Prologue. “Worship as the Way of Joy” (Psalm 16)

So we’re going to be starting a new series on the book of Romans, beginning next week. This week, I’d like to set the stage for all that we will be considering. To orient us, want to ask a fairly basic question. “How should you spend your life?”

I don’t think it’s overstating things to say that this is THE question people are trying to answer right now.

Different ages have different questions people focus on. In the time of ancient Israel, it was, “Which god shall I serve?” Last century America, many were asking, “How can I know that I am on good terms with the God of the universe?”

But in our day questions specifically about God have moved more to the background. Now we’re in an age when people are trying to figure out what to do with nearly an infinite number of choices.

And that’s new. In previous generations before you were even born, a lot of your life was decided for you. You entered into a community with a strongly shared understanding of ethics and priorities and faith. These were not always good—just consider 19^th century South’s understanding of slavery—but these were basically given to you from birth. Your script was already mostly written: you knew that you were likely to live all your life in the town of your birth, to marry someone from this town and have kids and do basically the same kind of work your parents did. The choices that you had were fairly limited: what kind of person would you be within the life you had been given?  

But now things feel very, very different. We are in the age of options—options about everything. You don’t have to live in your hometown, or even your home country, if you don’t want to. You can pursue any job you want, or even change jobs every few years. You are expected to decide your own priorities, your own understanding of religion, your own system of values, even your own sexual identity. For really the first time in history, people are being told, “Every option is on the table. Your life is entirely yours, and it’s completely up to you to decide how to spend it. You have to decide everything.”

Now while this development has been seen as a great thing—it’s great to have the freedom of  options!, more and more, people have felt the crushing weight of all these decisions. Because there’s a lot riding on our choices, right? It’s our life. And what’s more, because we live in an age where nobody wants to say one way of being or thinking is better than another’s, we are also being told that we have to make these decisions without any clear standards for how to do it well. There is no “right” way of thinking of it, because everyone has their own way.

Imagine being in a college course where you’re given an assignment without any directions. The professor doesn’t tell you what they’re looking for, how much work you need to do, what standards they will use to decide if it’s good or bad. But you know you will pass or fail that class based on that one assignment. I mean, how stressful would that be?

And that’s our lives: you get to decide everything. We’ll give you no standards, no description of how to do it, but it’s up to you to pass or fail at life. It’s up to you to figure out how to live a life that you can be proud of. It’s up to you to figure out how to find a life that is truly satisfying. It’s up to you to figure out how to be resilient. Is it any surprise that the generation that now is in high school and college is reporting a frightening level of anxiety and depression? When you have unlimited options and nobody is allowed to tell you what to do with them, how in the world can you figure out what to do with your life? 

People are asking, “How should I spend my life?” Won’t somebody please tell me?

One interesting thing about this is that even though we find ourselves in a new era of seemingly unlimited options, we’re actually asking a very old question. What we’re really asking about is worship.  

I realize that might seem like a strange thing to say, because in our day we think about “worship” only in obviously religious contexts. Worship is something we do at church; it’s what we do when we sing or we pray. But limiting worship in this way is a little bit like saying “Health” is a high school class we take instead of gym. Yes, that is a class, but that class is about something bigger, something for all of life.

In the same way, worship is not just a Sunday morning event. Worship is a lifestyle. Sunday morning involves practices meant to orient us in our worship; worship itself is what we do with all of our lives. Here’s a simple definition of worship: worship is the act of giving ourselves to what we most value.

What do YOU most value? Every day you are answering that question with how you spend yourself, what you give your time and energy and attention to, because we give ourselves to what we most value. We SPEND our lives on what is most important to us, on what we most trust—and as we spend our lives, we are worshiping. When we ask the question, “How should I spend my life,” we are asking the question, “What or whom should I worship?” Everyone worships. The key question is what you do you worship.

And if this is the question we’re really asking, then it’s worth considering the fact that Christianity teaches that there is a right and clear answer. How should I spend my life? On God.

Which I realize sounds really abstract and churchy and something a pastor like me is supposed to say. But just hear me out, because this is actually really practical. Christianity teaches something we already know deep down: that there actually is a right way and a wrong way to do this all. That there are dead end ways of living that might seem good at the start but will disillusion in the end, and there are also ways of living that are truly good and beautiful. And it says that the key determining factor is worship: that a truly good life is found in worshiping the true and good God.

Look with me at verses 3 and 4 of this Psalm. You’ll notice there that David, the writer of this Psalm, mentions two groups of people. Verse 3 speaks of the “excellent ones.” In other words, these are people who have learned how to live well, the kind of people whose lives we admire and want to imitate. And then, verse 4 speaks of those whose sorrows multiply—these are lives of disillusionment and disappointment. And what is the difference between these two groups? The first group are the “saints,” which in our passage is talking about people who worship the Lord God. The second group are those who it says run after other gods. That’s the difference. The truly good life is found in worshiping, in spending your life on the true and good God.

Now I realize that we’re moving into some politically incorrect territory here. Isn’t it wrong to tell people who and how to worship? But just consider this. If there is such thing as reality, something out there that exists no matter what we think; and if there is a real God who made us and everything else, wouldn’t it make sense that knowing him and living for him would make a difference? Wouldn’t you expect in fact that this God who made us would be really important to our lives?

You might say, “But how? How does it make a difference?” Well, our passage actually describes three ways in which a truly good life is found in worshiping the true and good God. They are summarized in the final verse of our passage: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Let’s consider each of these in turn.

A Guide Far Wiser than Our Instincts

“You make known to me the path of life.”

We’ve been asking the question, “How do we decide what to do with our life? When we’re making decisions, how do we know what’s best?” Now our day gives us an answer—kind of: “Listen to what is inside of you. Listen to your heart and don’t stop following what it tells you, no matter what. The key to finding true life comes in being true to your inner self.” How many movies, how many songs, how many inspirational posters all say something like this?

The problem is that this advice has been empirically, scientifically shown to be bonkers. I mean, just think about it. How many people do you know who have followed their desires, the inner voice of their hearts to do stupid things? Think of all the people who audition to be a rock star on American Idol but can’t sing; all the people trying one bad business idea after another believing deeply in themselves that they will make it rich; think of all those who have left loving families to follow their hearts into an adulterous relationship. I could just keep going.

And this is exactly what researchers say we should expect to happen. Nobel-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman has devoted his life research to understanding how we make decisions. And what he demonstrates in his book Thinking Fast and Slow is that our intuitions, though amazing, are also deeply error prone. There are so many situations in which our instincts, our gut feelings will just get it wrong. There is no good reason to believe that listening to that inner voice will always lead us into the right place.

But even though we might recognize this, the crazy thing is that we’re still likely to try to let our gut be what leads us. There’s this scene in the comedy Arrested Development, where a man proposes an idea that other people have tried and his wife asks, “Well, did it work for those people?” And he responds, No, it never does. I mean, these people somehow delude themselves into thinking it might, but… but it might work for us.

That’s us: people keep on making all these dumb decisions because they’re doing whatever makes sense to them. It never works. “But listening to my heart and following my own intuitions–that might work for me.”

Our passage tells us that there’s a better way. David tells us in verse 2 that he has said to God, “You are my Lord.” That’s a statement of worship—I entrust myself to your leadership. And what he has discovered in doing so is, “You make known to me the path of life.” One of the most remarkable claims of Christianity is that we have a God who instructs us. The creator of the universe who understands subatomic quarks and yet can hold billions of galaxies in his hand, speaks to us to teach us how to live in this world. And in fact in the New Testament we discover something even more astonishing: that this God becomes one of us and as the human Jesus he showed us the path of LIFE. The way to live wisely and meaningfully.

And what that means is when our heart is spinning out of control in fear, telling us it’s all terrible; or guilt, telling us we’re terrible, we don’t have to let it be our boss. Verse 7, a better translation might be, “I will bless the Lord who counsels me, even at night when my thoughts trouble me.” In the middle of the night, even when our thoughts become so loud. We can listen to the counselor who is far more reliable because he knows everything and is the source of wisdom.  In verse 8, David says, I have set the Lord always before me.” When I’m lost in the night and don’t know where I’m going, the Lord is my north star—if I keep looking to him, I’ll know my path.

You don’t have to just follow your heart and hope that you will be different from every other human being. Your life can be shaped the wisdom of the one who made everything and knows everything and speaks to you in Jesus, instructing you for your good. Isn’t that obviously better?

In worshiping the true and good God, we find a guide far wiser than our instincts.

A Joy Far Bigger than Our Dreams

“In your presence there is fullness of joy.”

I believe that each of us has a sense that there is something, something outside of us that if we can have it, we will be made whole. We use different words for it: happiness, fulfillment, satisfaction, joy. And, at least when we are young, we believe that we can have this satisfaction if only we get something: for some of us, it’s attaining success or fame or wealth. For others of us it might be the dream of family.

But as we move forward in life, one of two things happens. Sometimes, we are frustrated in our pursuits—we don’t experience the success we envision, or we don’t get the family life we dreamed of. Sometimes, we do get what we want, and then we find ourselves still with that ache, that longing to be satisfied.

Writer C.S. Lewis speaks of it this way: “Most people, if they really learn how to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning can really satisfy. I am not speaking of what would ordinarily be called unsuccessful marriages or trips and so on; I am speaking of the best possible ones. There is always something we grasped at, in that first moment of longing, that just fades away in the reality. The spouse may be a good spouse, the scenery has been excellent, it has turned out to be a good job, but “It” has evaded us.”

But David has experienced something different. In verse 2, after saying “You are my Lord” he also says, “I have no good apart from you.” In other words, you are what I value most. If I have you, I will be satisfied. Again, this is an expression of worship. And what we see is, unlike every other time someone says, “If I have this, I will be satisfied” his story is not about ultimately becoming disillusioned. “In your presence,” he says, “Is fullness of joy.” Which means two things. He has received what he was seeking. And in God he has found satisfaction.

Verses 5 & 6 says something similar. “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” My life is beautiful, because I have you. I am satisfied.

Don’t you want to be able to say that about your life?

See, the reason we keep being disappointed whenever we get what we think we want is that we were made for something bigger. There is a longing in our souls for a beauty and a goodness that is greater than anything in this world; for a joy that never ends; for a perfect love. Whether we ever name it as such, our longing is for God. And the Christian teaching is that we have a God who gives himself to us. A God who has moved toward us in Jesus and through him enables us to know and love and be loved by our beautiful, eternal, mysterious Creator.

In worshiping the true and good God, we find the joy and satisfaction we’ve always been longing for but have never been able to find. In his presence is fullness of joy.  

A Security that Can Withstand All Dangers

“At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

It’s that last word that is especially important: pleasures forevermore. Delight that we can never lose.

Every experience we have of good things in this world is stained by the awareness that we will lose them. Things we enjoy will break or run out. People we love will move away or, eventually die. In our aging, we will lose our strength and energy, and then the rest will be taken from us when we die. Deep down we know that everything we love we will lose.

And we are haunted by that. We do everything we can to try to resist this. We build up our bank accounts to try to protect against catastrophes. We try to eat well and exercise to slow down the process of aging. And yet, deep down, even still we know that none of it is secure. All of it will be taken away. And so, deep down, we are often anxious.

But here in this Psalm. Looking one final time at the beginning of this Psalm, David has said to God, “You are my refuge.” I entrust my safety to you—I give myself to you. This also is an expression of worship. And in doing so, he has found an incredible security. He believes there are good things God gives him that will never be taken away: they are “pleasures forevermore.”

In verse 9 he says he is glad and rejoices and, notice this, “My flesh also dwells secure.” Why? For you will not abandon my soul, my life to Sheol—that is, to death.” This is a remarkable statement. David knows what we know: that 10 out of 10 people die. And yet he says, “I know that somehow, death will not be the end.” Why can he say this? Because he knows his God. He is convinced that this God is entirely trustworthy; that the committed love of God will not cease. And that means David understands that he can even trust God with his death. That he can expect, somehow, even on the other side of death, “Pleasures forevermore.”

And if you know what happens in the Bible, you know that David was exactly right. That God’s commitment for those who make him their refuge knows no bounds. That God’s Son Jesus would come into this world, die for us, and rise again to rescue all of us from the finality of death.  

Do you see what this means? If this is who God is, then Christianity offers you a security unlike any other. Look, I’m not saying that Christianity promises you a life without suffering. In this broken world, we will continue to experience grief, sometimes deep grief. And yet, with David, if we in worship make God our refuge, we can confidently say, “Somehow.” Somehow, God will make all things right. Somehow, God in the end will wipe away my tears. Somehow, I will experience pleasure forevermore. Because the God I trust and worship is unceasingly committed to me in love, I am secure.

Conclusion  

Do you see what David is saying: he is saying that there is a better way, that there is a right answer to the question, “How should I spend my life.” You will find a truly good life in worshiping the true and good God

·       He says to God, “You make known to me the path of life.” Why? Because this God is a God who in love instructs us through Jesus in the way that is good.

·       In your presence is fullness of joy. Why? Because this God is a God who in love gives himself to us through Jesus.

·       At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Why? Because this God is a God whose love is so committed to us that he sent Jesus to die and rise again for us.

What this is saying—and not just this, but what Christianity itself teaches is that there is a way to live that is good, that is satisfying, that is secure. That if you want to know how to spend your life—how to spend your life well, there is an answer. Worship the Lord God who has revealed himself in Jesus. Give yourself to him. Say to him, “You are my refuge. You are more Lord. You are my good.” 

Look, I don’t expect to convince all of you right now. But I’d ask you to consider what this would mean if it is true. What would your life look like if you believed that it is? And what would God still need to show you for you to believe this?