Weds 9 September - Psalm 16
Psalm 16
1 Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.2 I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.’
3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,
‘They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.’
4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names on my lips.5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
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Meditation on Psalm 16
This Psalm is a very personal Psalm which focuses on David’s relationship with His God. We can also apply it to ourselves in our relationship with God. There is, towards the end of the Psalm, a clear reference to the King of kings, Jesus. Peter refers to this Psalm when he preaches on the Day of Pentecost - we’ll come to that later.
Verse 1 A prayer
Verses 2-8 A confidence
Verses 9-11 A future
At the beginning of this Psalm David prays a very short but direct prayer. He longs for safety. We don’t know what the actual reason was that led him to long for safety – perhaps it was the threat of death, which he often faced as he was hounded by Saul and threatened by him on many occasions.
Note that his prayer is a personal plea to “MY God.” Here is that personal relationship that he enjoyed. Here is a personal relationship that we also can enjoy.
Why? How can we be so confident in this relationship?
“in you I take refuge.”
Here is a safe place to be. Psalm 46:1 starts off with that same confidence – ‘God IS our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.’
David knows who to go to in times of trouble.
David then expands on why he has such confidence in His God, in whom he finds his refuge.
God is David’s treasure. He is his all-in-all – ‘apart from you I have no good thing.’
God’s people are David’s delight. He doesn’t need to go after anyone or anything else. Why chase after gods who are nothing and who give nothing? David won’t give them time or room in his thinking or in his living. He knows that going after such gods will lead to more and more trouble.
God is David’s security. He alone is all David needs.
God is David’s inheritance. David has a guaranteed future and it is tied up in God. It is a ‘delightful inheritance.’
God is David’s counsellor. People will pay hundreds of pounds for their counsellor. David’s counsellor doesn’t charge a fee.
God is David’s instructor. He couldn’t have had a better teacher.
David fixes his eyes on this God and can declare with confidence, “With Him at my right hand, I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.”
So too, our confidence can be rooted in God as we take refuge in Him.
Then we come to one of those biblical ‘Therefore…’
Perhaps this is the reason for David’s prayer for safety.
For many people, death is the end and there is a real fear but not for David, nor for us as we put our trust in God through the Lord Jesus Christ. For Jesus has tasted death for us all but He has come through and broken the power of death.
“My body will rest secure.”
“I will not be abandoned in death.”
“I will not see decay.”
Although this may happen physically, as it did with David, it will not happen spiritually because as Jesus was raised from the dead, so too will we be raised when Jesus comes again. And, as Jesus went back to heaven, He is now preparing a place for us there. This is what Peter was alluding to on the Day of Pentecost – cf. Acts 2:22-33
When that day comes, we will be in His presence.
When that day comes, we will be filled ‘with eternal pleasures at His right hand.’
Our security and our future is in Him and Him alone. Praise the Lord.
(Roger Purdom)
Daily Readings
Thursday 3 September - Psalm 10
Friday 4 September - Psalm 11
Saturday 5 September - Psalm 12
Sunday 6 September - Psalm 13
Monday 7 September - Psalm 14
Tuesday 8 September - Psalm 15