Satisfied At Last!

Bible Book: Psalms 17 : 1-15

Subject: Peace; Satisfaction; Heaven

Introduction

Satisfied At Last! Do you know the difference between dissatisfied and unsatisfied? From the Farlex Trivia Dictionary we read, “Only a person can be dissatisfied, while an abstract thing (such as hunger) can be unsatisfied.”[1] If we are honest, we experience a lack of satisfaction from time to time. While it is good to be satisfied with what God provides, it is bad to be satisfied with less than God expects.

Dr. John S. Wimbish (1915-1982), predecessor of Dr. Stephen F. Olford (1918-2004) at Calvary Baptist Church in New York City, writes, “Look at the Seventeenth Psalm. Here David tells of his many worldly enemies; some living deliciously in the luxurious palace of King Saul; some pursuing him like wild hounds, seeking to crush out his life. And perhaps late at night, in the darkness of some mountain retreat, restless, unable to sleep, David calls out to God in prayer:”[2]

“Hear a just cause, O Lord, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips. Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright. You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip. I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech. Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, From the wicked who oppress me, From my deadly enemies who surround me. They have closed up their fat hearts; With their mouths they speak proudly. They have now surrounded us in our steps; They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth, As a lion is eager to tear his prey, And like a young lion lurking in secret places. Arise, O Lord, Confront him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword, With Your hand from men, O Lord, From men of the world who have their portion in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure. They are satisfied with children, And leave the rest of their possession for their babes. As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness (Psalm 17:1-15).

Allow me to share three observations from our text.

I. David experienced a faith-based relationship with the Supreme Deity.

David does not merely believe in a god, He believes in the living and true God! From Acts 13:22 we read, “And when [God] had removed [Saul], He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’”

Note the “You” and the “I” as we read in Psalm 17:1-6, “Hear a just cause, O Lord, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips. Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright. You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip. I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.”

The Sons of Korah declare in Psalm 84:11, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.” We read in 1 John 3:22, “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” We are also reminded of the words of Psalm 37:23-24, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.”

Moses shares the following in a warning about idolatry in Deuteronomy 4:35, “To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.” Isaiah writes in Isaiah 44:6, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.” He also writes in Isaiah 45:21b-22, “there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. ‘Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.’” Paul the Apostle writes in 1 Corinthians 8:1-6, “Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.” Moses also writes in Deuteronomy 10:17a, “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome.”

From Hebrews 11:6 we read, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Faith is the only basis for a relationship with God. Therefore, if you do not have a genuine faith-based relationship with God, you do not have a relationship with Him at all. Dr. Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, shares the following in his book titled, Diamonds in the Dark, “Evangelist Billy Graham estimates that up to 80 percent of people who are members of churches in America today have never had a new birth experience in Jesus Christ. They are still in spiritual darkness.”[3] What about you?

II. David expressed a fervent request for Supernatural Deliverance.

When you are surrounded and outnumbered call out to God for His deliverance. Note the “You” and the “They” as we read in Psalm 17:7-14, “Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, From the wicked who oppress me, From my deadly enemies who surround me. They have closed up their fat hearts; With their mouths they speak proudly. They have now surrounded us in our steps; They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth, As a lion is eager to tear his prey, And like a young lion lurking in secret places. Arise, O Lord, Confront him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword, With Your hand from men, O Lord, From men of the world who have their portion in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure. They are satisfied with children, And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.”

In a message titled, “God Answers Prayer,” Dr. John Lineberry, former pastor of San Mateo Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida, shares, “David reminded us that God not only answers prayer but also delivers us from wicked men who ever seek to do us harm.” He continues, “This same truth is seen in the New Testament in the life of the Apostle Paul who prayed, ‘And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith’ (2 Thess. 3:2).”[4] Dr. Lineberry reminds us, “They are like the man in Matthew 7:26, who built the house of his soul upon the sinking sands of perishing materials.”[5]

III. David expected a future realization of a Superior Desire.

When a person is genuinely born again they have a new desire. The new desire is to be like Jesus. If you do not desire to be like Jesus, you either do not have a relationship with Him or you are out of fellowship with Him. Plainly put, you are either lost or backslidden.

Note the “I” and the “Your” in Psalm 17:15, where we read, “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.”

This verse reminds me of the couplet,

“Faith ends in sight;

Hope ends in delight.”

In The People’s Bible: Discourses Upon Holy Scriptures, Dr. Joseph Parker (1830-1902) commented on Psalm 17:15, “He is no fanatic who sees in such words strugglings after immortality, and the beginning of a new mysterious energy in the soul that will by and by be articulated into resurrection.”[6]

Henry G. Bosch (1914-1995), former editor of Our Daily Bread for Radio Bible Class Ministries from 1956-1981, shares, “My mother’s father, Henry Vander Werp, was a preacher, poet, and songwriter. A fearless, warmhearted servant of the Lord, my grandfather looked forward to seeing his Savior. Like Abraham, he was seeking a ‘better country’ where bliss is untinged by sorrow. Therefore these precious words from Psalm 17:15 were very appropriately inscribed upon his tombstone.”[7]

In Job 19:25-27 we read, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another.”

We read in 1 John 3:1-3, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

From 1 Corinthians 13:12 we read, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”

Conclusion

Amos R. Wells (1862-1933) shares in Think on These Things, “D. L. Moody [1837-1899] was once talking about lazy Christians, and asking whether one of them could enjoy heaven as Paul will. Then he imagines some one asking him about this text. Does it not promise that Christians shall be satisfied in heaven? ‘Yes, I suppose so,’ Moody replied, ‘every cup will be full; but some of them will be pretty small cups, they will hold about a thimbleful.’

The trouble with many Christians is that they are too easily satisfied. They need to enlarge the cups of their hearts. They need to increase their capacity for receiving spiritual blessings. They can know far more about God than they do, they can come much closer to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit has many more secrets of the higher life to communicate to them.

There is a noble contentment and an ignoble one. We are not to be dissatisfied with the lot in which we are placed on earth, or with the powers of body or mind which have been given us; but that does not mean that we should not use every fair opportunity to enlarge our lot and increase our powers. We are to grow in grace and in divine knowledge, and how can we do that without a spiritual appetite?”[8]

In hell there will be no satisfaction. We read in Luke 16:19-31, “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. ‘Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ ‘Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

Only in heaven will we be satisfied at last!

[1]Farlex Trivia Dictionary, accessed 08/20/13 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/unsatisfied

[2]John S. Wimbish, “The Secret of Satisfaction,” Sermon Notes, (Psalm 17:15)

[3]Jack Graham, Diamonds in the Dark, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 85

[4]John Lineberry, “God Answers Prayer,” Sermon Notes, (Psalm 17)

[5]Ibid.

[6]Joseph Parker, The People’s Bible: Discourses Upon Holy Scriptures, Vol. XII, “The Psalter,” (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Publishers, 1890), 147

[7]Henry G. Bosch, Our Daily Bread, “Satisfied At Last!”

[8]Amos R. Wells, Think on These Things: Daily Meditations for a Year, “Satisfied,” December 26th Reading, (Boston, MA: B. A. Wilde Company , 1928), 250

By Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort 30775 Jay Drive Spanish Fort, Alabama 36527

Author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice Available on Amazon.com and WORDsearchbible.com

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