Psalm 16 Continued…
Psalm 16:1-2 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.”
In verses 1 and 2, David uses three words for God:
1. He is El in verse 1. El is the abbreviated form of the great name Elohim, God the Creator. El is God as the omnipotent, the all-powerful One. El stands for God in all His strength and might. David is living in the light of that.
2. He is the Lord in verse 2, that is, He is Yahweh, the God of Covenant. He is the God who condescends to enter into a saving contract with men. David is living in the light of that.
3. He is ADONAI, the Lord, or “my Lord,” in the second part of verse 2. Some render the name as “my Sovereign Lord” or, as we would say, “my King.” David is living in the light of that.
Let us bring the three names El, Yahweh, and Adonai together. We might say that “El” is God my Maker, “Yahweh” is God my Mediator, and “Adonai” is God my Master. Here is the protection of the godly man. He is living in the Lord’s presence so no fear can plague him and no foe can deter him.
“Keep me safe” (“preserve me,” KJV) doesn’t suggest David was in trouble or danger, as in Psalms 9 and 13. It simply means that he needed God’s constant care and oversight so that he might honor the Lord and enjoy all the good things that only God could give him. God alone is good (Matthew 19:17), and apart from Him, we have nothing good.
I mentioned in the yesterday’s devotion that there is disagreement over who is speaking in this psalm. There are some who say David, and others who say Jesus. It is certainly David who is speaking here and on down through verse 8; then in verse 9 the psalm turns abruptly to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, which is confirmed by the two great apostles, Peter and Paul; thus, both David and Jesus are present in this wonderful poem.
Then notice how David expresses his confidence in God’s goodness: You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing. “You are my Lord. You do not need my goodness” is the way the Hebrew scholars who translated the Old Testament into the Greek Septuagint handled it, and that is a wonderful way to render it. But other translators have rendered it in a different way. The Revised Standard Version translates it: “I have no good beyond Thee.” In other words, David confesses he has no well-being apart from God-Yahweh, his sovereign Lord. That is the thought here: “I have no good beyond You.” I have Him, and I have everything!
If we follow the Septuagint we find in our Lord the One who saves: “You are my Lord, You do not need my goodness.”
You are my Lord. You created me and have preserved my life, and I owe to you all my service and obedience. The Lord is our greatest treasure (Psalm 73:25, 28), the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). To know him through Jesus Christ is the highest privilege in life.
My goodness. Whatever piety, or virtue, or goodness found in me was placed there by You. The godly man is seen living in the Lord’s presence.
PRAY
Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice. You are the Lord, our Redeemer and Creator, who made all things. You alone stretched out the heavens. You reign forever, executing judgment from Your throne. Thank you for being Creator and ruler of my life!