Studies in Psalm 16:-01 — James K. Boswell

Down these same islands then, and as teaching that chorus, someone came up and said, Mr. Boswell, you have such a mellow voice. Now you look at Webster's dictionary, you know what it said? Over-ripe, rotten, half-tipsy.

At a wedding some time ago in Canada, at the reception, we're singing some hymns, and I just married this young couple, and the voice standing next to me said, Mr. Boswell, that's a marvellous voice you have, you ought to re-cultivate it.

But the next time you say, don't worry, just plough it under. Now I want you to please open your Bibles to Psalm number 16. We're going to give talks on favourite psalms during these days we are together.

The Hope of Seeing the Lord Face to Face

You'll remember where our dear brother Tudson left off last night. He gave us such a wonderful picture of the lovely face of the Lord Jesus Christ. And all I could think of as he was speaking were these words, If this glimpse of love is so divinely sweet, what will it be above his gladdening smile to me?

One day along we're going to see him. Without any physical limitation, without any clown, face to face we're going to gaze upon our adorable Lord Jesus. It reminds me of a little boy, this boy was born blind.

His father got home from the office one day, found his wife somewhat distracted, really just found her down in the dump. He said, what's the matter dear? I'm all right. He said, no, there's something troubling you, what is it?

By this time the boy was 15 years of age. He said, there is something troubling you, tell me, I want to know what it is. I tell you, there's nothing troubling me, leave me alone. Haven't you heard that before?

And he said, right off. So he got hold of her, pushed her right against the wall, said, now you must tell me there's something troubling you, what is it? He began to cry. He said, it's breaking my heart to think the child whom I brought into the world, whom I have cared for all these years, whom I have turned to, and yet he'll never see the mother, as dumb as foreign.

I can't stand it any longer. He went home back to his office, somewhat distracted, and confronted one of his colleagues, who told him that a highly strict specialist, way back beyond London, England, would be performing wonderful operations, some born blind, would be operating on and receiving her sight.

An interview was arranged. The doctor did not take long to examine the boy. He turned to the mother and father and said, I am very sorry. There's very little hope of the boy ever seeing. I'll operate, I'll do my best, I can do no more.

They agreed to the operation. Some days after, the father and mother set forth, and there in the room come the medical students, doctors and nurses, the father and mother, and of course the boy. A senior nurse went and undid the bandages, and after some moments, it was a breathtaking moment, would he be able to see?

He looked up at the ceiling. He looked out the door. He looked there and saw a table before him. He looked up and saw his hand moving for the very first time. He looked up, and he saw his mummy, and his daddy for the very first time.

Someone said, aren't you happy you can now see? He said, I'm extremely happy, but please, I won't see the man who opened my eyes. The professor jumped next room, waiting for the results of the operation.

They called him in. The boy clasped upon their hand and looked up and said, Thank you, sir, for opening my eyes. You know, beloved, it may be this very day that we too shall be ushered right into the immediate presence of that lovely man who opened our eyes, and we're going to thank him graciously.

Aren't you glad you're a Christian? Aren't you glad you're a child of God? And running over, I'm sure you are. That was all that before you. We're going to have another look at the Lord Jesus from Psalm.

If you want to say Psalm, you may, but it's still Psalm. By the way, guys, a way down there in the land of Georgia, two friends met, and one said to the other, be you in the Lord's army? Yes, I be in the Lord's army.

I be a Baptist. You not be in the Lord's army at all. You be in the Lord's navy. The same brother said, he's preaching this day, and he said, please turn to the epistle to the Ephesians. Say, you know what an epistle is, don't you?

It's an epistle to an apostle's wife. So there's number one of Psalm number 16. Sweet bean is my favorite flower. I love the fragrance of the sweet bean. You can love that. I really do. And it's beauty.

Eleven Themes from Psalm 16

And I'm going to give you 11 sweet beans. Not this morning, don't worry about that. I'm going to give them to you. I'm not going to preach on them. But I want to give you a sweet bean for each birth. And I try to be a blessing to you.

There's one. Preserve me, O God, for in me do I put my trust. Now you got that one, haven't you? Preservation. O my soul, thou said of the Lord, thou art my Lord. My goodness extendeth not to thee, and the word is preeminent.

He is my Lord. There's three. But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. And the word is pleasure. Their sorrows shall be multi-blooded, hastened after another God.

Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my list. And the word is patent. P-a-t-e-t-e-r-n. Patent. Verse number five. The Lord is a portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup.

Thou maintainest my lot. And you got the word there, haven't you? Portion. The lines are fallen unto me in places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. And the word is possession. I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel.

My reign, O my thoughts, often struck me in the night season. And the word is a participation. Verse eight. I have set the Lord always before me, because at my right hand I shall not be moved. And the word is possession.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory, O my tongue, rejoices. My flesh also shall rest in hope, and the word is praise. For thou wilt not be my soul in hell, nor wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

And the word is protection. Thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. And the word is prospect. The Lord add his blessing to that reading from his word to our hearts this morning.

Psalm 16 in the New Testament

Now, if you want a New Testament commentary on Psalm number 16, you'll find it in Acts, chapter 2, from verse number 25 onward. We're not going to look at that just now. I want to draw your attention just to one or two thoughts that have really come to me since coming onto this mountain top and conversing one with another, listening to the prayer, and the prayer my beloved brother, Mr. Willie, offered just a few moments ago.

Now I'm going to show you from God's word just exactly how all this dovetails right into having the wonderful vision of the Lord Jesus that we had last night. And again, this morning, as we remembered him, he filled our vision.

He occupied our heart's affection, and we were very, very conscious of his nearness. We knew something of that unspeakable joy and fullness of blessing and glory as we sat quietly in his presence this morning.

The Open Secret of Mictam

But now, look at the title of this particular psalm, Mictam of David. There is quite a diversity of opinions as to the exact meaning of this title. Some declare it's the psalm of the open secret, others the psalm of the golden meditation.

I was talking with Mr. Polay from Morocco recently to discuss this title together. He's quite a Hebrew scholar. He said it meant to engrave, as to engrave deeply upon a stone. Looking at it, I said, Thank you, my brother.

We'll take all the three meanings together. It's the psalm of the open secret. We shall meditate upon the open secret that it might be engraved deeply upon each of our hearts and lives, that we might be more and more transformed into the image of our lovely, adorable Lord Jesus Christ.

I want to think that through for one moment. The psalm of the open secret. Let us meditate upon this wonderful secret. Psalm number 25, 14 says, The secret of the Lord is that they will fear him. Those who have been initiated into the family of God.

We come into the family by the miracle of the new birth. And I trust all of us here know the joy of that wonderful miracle in your life. That you are born again. You've been born into the family of God.

You don't evolve into becoming a Christian. Not like Toxie in Uncle Tom's cabin. Somebody says to her, Toxie, where did you come from? Oh, I spex, I grow. Well, that may be so, but you don't grow up into becoming a Christian.

You're born into the family of God. And it says, The secret of the Lord is with those who belong to the family. How do I know? Because it says in John chapter 15, and verse number 15, The Lord Jesus is the speaker.

I have not called you servants. For the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. But I have called you friends. For all that I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you. Genesis 18, verse 17 says, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?

And Abraham is referred to at least three times as a friend of God. Real friendship means an intimate relation. It brings us into closeness of intimacy. And because we have, as God's children, been brought into the closeness of intimacy with our beloved Lord Jesus, it is great desire to reveal to us this morning and during these days together all the secrets of the Father's heart.

Communion and Transformation into Christ's Image

This means we must take time to get alone with Him, in communion with Him, through the Holy Scripture. Now, I want you to think of this again. It's the psalm of the ultimate secret. We are going to meditate upon this secret with this one purpose in view, that we might be more and more transformed into the image of our beloved Lord Jesus.

Some of us prayed earlier, spent last night, may His beauty rest upon us while we seek the lost to win, and may they forget the channels seeing only Him, not us, but Christ, in every look and in every action.

As a boy way back yonder in Scotland, my mother had a daily help. Jessie's coming up through the bridge to the home. She's passing by the butcher's store. He's standing in the store doorway, and as Jessie's passing by, he says to her, I say, Jessie, where are you going today?

She says, where are you going today? She looked across and said, I say, John, can you keep a secret? Oh, yes, she said, thinking he was going to hear such a lot. Well, she said, so can I, and passed on.

Trusting God as Refuge

But now, this is an open secret, and I want us all to get it. So, just see what it says in verse 1, shall we? In me do I put my trust. In me do I put my trust. Now, this is a very interesting verse. The psalmist is turning away from all secret competency, no more relying upon the arm of the flesh.

He turns away from man, who is pressed in his nostrils, and looks up and says, in thee, and in thee alone, do I put my trust. This word, trust, means to find shelter in, take refuge in. It comes 37 times alone in the Old Testament.

We often use the word trust when we're dealing with boys and girls. We ask them to trust the Lord Jesus more so than the word faith or belief. And they are interchangeable terms, by the way. But dealing with boys and girls, we ask them to trust the Lord Jesus in the same way as they trust their mummy or daddy.

Same way they trust the chair upon which they're sitting, not to let them down. By the way, some of you were here before I got here this morning, but I didn't see anyone taking the chair and shaking it to see if it would hold them up.

You came and you trusted yourself to. You committed yourself to that chair. That's the word here. It's a word that means commit to, trust yourself to, rely upon. That's the word here. In thee do I put my trust.

Remember the middle verse of the Bible? Psalm 118, verses 8 and 9. It's better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It's better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. This word, trust.

Proverbs, chapter 3, verse number 5, says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lead not to your own understanding. John G. Paton, the missionary to the New Hebrides, was translating the New Testament into the language.

He could not get a word equivalent to the word faith, belief, or trust. One day they'd been out hunting, and as they got home, Paton is absolutely exhausted. Out there on the lawn, there's a couch, and one of the native Christians, in his own language, ponders the couch, says to Paton, Stretch yourself out upon.

Did you get that? Stretch yourself out upon. Paton says, Thank you, Lord. That's the word I want. Now, John 3, verse 16, and their language reads like this,. But God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever stretches himself upon him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Now, isn't that just precious? Committing yourself to, trusting yourself to the Lord Jesus. This is salvation. Not a case of believing, or belting, giving a mental offense to some historical fact concerning Jesus Christ, or a mere mental acquiescence.

You've got confidence in Jesus Christ. You believe on Him, and to believe on Him, you commit your soul to Him, and He to you. There's an indissoluble union. You're in Christ, and Christ in you, and no wonder the cup is full and running over.

Is your cup full this morning? Is your cup running over? I love this word, you know. Indeed do I put my trust. Before I get down to it, traveling home from Toronto to London, Ontario, where we are now living, I was speaking at a city-wide rally in Toronto, and I got the last train home.

It was wintertime. The roads were just like skating rinks, so I didn't take the car. And traveling home, I got the last seat in the compartment. I sat down beside this young man. He looked at me, and he said, Are you a minister, or are you a doctor?

I said, Frankly, I'm both. He said, I don't want your preaching to me. I said, I've no desire. No, I don't take to speaking to you. Why do you say that? Well, he said, I live with people in Hamilton, Ontario, and they're always getting on to me about being saved, about being born again, and they tell me if I'm not saved, I'm going to hell.

I said, well, I don't know who your friends are, but you ought to thank God for them every day of your life. I said, they've got your soul's welfare at their heart, and they're concerned about you. You might be saved.

And I told you, I don't want your preaching to me. I said, well, you started it, not me. You see? And he said, Well, look. He said, I'm going to tell you something. If I won't believe anything I can't see, if I can't see it, I won't believe it.

I said, oh. You say seeing is believing, and I said, that's right. I said, that's interesting. I said, what is your job? I'm a journalist. Where were you educated? I graduated from McMaster. Oh? And you mean to tell me that you really mean what you say?

You won't believe anything you can't see? That's what I said. That's what I mean. And I looked at him, and he said, I can't believe you're talking. Oh, yes, I mean. I mean, if I don't understand something, in my mind, if I don't understand it, I won't accept it.

Oh, I said, this is more complicated than ever now. I said, you tell me you won't believe anything you can't see. I asked you, have you got a brain? You tell me you haven't yet. You've never seen your brain.

And now you tell me if you don't understand it, you won't accept it. That's what I said. So I looked at him, and I said, the other night in my drawing room at home, I turned on the TV. I saw David Ben-Gurion way yonder in Palestine.

I saw him. I heard him. Do you understand all about electronics? No. Have you a TV? Yes. Do you use it? Yes. You don't understand all about electronics, yet you use it? Then I looked at him, I said, well, have you got a radio?

Yes. I radioed my home, in my office, and in my car. Do you use them? Yes. Do you understand all about them? No. Do you have a telephone? Yes. In my home, in my office, in my car. Do you use them, and yet you don't understand all about them?

He said, no. Looking straight at him, I said, do you understand how a brown cow eating green grass produces white milk? He said, no, I don't, but do you drink it? He said, no, you've got me. I can't believe it.

You've got me. And it's true, my friend. There is a trust level. All of us believe not. You're not asked to understand, you're asked to believe. And on believing, my friend, you'll trust yourself. Seeing is believing, says the man of truth.

But the believing is seeing. You'll trust, and then you'll understand. Isn't that true? Now let me ask you this morning, have you trusted your soul's salvation to him? Have you committed yourself to him?

If not, then why not this morning? Don't try to see it. Don't try to imagine something. Just take a load of his words and rest upon what he says, will you? Now I'm saying that to anyone who may be here without the Lord Jesus, because we want to know you the joy your cup is filled and running over to you.

One knows the joy of this love which is so real and so vital. I want to let you in on a little secret. You with me? The other day, I had to say to the Lord Jesus, Lord, please, don't give me any more joy.

I can't take any more, Lord. I'll die if you give me any more. That's the kind of Lord I've come to know. He's a wonderful Lord. He's a joy unspeakable. He's full of glory. Oh, I'm so happy about this, aren't you?

What a wonderful joy this God the Lord gives us. And now, come with me to my verse again. In thee do I put my trust. Now, I'm going to try and give a little word of encouragement to those of us who are the Lord.

The same word is used in Psalm number 55, 22, where it says, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, He shall sustain thee. 1 Peter 5, 7 says, Casting all your care upon Him, He cares for you.

Casting Every Burden on the Lord

Right in between Psalm 55 and 1 Peter 5 comes John 21. And in John 21, remember, the fishermen had gone all night fishing. They'd gone out and sell wheels. Peter says, I go fishing, we can't move you, Peter.

And they all went, and their coming back was on a fish. The Lord Jesus, with triumph over sin, and death, and hell, and Satan, the mighty conquering Lord, is standing there on the shore. A great heart of love goes out towards Him, and in sympathy says to Him, Sir, have you any meat?

And they said, No. And that word, no, means they just couldn't care less. The bottom has gone completely out of everything for them. They're actually in a quick end corner. But now listen. Just right there the Lord says to them, Cast, the same word, Cast on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.

Now had they not come to an end of themselves, and their own self-will, they would have argued with the Lord Jesus, and said, Why? We can't catch fish in the dark. We certainly won't catch them in broad daylight.

And for you to tell us now to cast on the right side of the ship, why? No eastern fisherman ever does a thing like that. They never cast on the right side of the ship, but they didn't argue with the Lord Jesus.

There's no more argument left in them. They've come to an end of themselves, and now listen. At His word, I love this, don't you? At His word, they cast their part, and they found a multitude of fish.

Their part was to cast that net. His part was to see the net was full. Beloved this morning, whoever you are, your part is to cast your burden upon Him. His part is to sustain you. Your part is not to argue, but ask the reason why you've got to take the Lord at His word.

I don't control. That's the word. The little meaning, to fling. Literally fling the burden. But you know what the Martian says? Roll the burden. If it's too heavy to fling, then roll it, but get rid of it.

Now the Lord wants you to do that. Remember my good brother in his prayer this morning about the various problems and the troubles and the sorrows. Oh my friend, I want you to get this deep down in your heart.

I don't know why the Lord has made this message upon my heart this morning, but there may be someone here and you've got a burden. You've got a burden. And maybe a family burden. Maybe a personal burden.

Maybe a business burden. Maybe a spiritual burden. Maybe psychological. Maybe philosophical, but you've got it. And the Lord wants you this morning, the very commencement of this conference, to unload that burden upon him.

Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to do that, my friend, right now? You come to me and you're mine to one, two, three, four, five, seven. But the Lord wants you to hear the word casting all your care.

The Dutch version has unloading all your care upon him. We were at Pittsburgh a whole other day in Carolina. As we were just saying goodbye to the Turks there, a big truck blew up with a load of sand.

And I watched that man unloading the sand and going away with an empty truck. Notice, he unloaded the sand, left it behind him, and he went away with the empty truck. If he hadn't done that, I think some of the Scottish people would have been after him.

You see? But he came and unloaded the sand and he goes away. Beloved, this morning in this grand little assembly, the Lord wants you to unload that burden. You've told him a lot about it, haven't you?

But he wants you to come and unload that burden upon him. All your anxiety, all your care, bring to the mercy, leave them there. Never a burden he cannot bear. Never a friend like Jesus. I find in my ministry that very often behind a smiling face there's a breaking heart.

Maybe such a heart here this morning. But now the Lord is saying to you, unload that burden upon him. Why? I'm quoting Waymo. It matters to him about you. You see that? It matters to him about you. All the day long, all the night through, he's caring for me and he's caring for you.

His nurses are tender, his love is ever true. It matters to him about you. You say, Jim, I misunderstood. I misjudged. I misrepresented. Friend, here is one who understands you perfectly. Knows you and can possibly know you.

He wants you this morning, my friend, to take him at his word. You've done that for salvation, haven't you? You're committed to keeping your soul to him all these times. Why can't you trust him with that burden?

Why can't you trust him with that care? The old Scotch Lantus said, he's caring and I'm caring. Look at him, he's both caring, so I'll let him do all the caring. Now, isn't that just lovely? Isn't that lovely?

Will you come this morning, my friend, and trust him in thee? And in thee alone do I put my trust. I love that, don't you? And you know what Isaiah 41 is saying? Fear not. And remember, there are 365 fear nots in the Bible.

I said that one day at a conference. A Hebrew Christian came up and said, Brother Boswell, you made a mistake this afternoon. I said, just one? Well, he said, you made one. What is that? When you said there are 365 fear nots in the Bible, that's a mistake.

So how many are there, brother? He said there are 365. I said, well, if you find one for the least fear, we can still rejoice together. Isn't that lovely? Say, my friend, will you come this morning, fear not, nor be dismayed.

I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. I will help thee. I will uphold thee by the right hand of my righteous Lord. All your anxieties, all your pains, bring to the mercy of Jesus. Never a burden. He'll come up there.

Never a curse. Every strain will fail immediately. The one day soothes, the next day grieves you. But this, friend, you'll never receive. In my work, in high school, and college, and university campuses, I come across a lot of young people today, and we've got sermons we never had.

Reaching Young People with a Genuine Message

They're living in a world we didn't live in at this very age. And those young people want this message. They don't want anything sugar-coated. I find in my ministry, you can pull the wool over all the people's eyes and get off with it, but never with a teenager.

A teenager can see through a form as quick as lightning. They really can. And they've got problems. They've got burdens. They will never tell the nearest and dearest about it. Now, you're like that this morning, and you've got that burden of eating right, still eating all the spiritual vitality, and big and vim, taking that thing out of your face, and making my friend dim.

And they're not like glow about you with one hand. Now, the Lord is putting his finger upon it right now. He's calling it by its name, isn't he? Now, don't tell him about it. You'll come and unload it there.

And will you leave it? Leave it? May I quote that chorus once more? Let me teach you one day. It matters to him about you. Now, do you believe that? Do you really believe that? It really matters to them about you?

All the day long, all the night through, he's caring for me, and he's caring for you. His mercies are tender. His love's ever true. It matters to him about you. In thee and in thee alone do I put my trust.

Trust in the Lord and don't despair. He's a friend to true. No matter what your troubles are, He is. Sing in the darkest night. Sing when the day is bright. All the way. Every day. Let up. Sing. Sing.

Christ as Personal Lord and Sovereign

Now, look at the next verse. In thee do I put my trust. Thou art not a lord of the Lord, nor even your lord. He is my Lord. Ah, there it is. There's the truth, my friend. When we recognize that not just as a lord, not even the Lord, but He is my Lord.

Lord over all, blessed forever. And when Christ reigns Lord supreme upon your heart and upon my heart, then, my friend, there's an inward serenity. There's an inward tranquility. There's an inward peace.

For perfect love can set all here. All here. And love personified in the Lord Jesus reigns upon the heart, the throne of your life and my life. And we pray. Reign over me, Lord Jesus. Reign over all within.

Make me a loyal subject to thee in everything. Oh, have you not prayed too often? Have thine own way, Lord. Have thine own way. Hold on my being. Absolute way. Fill with thy spirit. So all shall see Christ early always living in me.

Drawing Near to the Risen Christ

When my good friend last night was bringing before us the Lord Jesus, I could not but think of that moment in the upper room when Thomas was there. And the Lord said to Thomas, Thomas, behold the nail prints in my hand and feet.

But then he said, Thomas, come close to me. Thomas, come close to me. And Joseph said to his brethren, come nearer to me. Beloved, the Lord is here this morning nearer to you than your neighbor. And St. Joseph said to Thomas, come nearer to me.

Have you been following afar off? Have you been beholding from a distance? You know theoretically, doctrinally, scripturally, all but the wounds, all the physical sufferings of the Lord Jesus. But what do you know about them in your heart?

What do you really know of them in your heart? Now Thomas could behold these from a distance, but to put his fingers therein, he had to be very weak. And the Lord said, come nearer to me, Thomas. What did Thomas do?

He prostrated himself before the Lord and he cried, My Lord. Thomas rose to maximum height that day as he prostrated himself before the Lord along the way. I admire Thomas. I admire Thomas. When the disciples told Thomas during the week they had seen the Lord, Thomas said, I won't believe that.

I won't believe it till I've seen the nail prints on his hands and feet, till I've seen that pilgrim inside. Oh, beloved friends this morning, Thomas was not going to be, he put on with any imposter, with any imposter, like the Indian lady.

When Indian village, some people say, come over to our village. Christ has come. He's bringing fire from heaven. He's doing miraculous things. Dear old Christian, isn't it simplistic that has he got the marks on the nails in his hands?

The Lord, dear, nearer to you than your neighbor, will you just whisper to him now, Lord, indeed, do I entrust you? What? You're my Lord. You're my sovereign. You're living Lord Supreme in every part of my life.

My time, my talent, my treasure. My spirit, my soul, my body. Thine Lord. Thine. Lord, have I not prayed? Oh, Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee, for Thou in Thine atonement didst give Thyself to me.

I owe no other master. My heart shall be Thy throne. My life I give, and forth live, O Christ, for Thee alone. As I come to close, and I continue where I leave off from this morning, I continue tonight, God willing.

I want you to get this. The Lord is here, right in this upper room, on the top of this mountain. And this can be a mountain-top experience. It can be an upper-room experience. As the Lord is saying to you right now, behold the miracle.

Behold the Spirit in Christ. And we say, Thy wounds, Thy wounds, Lord Jesus. Those deep, deep wounds will tell the sacrifice that frees us from sin and death and hell. And this, our beloved friend, and this is you, his beautiful friend, point his wounded feet and sigh to the emblem of the cross.

It must be an awful gash in the side of my throne.