May 4 – Psalm 16
GOD GIVES LIFE
Psalm 16, a psalm of lament, has a remarkable prophetic aspect that parallels many of the messianic prophecies concerning the Suffering Servant (Is 53). This poem of David became central in the preaching of the apostles in the early church (acts 2:22-31).
This psalm is a celebration of the joy of fellowship that David realized comes from faith in the Lord. The psalm may have been written when he faced great danger in the wilderness or opposition in his reign. Whatever its occasion, David was convinced that because he had come to know and trust the Lord as his Portion in life, he could trust Him in the face of death.
This can be broken down into two main sections: (1) the Lord is David’s Portion in life (1–8); and (2) The Lord will preserve David (9-11). The psalm has four main movements: (1) a petition to God for deliverance (vv. 1-3); (2) a condemnation of the wicked and their practices (v. 4); (3) an exaltation of the psalmist’s relationship with God (vv. 5-8); (4) a confident assertion that God will spare the psalmist’s life and bless it (vv. 9-11).
1 Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”
3 As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. 8 I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. 10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. 11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (NASB)
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- The joy of fellowship with God
- In His presence, there is fullness of joy
- Take refuge in God
- Praise the Lord in each and every circumstance
CLOSER LOOK:
Verse 1: In verses 1–8 David reviewed how he had come to know and trust in the Lord. Verse 1 seems to summarize the entire psalm: Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge. Then David developed the idea of his having taken refuge in the Lord. David uses the expression of a bird seeking refuge under its mother’s wing to indicate his complete trust in the Lord (compare 7:1; 11:1). From this strong stance of confidence, he is able to boast that his goodness comes only from God. He shares with the people of God the enjoyment of God’s presence.
Verse 2: David announced his exclusive trust in the Lord. His statement of faith was, You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing (cf. 34:10; 84:11).
Verses 3–4: Based on his commitment to the Lord, the psalmist described the society of friends with whom he was identified. He delighted in godly people (saints) in the land, whom he considered to be the noble (glorious) ones. God had called His people to be a holy nation (Ex. 19:6), and God’s servant recognized that such were his company. They were the faithful who served the Lord. The others, those … who run after other gods, will face sorrows and difficulties. David would not endorse their actions, or help them with their vain worship, or even mention the names of their gods. His loyalty was with righteous believers.
Verses 5–6: In direct address to the Lord, David extolled His blessings. David compared the Lord to a portion (cf. 73:26; 119:57; 142:5) allotted to him by inheritance. The Lord was all he needed to satisfy his heart in life. “My inheritance” (v. 5) refers to the Promised Land. God had given this inheritance to His people (Deut 6:1-3). However, there was a greater inheritance for the Levites, who did not receive a share in the land (Num 26:62); their share of the inheritance was in the Lord. David had an ancestral inheritance in the land. As king, he also had extensive royal holdings. But he realized that no inheritance was greater than his relationship with Almighty God.
Besides his portion and his cup, the Lord had assigned him a delightful inheritance. The boundary lines in pleasant places speak of portions of land measured by line and distributed by lot. In other words, he compared God’s blessings to the best inheritance a person could receive. The Lord had given him a wonderfully full life.
Verses 7–8: As a result of all this bounty, David praised the Lord because He counseled him at night (as well as in the daytime) and because He guided him safely (Praise is lit., “bless,” which means “to speak well of.” This is the first of about two dozen times in the Psalms where the Lord is said to be “blessed,” usually translated “praised” in the NIV).[1] Because of this David knew that he would not be shaken (cf. 15:5b) from his walk of integrity and enjoyment of the blessings he had in the Lord.
Verses 9–11: David was assured that the Lord would preserve his life in the face of death. He rejoiced because God enabled his body to rest securely even when confronted with death. The reason he could rest is that God would not abandon him to the grave, nor let His holy one see decay. This verse refers to David, who describes himself as God’s “holy one,” that is, one of God’s saints (cf. v. 3). He took comfort in the fact that God would not, at that time, allow his body to die and decay in the grave. In fact, God had caused him to know the path of life so he anticipated experiencing further joy in God’s presence (v. 11). With this “path of life” phrase, David speaks of his escape from death at a critical point, but he also indicates the eternal life given by the resurrected Savior to all who trust in Him.
Verses 8–11 were cited by Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:25–28) and Psalm 16:10b was quoted by Paul at Antioch (Acts 13:35–37) in reference to Christ’s resurrection. So the words of David are also typological; they transcended his own experience and became historically true in Christ. Preservation from the decaying grave is the idea behind both David’s and Jesus’ experiences, but with David it came through a deliverance from death, whereas with Jesus it came through a resurrection from death.
Death posed no threat to David because he enjoyed great blessing and fellowship with the Lord. God would not permit death and the grave to interrupt that marvelous fellowship. So in a fuller sense this is true of believers today, who having the full revelation about the doctrine of resurrection, can say that even when they die, God will not let death destroy that full fellowship they enjoy with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23). This expression of faith is possible because Christ conquered death (Luke 24:6) and rose to become the firstfruits of all who sleep (1 Cor. 15:20).
JOY:
Let’s take a closer look at the word Joy in verse 11 (Heb שִׂמְחָה (śim·ḥā(h)); Strong’s 8057; cf. Neh 8:12, 17; Prov 21:15; Jonah 4:6). This Hebrew word is one of several frequently used Hebrew words that express exceeding gladness or rejoicing. Like its synonyms, this word can apply to a disposition of the heart (Prov 14:10; Jer 15:16). It is repeatedly set in a context of feasting (Neh 8:12) and singing (137:3; 1 Sam 18:6), as it is in a prophecy concerning God’s singing over Jerusalem (Zeph 3:17). The word is also used for the senseless happiness of the enemies of God’s people (Jud 16:23; Ezek 35:15; 36:5), of the foolish (Prov 15:21), of the lazy (Prov 21:17), and of the hypocrites (Job 20:5).[3] However, joy in the Bible is usually associated with the people of God, who celebrate God’s blessing at a number of occasions—feasts, coronations of kings, victories in battle, and the dedication of the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem (Num 10:10; 1 Kings 1:40; 2 Chr 20:27; Neh 12:27).[4] In fact, Moses exhorts the Israelites to serve God with joy, so that they would not lose their blessing (Deut 28:47).
[1] Allen P. Ross, “Psalm,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 804.
[2] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 658.
[3] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 658.
[4] Ibid.