see death, for he had this testimony that he pleased God. So he's giving the illustration there of Enoch. Enoch walked with God because he walked as God.

[John Weaver] what Lester Olaf used to say about that passage. Lester Olaf used to say that Enoch walked with God and he walked so much with God. He was so much like God. And one day as they were walking, God said, Enoch, you know, it's closer to my house than yours. You just come home with me. He said, and that's what happened. And Enoch just walked in with the Lord and never came back. Well, That's certainly true. But when we set the Lord before us, always, He will continually be in our mind. What does it mean when we say, I've set the Lord always before me?

[John Weaver] It means that He is in our thoughts. He is in our desires. We want His will, His word, and His way. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles, if you would, whole Psalm 16, but turn to Isaiah 26. Isaiah 26 and let's read verses eight and nine. I have set the Lord always before me. What does it mean? It means that we want his will, his word, his way. It means that the desire of our soul is to him. So in Isaiah 26, beginning there, verse eight. Look what the scripture says. Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee. Now notice, in the way of thy judgments, in other words, our lives have been brought in conformity to your word. So yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee. The desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night. Yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early.

[John Weaver] For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Now notice what is said with my soul. Have I desired thee in the night? I suppose that everyone in this room wakes up sometime during the night. The question is, what do you do when you wake up? I don't mean just get up and go to the bathroom. What's on your mind when you wake up? Do you wake up praying? Do you wake up saying, Lord, thank you for your protection. Thank you for your blessing. Lord, since I'm awake right now, please make me more holy, more godly, more desires of thee. What did Isaiah say? With my soul have I desired thee in the night. Yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early. And when you wake up in the morning, Is He still on your mind?

[John Weaver] Have you set Him before your face? Do you understand that if we really, genuinely desire to honor the Lord, it will set us to thinking, meditating, musing on how best we can honor Him and obey Him. So David said, I've set the Lord always before me. Christ now is to be set before us as the object of our faith and our hope. We trust in him. We depend upon him, not just merely for our salvation, but for everything in life, for our protection, for our provision. Just as Christ set the father before himself. So we set now Christ before ourselves.

[John Weaver] We have an eye to his glory. He is to be the ultimate end of our action. He is to be the desire of our soul. We're to follow His orders and His commands. His Word is to rule our lives in every area, in every aspect. It is His power, His grace, His mercy that is to be manifest in our lives. We're to follow His counsel, obey His covenant, and seek His support and encouragement in everything.

[John Weaver] Just like Christ set the Father Always before him. So we're to set Christ always before us.

[John Weaver] Now go back to Psalm 16. Look at verse 8 again. So again the psalmist said, Psalm 16 verse 8, I have set the Lord always before me.

[John Weaver] Now he says, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Now, in a recent sermon in Psalm 18, I went through and showed you the import of being at the right hand. But here this phrase is used to identify someone who has been taken in, so to speak, supported by someone. In other words, for instance, the right hand is not only a place of support and comfort, it is also a place of safeguard.

[John Weaver] Have you ever noticed little children when they are scared or terrified, if their father is nearby, what do they do? They run and they wrap themselves around his leg and he usually puts his arm around them usually the right arm, and they nuzzle under it and they stay there for the protection. Now the psalmist said, because he is at my right hand. What does that imply? Well, look in Psalm 109 to begin with. Psalm 109 and verse 31. Psalm 109 and verse 31. Look what the scripture says concerning the Lord. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor to save him from those that condemn his soul. He shall stand at the right hand of the poor. Why? To save him. Now wait a minute. The psalmist said because he is at my right hand. He's right here next to me. What's he implying? He's implying that he's going to be saved, he's going to be delivered, because God is right there. Look in Psalm 121 and verse 5. Psalm 121 and verse 5.

[John Weaver] The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night, that's verse 6. Verse 5, the Lord is thy keeper, The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, even forevermore. Now isn't it interesting in verse five, he says, the Lord is thy keeper. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. Why? He said, look, I'll preserve you from all evil. I'll preserve your coming out and your going in. The sun's not going to smite you by day, nor the moon's going to smite you by night. I am here, I will protect thee. So the Lord is not only here to protect but also to counsel and to instruct.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back to Acts 2 and verse 25 because I told you earlier we would come back to this passage because Psalm 16 in verse 8 is applied directly to Christ in Acts 2 and verse 25, and I want to read this again in light of his statement, the Lord is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. So in Acts 2 and verse 25, for David speaketh concerning Him, Christ, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand, note that I should not Be moved.

[John Weaver] Now the Greek word for see here means to see before us or to be present with us or to regard him as being near us. In other words, we are expecting assistance from him. And that is the meaning here that Christ expected Christ. Waited for the blessing and protection and the power of God. When we expect the Lord to be at our right hand, what we're saying in essence is this, we're helpless and we're dependent. We need you. We want you.

[John Weaver] We can't do without you. John Gill, that old Baptist Puritan said this, Christ always had Jehovah in view throughout the whole of his life. And in his last moments, he had respect unto the glory of his perfections as the ultimate end of obedience and sufferings. And to his purposes, counsel and covenant, which were to be accomplished by him and to his will and command in preaching the gospel, working miracles, going about to do good and obeying the precept and bearing the penalty of the law, as well as to his promises and his power to assist, support and

[John Weaver] preserve him as man and mediator. So he is saying what I've shown before in scripture that Christ always had reference to the Father and expected and waited for his support and his comfort and his assistance.

[John Weaver] Now notice what else is said in verse 8. Psalm 16 verse 8, I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. I shall not be moved. In other words, no great evil, no great calamity should happen to me that would make me or force me or coerce me to move from keeping my eye upon the Lord and having Him always in front of me.

[John Weaver] So this phrase then denotes to sink into calamities or to fall in the power of the enemy. In other words, nothing like that will ever deter us. Since we're in Psalms, look in Psalm 62. Psalm 62. And I want you to look at verse 2 and verse 6. You're going to find that they are identical. Psalm 62, verse 2. With the exception of one word. Psalm 62, verse 2. referring to God.

[John Weaver] He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be greatly moved.

[John Weaver] Now look at verse six. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my fence defense. I shall not be moved. So the expressing the expression then is one who is in calamities, but instead of falling, He puts his trust in the Lord and consequently deliverance is found. If you were to stop and I want you to just for a moment and think concerning Christ and all of the difficulties that he faced and all of the difficulties that he went through. Christ was not moved from his nation or from his place.

[John Weaver] Although everyone was against him practically. What does the scripture say? He came into his own, but his own received him not. So, Christ was not moved from his place or his nation. He was not moved from the duty of his office. He was not moved from the execution of that office. All of the threats and menaces of men, all of the temptations of Satan, all of the rebelliousness of the people, all the terrors of death, all the flaming sword of justice, all the wrath of God did not move Christ.

[John Weaver] from the accomplishment of his task. In the midst of every difficulty, in the midst of every calamity, he kept his eye upon his father and remained unmoved and unshaken. You know what the scripture says in Isaiah 42 and verse 4 speaking of Christ? Listen, he shall not fail nor be discouraged till he set judgment in the earth. The isle shall wait for his law. He shall not fail nor be discouraged. How could he fail? How could he be discouraged? Because he had his eye always upon the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles. Turn please to Isaiah 50. I want to read four verses for you. Isaiah 50. Showing you that Christ was not moved, Christ was not discouraged, even through all the sufferings. Look in Isaiah chapter 50, beginning there with verse 5, and this passage is also applied directly to Christ in the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews. Isaiah 50 and verse 5, the Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned back. Now wait a minute, when he says the Lord God hath opened mine ear, it doesn't mean that Christ was deaf, that he couldn't hear. What does it mean when he says the Lord God has opened mine ear? Do you not remember the Old Testament?

[John Weaver] When a Hebrew servant had become a slave, he could be a slave for six years to a fellow Hebrew, but on the seventh year he had to go free. Unless the slave came to his master and said, and the master had given him his wife, I love my wife, I love my children, I love my master, I will not leave you. I will be your slave forever. Then the master took the servant and opened his ear, bored a hole in his ear, so that everyone would know that he was a dedicated slave and a dedicated servant. Christ said to the father, thou shalt open my ear. I'm your servant. He came to do the will of the father. Now look, the Lord God hath opened mine ear. I was not rebellious. Neither turn back. You look at everything that Christ went through. He says in verse 6, I gave my back to the smiters.

[John Weaver] He was beaten with a cat and nine tails. My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. They plucked his beard out. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help me. Therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God will help me.

[John Weaver] Who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment. The moths shall eat them up. Did you hear what he said? The Lord God will help me. In all of his difficulties, he was not moved. Nothing deterred him from his task, from his duty, from his responsibility, from his devotion, from his accomplishment.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. How does all this about Christ apply to us? You say, Pastor, I know that Christ was the victor. I know that Christ is victorious in all things. And yes, when David said in Psalm 16 verse 8, I have set the Lord always before me because He is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Yes, that verse is applied directly to Jesus Christ in Acts 2 verse 25. So, how does it all apply to me? Well, let me just tell you, we must remember that Christ is our example. in all things.

[John Weaver] I want to give you very quickly today four ways that this applies to us. First, if we are not to be moved, we must set Christ before our eyes. If we are not to be moved, we must set Christ before our eyes. We must see Him in order to prevail. I want you to think again of all the temptation, persecution, and trouble that Moses went through. Think of the temptation that Moses faced with all the pride, the prestige, the power and riches of Egypt. Remember the Bible tells us that Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. What does that mean? That means Moses would have been in line to inherit the throne. Everything in Egypt would have been his. But he refused that. And when he refused, that same power then turned around and persecuted him. And Moses had to flee and leave Egypt and go and hide in the desert. But you know what the Bible says in Hebrews 11 and verse 27, let me read it to you. By faith Moses, by faith Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

[John Weaver] What's that tell you? He set the Lord before his eyes. Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured, I see him who is invisible. You know, it would be interesting to study eyes in the Bible. Have you ever thought about that? The eyes? Have you ever considered that the first sin was committed by taking the eyes off the Lord and His Word?

[John Weaver] In Genesis 3 and verse 5, we have the temptation. And the serpent said to Eve, For God doth know in the day that you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Now I want you to listen to verse 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise. She took the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also to her husband with her and he did eat. You know what you have in Genesis three in verse six, you have the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. And all three of those came because she took her eyes off the Lord.

[John Weaver] Consequently, since that time, man, is imputed with sin, born in sin. And the scripture tells us in 1 John 2 and verse 16, for all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. It is not of the father, but is of the world. Isn't that amazing? It all started with the eyes. I hope now that we can see why men cannot see. They're blind.

[John Weaver] Moses endured as seeing Him who is invisible. The problem is people are blind and they can't see the Lord. Look in your Bibles to Acts 28 and I want you to look closely at verse 27. Because the problem is not just that men cannot see, it is also that they do not want to see. It is true that they cannot see. They do not have the ability in and of themselves, but it's also true that they do not want to see. For in Acts chapter 28 and verse 27, the apostle is quoting from Isaiah. And he says, for the heart of this people is wax gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, why? lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But they purposely, deliberately close their ears and close their eyes so they cannot see and cannot hear. You know what? Those of us who can see ought to be able to give the Lord honor and glory and praise.

[John Weaver] And we ought to be able to say with that man who was born blind, in John 9 and verse 25, when they kept interrogating him and asking him who it was that healed you, he says, I know not. But one thing I do know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. You may not be able to explain regeneration, but one thing you do know, that you now see what at one time you did not see. And let me tell you what one of the problems is. One of the problems even among professing Christians, is that we do not see as clearly as we should see.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 3. Revelation chapter 3, Hobie was talking earlier about the messages to the churches. In Revelation chapter 3, you have another statement that our Lord sent to the church. Revelation chapter 3, notice if you would please, beginning there with verse 17. Revelation 3 verse 17, and of course this is a message to the church at Laodicea. Revelation 3 verse 17, God says to the church, not to the heathen now, but to the church, because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. And know us not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed. And that the, and the shame of thy nakedness do not appear and anoint thine eyes with eye salve that thou mayest see. You know what? And I know there are exceptions. I understand this. But when you talk and think about the church movement in America today, the mega churches, the big churches, they can say, I'm rich, I'm increasing the goods, I have need of nothing.

[John Weaver] That's what they actually think. We have driven by some church buildings and I told Alice, I said, you know, I'd be satisfied with just a buck for each brick that's in that building. You look at that church building on 75 North of Atlanta. Lord have mercy. There's millions of bricks in that building. You know, it's interesting that most of these churches have big buildings, only use them once or twice a week. I mean, really? They'll have multi-million dollar buildings, all that money invested, and only use it one time a week, maybe twice. What did God say? Our Lord said, you say you're rich, and you have plenty of goods, and you have need of nothing. But our Lord said, you don't even understand that you're poor, and blind, and wretched, and naked, and you need eye salve that you can see. And he was not talking to the heathen, he's talking to the church.

[John Weaver] The truth of the matter is this, folks. Most of the professing Christians in this day and age cannot see the truth that's clearly enunciated in the Word of God. And if the truth was known, most of them really and truly do not even want to know the truth. Because if they knew it, they'd have to do something about it. You remember how Sarah lied and said that Abraham was her brother? You remember that in Genesis 20?

[John Weaver] And Abimelech, the king, took her and would have laid with her. But God came to him at night and said, that's a man's wife and you touch her, you're a dead man. I'll kill you. And Abimelech said, in the integrity of my heart, I've done this thing. Did she not say that he's my brother? Did he not say she's my sister? And the Lord answered Abimelech, and he said, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thine heart, therefore have I withheld thee from sinning against me. God did not allow Abimelech to touch Sarah. And the next morning, when Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, he reproved Sarah, and he said this, Behold he, that is Abraham, is to thee a covering of thine eyes, and to all that are with thee, and all other, thus she was reproved." And in other words, here's what he told Sarah.

[John Weaver] You need to look at no one but your husband. Period. He is the covering to your eyes. And dear friend, may I tell you, that applies to us as Christians. We need to look only at Jesus Christ. He is the covering to our eyes. He is our bridegroom. He is our husband. And we need to keep Him before our eyes. If we are not going to be moved, we must have Him before our eyes. Secondly, and very quickly, if we are not to be moved, we must know God's will for our lives. We must know what our duty is, as it's revealed in the Word of God, and never, ever deviate from that duty.

[John Weaver] Now, let me say it again. If we're not to be moved, we must know God's will for our lives. Christ knew the will of the Father and He did it. We must know God's will for our lives.

[John Weaver] Now, I can assure you there are many things in this world that we don't know. And we'll probably never know them until we get to glory. There are some things in this world that we do not understand. And we'll never understand them until we get to glory. But there is one thing that is very clear and very distinct. And that is the infallible, inerrant, inspired Word of God. There is one thing that is very clear and very distinct. That is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. I get so sometimes tickled, sometimes aggravated at people who want to get into these theological discussions that amount to absolutely nothing. Did you know at one time during the medieval ages, there was a theological discussion as to how many angels could stand on the head of a pen?

[John Weaver] What difference does it make? Who would know? Who could prove one way or the other? You know, people always want to talk. I heard about one man who preached seven sermons on the seven thunders out of the book of Revelation. And when the seven thunders uttered her voice and John was about to write, the angel said, seal up those and don't write that. How can you preach on the voice of the seven thunders when nobody knows what they said?

[John Weaver] Now I'm telling you all that to give you Deuteronomy 29, 29. Listen carefully. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God. But the things which he hath revealed, Belonging to us and our children forever that we may do all the words of this law And that amazing I don't know about the secret things of the Lord. I don't know why such and such happened I don't know what happened to Ten thousand years ago or five thousand. I don't know But I know one thing God has revealed everything that we need to know in this book And He revealed it so that we may do it. And you may rest assured if you obey the Word of God, you are doing the will of the Father. His Word is given for the totality of our lives.

[John Weaver] And let me just simply make this clear. It's not just knowing the will of God that is important. It is doing the will of God. Our Lord said in John 13 and verse 17, if you know these things, Happy are you if you do them. And then our Lord said in Luke 6 in verse 47, Whoso cometh to me and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like.

[John Weaver] And you remember that passage in the book of James chapter 1, where he talks about a man, if any man be a hearer and not a doer of the word, he is like a man beholding himself in a glass or in a mirror and straightway goeth and forgeteth what manner of man he was. But he said, whosoever heareth and doeth my word, this man shall be blessed in his deed. So it's not just hearing the word of God. We must actually do the word of God. We must obey. We must bring our lives in conformity to the word of God.

[John Weaver] Thirdly, if you want to know how this applies to us in Psalm 16 in verse 8, If we are not to be moved, we must not be intimidated by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Did criticism stop Christ? Did gossip, lies, slander, innuendos, and downright hatred hinder Christ? No. How about threats of imprisonment? How about threats of persecution? How about threats of death? No. None of those stopped Christ. None of those hindered Christ. Well, let me ask you, how is it that you and I are so easily intimidated and frightened by the wicked? Do we need courage? Yes. Do we need character? Yes. Do we need conviction? Yes. But do you remember those questions that were asked by God in Psalm 94 and verse 16? Listen to these. Here's what God asks.

[John Weaver] Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? What is He asking? He's asking for someone with some courage who will stand up and say, look, what you're doing is wicked and wrong and ungodly. Here's what God demands. You know, he said in Psalm 97 and verse 10, ye that love the Lord hate evil. Have you ever understood that you really can't love the Lord unless you hate the evil?

[John Weaver] You cannot embrace opposites at the same time. If you love the Lord, you hate evil. If you love evil, you hate the Lord. It's just that simple. And so our Lord is saying, We have to learn to be fearless and determined. Isn't it amazing that our enemies don't give a flip about what Christ says, or the Word of God, or our feelings, or anything? They just hate Christ.

[John Weaver] And we're so afraid that we're going to offend someone. Do you remember what our Lord said When he got through preaching and his disciples came and said, knowest thou not that the Pharisees were offended at thy saying? Our Lord started shaking and trembling and says, oh, that really bothers me. That really upsets me. Is that what happened? No. You know what our Lord said? Let them alone.

[John Weaver] Every plant which my heavenly father had not planted shall be rooted up. They be blind leaders, the blind into the blind, lead the blind. They shall both fall in the ditch. So translated in good South Georgia language. When they said, no sound, not that they'll fit. The Pharisees were offended by saying, he said, tough stuff. They'll die in their sins. It doesn't bother me that they cannot.

[John Weaver] and will not hear the truth of God. You know what the Bible says in 2 Timothy 1 verse 7, here's a passage you need to remember. For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Now if God has not given us a spirit of fear, then we have to ask the question, From where does fear arrive?

[John Weaver] Where does it come from? The only places left are the world, the flesh, and the devil. If God doesn't give it to us, that means we're intimidated either by the world, the flesh, or the devil. Why should we be intimidated? by all of that which is going to perish and be destroyed when we have the sovereign, omnipotent, eternal God at our right hand. I shall not be moved.

[John Weaver] Fourthly, very quickly, if you're not to be moved, and if you experience God's protection and ultimate deliverance, you must remain faithful to the end. Did Christ remain faithful to the end? Sure. You know, it seems to me that I read somewhere in the Bible that there's a great deal concerning this truth about being faithful to the end. Hmm? Somewhere. For instance, Hebrews 3 and verse 6, let me read it. But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of hope firm unto the end. How about Hebrews 3.14? We're made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. How about Hebrews 6.11? And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end.

[John Weaver] How about Revelation 2, 26? And he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, will I give him power over all the nations? How about Revelation 2 in verse 10? For none of these things which thou shalt suffer, for none of these things which thou shalt suffer, behold, the devil shall cast some of you, fear none of these things thou shalt suffer, Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into a prison that you may be tried, and you shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful until death, and I will give thee the crown of life."

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back to Psalm 16 and look at verse 8. And I want to just make one comment, and I want to close. But look at Psalm 16, verse 8. Please understand the impact and the application of this verse to each of us. David said, I have set the Lord always before me, always, because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. What does that mean? Here it is.

[John Weaver] We must learn to never give up, never give in, never quit, never compromise, never be discouraged, never be depressed. Why? We are not victims, we are the victor. We are not the conquered, we are the conquerors. In fact, scripture tells us that we are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ. How in the world could you not be faithful when you know and understand that ultimately you will win and not just temporarily but permanently and for eternity.

[John Weaver] I got news for you. We've already won. Because Christ is risen from the dead. He's seated at the right hand of God. And as our sovereign God told His Son, sit thou here till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Can you say with David? Can you say with Christ? I've set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask that you would help us speak to our hearts, deal in our souls. Give us, Lord, a holy determination that we will always set thee before our eyes. that we'd always trust in thee. And because thou art our right hand, we'll never be moved. May we never give up, never get in, never quit, never compromise, but stand true and faithful unto thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Amen.

Psalm 16 The Golden Psalm Part 3 of 4

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	R77kzBrleyE
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation: Christ and the Churches
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-01-26
Dictation Name
Book	Book 159: Psalm 16 — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	77

Formatted Transcript

Opening

Psalm 16, and let's read the first eight verses. We've covered through verse seven today. Lord willing, we'll make it through verse eight, and maybe I will be able to finish verses nine through eleven in the next message. But notice Psalm 16, beginning with verse one. This is the golden psalm. We're on part three today. David prays,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 16:1-8

"Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord. My goodness extendeth not to Thee, but to the saints that are in the earth and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god."

"Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel; my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."

Review of Previous Messages

Weaver reviews the first seven verses of Psalm 16, covering the confession of trust (vv. 1-3) and the contentment of trust, including the curse of idolatry (v. 4) and the comfort of fidelity (vv. 5-7).

Let me take just a few moments to review. Remember, this is indeed the golden psalm. It is a psalm that applies primarily to Jesus Christ. It is a true messianic psalm. In the first part of this psalm, verses one through three, we saw the confession of trust. We saw the confession of trust as it is expressed in prayer in verse one: "Preserve me, O Lord, O my God, for in Thee do I put my trust." And then we saw the confession of trust expressed in prosperity in verses two through three, where David was saying that there was nothing he could do to add to God. And of course I went on and applied this primarily also to Jesus Christ, where nothing that Jesus Christ did applied to God the Father. We've got to understand that God is absolutely perfect. Since He is perfect, nothing can be added to Him, nothing can be taken from Him. God is so righteous that nothing can aid Him or help Him, and He is so righteous that nothing can be taken from Him.

So, what did the work of Jesus Christ do? The Bible tells us it went to the saints that are in the earth, to the excellent in whom was all of His delight. Everything that Jesus Christ did, He did for us. Certainly He honored God the Father outwardly, externally in His obedience, but nothing was added to God. And then last week we looked at the commitment, the contentment of trust, and we saw the curse of idolatry. And the comfort of fidelity. So you have the curse of idolatry in verse four: "Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god; their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips." David said, "I have so little respect, or absolutely no respect, for these false gods. I will not even mention them. I certainly will not attend any of their services." And then he talks about in verses five through seven the comfort of fidelity.

He says, "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, my cup; Thou maintainest my lot." And of course, I hope you'll remember that I went through the Bible and I showed you that when we were saved by the grace of God, we inherited the Lord. The Bible says in Romans chapter eight that our inheritance is God Himself. We are heirs of God. And then the Bible says joint heirs with Jesus Christ. So everything that Jesus Christ received, we received because we're joint heirs together. But the Bible specifically said that we are heirs of God. So in the work that Jesus Christ accomplished, we became an heir of God. Well, the Bible also says, and I read it for you, how the Lord's portion is His people. So in this transaction, we got the Lord and He got us. And as I said last week, we got the better end of the bargain. But David says very clearly, and the Lord says very clearly, that Jehovah is his portion and God maintains his lot and the lines have fallen to him in pleasant places.

And of course the Lord then is the counselor and our instructor as well. Now today we come to the third point, and that is the confidence of trust. I'm only going to deal with verse eight today. So look at verse eight. David says, "I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."

Introduction to the Confidence of Trust (v. 8)

Weaver introduces the third point: the confidence of trust, focusing on verse 8, which applies directly to Jesus Christ as the greater David.

Now we must remember that this verse applies directly to Jesus Christ. Yes, there's an application that you can make to David, but this verse has reference to the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in verse eight, the scripture says, "I have set the Lord always before me." So the import of this Hebrew word is "I have equally set," or "I have proposed."

Setting the Lord Always Before Us

Explains the Hebrew meaning of 'set' as equally set or proposed, and connects it to Acts 2:25 where Christ foresaw the Lord always before His face, meaning constant, unwavering focus on God.

Now, I want you to hold Psalm 16, but turn over in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter two, and if you don't mind, just mark that passage because we will come back to this verse in just a moment. I will call your attention to it again, but look in your Bibles to Acts 2 and verse 25, because here is the passage where Psalm 16 verse eight is directly applied to Jesus Christ. Acts 2 verse 25:

Scripture Reading — Acts 2:25

"For David speaketh concerning Him,"

that is concerning Christ. And then here verse eight is quoted.

Scripture Reading — Acts 2:25

"I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved."

Now right now all I want to call your attention to is the word "foresaw." The Greek word here literally means "to see before," "to keep before one's eyes," and "to be mindful of one's ways."

Now, hold Acts 2, but go back to Psalm 16 and look at verse eight. David says, "I have set the Lord always before me." What is David saying? "I have set the Lord before me; my eyes are fully and completely upon Him. I will not suffer, I will not allow my eyes to be removed from Him." So it is not just David now who is setting his eyes upon the one true and the living God. It is also the Lord Jesus Christ who set His eyes upon His Father. Now, what the Bible is teaching us is simply this: that as both David and our Lord set God before their eyes, it means they did not serve Him with fits and feelings, stops and starts, up and down. No, no. Their service was constant and continuous. They put their hands upon the plow, so to speak, and did not look back. You know, I know that not everyone in this room was raised on a farm, but I was. And I had to plow ever since I was a boy. You know how you plow a straight row?

Christ's Example of Unwavering Focus

Uses John 5:30 and John 8:29 to show Christ always sought the Father's will and did what pleased Him, never deviating even under temptation or in Gethsemane.

And let me just show you a couple of verses that will express the attitude of our Lord. Look in John chapter five and verse 30. I could multiply these verses, but these two will be sufficient to demonstrate the confidence of trust. Look at it if you would please. John 5 and verse 30, our Lord says this:

Scripture Reading — John 5:30

"I can of Mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent Me."

Now I could stop right there and preach all afternoon. I could give you illustration after illustration how our Lord sought the will of the Father, never deviated, never turned. Do you remember how He's tempted of the devil? How the devil tried to get Him to turn bread into stones, to cast Himself from the temple? And what did our Lord say? "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." "It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." He never deviated. He never took His eyes from the Lord. Even in the garden, when He prayed and sweat great drops of sweat as blood, what did He say?

"Not My will, but Thine be done." He set His eyes upon the Lord. Look in John 8 and verse 29. I've often thought of this verse. Would it be a blessing if you and I could truthfully say what our Lord said? Look in John 8 and verse 29. Jesus Christ said,

Scripture Reading — John 8:29

"And He that sent Me is with Me. The Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him."

Oh, would it not be wonderful that if you and I could always do those things that please Him? Now, what did David say? David said, "I've set the Lord always before mine eyes." I suppose one of the answers as to how that we can always please the Lord is that we always keep Him before our eyes. We understand that He is to be honored and worshiped in all things. The confidence of trust then becomes evident when we understand that it is our duty, our privilege, our honor, and our responsibility to exercise this same confidence in the Lord that David did and Christ did to the Father.

The Meaning of 'He Is at My Right Hand'

Explains that the right hand signifies support, comfort, and safeguard, citing Psalms 109:31 and 121:5 to show God's protective presence.

Now he says, "Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Now, in a recent sermon in Psalm 18, I went through and showed you the import of being at the right hand. But here this phrase is used to identify someone who has been taken in, so to speak, supported by someone. In other words, for instance, the right hand is not only a place of support and comfort, it is also a place of safeguard. Have you ever noticed little children when they are scared or terrified, if their father is nearby, what do they do? They run and they wrap themselves around his leg and he usually puts his arm around them, usually the right arm, and they nuzzle under it and they stay there for the protection. Now the psalmist said, "Because He is at my right hand." What does that imply? Well, look in Psalm 109 to begin with. Psalm 109 and verse 31. Psalm 109 and verse 31. Look what the scripture says concerning the Lord: "For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul." He shall stand at the right hand of the poor. Why? To save him. Now wait a minute. The psalmist said, "Because He is at my right hand." He's right here next to me. What's he implying? He's implying that he's going to be saved, he's going to be delivered, because God is right there. Look in Psalm 121 and verse five. Psalm 121 and verse five.

"The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night"—that's verse six. Verse five: "The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, even forevermore." Now isn't it interesting in verse five, he says, "The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand." Why? He said, "Look, I'll preserve you from all evil. I'll preserve your coming out and your going in. The sun's not going to smite you by day, nor the moon's going to smite you by night. I am here, I will protect thee." So the Lord is not only here to protect but also to counsel and to instruct.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 121:5-8

Now, I want you to go back to Acts 2 and verse 25 because I told you earlier we would come back to this passage because Psalm 16 and verse eight is applied directly to Christ in Acts 2 and verse 25, and I want to read this again in light of His statement, "The Lord is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." So in Acts 2 and verse 25: "For David speaketh concerning Him," Christ, "I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand"—note that—"that I should not be moved."

Christ's Unmoved Steadfastness

Shows from Isaiah 50:5-9 that Christ was not moved by suffering, shame, or opposition, setting His face like flint because the Lord God helped Him.

from the accomplishment of His task. In the midst of every difficulty, in the midst of every calamity, He kept His eye upon His Father and remained unmoved and unshaken. You know what the scripture says in Isaiah 42 and verse four speaking of Christ? Listen: "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He set judgment in the earth: the isles shall wait for His law." He shall not fail nor be discouraged. How could He fail? How could He be discouraged? Because He had His eye always upon the Lord.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 42:4

Now, look in your Bibles. Turn please to Isaiah 50. I want to read four verses for you. Isaiah 50, showing you that Christ was not moved, Christ was not discouraged, even through all the sufferings. Look in Isaiah chapter 50, beginning there with verse five, and this passage is also applied directly to Christ in the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews. Isaiah 50 and verse five: "The Lord God hath opened Mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned back." Now wait a minute. When He says "the Lord God hath opened Mine ear," it doesn't mean that Christ was deaf, that He couldn't hear. What does it mean when He says "the Lord God has opened Mine ear"? Do you not remember the Old Testament?

When a Hebrew servant had become a slave, he could be a slave for six years to a fellow Hebrew, but on the seventh year he had to go free. Unless the slave came to his master and said—and the master had given him his wife—"I love my wife, I love my children, I love my master, I will not leave you. I will be your slave forever." Then the master took the servant and opened his ear, bored a hole in his ear, so that everyone would know that he was a dedicated slave and a dedicated servant. Christ said to the Father, "Thou shalt open My ear. I'm Your servant." He came to do the will of the Father. Now look: "The Lord God hath opened Mine ear. I was not rebellious, neither turned back." You look at everything that Christ went through. He says in verse six: "I gave My back to the smiters."

He was beaten with a cat-o'-nine-tails. "My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair." They plucked His beard out. "I hid not My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help Me; therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth Me; who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is Mine adversary? Let him come near to Me. Behold, the Lord God will help Me."

"Who is he that shall condemn Me? Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up." Did you hear what He said? "The Lord God will help Me." In all of His difficulties, He was not moved. Nothing deterred Him from His task, from His duty, from His responsibility, from His devotion, from His accomplishment.

Application: How This Applies to Believers

Weaver gives four applications: set Christ before our eyes, know and do God's will, not be intimidated by the world/flesh/devil, and remain faithful to the end.

I want to give you very quickly today four ways that this applies to us. First, if we are not to be moved, we must set Christ before our eyes. If we are not to be moved, we must set Christ before our eyes. We must see Him in order to prevail. I want you to think again of all the temptation, persecution, and trouble that Moses went through. Think of the temptation that Moses faced with all the pride, the prestige, the power and riches of Egypt. Remember the Bible tells us that Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. What does that mean? That means Moses would have been in line to inherit the throne. Everything in Egypt would have been his. But he refused that. And when he refused, that same power then turned around and persecuted him. And Moses had to flee and leave Egypt and go and hide in the desert. But you know what the Bible says in Hebrews 11 and verse 27? Let me read it to you. "By faith Moses"—by faith Moses—"forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible."

First Application: Set Christ Before Our Eyes

Uses Moses (Hebrews 11:27) and the Laodicean church (Revelation 3:17-18) to urge believers to keep their eyes on Christ alone, as He is the covering of our eyes.

What's that tell you? He set the Lord before his eyes. "Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible." You know, it would be interesting to study eyes in the Bible. Have you ever thought about that? The eyes? Have you ever considered that the first sin was committed by taking the eyes off the Lord and His Word? In Genesis 3 and verse five, we have the temptation. And the serpent said to Eve, "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Now I want you to listen to verse six: "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." You know what you have in Genesis three in verse six? You have the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. And all three of those came because she took her eyes off the Lord.

Consequently, since that time, man is imputed with sin, born in sin. And the scripture tells us in 1 John 2 and verse 16, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." Isn't that amazing? It all started with the eyes. I hope now that we can see why men cannot see. They're blind. Moses endured as seeing Him who is invisible. The problem is people are blind and they can't see the Lord. Look in your Bibles to Acts 28 and I want you to look closely at verse 27. Because the problem is not just that men cannot see, it is also that they do not want to see. It is true that they cannot see. They do not have the ability in and of themselves, but it's also true that they do not want to see. For in Acts chapter 28 and verse 27, the apostle is quoting from Isaiah. And he says,

Scripture Reading — Acts 28:27

"For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

But they purposely, deliberately close their ears and close their eyes so they cannot see and cannot hear. You know what? Those of us who can see ought to be able to give the Lord honor and glory and praise.

And we ought to be able to say with that man who was born blind, in John 9 and verse 25, when they kept interrogating him and asking him who it was that healed you, he says, "I know not. But one thing I do know, that whereas I was blind, now I see." You may not be able to explain regeneration, but one thing you do know, that you now see what at one time you did not see. And let me tell you what one of the problems is. One of the problems, even among professing Christians, is that we do not see as clearly as we should see. Look in your Bibles to Revelation chapter three. Revelation chapter three. Brother was talking earlier about the messages to the churches. In Revelation chapter three, you have another statement that our Lord sent to the church. Revelation chapter three, notice if you would please, beginning there with verse 17. Revelation 3 verse 17, and of course this is a message to the church at Laodicea. Revelation 3 verse 17, God says to the church, not to the heathen now, but to the church:

Scripture Reading — Revelation 3:17-18

"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see."

You know what? And I know there are exceptions. I understand this. But when you talk and think about the church movement in America today, the mega churches, the big churches, they can say,

Scripture Reading — Revelation 3:17-18

"I'm rich, I'm increased with goods, I have need of nothing."

That's what they actually think. We have driven by some church buildings and I told Alice, I said, "You know, I'd be satisfied with just a buck for each brick that's in that building." You look at that church building on 75 North of Atlanta. Lord have mercy. There's millions of bricks in that building. You know, it's interesting that most of these churches have big buildings, only use them once or twice a week. I mean, really? They'll have multi-million dollar buildings, all that money invested, and only use it one time a week, maybe twice. What did God say? Our Lord said, "You say you're rich, and you have plenty of goods, and you have need of nothing." But our Lord said, "You don't even understand that you're poor, and blind, and wretched, and naked, and you need eyesalve that you can see." And He was not talking to the heathen, He's talking to the church.

The truth of the matter is this, folks. Most of the professing Christians in this day and age cannot see the truth that's clearly enunciated in the Word of God. And if the truth was known, most of them really and truly do not even want to know the truth. Because if they knew it, they'd have to do something about it. You remember how Sarah lied and said that Abraham was her brother? You remember that in Genesis 20? And Abimelech, the king, took her and would have lain with her. But God came to him at night and said, "That's a man's wife and you touch her, you're a dead man. I'll kill you." And Abimelech said, "In the integrity of my heart, I've done this thing. Did she not say that he's my brother? Did he not say she's my sister?" And the Lord answered Abimelech, and He said, "Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thine heart, therefore have I withheld thee from sinning against Me." God did not allow Abimelech to touch Sarah. And the next morning, when Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, he reproved Sarah, and he said this: "Behold, he," that is Abraham, "is to thee a covering of thine eyes, and to all that are with thee, and all other: thus she was reproved." And in other words, here's what he told Sarah.

"You need to look at no one but your husband. Period. He is the covering to your eyes." And dear friend, may I tell you, that applies to us as Christians. We need to look only at Jesus Christ. He is the covering to our eyes. He is our bridegroom. He is our husband. And we need to keep Him before our eyes. If we are not going to be moved, we must have Him before our eyes. Secondly, and very quickly, if we are not to be moved, we must know God's will for our lives. We must know what our duty is, as it's revealed in the Word of God, and never, ever deviate from that duty.

Second Application: Know and Do God's Will

Emphasizes that God has revealed His will in Scripture (Deuteronomy 29:29) and that we must not only know it but do it (John 13:17; James 1:22-25).

Now, let me say it again. If we're not to be moved, we must know God's will for our lives. Christ knew the will of the Father and He did it. We must know God's will for our lives.

Now, I can assure you there are many things in this world that we don't know. And we'll probably never know them until we get to glory. There are some things in this world that we do not understand. And we'll never understand them until we get to glory. But there is one thing that is very clear and very distinct. And that is the infallible, inerrant, inspired Word of God. There is one thing that is very clear and very distinct. That is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. I get so sometimes tickled, sometimes aggravated at people who want to get into these theological discussions that amount to absolutely nothing. Did you know at one time during the medieval ages, there was a theological discussion as to how many angels could stand on the head of a pin?

What difference does it make? Who would know? Who could prove one way or the other? You know, people always want to talk. I heard about one man who preached seven sermons on the seven thunders out of the book of Revelation. And when the seven thunders uttered their voice and John was about to write, the angel said, "Seal up those and don't write that." How can you preach on the voice of the seven thunders when nobody knows what they said?

Now I'm telling you all that to give you Deuteronomy 29:29. Listen carefully. "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God. But the things which He hath revealed belong unto us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." And that's amazing. I don't know about the secret things of the Lord. I don't know why such and such happened. I don't know what happened ten thousand years ago or five thousand. I don't know. But I know one thing: God has revealed everything that we need to know in this book. And He revealed it so that we may do it. And you may rest assured if you obey the Word of God, you are doing the will of the Father. His Word is given for the totality of our lives.

And let me just simply make this clear. It's not just knowing the will of God that is important. It is doing the will of God. Our Lord said in John 13 and verse 17, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." And then our Lord said in Luke 6 in verse 47, "Whoso cometh to Me and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like." And you remember that passage in the book of James chapter one, where he talks about a man, "If any man be a hearer and not a doer of the word, he is like a man beholding himself in a glass" or in a mirror "and straightway goeth and forgetteth what manner of man he was." But he said, "Whosoever heareth and doeth My word, this man shall be blessed in his deed." So it's not just hearing the word of God. We must actually do the word of God. We must obey. We must bring our lives in conformity to the word of God.

Third Application: Do Not Be Intimidated

Encourages believers not to fear the world, flesh, or devil, citing Psalm 94:16, Psalm 97:10, and 2 Timothy 1:7, and noting Christ's boldness when Pharisees were offended.

Thirdly, if you want to know how this applies to us in Psalm 16 and verse eight: if we are not to be moved, we must not be intimidated by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Did criticism stop Christ? Did gossip, lies, slander, innuendos, and downright hatred hinder Christ? No. How about threats of imprisonment? How about threats of persecution? How about threats of death? No. None of those stopped Christ. None of those hindered Christ. Well, let me ask you, how is it that you and I are so easily intimidated and frightened by the wicked? Do we need courage? Yes. Do we need character? Yes. Do we need conviction? Yes. But do you remember those questions that were asked by God in Psalm 94 and verse 16? Listen to these. Here's what God asks.

"Who will rise up for Me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for Me against the workers of iniquity?" What is He asking? He's asking for someone with some courage who will stand up and say, "Look, what you're doing is wicked and wrong and ungodly. Here's what God demands." You know, He said in Psalm 97 and verse 10, "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil." Have you ever understood that you really can't love the Lord unless you hate the evil? You cannot embrace opposites at the same time. If you love the Lord, you hate evil. If you love evil, you hate the Lord. It's just that simple. And so our Lord is saying, we have to learn to be fearless and determined. Isn't it amazing that our enemies don't give a flip about what Christ says, or the Word of God, or our feelings, or anything? They just hate Christ.

And we're so afraid that we're going to offend someone. Do you remember what our Lord said when He got through preaching and His disciples came and said, "Knowest Thou not that the Pharisees were offended at Thy saying?" Our Lord started shaking and trembling and says, "Oh, that really bothers Me. That really upsets Me." Is that what happened? No. You know what our Lord said? "Let them alone." "Every plant which My heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall in the ditch." So translated in good South Georgia language: when they said, "Knowest Thou not that the Pharisees were offended at Thy saying?" He said, "Tough stuff. They'll die in their sins. It doesn't bother Me that they cannot

and will not hear the truth of God." You know what the Bible says in 2 Timothy 1 verse seven? Here's a passage you need to remember.

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 1:7

"For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

Now if God has not given us a spirit of fear, then we have to ask the question, from where does fear arrive? Where does it come from? The only places left are the world, the flesh, and the devil. If God doesn't give it to us, that means we're intimidated either by the world, the flesh, or the devil. Why should we be intimidated by all of that which is going to perish and be destroyed when we have the sovereign, omnipotent, eternal God at our right hand? I shall not be moved.

Fourth Application: Remain Faithful to the End

Calls for perseverance, citing Hebrews 3:6, 3:14, 6:11, and Revelation 2:26, 2:10, and concludes that believers are more than conquerors through Christ.

Fourthly, very quickly, if you're not to be moved, and if you experience God's protection and ultimate deliverance, you must remain faithful to the end. Did Christ remain faithful to the end? Sure. You know, it seems to me that I read somewhere in the Bible that there's a great deal concerning this truth about being faithful to the end. Hmm? Somewhere. For instance, Hebrews 3 and verse six, let me read it: "But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of hope firm unto the end." How about Hebrews 3:14? "We're made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." How about Hebrews 6:11? "And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end."

How about Revelation 2:26? "And he that overcometh and keepeth My works unto the end, will I give him power over all the nations." How about Revelation 2 and verse 10? "Fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life." Now, I want you to go back to Psalm 16 and look at verse eight. And I want to just make one comment, and I want to close. But look at Psalm 16, verse eight. Please understand the impact and the application of this verse to each of us. David said, "I have set the Lord always before me"—always—"because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." What does that mean? Here it is.

We must learn to never give up, never give in, never quit, never compromise, never be discouraged, never be depressed. Why? We are not victims, we are the victor. We are not the conquered, we are the conquerors. In fact, scripture tells us that we are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ. How in the world could you not be faithful when you know and understand that ultimately you will win and not just temporarily but permanently and for eternity.

Closing Exhortation and Prayer

Weaver challenges the congregation to say with David and Christ, 'I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved,' and closes in prayer.

I got news for you. We've already won. Because Christ is risen from the dead. He's seated at the right hand of God. And as our sovereign God told His Son, "Sit Thou here till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." Can you say with David? Can you say with Christ? "I've set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask that You would help us, speak to our hearts, deal in our souls. Give us, Lord, a holy determination that we will always set Thee before our eyes, that we'd always trust in Thee. And because Thou art our right hand, we'll never be moved. May we never give up, never give in, never quit, never compromise, but stand true and faithful unto Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Confidence of Trust in God

Summary: The believer's trust in God produces unwavering confidence, modeled by David and perfectly by Christ, who set the Lord always before them.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Today we come to the third point, and that is the confidence of trust. I'm only going to deal with verse eight today.'

Christ as the Ultimate Example

Summary: Psalm 16:8 applies primarily to Jesus Christ, who perfectly kept the Father before His eyes and was not moved by any trial or temptation.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Now we must remember that this verse applies directly to Jesus Christ. Yes, there's an application that you can make to David, but this verse has reference to the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ.'

Constant Focus on God

Summary: Setting the Lord always before us means continuous, unwavering focus on God, not serving Him with fits and starts, like plowing a straight row by fixing eyes on a stationary object.

Evidence: Weaver illustrates, 'You put the tractor or the mule in the edge of the field. And you look up to the end of the field and pick out a post or a tree or some object that does not move. And you keep your eye upon that object until you get to the end of the field.'

God's Protective Presence

Summary: The phrase 'He is at my right hand' signifies God's support, comfort, and safeguard, assuring deliverance and protection from evil.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'The right hand is not only a place of support and comfort, it is also a place of safeguard.'

Perseverance and Faithfulness

Summary: Believers must remain faithful to the end, never giving up or compromising, because they are more than conquerors through Christ who has already won the victory.

Evidence: Weaver exhorts, 'We must learn to never give up, never give in, never quit, never compromise, never be discouraged, never be depressed. Why? We are not victims, we are the victor.'

Obedience to God's Revealed Will

Summary: Knowing God's will through Scripture is essential, but doing it is what brings blessing; believers must conform their lives to the Word of God.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'It's not just knowing the will of God that is important. It is doing the will of God.'

Fearlessness in the Face of Opposition

Summary: Believers should not be intimidated by the world, flesh, or devil, because God has not given a spirit of fear, and Christ modeled boldness when opposed.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If God has not given us a spirit of fear, then we have to ask the question, from where does fear arrive? ... The only places left are the world, the flesh, and the devil.'

Key Arguments

Psalm 16:8 is Messianic

Summary: The verse applies directly to Jesus Christ, as confirmed by Peter's quotation in Acts 2:25, where Christ is said to have foreseen the Lord always before His face.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Now we must remember that this verse applies directly to Jesus Christ... For David speaketh concerning Him, that is concerning Christ. And then here verse eight is quoted.'

Setting the Lord Before Us Means Constant Devotion

Summary: The Hebrew word implies a fixed, continuous gaze, not intermittent service; both David and Christ served God without deviation.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'It means they did not serve Him with fits and feelings, stops and starts, up and down. No, no. Their service was constant and continuous.'

Christ's Unwavering Obedience

Summary: Jesus always sought the Father's will (John 5:30) and always did what pleased Him (John 8:29), even in the face of temptation and suffering.

Evidence: Weaver cites John 5:30 and John 8:29, then says, 'He never deviated. He never took His eyes from the Lord.'

The Right Hand Signifies Divine Assistance

Summary: Being at the right hand means God is present to protect, support, and deliver, as seen in Psalms 109:31 and 121:5.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'He shall stand at the right hand of the poor. Why? To save him.'

Christ Was Not Moved by Suffering

Summary: Isaiah 50:5-9 shows Christ set His face like flint, enduring beating, mocking, and spitting, trusting in God's help and not being confounded.

Evidence: Weaver reads Isaiah 50:6-7 and comments, 'In all of His difficulties, He was not moved. Nothing deterred Him from His task.'

Believers Must Keep Their Eyes on Christ

Summary: Like Moses who endured as seeing Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27), Christians must fix their eyes on Christ alone, not on the world's allurements.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We need to look only at Jesus Christ. He is the covering to our eyes.'

Doing God's Will Requires Obedience to Scripture

Summary: God has revealed everything necessary for life and godliness in the Bible (Deuteronomy 29:29), and blessing comes from doing, not just hearing (James 1:22-25).

Evidence: Weaver states, 'God has revealed everything that we need to know in this book. And He revealed it so that we may do it.'

Fear Is Not from God

Summary: 2 Timothy 1:7 says God gives a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, not fear; therefore, fear comes from the world, flesh, or devil, and believers should not be intimidated.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If God has not given us a spirit of fear, then we have to ask the question, from where does fear arrive? ... The only places left are the world, the flesh, and the devil.'

Scripture References

Psalm 16:1-8

Context: The primary text of the sermon; Weaver reads and expounds these verses, focusing on verse 8.

Acts 2:25

Context: Peter applies Psalm 16:8 directly to Christ, showing He foresaw the Lord always before His face.

Luke 9:62

Context: Jesus said no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God, illustrating unwavering focus.

Colossians 3:2

Context: Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, paralleling the call to fix eyes on God.

John 5:30

Context: Jesus said He can do nothing of Himself but seeks the will of the Father who sent Him.

John 8:29

Context: Jesus said the Father has not left Him alone because He always does what pleases Him.

Hebrews 11:6

Context: Without faith it is impossible to please God; those who come to Him must believe He is and rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Isaiah 26:8-9

Context: The desire of the soul is to God's name and remembrance; seeking Him early and in the night.

Psalm 109:31

Context: God stands at the right hand of the poor to save him from those who condemn his soul.

Psalm 121:5-8

Context: The Lord is your keeper and shade at your right hand, preserving you from all evil.

Psalm 62:2, 6

Context: God is my rock and salvation; I shall not be moved (or greatly moved).

Isaiah 42:4

Context: Christ shall not fail nor be discouraged till He sets judgment in the earth.

Isaiah 50:5-9

Context: Christ's obedience and suffering; He set His face like flint, knowing God would help Him.

Hebrews 11:27

Context: Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the king's wrath, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

Genesis 3:5-6

Context: The first sin involved the eyes; Eve saw the tree was pleasant and took the fruit.

1 John 2:16

Context: The lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life are of the world, not the Father.

Acts 28:27

Context: People have closed their eyes lest they see and be converted; they do not want to see.

Revelation 3:17-18

Context: The Laodicean church is blind and needs eyesalve to see, though they think they are rich.

Deuteronomy 29:29

Context: Secret things belong to God, but revealed things belong to us so we may do all the words of the law.

2 Timothy 1:7

Context: God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Historical References

Joseph Caryl (Puritan expositor)

Context: Weaver quotes Caryl's commentary on Psalm 16:8 about eying God continually as protector and pattern.

Lester Roloff (evangelist)

Context: Weaver recounts Roloff's humorous illustration about Enoch walking so much with God that God took him home.

John Gill (Baptist Puritan commentator)

Context: Weaver quotes Gill's explanation that Christ always had Jehovah in view throughout His life and ministry.

Medieval theological debate about angels on a pinhead

Context: Weaver mentions this as an example of useless theological speculation, contrasting it with the clear Word of God.

Important Quotes

I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Significance: The central verse of the sermon, expressing the confidence of trust in God's presence and protection.

He that by faith eyes God continually as his protector in trouble shall not be moved with any evil that he suffers. And he that eyes God by faith as his pattern in holiness shall not be moved from doing that which is good.

Significance: Joseph Caryl's quote summarizing the dual benefit of setting the Lord before us: protection and holy living.

I can of Mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent Me.

Significance: Christ's own words demonstrating His complete dependence on and devotion to the Father's will.

And He that sent Me is with Me. The Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.

Significance: Christ's testimony that His constant obedience ensured the Father's presence, modeling the believer's call to please God.

By faith Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.

Significance: Illustrates that setting the Lord before our eyes enables endurance and fearlessness in the face of worldly threats.

For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Significance: Key verse used to argue that fear does not come from God, so believers should not be intimidated by the world, flesh, or devil.

We must learn to never give up, never give in, never quit, never compromise, never be discouraged, never be depressed. Why? We are not victims, we are the victor.

Significance: The concluding exhortation to persevere based on the confidence that Christ has already secured the victory.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean practically to 'set the Lord always before me' in daily life?

Context: Weaver explains that it means constant focus on God, not serving Him with fits and starts.

How does Christ's example of always doing what pleases the Father (John 8:29) challenge our own obedience?

Context: Weaver highlights Christ's unwavering devotion and asks if we can truthfully say the same.

In what ways are we tempted to take our eyes off the Lord, and how can we resist?

Context: Weaver discusses the lust of the eyes and the world's distractions, using Eve's temptation as an example.

Why is it important not only to know God's will but to do it, and what hinders us from doing so?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that blessing comes from doing, not just hearing, and warns against being hearers only.

What fears or intimidations from the world, flesh, or devil most affect you, and how does 2 Timothy 1:7 address them?

Context: Weaver argues that fear does not come from God and challenges believers to identify sources of fear.

How can we cultivate the kind of perseverance that remains faithful 'unto the end' despite trials?

Context: Weaver cites multiple Hebrews and Revelation passages about holding fast and overcoming.

What does it mean to be 'more than conquerors' in Christ, and how should that shape our response to difficulties?

Context: Weaver concludes that believers have already won because Christ is risen and reigning.

Applications

Fix Your Eyes on Christ Alone

Summary: Believers must set Christ before their eyes as the object of faith, hope, and imitation, not looking to the world or self.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We need to look only at Jesus Christ. He is the covering to our eyes.'

Obey God's Revealed Will

Summary: Christians should diligently study Scripture to know God's will and then actively obey it, not merely hear it.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'It's not just knowing the will of God that is important. It is doing the will of God.'

Reject Fear and Intimidation

Summary: Since God gives a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, believers must refuse to be intimidated by opposition, criticism, or threats.

Evidence: Weaver asks, 'Why should we be intimidated by all of that which is going to perish and be destroyed when we have the sovereign, omnipotent, eternal God at our right hand?'

Persevere in Faithfulness

Summary: Believers are called to never give up, compromise, or be discouraged, but to remain faithful until death, trusting in ultimate victory.

Evidence: Weaver exhorts, 'We must learn to never give up, never give in, never quit, never compromise, never be discouraged, never be depressed.'

Cultivate Constant Awareness of God's Presence

Summary: Like David and Christ, believers should maintain a continuous consciousness of God's nearness, especially in times of trouble.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'When we set the Lord before us always, He will continually be in our mind.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:01:41Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:14:28Z

Clean Transcript

Psalm 16 The Golden Psalm Part 3 of 4

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Psalm 16, and let's read the first eight verses. We've covered through verse seven today. Lord willing, we'll make it through verse eight, and maybe I will be able to finish verses nine through eleven in the next message. But notice Psalm 16, beginning with verse one. This is the golden psalm. We're on part three today. David prays, "Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord. My goodness extendeth not to Thee, but to the saints that are in the earth and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god."
#1 | 0:13 to 0:53 | cleaned
"Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel; my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."
#2 | 0:54 to 1:20 | cleaned
Let me take just a few moments to review. Remember, this is indeed the golden psalm. It is a psalm that applies primarily to Jesus Christ. It is a true messianic psalm. In the first part of this psalm, verses one through three, we saw the confession of trust. We saw the confession of trust as it is expressed in prayer in verse one: "Preserve me, O Lord, O my God, for in Thee do I put my trust." And then we saw the confession of trust expressed in prosperity in verses two through three, where David was saying that there was nothing he could do to add to God. And of course I went on and applied this primarily also to Jesus Christ, where nothing that Jesus Christ did applied to God the Father. We've got to understand that God is absolutely perfect. Since He is perfect, nothing can be added to Him, nothing can be taken from Him. God is so righteous that nothing can aid Him or help Him, and He is so righteous that nothing can be taken from Him.
#3 | 1:20 to 2:33 | cleaned
So, what did the work of Jesus Christ do? The Bible tells us it went to the saints that are in the earth, to the excellent in whom was all of His delight. Everything that Jesus Christ did, He did for us. Certainly He honored God the Father outwardly, externally in His obedience, but nothing was added to God. And then last week we looked at the commitment, the contentment of trust, and we saw the curse of idolatry.
#4 | 2:33 to 3:03 | cleaned
And the comfort of fidelity. So you have the curse of idolatry in verse four: "Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god; their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips." David said, "I have so little respect, or absolutely no respect, for these false gods. I will not even mention them. I certainly will not attend any of their services." And then he talks about in verses five through seven the comfort of fidelity.
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He says, "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, my cup; Thou maintainest my lot." And of course, I hope you'll remember that I went through the Bible and I showed you that when we were saved by the grace of God, we inherited the Lord. The Bible says in Romans chapter eight that our inheritance is God Himself. We are heirs of God. And then the Bible says joint heirs with Jesus Christ. So everything that Jesus Christ received, we received because we're joint heirs together. But the Bible specifically said that we are heirs of God. So in the work that Jesus Christ accomplished, we became an heir of God. Well, the Bible also says, and I read it for you, how the Lord's portion is His people. So in this transaction, we got the Lord and He got us. And as I said last week, we got the better end of the bargain. But David says very clearly, and the Lord says very clearly, that Jehovah is his portion and God maintains his lot and the lines have fallen to him in pleasant places.
#6 | 3:34 to 4:44 | cleaned
And of course the Lord then is the counselor and our instructor as well. Now today we come to the third point, and that is the confidence of trust. I'm only going to deal with verse eight today. So look at verse eight. David says, "I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."
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Now we must remember that this verse applies directly to Jesus Christ. Yes, there's an application that you can make to David, but this verse has reference to the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in verse eight, the scripture says, "I have set the Lord always before me." So the import of this Hebrew word is "I have equally set," or "I have proposed."
#8 | 5:07 to 5:33 | cleaned
Now, I want you to hold Psalm 16, but turn over in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter two, and if you don't mind, just mark that passage because we will come back to this verse in just a moment. I will call your attention to it again, but look in your Bibles to Acts 2 and verse 25, because here is the passage where Psalm 16 verse eight is directly applied to Jesus Christ. Acts 2 verse 25: "For David speaketh concerning Him," that is concerning Christ. And then here verse eight is quoted.
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"I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved." Now right now all I want to call your attention to is the word "foresaw." The Greek word here literally means "to see before," "to keep before one's eyes," and "to be mindful of one's ways."
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Now, hold Acts 2, but go back to Psalm 16 and look at verse eight. David says, "I have set the Lord always before me." What is David saying? "I have set the Lord before me; my eyes are fully and completely upon Him. I will not suffer, I will not allow my eyes to be removed from Him." So it is not just David now who is setting his eyes upon the one true and the living God. It is also the Lord Jesus Christ who set His eyes upon His Father. Now, what the Bible is teaching us is simply this: that as both David and our Lord set God before their eyes,
#11 | 6:39 to 7:24 | cleaned
it means they did not serve Him with fits and feelings, stops and starts, up and down. No, no. Their service was constant and continuous. They put their hands upon the plow, so to speak, and did not look back. You know, I know that not everyone in this room was raised on a farm, but I was. And I had to plow ever since I was a boy. You know how you plow a straight row?
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You have to start the field off like this. You put the tractor or the mule—back when I was a boy, you put the tractor or the mule in the edge of the field. And you look up to the end of the field and pick out a post or a tree or some object that does not move. And you keep your eye upon that object until you get to the end of the field. When you get to the end of the field, you can turn around and look back and that row will be just as straight as an arrow. But I tell you what, if you keep turning around looking back while you're trying to plow that first row, you're going to have all kinds of crooks in it, I can assure you. It will be a crooked row and not be a straight row.
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You know what our Lord said in Luke 9 verse 62? Let me just quote it. "And Jesus said unto them, No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." So our Lord is telling us that David and He Himself, the greater David, when they put their hand to the plow, they did not look back. They had their eyes fully and completely and totally set upon God. That's why the scripture in the book of Colossians chapter 3 and verse 2 says this: "Set your affection on things above and not on things of the earth."
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In other words, you pick out the object that you wish to serve and honor and worship and obey. You fix your eyes upon Him and you don't look back. And that's exactly what the scripture is telling us here. Now, before I go on with this verse, I want you to look at verse eight again. Because there is another word there that is vitally important. He says, "I have set the Lord always before me." Always before me. So our Lord is saying that He never deviated, He never turned, He never hesitated, that God the Father was always before Him. I want you to hold Psalm 16, but turn in your Bibles to John chapter five to begin with.
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And let me just show you a couple of verses that will express the attitude of our Lord. Look in John chapter five and verse 30. I could multiply these verses, but these two will be sufficient to demonstrate the confidence of trust. Look at it if you would please. John 5 and verse 30, our Lord says this: "I can of Mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent Me."
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Now I could stop right there and preach all afternoon. I could give you illustration after illustration how our Lord sought the will of the Father, never deviated, never turned. Do you remember how He's tempted of the devil? How the devil tried to get Him to turn bread into stones, to cast Himself from the temple? And what did our Lord say? "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." "It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." He never deviated. He never took His eyes from the Lord. Even in the garden, when He prayed and sweat great drops of sweat as blood, what did He say?
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"Not My will, but Thine be done." He set His eyes upon the Lord. Look in John 8 and verse 29. I've often thought of this verse. Would it be a blessing if you and I could truthfully say what our Lord said? Look in John 8 and verse 29. Jesus Christ said, "And He that sent Me is with Me. The Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him." Oh, would it not be wonderful that if you and I could always do those things that please Him? Now, what did David say? David said, "I've set the Lord always before mine eyes." I suppose one of the answers as to how that we can always please the Lord is that we always keep Him before our eyes. We understand that He is to be honored and worshiped in all things. The confidence of trust then becomes evident when we understand that it is our duty, our privilege, our honor, and our responsibility to exercise this same confidence in the Lord that David did and Christ did to the Father.
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You say, "Well, how in the world do we exercise that same confidence?" Well, may I remind you of Hebrews 11 and verse six. Let me just quote: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must"—what?—"first, believe that He is, and secondly, that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him." Without faith, it is impossible to please the Lord.
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So we're to always set Him before our face. We're to acknowledge that He is and that He is indeed a rewarder of those who faithfully seek Him. Let me give you a quote from Joseph Caryl. And some of you probably do not know the name Joseph Caryl, but he was an old Puritan. And he was one of those expositors that took everything chapter by chapter, verse by verse, word by word. And Joseph Caryl preached forty years just on the book of Job. Just on the book of Job.
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I have many of his messages. He was quite an expositor. But here's what Joseph Caryl said concerning Psalm 16 and verse eight: "I have set the Lord always before me." "He that by faith eyes God continually as his protector in trouble shall not be moved with any evil that he suffers. And he that eyes God by faith as his pattern in holiness shall not be moved from doing that which is good."
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"This thought, the Lord is at our right hand, keeps us from turning either to the right hand or to the left. It is said of Enoch that he walked with God, Genesis 5:22. And though the history of his life was very short, yet it is said a second time in Genesis 5:24 that he walked with God. He walked so much with God that he walked as God."
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"He did not walk as men. He walked so little like the world that his stay was little in the world. He was not, said the text, for God took him. He took him from the world to Himself, or as the author to the Hebrews reports it, he was translated that he should not see death, for he had this testimony that he pleased God." So he's giving the illustration there of Enoch. Enoch walked with God because he walked as God.
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What Lester Roloff used to say about that passage. Lester Roloff used to say that Enoch walked with God and he walked so much with God, he was so much like God. And one day as they were walking, God said, "Enoch, you know, it's closer to My house than yours. You just come home with Me." He said, and that's what happened. And Enoch just walked in with the Lord and never came back. Well, that's certainly true. But when we set the Lord before us always, He will continually be in our mind. What does it mean when we say, "I've set the Lord always before me"?
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It means that He is in our thoughts. He is in our desires. We want His will, His word, and His way. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles, if you would, hold Psalm 16, but turn to Isaiah 26. Isaiah 26, and let's read verses eight and nine. "I have set the Lord always before me." What does it mean? It means that we want His will, His word, His way. It means that the desire of our soul is to Him. So in Isaiah 26, beginning there verse eight, look what the scripture says: "Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for Thee." Now notice, "in the way of Thy judgments"—in other words, our lives have been brought in conformity to Your word. So "yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for Thee; the desire of our soul is to Thy name and to the remembrance of Thee. With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early."
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"For when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." Now notice what is said: "With my soul have I desired Thee in the night." I suppose that everyone in this room wakes up sometime during the night. The question is, what do you do when you wake up? I don't mean just get up and go to the bathroom. What's on your mind when you wake up? Do you wake up praying? Do you wake up saying, "Lord, thank You for Your protection. Thank You for Your blessing. Lord, since I'm awake right now, please make me more holy, more godly, more desirous of Thee"? What did Isaiah say? "With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early." And when you wake up in the morning, is He still on your mind?
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Have you set Him before your face? Do you understand that if we really, genuinely desire to honor the Lord, it will set us to thinking, meditating, musing on how best we can honor Him and obey Him. So David said, "I've set the Lord always before me." Christ now is to be set before us as the object of our faith and our hope. We trust in Him. We depend upon Him, not just merely for our salvation, but for everything in life, for our protection, for our provision. Just as Christ set the Father before Himself, so we set now Christ before ourselves.
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We have an eye to His glory. He is to be the ultimate end of our action. He is to be the desire of our soul. We're to follow His orders and His commands. His Word is to rule our lives in every area, in every aspect. It is His power, His grace, His mercy that is to be manifest in our lives. We're to follow His counsel, obey His covenant, and seek His support and encouragement in everything.
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Just like Christ set the Father always before Him, so we're to set Christ always before us.
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Now go back to Psalm 16. Look at verse eight again. So again the psalmist said, Psalm 16 verse eight, "I have set the Lord always before me."
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Now he says, "Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Now, in a recent sermon in Psalm 18, I went through and showed you the import of being at the right hand. But here this phrase is used to identify someone who has been taken in, so to speak, supported by someone. In other words, for instance, the right hand is not only a place of support and comfort, it is also a place of safeguard.
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Have you ever noticed little children when they are scared or terrified, if their father is nearby, what do they do? They run and they wrap themselves around his leg and he usually puts his arm around them, usually the right arm, and they nuzzle under it and they stay there for the protection. Now the psalmist said, "Because He is at my right hand." What does that imply? Well, look in Psalm 109 to begin with. Psalm 109 and verse 31. Psalm 109 and verse 31. Look what the scripture says concerning the Lord: "For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul." He shall stand at the right hand of the poor. Why? To save him. Now wait a minute. The psalmist said, "Because He is at my right hand." He's right here next to me. What's he implying? He's implying that he's going to be saved, he's going to be delivered, because God is right there. Look in Psalm 121 and verse five. Psalm 121 and verse five.
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"The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night"—that's verse six. Verse five: "The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, even forevermore." Now isn't it interesting in verse five, he says, "The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand." Why? He said, "Look, I'll preserve you from all evil. I'll preserve your coming out and your going in. The sun's not going to smite you by day, nor the moon's going to smite you by night. I am here, I will protect thee." So the Lord is not only here to protect but also to counsel and to instruct.
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Now, I want you to go back to Acts 2 and verse 25 because I told you earlier we would come back to this passage because Psalm 16 and verse eight is applied directly to Christ in Acts 2 and verse 25, and I want to read this again in light of His statement, "The Lord is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." So in Acts 2 and verse 25: "For David speaketh concerning Him," Christ, "I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand"—note that—"that I should not be moved."
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Now the Greek word for "see" here means "to see before us" or "to be present with us" or "to regard Him as being near us." In other words, we are expecting assistance from Him. And that is the meaning here: that Christ expected, Christ waited for the blessing and protection and the power of God. When we expect the Lord to be at our right hand, what we're saying in essence is this: we're helpless and we're dependent. We need You. We want You.
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We can't do without You. John Gill, that old Baptist Puritan, said this: "Christ always had Jehovah in view throughout the whole of His life. And in His last moments, He had respect unto the glory of His perfections as the ultimate end of obedience and sufferings, and to His purposes, counsel and covenant, which were to be accomplished by Him, and to His will and command in preaching the gospel, working miracles, going about to do good and obeying the precept and bearing the penalty of the law, as well as to His promises and His power to assist, support and
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preserve Him as man and mediator." So he is saying what I've shown before in scripture: that Christ always had reference to the Father and expected and waited for His support and His comfort and His assistance.
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Now notice what else is said in verse eight. Psalm 16 verse eight: "I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." I shall not be moved. In other words, no great evil, no great calamity should happen to me that would make me or force me or coerce me to move from keeping my eye upon the Lord and having Him always in front of me.
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So this phrase then denotes to sink into calamities or to fall in the power of the enemy. In other words, nothing like that will ever deter us. Since we're in Psalms, look in Psalm 62. Psalm 62. And I want you to look at verse two and verse six. You're going to find that they are identical. Psalm 62, verse two, with the exception of one word. Psalm 62, verse two, referring to God:
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"He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved."
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Now look at verse six: "He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved." So the expression then is one who is in calamities, but instead of falling, he puts his trust in the Lord and consequently deliverance is found. If you were to stop—and I want you to just for a moment—and think concerning Christ and all of the difficulties that He faced and all of the difficulties that He went through. Christ was not moved from His nation or from His place.
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Although everyone was against Him practically. What does the scripture say? "He came unto His own, but His own received Him not." So, Christ was not moved from His place or His nation. He was not moved from the duty of His office. He was not moved from the execution of that office. All of the threats and menaces of men, all of the temptations of Satan, all of the rebelliousness of the people, all the terrors of death, all the flaming sword of justice, all the wrath of God did not move Christ
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from the accomplishment of His task. In the midst of every difficulty, in the midst of every calamity, He kept His eye upon His Father and remained unmoved and unshaken. You know what the scripture says in Isaiah 42 and verse four speaking of Christ? Listen: "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He set judgment in the earth: the isles shall wait for His law." He shall not fail nor be discouraged. How could He fail? How could He be discouraged? Because He had His eye always upon the Lord.
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Now, look in your Bibles. Turn please to Isaiah 50. I want to read four verses for you. Isaiah 50, showing you that Christ was not moved, Christ was not discouraged, even through all the sufferings. Look in Isaiah chapter 50, beginning there with verse five, and this passage is also applied directly to Christ in the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews. Isaiah 50 and verse five: "The Lord God hath opened Mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned back." Now wait a minute. When He says "the Lord God hath opened Mine ear," it doesn't mean that Christ was deaf, that He couldn't hear. What does it mean when He says "the Lord God has opened Mine ear"? Do you not remember the Old Testament?
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When a Hebrew servant had become a slave, he could be a slave for six years to a fellow Hebrew, but on the seventh year he had to go free. Unless the slave came to his master and said—and the master had given him his wife—"I love my wife, I love my children, I love my master, I will not leave you. I will be your slave forever." Then the master took the servant and opened his ear, bored a hole in his ear, so that everyone would know that he was a dedicated slave and a dedicated servant. Christ said to the Father, "Thou shalt open My ear. I'm Your servant." He came to do the will of the Father. Now look: "The Lord God hath opened Mine ear. I was not rebellious, neither turned back." You look at everything that Christ went through. He says in verse six: "I gave My back to the smiters."
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He was beaten with a cat-o'-nine-tails. "My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair." They plucked His beard out. "I hid not My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help Me; therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth Me; who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is Mine adversary? Let him come near to Me. Behold, the Lord God will help Me."
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"Who is he that shall condemn Me? Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up." Did you hear what He said? "The Lord God will help Me." In all of His difficulties, He was not moved. Nothing deterred Him from His task, from His duty, from His responsibility, from His devotion, from His accomplishment.
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Now let me ask you a question. How does all this about Christ apply to us? You say, "Pastor, I know that Christ was the victor. I know that Christ is victorious in all things. And yes, when David said in Psalm 16 verse eight, 'I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved,' yes, that verse is applied directly to Jesus Christ in Acts 2 verse 25. So, how does it all apply to me?" Well, let me just tell you, we must remember that Christ is our example in all things.
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I want to give you very quickly today four ways that this applies to us. First, if we are not to be moved, we must set Christ before our eyes. If we are not to be moved, we must set Christ before our eyes. We must see Him in order to prevail. I want you to think again of all the temptation, persecution, and trouble that Moses went through. Think of the temptation that Moses faced with all the pride, the prestige, the power and riches of Egypt. Remember the Bible tells us that Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. What does that mean? That means Moses would have been in line to inherit the throne. Everything in Egypt would have been his. But he refused that. And when he refused, that same power then turned around and persecuted him. And Moses had to flee and leave Egypt and go and hide in the desert. But you know what the Bible says in Hebrews 11 and verse 27? Let me read it to you. "By faith Moses"—by faith Moses—"forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible."
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What's that tell you? He set the Lord before his eyes. "Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible." You know, it would be interesting to study eyes in the Bible. Have you ever thought about that? The eyes? Have you ever considered that the first sin was committed by taking the eyes off the Lord and His Word?
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In Genesis 3 and verse five, we have the temptation. And the serpent said to Eve, "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Now I want you to listen to verse six: "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." You know what you have in Genesis three in verse six? You have the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. And all three of those came because she took her eyes off the Lord.
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Consequently, since that time, man is imputed with sin, born in sin. And the scripture tells us in 1 John 2 and verse 16, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." Isn't that amazing? It all started with the eyes. I hope now that we can see why men cannot see. They're blind.
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Moses endured as seeing Him who is invisible. The problem is people are blind and they can't see the Lord. Look in your Bibles to Acts 28 and I want you to look closely at verse 27. Because the problem is not just that men cannot see, it is also that they do not want to see. It is true that they cannot see. They do not have the ability in and of themselves, but it's also true that they do not want to see. For in Acts chapter 28 and verse 27, the apostle is quoting from Isaiah. And he says, "For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." But they purposely, deliberately close their ears and close their eyes so they cannot see and cannot hear. You know what? Those of us who can see ought to be able to give the Lord honor and glory and praise.
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And we ought to be able to say with that man who was born blind, in John 9 and verse 25, when they kept interrogating him and asking him who it was that healed you, he says, "I know not. But one thing I do know, that whereas I was blind, now I see." You may not be able to explain regeneration, but one thing you do know, that you now see what at one time you did not see. And let me tell you what one of the problems is. One of the problems, even among professing Christians, is that we do not see as clearly as we should see.
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Look in your Bibles to Revelation chapter three. Revelation chapter three. Brother was talking earlier about the messages to the churches. In Revelation chapter three, you have another statement that our Lord sent to the church. Revelation chapter three, notice if you would please, beginning there with verse 17. Revelation 3 verse 17, and of course this is a message to the church at Laodicea. Revelation 3 verse 17, God says to the church, not to the heathen now, but to the church: "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." You know what? And I know there are exceptions. I understand this. But when you talk and think about the church movement in America today, the mega churches, the big churches, they can say, "I'm rich, I'm increased with goods, I have need of nothing."
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That's what they actually think. We have driven by some church buildings and I told Alice, I said, "You know, I'd be satisfied with just a buck for each brick that's in that building." You look at that church building on 75 North of Atlanta. Lord have mercy. There's millions of bricks in that building. You know, it's interesting that most of these churches have big buildings, only use them once or twice a week. I mean, really? They'll have multi-million dollar buildings, all that money invested, and only use it one time a week, maybe twice. What did God say? Our Lord said, "You say you're rich, and you have plenty of goods, and you have need of nothing." But our Lord said, "You don't even understand that you're poor, and blind, and wretched, and naked, and you need eyesalve that you can see." And He was not talking to the heathen, He's talking to the church.
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The truth of the matter is this, folks. Most of the professing Christians in this day and age cannot see the truth that's clearly enunciated in the Word of God. And if the truth was known, most of them really and truly do not even want to know the truth. Because if they knew it, they'd have to do something about it. You remember how Sarah lied and said that Abraham was her brother? You remember that in Genesis 20?
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And Abimelech, the king, took her and would have lain with her. But God came to him at night and said, "That's a man's wife and you touch her, you're a dead man. I'll kill you." And Abimelech said, "In the integrity of my heart, I've done this thing. Did she not say that he's my brother? Did he not say she's my sister?" And the Lord answered Abimelech, and He said, "Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thine heart, therefore have I withheld thee from sinning against Me." God did not allow Abimelech to touch Sarah. And the next morning, when Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, he reproved Sarah, and he said this: "Behold, he," that is Abraham, "is to thee a covering of thine eyes, and to all that are with thee, and all other: thus she was reproved." And in other words, here's what he told Sarah.
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"You need to look at no one but your husband. Period. He is the covering to your eyes." And dear friend, may I tell you, that applies to us as Christians. We need to look only at Jesus Christ. He is the covering to our eyes. He is our bridegroom. He is our husband. And we need to keep Him before our eyes. If we are not going to be moved, we must have Him before our eyes. Secondly, and very quickly, if we are not to be moved, we must know God's will for our lives. We must know what our duty is, as it's revealed in the Word of God, and never, ever deviate from that duty.
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Now, let me say it again. If we're not to be moved, we must know God's will for our lives. Christ knew the will of the Father and He did it. We must know God's will for our lives.
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Now, I can assure you there are many things in this world that we don't know. And we'll probably never know them until we get to glory. There are some things in this world that we do not understand. And we'll never understand them until we get to glory. But there is one thing that is very clear and very distinct. And that is the infallible, inerrant, inspired Word of God. There is one thing that is very clear and very distinct. That is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. I get so sometimes tickled, sometimes aggravated at people who want to get into these theological discussions that amount to absolutely nothing. Did you know at one time during the medieval ages, there was a theological discussion as to how many angels could stand on the head of a pin?
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What difference does it make? Who would know? Who could prove one way or the other? You know, people always want to talk. I heard about one man who preached seven sermons on the seven thunders out of the book of Revelation. And when the seven thunders uttered their voice and John was about to write, the angel said, "Seal up those and don't write that." How can you preach on the voice of the seven thunders when nobody knows what they said?
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Now I'm telling you all that to give you Deuteronomy 29:29. Listen carefully. "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God. But the things which He hath revealed belong unto us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." And that's amazing. I don't know about the secret things of the Lord. I don't know why such and such happened. I don't know what happened ten thousand years ago or five thousand. I don't know. But I know one thing: God has revealed everything that we need to know in this book. And He revealed it so that we may do it. And you may rest assured if you obey the Word of God, you are doing the will of the Father. His Word is given for the totality of our lives.
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And let me just simply make this clear. It's not just knowing the will of God that is important. It is doing the will of God. Our Lord said in John 13 and verse 17, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." And then our Lord said in Luke 6 in verse 47, "Whoso cometh to Me and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like."
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And you remember that passage in the book of James chapter one, where he talks about a man, "If any man be a hearer and not a doer of the word, he is like a man beholding himself in a glass" or in a mirror "and straightway goeth and forgetteth what manner of man he was." But he said, "Whosoever heareth and doeth My word, this man shall be blessed in his deed." So it's not just hearing the word of God. We must actually do the word of God. We must obey. We must bring our lives in conformity to the word of God.
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Thirdly, if you want to know how this applies to us in Psalm 16 and verse eight: if we are not to be moved, we must not be intimidated by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Did criticism stop Christ? Did gossip, lies, slander, innuendos, and downright hatred hinder Christ? No. How about threats of imprisonment? How about threats of persecution? How about threats of death? No. None of those stopped Christ. None of those hindered Christ. Well, let me ask you, how is it that you and I are so easily intimidated and frightened by the wicked? Do we need courage? Yes. Do we need character? Yes. Do we need conviction? Yes. But do you remember those questions that were asked by God in Psalm 94 and verse 16? Listen to these. Here's what God asks.
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"Who will rise up for Me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for Me against the workers of iniquity?" What is He asking? He's asking for someone with some courage who will stand up and say, "Look, what you're doing is wicked and wrong and ungodly. Here's what God demands." You know, He said in Psalm 97 and verse 10, "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil." Have you ever understood that you really can't love the Lord unless you hate the evil?
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You cannot embrace opposites at the same time. If you love the Lord, you hate evil. If you love evil, you hate the Lord. It's just that simple. And so our Lord is saying, we have to learn to be fearless and determined. Isn't it amazing that our enemies don't give a flip about what Christ says, or the Word of God, or our feelings, or anything? They just hate Christ.
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And we're so afraid that we're going to offend someone. Do you remember what our Lord said when He got through preaching and His disciples came and said, "Knowest Thou not that the Pharisees were offended at Thy saying?" Our Lord started shaking and trembling and says, "Oh, that really bothers Me. That really upsets Me." Is that what happened? No. You know what our Lord said? "Let them alone."
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"Every plant which My heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall in the ditch." So translated in good South Georgia language: when they said, "Knowest Thou not that the Pharisees were offended at Thy saying?" He said, "Tough stuff. They'll die in their sins. It doesn't bother Me that they cannot
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and will not hear the truth of God." You know what the Bible says in 2 Timothy 1 verse seven? Here's a passage you need to remember. "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Now if God has not given us a spirit of fear, then we have to ask the question, from where does fear arrive?
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Where does it come from? The only places left are the world, the flesh, and the devil. If God doesn't give it to us, that means we're intimidated either by the world, the flesh, or the devil. Why should we be intimidated by all of that which is going to perish and be destroyed when we have the sovereign, omnipotent, eternal God at our right hand? I shall not be moved.
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Fourthly, very quickly, if you're not to be moved, and if you experience God's protection and ultimate deliverance, you must remain faithful to the end. Did Christ remain faithful to the end? Sure. You know, it seems to me that I read somewhere in the Bible that there's a great deal concerning this truth about being faithful to the end. Hmm? Somewhere. For instance, Hebrews 3 and verse six, let me read it: "But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of hope firm unto the end." How about Hebrews 3:14? "We're made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." How about Hebrews 6:11? "And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end."
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How about Revelation 2:26? "And he that overcometh and keepeth My works unto the end, will I give him power over all the nations." How about Revelation 2 and verse 10? "Fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life."
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Now, I want you to go back to Psalm 16 and look at verse eight. And I want to just make one comment, and I want to close. But look at Psalm 16, verse eight. Please understand the impact and the application of this verse to each of us. David said, "I have set the Lord always before me"—always—"because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." What does that mean? Here it is.
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We must learn to never give up, never give in, never quit, never compromise, never be discouraged, never be depressed. Why? We are not victims, we are the victor. We are not the conquered, we are the conquerors. In fact, scripture tells us that we are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ. How in the world could you not be faithful when you know and understand that ultimately you will win and not just temporarily but permanently and for eternity.
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I got news for you. We've already won. Because Christ is risen from the dead. He's seated at the right hand of God. And as our sovereign God told His Son, "Sit Thou here till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." Can you say with David? Can you say with Christ? "I've set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask that You would help us, speak to our hearts, deal in our souls. Give us, Lord, a holy determination that we will always set Thee before our eyes, that we'd always trust in Thee. And because Thou art our right hand, we'll never be moved. May we never give up, never give in, never quit, never compromise, but stand true and faithful unto Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:01:41Z

Psalm 16 The Golden Psalm Part 3 of 4

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this third part of the series on Psalm 16, Pastor John Weaver focuses on verse 8, 'I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.' He explains that this verse applies primarily to Jesus Christ, who perfectly kept the Father before His eyes and was not moved by any trial. The sermon then applies this confidence of trust to believers, urging them to set Christ before their eyes, know and do God's will, not be intimidated by the world, and remain faithful to the end.

Opening

Scripture Reading — Psalm 16:1-8

"Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord. My goodness extendeth not to Thee, but to the saints that are in the earth and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god."

Review of Previous Messages

Introduction to the Confidence of Trust (v. 8)

Weaver introduces the third point: the confidence of trust, focusing on verse 8, which applies directly to Jesus Christ as the greater David.

Setting the Lord Always Before Us

Explains the Hebrew meaning of 'set' as equally set or proposed, and connects it to Acts 2:25 where Christ foresaw the Lord always before His face, meaning constant, unwavering focus on God.

Scripture Reading — Acts 2:25

"For David speaketh concerning Him,"

that is concerning Christ. And then here verse eight is quoted.

Scripture Reading — Acts 2:25

"I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved."

Now right now all I want to call your attention to is the word "foresaw." The Greek word here literally means "to see before," "to keep before one's eyes," and "to be mindful of one's ways."

Christ's Example of Unwavering Focus

Uses John 5:30 and John 8:29 to show Christ always sought the Father's will and did what pleased Him, never deviating even under temptation or in Gethsemane.

Scripture Reading — John 5:30

"I can of Mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent Me."

Scripture Reading — John 8:29

"And He that sent Me is with Me. The Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him."

The Meaning of 'He Is at My Right Hand'

Explains that the right hand signifies support, comfort, and safeguard, citing Psalms 109:31 and 121:5 to show God's protective presence.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 121:5-8

Now, I want you to go back to Acts 2 and verse 25 because I told you earlier we would come back to this passage because Psalm 16 and verse eight is applied directly to Christ in Acts 2 and verse 25, and I want to read this again in light of His statement, "The Lord is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." So in Acts 2 and verse 25: "For David speaketh concerning Him," Christ, "I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand"—note that—"that I should not be moved."

Christ's Unmoved Steadfastness

Shows from Isaiah 50:5-9 that Christ was not moved by suffering, shame, or opposition, setting His face like flint because the Lord God helped Him.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 42:4

Now, look in your Bibles. Turn please to Isaiah 50. I want to read four verses for you. Isaiah 50, showing you that Christ was not moved, Christ was not discouraged, even through all the sufferings. Look in Isaiah chapter 50, beginning there with verse five, and this passage is also applied directly to Christ in the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews. Isaiah 50 and verse five: "The Lord God hath opened Mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned back." Now wait a minute. When He says "the Lord God hath opened Mine ear," it doesn't mean that Christ was deaf, that He couldn't hear. What does it mean when He says "the Lord God has opened Mine ear"? Do you not remember the Old Testament?

Application: How This Applies to Believers

Weaver gives four applications: set Christ before our eyes, know and do God's will, not be intimidated by the world/flesh/devil, and remain faithful to the end.

First Application: Set Christ Before Our Eyes

Uses Moses (Hebrews 11:27) and the Laodicean church (Revelation 3:17-18) to urge believers to keep their eyes on Christ alone, as He is the covering of our eyes.

Scripture Reading — Acts 28:27

"For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

Scripture Reading — Revelation 3:17-18

"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see."

You know what? And I know there are exceptions. I understand this. But when you talk and think about the church movement in America today, the mega churches, the big churches, they can say,

Scripture Reading — Revelation 3:17-18

"I'm rich, I'm increased with goods, I have need of nothing."

Second Application: Know and Do God's Will

Emphasizes that God has revealed His will in Scripture (Deuteronomy 29:29) and that we must not only know it but do it (John 13:17; James 1:22-25).

Now, let me say it again. If we're not to be moved, we must know God's will for our lives. Christ knew the will of the Father and He did it. We must know God's will for our lives.

Third Application: Do Not Be Intimidated

Encourages believers not to fear the world, flesh, or devil, citing Psalm 94:16, Psalm 97:10, and 2 Timothy 1:7, and noting Christ's boldness when Pharisees were offended.

and will not hear the truth of God." You know what the Bible says in 2 Timothy 1 verse seven? Here's a passage you need to remember.

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 1:7

"For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

Fourth Application: Remain Faithful to the End

Calls for perseverance, citing Hebrews 3:6, 3:14, 6:11, and Revelation 2:26, 2:10, and concludes that believers are more than conquerors through Christ.

Closing Exhortation and Prayer

Weaver challenges the congregation to say with David and Christ, 'I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved,' and closes in prayer.

Psalm 16 The Golden Psalm Part 3 of 4

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	R77kzBrleyE
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation: Christ and the Churches
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-01-26
Dictation Name
Book	Book 159: Psalm 16 — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	77

Lecture Guide

Outline

Review of Previous Messages: Weaver reviews the first seven verses of Psalm 16, covering the confession of trust (vv. 1-3) and the contentment of trust, including the curse of idolatry (v. 4) and the comfort of fidelity (vv. 5-7).
Introduction to the Confidence of Trust (v. 8): Weaver introduces the third point: the confidence of trust, focusing on verse 8, which applies directly to Jesus Christ as the greater David.
Setting the Lord Always Before Us: Explains the Hebrew meaning of 'set' as equally set or proposed, and connects it to Acts 2:25 where Christ foresaw the Lord always before His face, meaning constant, unwavering focus on God.
Christ's Example of Unwavering Focus: Uses John 5:30 and John 8:29 to show Christ always sought the Father's will and did what pleased Him, never deviating even under temptation or in Gethsemane.
The Meaning of 'He Is at My Right Hand': Explains that the right hand signifies support, comfort, and safeguard, citing Psalms 109:31 and 121:5 to show God's protective presence.
Christ's Unmoved Steadfastness: Shows from Isaiah 50:5-9 that Christ was not moved by suffering, shame, or opposition, setting His face like flint because the Lord God helped Him.
Application: How This Applies to Believers: Weaver gives four applications: set Christ before our eyes, know and do God's will, not be intimidated by the world/flesh/devil, and remain faithful to the end.
First Application: Set Christ Before Our Eyes: Uses Moses (Hebrews 11:27) and the Laodicean church (Revelation 3:17-18) to urge believers to keep their eyes on Christ alone, as He is the covering of our eyes.
Second Application: Know and Do God's Will: Emphasizes that God has revealed His will in Scripture (Deuteronomy 29:29) and that we must not only know it but do it (John 13:17; James 1:22-25).
Third Application: Do Not Be Intimidated: Encourages believers not to fear the world, flesh, or devil, citing Psalm 94:16, Psalm 97:10, and 2 Timothy 1:7, and noting Christ's boldness when Pharisees were offended.
Fourth Application: Remain Faithful to the End: Calls for perseverance, citing Hebrews 3:6, 3:14, 6:11, and Revelation 2:26, 2:10, and concludes that believers are more than conquerors through Christ.
Closing Exhortation and Prayer: Weaver challenges the congregation to say with David and Christ, 'I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved,' and closes in prayer.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Psalm 16:8 is Messianic

The verse applies directly to Jesus Christ, as confirmed by Peter's quotation in Acts 2:25, where Christ is said to have foreseen the Lord always before His face.

Weaver says, 'Now we must remember that this verse applies directly to Jesus Christ... For David speaketh concerning Him, that is concerning Christ. And then here verse eight is quoted.'

Setting the Lord Before Us Means Constant Devotion

The Hebrew word implies a fixed, continuous gaze, not intermittent service; both David and Christ served God without deviation.

Weaver explains, 'It means they did not serve Him with fits and feelings, stops and starts, up and down. No, no. Their service was constant and continuous.'

Christ's Unwavering Obedience

Jesus always sought the Father's will (John 5:30) and always did what pleased Him (John 8:29), even in the face of temptation and suffering.

Weaver cites John 5:30 and John 8:29, then says, 'He never deviated. He never took His eyes from the Lord.'

The Right Hand Signifies Divine Assistance

Being at the right hand means God is present to protect, support, and deliver, as seen in Psalms 109:31 and 121:5.

Weaver says, 'He shall stand at the right hand of the poor. Why? To save him.'

Christ Was Not Moved by Suffering

Isaiah 50:5-9 shows Christ set His face like flint, enduring beating, mocking, and spitting, trusting in God's help and not being confounded.

Weaver reads Isaiah 50:6-7 and comments, 'In all of His difficulties, He was not moved. Nothing deterred Him from His task.'

Believers Must Keep Their Eyes on Christ

Like Moses who endured as seeing Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27), Christians must fix their eyes on Christ alone, not on the world's allurements.

Weaver says, 'We need to look only at Jesus Christ. He is the covering to our eyes.'

Doing God's Will Requires Obedience to Scripture

God has revealed everything necessary for life and godliness in the Bible (Deuteronomy 29:29), and blessing comes from doing, not just hearing (James 1:22-25).

Weaver states, 'God has revealed everything that we need to know in this book. And He revealed it so that we may do it.'

Fear Is Not from God

2 Timothy 1:7 says God gives a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, not fear; therefore, fear comes from the world, flesh, or devil, and believers should not be intimidated.

Weaver says, 'If God has not given us a spirit of fear, then we have to ask the question, from where does fear arrive? ... The only places left are the world, the flesh, and the devil.'

Scripture References

Psalm 16:1-8: The primary text of the sermon; Weaver reads and expounds these verses, focusing on verse 8.
Acts 2:25: Peter applies Psalm 16:8 directly to Christ, showing He foresaw the Lord always before His face.
Luke 9:62: Jesus said no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God, illustrating unwavering focus.
Colossians 3:2: Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, paralleling the call to fix eyes on God.
John 5:30: Jesus said He can do nothing of Himself but seeks the will of the Father who sent Him.
John 8:29: Jesus said the Father has not left Him alone because He always does what pleases Him.
Hebrews 11:6: Without faith it is impossible to please God; those who come to Him must believe He is and rewards those who diligently seek Him.
Isaiah 26:8-9: The desire of the soul is to God's name and remembrance; seeking Him early and in the night.
Psalm 109:31: God stands at the right hand of the poor to save him from those who condemn his soul.
Psalm 121:5-8: The Lord is your keeper and shade at your right hand, preserving you from all evil.
Psalm 62:2, 6: God is my rock and salvation; I shall not be moved (or greatly moved).
Isaiah 42:4: Christ shall not fail nor be discouraged till He sets judgment in the earth.
Isaiah 50:5-9: Christ's obedience and suffering; He set His face like flint, knowing God would help Him.
Hebrews 11:27: Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the king's wrath, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
Genesis 3:5-6: The first sin involved the eyes; Eve saw the tree was pleasant and took the fruit.
1 John 2:16: The lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life are of the world, not the Father.
Acts 28:27: People have closed their eyes lest they see and be converted; they do not want to see.
Revelation 3:17-18: The Laodicean church is blind and needs eyesalve to see, though they think they are rich.
Deuteronomy 29:29: Secret things belong to God, but revealed things belong to us so we may do all the words of the law.
2 Timothy 1:7: God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Historical References

Joseph Caryl (Puritan expositor): Weaver quotes Caryl's commentary on Psalm 16:8 about eying God continually as protector and pattern.
Lester Roloff (evangelist): Weaver recounts Roloff's humorous illustration about Enoch walking so much with God that God took him home.
John Gill (Baptist Puritan commentator): Weaver quotes Gill's explanation that Christ always had Jehovah in view throughout His life and ministry.
Medieval theological debate about angels on a pinhead: Weaver mentions this as an example of useless theological speculation, contrasting it with the clear Word of God.

Important Quotes

I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

The central verse of the sermon, expressing the confidence of trust in God's presence and protection.

He that by faith eyes God continually as his protector in trouble shall not be moved with any evil that he suffers. And he that eyes God by faith as his pattern in holiness shall not be moved from doing that which is good.

Joseph Caryl's quote summarizing the dual benefit of setting the Lord before us: protection and holy living.

I can of Mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent Me.

Christ's own words demonstrating His complete dependence on and devotion to the Father's will.

And He that sent Me is with Me. The Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.

Christ's testimony that His constant obedience ensured the Father's presence, modeling the believer's call to please God.

By faith Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.

Illustrates that setting the Lord before our eyes enables endurance and fearlessness in the face of worldly threats.

For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Key verse used to argue that fear does not come from God, so believers should not be intimidated by the world, flesh, or devil.

We must learn to never give up, never give in, never quit, never compromise, never be discouraged, never be depressed. Why? We are not victims, we are the victor.

The concluding exhortation to persevere based on the confidence that Christ has already secured the victory.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean practically to 'set the Lord always before me' in daily life?

[Context]

Weaver explains that it means constant focus on God, not serving Him with fits and starts.

[Question]

How does Christ's example of always doing what pleases the Father (John 8:29) challenge our own obedience?

[Context]

Weaver highlights Christ's unwavering devotion and asks if we can truthfully say the same.

[Question]

In what ways are we tempted to take our eyes off the Lord, and how can we resist?

[Context]

Weaver discusses the lust of the eyes and the world's distractions, using Eve's temptation as an example.

[Question]

Why is it important not only to know God's will but to do it, and what hinders us from doing so?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that blessing comes from doing, not just hearing, and warns against being hearers only.

[Question]

What fears or intimidations from the world, flesh, or devil most affect you, and how does 2 Timothy 1:7 address them?

[Context]

Weaver argues that fear does not come from God and challenges believers to identify sources of fear.

[Question]

How can we cultivate the kind of perseverance that remains faithful 'unto the end' despite trials?

[Context]

Weaver cites multiple Hebrews and Revelation passages about holding fast and overcoming.

[Question]

What does it mean to be 'more than conquerors' in Christ, and how should that shape our response to difficulties?

[Context]

Weaver concludes that believers have already won because Christ is risen and reigning.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:14:28Z