What Satisfies You?
Psalm 17:1-15
V15 "....I shall
be satisfied when I awake with thy
likeness" What satisfies you, what makes you content. What is it that satisfies the righteous
person and what satisfies the ungodly.
Different things satisfy either category, not the same things, different
things. The righteous and the ungodly,
they are both looking for different things out of life, their goals and
desires. Their purpose in living is
vastly different.
What satisfies you
points to what you are: righteous or ungodly.
This psalm is a prayer of David, the king of Jerusalem, the greatest
historic king of Israel. In this prayer
David compares the righteous and the wicked, the godly and the ungodly. It is good to take stock and ask what are we,
it is good to measure ourselves according to the scriptures. Am I growing in
grace, am I becoming more like Christ, are my prayers becoming better, do we
love the Lord more, do I trust him more, do I love his word more, is he more
precious to me. Are we growing
spiritually. God's people either grow or
else they fall away, they don't remain the same, not ever. 2 Peter 3:14-18. "Wherefore, beloved,
seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in
peace, without spot, and blameless. And
account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved
brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you:
as also in all his epistles speaking in them of these things; in which are some
things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest,
as they do also the other scripture, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these
things before, beware lest ye also being led away with the error of the wicked,
fall from your own stedfastness. But
grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen".
The cure for falling away, falling from our steadfastness is growing in
grace. Are we growing, are we really on
the narrow way.
Let us examine
ourselves in the light of this psalm.
What satisfies us?
1. The Godly -
V1 "Hear the right, O LORD, attend
unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips."
The Godly person does not pray with feigned (deceitful) lips. If you have told a lie, the last thing you
want to do is pray. You will avoid
prayer because you are not right with God.
Prayer is not the favorite pastime for those with deceitful lips. The person who prays often has short accounts
with God and therefore their lives will not be deceitful. The righteous person wants justice, fairness.
V2
"Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes
behold the things that are equal" A
just person is a fair person. A
righteous person does not make excuses for evil doers nor justifies sin. They ask for nothing but fairness.
V3
"Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night;
thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall
not transgress." A righteous person is someone who is tested by God. David was tested. There is the dark night of the soul when God
tests the righteous.
V4-5
"Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept
me from the paths of the destroyer. Hold
up my goings in thy paths that my footsteps slip not." A righteous person is kept by God's word, by
God himself.
V6
"I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline
thine ear unto me, and hear my speech." A righteous person is heard by
God. The Lord hears the prayer of the
righteous, but if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.
V7 "Show thy marvellous
lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust
in thee from those that rise up against them." The righteous person is
saved. The right hand means strength, he
saves those who trust in him. The righteous person is someone to whom God shows
kindness, marvelous loving kindness.
V8 "Keep me as the apple of the eye,
hide me under the shadow of thy wings."
The righteous person is kept as the apple of God's eye, they are
protected and loved by God. They shelter
under the shadow of his wing. Is that
you?
2. The wicked, the
man of the world - the wicked V 9-14
V9 "from the wicked that oppress me,
from my deadly enemies, who compass me about." The wicked are the deadly enemy of the
righteous, they oppress the righteous.
They totally surround the righteous, isn't that true? its always been
true.
V10a They are inclosed in their own fat:
with their mouth they speak proudly." The wicked are prosperous. They are
enclosed in their own fat. (best, good)
They are surrounded by the best.
Materialism and prosperity, that is what they want and that is what they
get. Psalm 73:12 "Behold these are
the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches." There are
exceptions but they are exceptions:
David, Solomon but God made them prosperous, they did not make
themselves prosperous because it is the wicked that are enclosed in riches in
this world. It is very, very hard to
make yourself rich and yet remain pure in this world. To get all in this world you quite often have
to put up with a lot of sin, you have to
break God's law, lie, use people. You
sometimes have to compromise your position.
It's easy for riches to possess you, but its hard for you to possess
riches. That is why Jesus said "how
hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God, it is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle." These things also possess the people and
God's son says it is very hard for that type of a person to enter into God's
kingdom. V10b The ungodly speak proudly, proud speech is a
sign of the wicked. They boast. With their mouth they speak proudly out of
the abundance of their heart.
V11 "They have now compassed us in our
steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;" The righteous are surrounded by the wicked
and they infringe upon the righteous.
Their eyes, their vision are bowing down to the earth,all they see is
this world, their whole view is the here and now. Totally materialistic.
V12
"Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young
lion lurking in secret places."
Like a lion they hunt for everything the world gives.
V13-14 "Arise, O LORD, disappoint him,
cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: From men
which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in
this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of
children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes." The
wicked are the pawns of God. God uses the wicked to fulfill his plan eg King
Nebuchadnezzar. The wicked are God's
tools to chasten his people for a time.
Is that you? which are you?
3. What satisfies
either group - is it the same thing? Is it "believe in Jesus" and
continue on and enjoy the same things and you can hardly tell the difference
but one is saved and one is not. V14 Spurgeon says "they are mere dwellers in
this narrow sphere of mortality, having no hopes or wishes beyond the ground on
which they tread." Its all to do
with filling their belly, their children and the wills they leave. Satisfied with their portion in this life,
full of children. The hope of men has
always been that they have children to carry on their name. That satisfies the person of this world.
There is nothing wrong with children, having a will, but to be completely
satisfied with that is not enough. To be completely satisfied with those things
and leave God completely out of it, that is not enough. It maybe enough for the wicked but its not
enough for the righteous. What satisfies
the righteous?
V15 "As for me, I will behold thy face in
righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy
likeness." The righteous person has
a higher goal in life, they are not satisfied with material prosperity nor with
children to prolong their name, nor with passing on their things to their
children.. The righteous goal and desire goes beyond these things into
eternity, and the righteous says "as for me, I will behold God's face in
righteousness, I will be righteous before God." When God's face turns towards a person, they
are blessed. David says "I
shall" not yet, this is future.
There is only one thing that will satisfy the righteous person and that
is to awake with the likeness of Jesus.
To be changed from what we are to what we shall be is the only thing
that satisfies the righteous.
Are you satisfied the
way you are? if you are there is
something wrong with you. In a righteous
person there is always a strong desire which will only reach ultimate
satisfaction when we awake with him. We
have the things of earth, these are God's blessing, we do not covet them or go
after them, bu they do not satisfy, they are not our goal. Imagine having something as your goal which
is ultimately dust. Christians are
different, they have a higher goal than dust, and that is what distinguishes
the righteous from the wicked in this world.
You know it, and you know if you are righteous or wicked. Have you that desire for God? What will
satisfy you as time goes on? Are you
different from the world.
"Hope fills the
afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation that it can laugh when tears
are in the eye." "nothing is
more unbecoming of a heavenly hope than an earthly heart."
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