Psalm 16
Psalms 16:1-11 Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips. Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
This is a very personal psalm that focuses on the goodness of the Lord. The personal pronoun “my” is used over a dozen times (my trust, my goodness, my cup, etc.). David’s joy (vv. 9, 11) is expressed in words like “delight” (vv. 3, 6), “pleasant” and “pleasure” (vv. 6, 11), and “glad” (v. 9). David finds his delight only in the Lord and confesses that everything good in his life has come from God. This psalm may have been written shortly after the Lord gave His gracious covenant to David and assured him of an enduring throne (2 Samuel 7). That covenant was eventually fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Luke 1:32-33). The style of David’s response to the covenant (2 Samuel 7:18-29) matches that of Psalm 16, a combination of joy, praise to God, humility, and submission to the divine will.
In our study of the psalms of David, thus far, it seems as if David’s life is always in danger, especially in those turbulent years when he fled from King Saul. There was one occasion when David deliberately spared Saul’s life, and then he retreated to an adjacent hilltop and called across the valley to the king. He held up Saul’s spear and the flask of water that had stood beside his bed—graphic evidence that, except for his mercy, Saul would be dead, killed by the hand of David. Then David protested to Saul and the language he used (1 Samuel 26:19-20) is echoed in verses 4-6 of this psalm, which seems to have been written about the time of this incident.
This is a michtam psalm. There are six psalms which bear this description, all are by David and all were written during David’s self-imposed exile. The other five are psalms 56-60. The word michtam has been explained in various ways. Some thinks it comes from a word meaning to engrave, or sculptured writing. If that is the case, the thought would be that here something is preserved that should never be forgotten. Interestingly enough, each one of the michtam psalms preserves the thought of resurrection. Some think the word michtam is mystical in nature, “a psalm of hidden, mysterious meaning.” Others say the word means “a golden psalm.” Michtam suggests that this psalm was one of David’s golden meditations, dealing with truth so significant, it should be preserved forever, although originally a personal, private meditation. All six of the michtam psalms end on a happy and triumphant note. This is also a Messianic psalm, for in his message at Pentecost (Acts 2:25-28), Peter said it referred to Jesus, and so did Paul in his sermon in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:35).
No study of this psalm can be complete unless we see, somewhere in its shadows, the glorious person of whom David was a type, the great, glorious Savior of mankind. Both Peter and Paul cite it as referring to Christ. “Because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” (16:10) is clearly a prophecy of the Lord Jesus.
We are going to look at this psalm, however, more in light of what it meant to David and what it ought to mean to us. We will also investigate the minor disagreement concerning the identity of the man in the psalm—Christ or David?
PRAY
Our Father God, we thank You for loving us so much that You gave Your one and only Son, Jesus Christ, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. We love and adore You. Lord Jesus, thank You for sacrificing Your life on the cross for our sins. Because of You, we can now stand before You as pure, holy, and justified.