Psalm 16: I Can't Get No Satisfaction

Psalm 16:11 "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

In 1965, the Rolling Stones released a song called "I Can't Get No Satisfaction." To be honest with all of you, I may have heard the song three times in my entire life (including listening to it right now), and I have absolutely no clue what the message of the song is or even its context. Nonetheless, the title paints a picture: so often in life, we can't get no satisfaction. We try to hard (as the song says) to get it, and yet we are left dry. Psalm 16 offers us great help in this area, as it encourages us to look to the Lord and the Lord alone for satisfaction.

In Psalm 16, David utters a wonderful statement to the Lord: "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you" (2). This is truly a great statement that summarizes the entire psalm. David is seeking refuge in the Lord, and he knows that he will find it because the Lord is his only source of good (2). David then goes through telling of what "good" is found in the Lord in the telling of his goodness in his people (3), in contrast to other gods (4), in his blessings (5), in his inheritance (6), in his counsel (7), in his protection (8-9), in his presence (10), and in his leadership (11). Today, for sake of time, we are just going to take a look at that last goodness of the Lord that David states: goodness in the Lord's leadership, and how we can be satisfied in that thing and that thing alone.

Psalm 16:11 reads like this: "You make known to me that path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." This is truly a great and comforting verse that we can lean on when we find ourselves not getting any satisfaction. David tells us here of the goodness foud in the Lord's leadership, that is, that he makes known to us the path of life. We do not know where to go to find life, joy, and pleasure, but God surely does, and he is more than willing to lead us in the right direction (see Psalm 23). However, his leadership does not stop there, because it leads us furthermore to joy and pleasures FOREVERMORE. Notice the psalmists thoughts here: God makes known to him the path of life, and in following that path he finds fullness of joy and pleasure. This is a simple and biblical forumula that will lead us to everlasting satisfaction. In this devotional this morning, the message is simple: in order to find satisfaction, we must follow the Lord's path that he makes known to us. He is the only source of joy, pleasure, and satisfaction. If we seek any other gods of this world (see verse 4), they will not satisfy. But true and lasting satisfaction is found in God and God alone.

So, are you singing with the Rolling Stones "I can't get no satisfaction"? If so, I encourage you to follow the ways of the Lord. He will deliver you from discontentment, and offer you pleasures FOREVERMORE. Amen.