H. H. Snell
Psalm 16PSA 16
It is when the soul enters upon and takes possession of its new standing and relationships, as in Christ Jesus in heavenly places, that it necessarily becomes exercised as to the character of its walk down here. The reason is this. As long as the true believer finds all his need met by the cross as to sin and guilt, the question of walk is mainly as to morality, or propriety, and consistency in the world. But when he learns through the teaching of the Holy Spirit that the cross of Christ also declares the complete end of the first man, the Adam nature as put under the judgment of God, he has a different exercise of soul. He discovers also that the world in rejecting the Son of God had its doom sealed. All resources thus being cut off by the judgment of God in the cross, both as to man and the world, his confession is that he has no confidence in the flesh, and that he is not of the world.
All this becomes more and more real as he is able to see that in a risen and ascended Christ, God in His grace has given him righteousness, life, and completeness before Him. He not only sees, but enters upon and enjoys it in the presence of God. The conscience then becomes exercised about a walk down here suited to Him up there—a walk, not in the flesh, nor according to this present evil age, but suited to the calling and standing given us in Christ. This life and course will be fed and strengthened by Him in heaven, in whom God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. The walk now will be in the Spirit, and the life one of faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. It will, therefore, be characterized by dependence, communion, and hope, which three points are blessedly brought out in Psa. 16.
This psalm sets forth some of the perfect ways of our blessed Lord in passing through this scene. It is sweet to see that in it there was one object for His heart's delight. It is His saints in whom was all His delight. These, too, He distinguished from the apostate people who were hastening after another god. And if His heart's affections flowed out so blessedly to the faithful little remnant in Israel, what must be His heart's love now to us who are "members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones"?
Taking everything as He did from the hand of His God and Father, and walking always in the perfect sense of obedience to the will of Him that sent Him, He could say, "The lines are fallen unto Me in pleasant places." And no doubt the great secret of our going through this world in the enjoyment of the peace of God is walking in the path of obedience, and taking everything, painful or pleasant, from the hands of our gracious God and Father.
Dependence
For the reasons stated above, our path necessarily must be one of absolute dependence upon the Lord Jesus. In the days of His flesh, He voluntarily took this place. He was truly God; all fullness was pleased to dwell in Him. But we are told that He, being found in fashion as a man, humbled Himself, took upon Him the form of a servant, and became obedient, etc. We could not take upon ourselves the form of a servant, for we are servants and never were anything else. In this way the blessed Lord trod the path of faith perfectly, and has left us an example that we should follow His steps. Hence we are told that "when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.”
So it is in Psa. 16, the first words are, "Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust." How wondrous is the love and lowliness that could take the place of such entire dependence! Surely when hungry for forty days and nights He could have commanded bread to be brought forth, and it could not possibly be withheld, but He chose this place of dependence and replied, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Again on another occasion when men were seeking to swallow Him up in their cruel hatred, could He not have prayed to His Father and He would presently have given Him more than twelve legions of angels (Matt. 26:5353Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53))? Most assuredly He could. But He chose rather the path of dependence and obedience as Jehovah's servant, and in this He has left a perfect example for us to follow.
I gather, therefore, from this psalm that a life of absolute and constant dependence will characterize those who follow Christ. As the Apostle Paul forcibly puts it, "Having nothing, and yet possessing all things," having no resources in self, no stock in hand, but unceasing and thorough dependence on Him for all our help. I do not doubt that the true effect of entering into our perfect standing and full character of blessing in Christ will be to seek to bring the power of all that into this present scene, as alone suited to Him whom having not seen we love.
It is comparatively easy and natural to make God our refuge in great emergencies, but to trust in Him at all times as the constant habit of our lives in all the details is another thing. We must look to Him about every matter, whether rough or smooth, painful or pleasant, and go forth day by day watching His hand, obeying His voice, leaning on His arm, associating the almightiness of His power. The infiniteness of His wisdom, and perfectness of His love with all our affairs, great or small, at home or abroad, things spiritual or temporal, must mark the character of those who thus live in dependence on God.
So perfectly and unceasingly was this path of dependence trodden by the Son of God that we hear Him saying, "I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.... Whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak." John 12:49, 5049For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. (John 12:49‑50). So here we see the perfectness of the blessed Lord in thus depending on the Father for every word He should speak.
He sought out a solitary place in the wilderness for prayer, getting up a great while before day and going out into a desert place to pray, spending a whole night in prayer. Being usually engaged in prayer before any great event, such as choosing His apostles, the transfiguration, etc., all show the reality of the life of dependence which this perfect One lived. From all this and other scriptures, we learn how faith, prayer, and thanksgiving must accompany our exercise of real dependence upon God.
Communion
Unbroken communion with Jehovah also marked the path of the blessed Man Christ Jesus, the true Son of David. He could surely say, "I have set the Lord always before Me." (v. 8.) He did not know a moment of interrupted communion until our sins were laid on Him, and as the sin offering He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. Then God, who is of purer eyes than to behold evil, must abandon His own well-beloved Son, because sins, our sins, were upon Him. Hence that most bitter of all cries was wrung from His holy, pure and loving heart in deepest agony and distress, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" It could not be otherwise, for God is holy. Except for that time when His soul was made an offering for sin upon the tree, He was always in uninterrupted communion with God His Father. This was His perfectness and joy.
He could under all circumstances say, "I do always those things that please Him." "I have set the Lord always before Me." So should it be with us, for we are called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and He has sent forth the other Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to dwell in us. He did this not only that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God, but that we should enjoy them in the communion of the Holy Spirit.
With us we easily allow a trifle to come between us and our adorable and loving Lord. Then a process of self-judgment, humiliation, and confession may be called for, in order to have enjoyment again in faith of the unclouded sunshine of His blessed Presence. In fact, the moment we allow anything to come between us and the Lord, we get away from Him, and our communion becomes interrupted. It is well, therefore, habitually to receive everything from Him, to refer every matter to Him, to cast all our care upon Him, and to know that all our springs are in Him. As long as He is consciously known as our fountain of living waters, the broken cisterns which come in our way will have little attraction for us. The question should not be so much with us in this day, "How much do we know?" as, "How much do we enjoy?" It is impossible to know the Lord Jesus as the satisfying, commanding, and absorbing object of our souls without having that deep, calm joy which is more easily felt than described, and is known in no other way.
There is another point here: He could not only say, "I have set the Lord always before Me," but could blessedly add, "Because He is at My right hand, I shall not be moved." There is an important connection in these two sentences, and highly instructive to us. The Lord always realized the presence of God and power of God with Him—the right hand of Jehovah. And do not we realize it in our measure too, according as our hearts are looking to Him?
If we grow cold and careless, it is no marvel that we have little sense of the power and presence of God with us. Instead of this, such souls must necessarily be walking in darkness. When they need the "right hand" of God to sustain and comfort, they do not find it. Instead of this the Spirit is grieved, and there are questions as to the state, the walk, and the conduct to be settled before the soul can be restored to the enjoyment of His holy Presence who is light and love. Then they can again know the present power of the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.
Oh the blessedness of being able to say, "I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." May our souls realize this more and more, and our affections be drawn and fixed upon the Lord Himself, by His mighty and irresistible attractiveness! Surely Mary made a wise and happy choice when she took her place at the feet of Jesus to hear His word. It was as pleasing to the Lord as it was needful and profitable to herself. She learned that this place of dependence was the secret of comfort and power, as well as the only way to get into the circle of His thoughts and the current of His affections.
With what a holy dignity and style we see her afterward breaking the alabaster box and pouring the very costly ointment on this precious object of her heart. The whole house was filled with its sweet fragrance and she realized the Lord's approval! What a vast range of blessing even now may be known by those who unfeignedly take this place of dependence, and set the Lord always before them. May those of us who have somewhat tasted it know it better; it is wise, I am sure, and wisdom's "ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." Prov. 3:1717Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. (Proverbs 3:17).
What in Thy love possess I not?
My star by night, my sun by day;
My spring of life when parched with drought,
My wine to cheer, my bread to stay;
In Thee, my strength, my safe abode
Now made the righteousness of God,
My robe before the throne of God.
Hope
There is a third point to notice in this psalm; it is hope. The blessed Lord knew every step of the path of suffering He would have to endure. He knew all things that would come upon Him, and could see beyond it all. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross and despised the shame. His hope was in His God. He could look through all the sufferings and death on Calvary, and the reality of the sepulcher too, and say, "Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory [or My tongue] rejoiceth: My flesh also shall rest in hope. For Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell [hades]; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption." (vv. 9,10.)
So our adorable Lord could contemplate His own death, the actual separation of soul and body, the soul going into hades (the state of departed spirits), and the body into the sepulcher, where all others go to corruption. But more than this, His confidence was in Jehovah, the God of resurrection. He knew that, for He said He would rise again the third day, and that He would be raised again from among the dead by the glory of the Father. He also said that He would be seated at the "right hand" of the Majesty on high.
He says, referring to resurrection, "Thou wilt show Me the path of life"—this path which, though beginning from the sepulcher, would extend to the right hand of God as He so blessedly adds: "in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." What a triumphant path in the power of faith and hope!
Surely our privilege, too, is to be rejoicing in hope of the glory of God, in fact, to be abounding in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. We triumph in His victories and we look forward to eternal blessedness based upon His already-accomplished work. Though our destiny is to share His glory, yet how different is the path of hope for us from what it was to Him. But if He went down into death and the grave, and grappled with sin, Satan, the grave, and judgment, what was it for? It was to give us present and everlasting triumph over all these enemies and intruders into God's once fair creation.
Our hope, then, is not to follow Him into death, but because of His having accomplished that triumphant work for us, it can now be said, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," and "caught up... to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." We earnestly desire "to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.... Not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life." 2 Cor. 5:2, 42For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: (2 Corinthians 5:2)
4For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. (2 Corinthians 5:4). Our precious Lord, therefore, by His death, and His triumph over death, Satan and the grave, has given us a near way into glory at His coming. A momentary journey, a rapid flight like a lightning flash, and we shall be changed and translated, and so be forever with the Lord.
Oh the perfect bliss of this hope, based on the atoning work, and made certain to us by the risen Jesus having gone into heaven by His own blood! How divinely real it is! It is like having only a curtain between us at this moment and the positive and unchanging possession of eternal glory. The Head in heaven and members on earth, already joined by one Spirit, are soon to meet in the air. His desire is that we should be with Him and behold His glory. The thrice-repeated "I come quickly" of Him who is "the bright and morning star" should nerve our souls to hearty, loving response, for the Spirit incites the cry in us, "Come." "The Spirit and the bride say, Come." Happy are those who know the blessedness of the life of faith so as to tread the path of dependence, communion, and hope!