Psalm 16
Above all things, do we find that our hearts are so satisfied in Christ that we find true contentment in Him? Is He our safest stronghold, most marvelous treasure, sovereign ruler, and valued counselor?
"Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16)
How easy is it to answer the above question with, "oh yeah, totally. I am always fully content and confident in my hope in Christ." If you are anything like me, you know this isn't true. There have been so many times in my life that sin has wrecked my thoughts and I have doubted my confidence and hope in Christ.
At a glance, Psalm 16 is written so eloquently and can truly move our hearts to worship just by quickly reading the beautiful contents. However, when we dig deeper into David's heart, mind, and thoughts behind the writing of Psalm 16, the truths are so profound and convicting. Let's break down Psalm 16 verse by verse and study further about our confidence in Christ + who He is to us...
First, let's look at verses 1 and 2:
"Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
By David stating, "in you, I take refuge," the Lord is his safest place, his stronghold, his only refuge. "You, are my Lord; I have NO good apart from you." David is humbling himself before the Lord and stating that he has nothing good to boast about apart from Christ. How true is this for us? We have nothing apart from Him. The Lord is the only One we can rely on for our well-being. He is the sovereign ruler of our lives.
Verses 3 and 4:
"As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight. The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips."
David is implying that he finds delight and joy in fellowship with those that are godly people, those that love God and emanate the fruits of the spirit on a daily basis. In verse 4, David is explaining that it is foolish to run to other idols, and because he loves God so much, he can't fathom worshipping anything other than Him. Often times, this is not our attitude at all. We are unaware of idols that sneak into our lives and become our main focus. Idolatry is a serious, daily battle that we must pray for strength to fight against, otherwise, it will ultimately lead to destruction.
Verses 5 and 6:
"The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."
By David declaring "He is my chosen portion and cup," He is explaining that out of everything in the world, David would choose the Lord over anything. Nothing else truly satisfies other than Christ. In verse 6, "lines" also mean portions, lots, and inheritances and can allude to the Old Testament family land plots and inheritances. This verse indicates David is content with his life and he sees his inheritance as being the Lord's providential hand. He knows that in Christ, he has a divine inheritance and that it is his most marvelous treasure. Praise the Lord that this is our hope too! Through the blood of Jesus, we have graciously been offered the same beautiful inheritance.
Verses 7 and 8:
"I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken."
Aside from God being his stronghold, most beautiful inheritance, marvelous treasure, and sovereign Lord, He is also David's counselor. The Lord guides, instructs and leads him. Verse 8 is unique because as we compare it to verse 1 where David was crying out to the Lord, "preserve me, please!," we see that in verse 8 after David has spent the passage writing truths about who God is to him, we see that he finally has confidence that he knows the Lord will preserve him, and therefore, he will not ever be shaken.
Verses 9, 10, + 11:
"Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 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 verse 9, David is rejoicing because he knows that the Lord will always preserve Him. In verse 10, we see what the Lord was preserving him from; death and corruption. Death will not be the end for David. He sees that the Lord promises eternal life and joy forever in Him, therefore, David can be content and truly glad because his confidence is secure in Christ forever, and he will never be shaken. This is why we should never doubt our hope in Christ. Death is not the end for us either. As His children, He has promised to preserve us, provide for us, sovereignly lead us, and counsel us.
Therefore, we can rejoice and be glad, confident, and content because the God that knew David and the God that graciously provided redemption for sinners through Jesus Christ is the very same God that calls us by name. We can find true contentment in Him being our safest stronghold, most marvelous treasure, sovereign ruler, and valued counselor.
In His presence there truly is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Praise the King!
