Well, if you have the Ask Pastor John book handy and you open up to page 177 and you look at the very bottom of that page in the footnote, you'll see that I quote, Pastor John making this very important claim, quote, my favorite verse in the Psalms is Psalm 1611, end quote.

Underline or highlight that, John Piper's favorite verses are not for mugs and t-shirts.

They are well-worn texts for life.

The Bible works, it's living, it's active, it does things.

We believe with our whole heart that a powerful text like Psalm 1611 has been given to us that our lives will be transformed by divine glory.

Psalm 16, which we read together today, is an essential text for every Christian hedonist, and it's on Derek's mind right now, too,

who writes us with this question and this life challenge that he's facing right now.

Hello, Pastor John, I thank you for this podcast. Derek writes, I know that I once read from

you or heard you preach that Psalm 1611 is relevant for the struggle against lust and pornography.

That is my ongoing struggle. But I can't find

where you made this point. The connection from this future-oriented text to my present struggle

with temptation is not especially clear to me. Can you explain how a glorious promise like

Psalm 1611 functions in my daily battle against lust today.

Here's the key verse so everybody knows what we are talking about.

So David, the king in the Old Testament, speaking by the guidance of the Spirit of God, as

Jesus said about the Psalms, you make known to me the path of life.

In your presence, in God's presence, there is fullness of joy.

At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

That's Psalm 1611.

So the Bible promises on God's authority that when we are in

the gracious presence of God, in part now and fully in the age to come, our joy, our happiness will be as full as it can possibly be.

Fulness of joy.

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