Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 16:1

Clarke's Commentary

PSALM XVI

The contents of this Psalm are usually given in the following

manner: David, sojourning among idolaters, and being obliged

to leave his own country through Saul's persecution, cries to

God for help; expresses his abhorrence of idolatry, and his

desire to be again united to God's people, 1-4;

and declares his strong confidence in God, who had dealt

bountifully with him, 5-7.

Then follows a remarkable prophecy of the resurrection of

Christ, 8-11.

NOTES ON PSALM XVI

The title of this Psalm in the Hebrew is מכתם לדוד michtam ledavid, which the Chaldee translates, "A straight sculpture of David." The Septuagint, Στηλογραφια τῳ Δαυιδ, "The inscription on a pillar to David;" as if the Psalm had been inscribed on a pillar, to keep it in remembrance. As כתם catham signifies to engrave or stamp, this has given rise to the above inscription. מכתם michtam also means pure or stamped gold; and hence it has been supposed that this title was given to it on account of its excellence: a golden Psalm, or a Psalm worthy to be written in letters of gold; as some of the verses of Pythagoras were called the golden verses, because of their excellence. Gold being the most excellent and precious of all metals, it has been used to express metaphorically excellence and perfection of every kind. Thus a golden tongue or mouth, the most excellent eloquence; so Chrysostom means, this eminent man having had his name from his eloquence; - a golden book, one of the choicest and most valuable of its kind, c. But I have already sufficiently expressed my doubts concerning the meanings given to these titles. See the note on the title of Psalm lx. Psalms 60:1

That David was the author there can be no doubt. It is most pointedly attributed to him by St. Peter, Acts 2:25-31. That its principal parts might have some relation to his circumstances is also probable but that Jesus Christ is its main scope, not only appears from quotations made by the apostle as above, but from the circumstance that some parts of it never did and never could apply to David. From the most serious and attentive consideration of the whole Psalm, I am convinced that every verse of it belongs to Jesus Christ, and none other: and this, on reference, I find to be the view taken of it by my ancient Psalter. But as he is referred to here as the Redeemer of the world, consequently, as God manifested in the flesh, there are several portions of the Psalm, as well as in the New Testament, where the Divine and human natures are spoken of separately: and if this distinction be properly regarded, we shall find, not only no inconsistency, but a beautiful harmony through the whole.

Verse Psalms 16:1. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. — On the mode of interpretation which I have hinted at above, I consider this a prayer of the man Christ Jesus on his entering on his great atoning work, particularly his passion in the garden of Gethsemane. In that passion, Jesus Christ most evidently speaks as man; and with the strictest propriety, as it was the manhood, not the Godhead, that was engaged in the suffering.

שמרני shomreni, keep me - preserve, sustain, this feeble humanity, now about to bear the load of that punishment due to the whole of the human race. For in thee, חסיתי chasithi, have I hoped. No human fortitude, or animal courage, can avail in my circumstances. These are no common sufferings; they are not of a natural kind; they are not proportioned to the strength of a human body, or the energy of a human spirit; and my immaculate humanity, which is subjected to these sufferings, must be dissolved by them, if not upheld by thee, the strong God. It is worthy of remark, that our Lord here uses the term, אל El, which signifies the strong God, an expression remarkably suited to the frailty of that human nature, which was now entering upon its vicarious sufferings. It will be seen with what admirable propriety the Messiah varies the appellations of the Divine Being in this address; a circumstance which no translation without paraphrase can express.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 14-17 Godly people in ungodly society

Continuing the theme of Psalms 10-13 (concerning the godly person who is downtrodden), the psalmist notes what happens when people refuse to acknowledge God and live as if he does not care about their actions. The result is a corrupt society (14:1-3). Because they have rejected God they have rejected the true standard by which to judge good and evil. They live solely for themselves, with no consideration for others and no thought for God (4). But in the end victory will go to the poor and downtrodden, because God is on their side (5-7).

In Psalms 15:0 David considers the requirements necessary to enter the presence of God (15:1). These all have to do with character and behaviour, not with religious beliefs and observances. People must be honest in their actions, truthful in their speech, and disciplined in their avoidance of slander and gossip (2-3). They must know how to make right judgments between things that are good and things that are not. In addition they must be reliable and trustworthy, keeping their word even when it hurts. They must be generous and helpful, and never take advantage of the poor or defenceless (4-5a). Such people will dwell in the presence of God and enjoy the lasting security that only God can give (5b).

Psalms 16:0 is David’s thanksgiving for one of the many occasions when God rescued him from what seemed to be certain death. He finds pleasure in the fellowship of God and his people, and rejects all other gods and those who worship them (16:1-4). Possessions may satisfy people and property may enrich them, but David considers that because he has God, he has all the satisfaction and wealth he desires (5-6). God is David’s instructor, friend and protector, the source of his stability and security (7-8). God delivers him from death and leads him through life, giving him the constant joy of his presence (9-11).

(The feelings that David expressed in Psalms 16:0 may have represented ideals that he himself never fully experienced. They find their full meaning in Jesus Christ; see Acts 2:25-28; Acts 13:35-37.)

In another prayer that probably belongs to the time of David’s flight from the murderous Saul, David emphasizes his innocence in the strongest terms (17:1-5). He asks God to protect him from his enemies (6-9), after which he describes their wickedness (10-12) and pronounces their certain destruction. Their hunger for wickedness is only building up a heavier weight of judgment, which will not only fall on them but will also affect their offspring (13-14). The wicked are never satisfied, but the psalmist finds full satisfaction in his experience of God (15).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Preserve me, O God; for in thee do I take refuge. O my soul, thou hast said unto Jehovah. Thou art my Lord; I have no good beyond thee. As for the saints that are in the earth, They are the excellent in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that give gifts for another god: Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, Nor take their names upon my lips."

The tone of these verses leaves no doubt whatever that a supernatural Person is in view.

"I have no good beyond thee." Can this be anyone other than Jesus Christ? Could it refer to David? Did he have no "good" beyond the Lord? How about Bathsheba?

"The saints that are in the earth." These are here contrasted with Him who is in heaven, certainly not with David, or any other person on earth.

As McCaw suggested, the continuation here of the earmarks of one who is truly righteous includes the following:

(1)    God is the object of his trust; he takes refuge in Him (Psalms 16:1).

(2)    Yahweh is his sovereign lord, beyond whom there is no good thing (Psalms 16:2).

(3)    He acknowledges the value and fellowship of the saints (Psalms 16:3).

(4)    He shuns all false worship (Psalms 16:4).Leslie S. McCaw, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 460.

"Drink-offerings of blood." The commentators available to us profess to know of no examples, even among the ancient pagans, of such drink-offerings, and suggest that the meaning is that "all of the gifts and sacrifices to pagan deities are as displeasing to God as if they were indeed drink-offerings of blood." To us, however, there seems to be a positive indication in such words as these that there were indeed pagan worshippers who offered such drink-offerings to their gods and goddesses.

Some of the natives of Columbia, South America eat what they call "blood pudding" which is not very far removed from "drinking blood." This so-called "blood pudding" was offered to us who attended the Pan American Lectures in Medellin, Columbia, just a few years ago.

Rawlinson believed that there were sufficient grounds for the conjecture that, "Such offerings may have been employed in the worship of Moloch."G. Rawlinson, op. cit., p. 97.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Preserve me, O God - Keep me; guard me; save me. This language implies that there was imminent danger of some kind - perhaps, as the subsequent part of the psalm would seem to indicate, danger of death. See Psalms 16:8-10. The idea here is, that God was able to preserve him from the impending danger, and that he might hope he would do it.

For in thee do I put my trust - That is, my hope is in thee. He had no other reliance than God; but he had confidence in him - he felt assured that there was safety there.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

This is a prayer in which David commits himself to the protection of God. He does not, however, here implore the aid of God, in some particular emergency, as he often does in other psalms, but he beseeches him to show himself his protector during the whole course of his life, and indeed our safety both in life and in death depends entirely upon our being under the protection of God. What follows concerning trust, signifies much the same thing as if the Holy Spirit assured us by the mouth of David, that God is ready to succor all of us, provided we rely upon him with a sure and steadfast faith; and that he takes under his protection none but those who commit themselves to him with their whole heart. At the same time, we must be reminded that David, supported by this trust, continued firm and unmoved amidst all the storms of adversity with which he was buffeted.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Let's turn now to Psalms 16:1-11 . The sixteenth psalm is called a Michtam of David. A Michtam is actually a meditation or a prayer. And there are about five or six psalms that are designated as Michtam, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, with the sixteenth. David's prayer unto the Lord is,

Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust ( Psalms 16:1 ).

The prayer for preservation. Now David, I guess, all through his life he had those that were out after him. Sometimes without cause. Saul sought to destroy David. Later Absalom his own son rebelled against him. David was a popular king, but it seems that you have, you know, a person has a capacity of gaining friends, but there are some people who just become your enemy because you have so many friends. There was a lot of jealousy. David was a very handsome young man. He was a very athletic person. He was a very dynamic person. And so it did inspire jealousy, and so David was constantly, it seems, being harassed by those that were jealous of him, seeking to get rid of him. And so the prayer, "Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust."

O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord ( Psalms 16:2 ):

Actually, again, if we read it more literally to the Hebrew, "Thou has said unto Jehovah, Thou art my Lord." The two different lords again. The first one the name of God; the second one the title by which it expresses my relationship to Him. "Thou art my Lord," my Adonai, my Master. The translation:

my goodness extendeth not to thee ( Psalms 16:2 );

Is actually a poor translation. That would much better be translated, because that doesn't really make much sense, "My goodness extendeth not to Thee." Literally it is, "I have no goodness but Thee," and that is a much better translation. "Lord, I have no goodness but Thee." If there is anything that is good in me, it is from the Lord. I have no goodness outside of Him.

Paul tells us that, "What do you have but what you have received? And if you have received it, then why do you boast as though you didn't receive it?" ( 1 Corinthians 4:7 ) If there is any goodness in my life, it is because of God's work in my life. I can't go around and boast or brag about my work for God or my righteousness or anything else, because my righteousness is that gift of God to me, through my faith in Jesus Christ. "I have no goodness but Thee, Lord," and so it is surely something that we all agree in that truth.

Now, David speaks concerning those that would worship other gods.

Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names unto my lips ( Psalms 16:4 ).

I will not utter the names of the other gods, nor will I take up their drink offerings of blood.

Now this is exactly what God had prohibited in the law when He said, "Thou shalt not drink or eat blood." God was referring to the pagan sacrifices, where they would sacrifice an animal to their gods, and as they would take the blood of the animal, they would drink it as a libation unto their gods. The drinking of blood, it was definitely prohibited in the law, not to drink the blood of animals. But it is tragic that the ignorant leaders of the Jehovah Witnesses have translated that commandment to mean that you are not the have any blood transfusions. And as a result of this mistranslation due to the ignorance of the leaders, they are killing more people every year than Jim Jones killed down in Ghana. Hundreds, thousands of people are dying every year because they refuse to take a blood transfusion, because the ignorant leaders of the Watch Tower Society have declared to them that they are damning their souls if they take a blood transfusion because the Bible says that you are not to drink blood.

But God is referring to the pagan practices that were extent in those days where they would sacrifice an animal to their god and take the blood of the animal and drink it. And David is saying, "I will not drink their drink offerings of blood." Referring to the very same practice. It is tragic that the blind are leading the blind into the ditch. My heart goes out to the people that are going around door to door, because they have been deceived by those leaders into believing everything that comes out from Brooklyn is gospel truth. That these men are the true spokesmen for God. Every church is trying to deceive them. They are the only ones who are really preaching the truth of God; all of the churches are really mixed up in the Babylonian system of religion, and thus, all of the churches are to perish and they only have the truth. And these poor people have been deceived, and they are going around door to door to spread that deception. But death is the fruit of that deception.

The LORD is the portion of my inheritance, and of my cup ( Psalms 16:5 ):

I am not going to drink the cup of their drink offerings of blood to their gods, but the Lord is my inheritance and of my cup.

thou maintainest my position. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my mind also will instruct me in the night seasons ( Psalms 16:5-7 ).

Oftentimes I have found that God speaks to me in the night seasons. It used to be when I was younger that I could never remember when I laid down at night. Just slept straight through until the alarm in the morning. But as I am getting older, somehow I just don't sleep through like I used to. Now noises in the night can wake me up. Used to be that you could shake and rattle. In fact, I used to counsel young kids up at the summer camps and I would say to them, "Now, kids, if you are smart you will just wait until I go to sleep and you can carry the camp off and I will never know it. But let me get to sleep." And so they wised up and they would let me get to sleep and then they would terrorize the camp. I'd never know it. I slept so soundly. Nothing would disturb my sleep. But things have changed, and now there are things that do disturb my sleep at night. And it used to be if something would disturb me, I could just roll right back over and go right back to sleep. But, you know, the phone rings at three in the morning and then I have difficulty going back to sleep after that. And I just lie there and I just sort of toss because I have been awakened out of a deep sleep, and now I am in the tossing stage. And I used to get upset at tossing, but no more. I find this is just glorious time to commune with the Lord. He instructs me in the night seasons just to open my heart to God, and it is amazing the things that God pours into my heart in the night hours. So I just now take it as an opportunity, rather than cursing the sleeplessness of night. I just take it as a neat opportunity to be instructed of the Lord in the night seasons.

I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved ( Psalms 16:8 ).

And now we are actually getting into a prophecy. Peter quotes this on the day of Pentecost when they have been challenged because of the phenomenon that has taken place, the sound like a mighty rushing wind. The Galilean disciples speaking in many different dialects, and the accusation, "These men are filled with new wine. They are drunk with new wine." And Peter said, "No, these are not drunk as you suppose. It is only nine o'clock in the morning. It is too early to be drunk, but this is that which is spoken of by the prophet Joel," and then he quotes the prophet Joel.

And then he, having given them a scriptural basis for the phenomenon that they were observing, he then began to preach to them. The message was of Jesus. There were seven points to the message. He began by the identification of the person he was going to talk about, "Jesus of Nazareth." There were a lot of little Jewish boys named Jesus. It was a popular name, because Joshua was one of the national heroes. After all, he was the one that led them into the Promise Land. "Jehovah is salvation." So there were many Jewish mothers that were hoping that their child would be the savior also of Israel, and so they named their little boys Joshua, which in Greek is Jesus. And so to identify Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." There was probably a Jesus of Jerusalem, and of Bethany, and of Bethel, and of Samaria, so to identify Him, "Jesus of Nazareth. A man who was proved to be of God by the miracles and wonders that He did in your midst. Whom you, according to the predetermined counsel and foreknowledge of God, with your wicked hands have crucified and slain. But God has raised Him from the dead." The center truth of the message of Peter. The central truth is the resurrection of Jesus.

That is the central message of the New Testament, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the hope and the basis of the hope for our whole Christian experience. If Christ be not raised from the dead, then our faith is in vain; we are hopeless. So the central truth, the message of the New Testament, the resurrection. So Peter gets it in the center of the truth that he is proclaiming, "Whom God hath raised from the dead, for it was not possible that He could be held by it. For David," he said, "by the mouth of the Holy Spirit spake of Him saying, 'Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither will You allow the Holy One to see corruption." In fact, he quoted the whole.

Therefore my heart shall be glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou allow the Holy One to see corruption ( Psalms 16:9-10 ).

Peter saw this as God's direct promise to His Son. And no doubt Jesus made reference to this, and that is why Peter made the association. That this was God's promise to Jesus, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, and neither will You allow your Holy One to see corruption."

Now concerning David, "Let me tell you, he was a prophet and he spake not of himself, but of Him who was to come. And we do testify that God did not leave His soul in hell, and neither did He allow His Holy One to see corruption. But this same Jesus hath God raised from the dead and is exalted Him to the right hand of the throne on high, and has given to Him this which He has shed forth upon us which you now see. That is, the gift of the Holy Spirit." For He said, "I will pray the Father. He'll send you another comforter, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive."

So this what you see is the result of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it is His promise to send the Holy Spirit upon us. But He went into hell with the promise of God that His soul would not be left in hell. So that when Jesus died, and this hell is the Hebrew Sheol, which is also translated grave. "Thou wilt not leave my soul in Sheol, the grave, or hell." Now, prior to the death of Jesus Christ, Sheol of the Hebrew, or Hades of the Greek, was an area in the center of the earth that was divided into two compartments.

And Jesus tells us about it in the sixteenth chapter of the gospel of Luke, where He tells about a certain rich man who faired sumptuously every day and a poor man that was brought daily and laid at his gate full of sores, and the dogs came and licked his sores. And how that the poor man died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And also the rich man died, and in Hades, hell, lifted up his eyes being in torment. And seeing Abraham afar off and Lazarus there, the man he recognized, being comforted in Abraham's bosom, cried and said, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to me that he may take his finger, dip it in water, touch my tongue. I am tormented in this heat." Abraham said, "Well, son, you remember in your lifetime you had the good things, Lazarus evil. Now he is comforted while you are tormented. Besides that, between us there is a gulf that is fixed. It is impossible for those that are here to go over there or those that are there to come over here." "Then I pray thee, if he cannot come over here, send him back, send him back to the earth that he might warn my brothers, lest they come to this awesome place." Abraham said, "They have the law and the prophets. If they will not believe them, neither will they believe should one come back again from the dead."

So Jesus gives us a description of hell in the center of the earth. For one day they were asking Jesus for a sign and He said, "A wicked and an adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" ( Matthew 12:39-40 ). So it is located for us by Jesus.

Now Peter is telling us that this was God's promise to His Son, "Thou will not leave my soul in hell, neither will You allow the Holy One to see corruption." Paul tells us, in the fourth chapter of Ephesians that He who ascended is the same one who first of all descended into the lower parts of the earth. And when He ascended, He led the captives from their captivity. So when Jesus ascended from the grave, those that were there with Abraham, being comforted, awaiting the promise of God, were delivered from the grave also. He set free those captives.

You remember the prophecy of Isaiah, in the sixty-first chapter where it said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, to mend up those that are broken. To set at liberty those that are bound and to open the prison doors to those that are captive." He is talking about the prison doors of death, of Hades, to those that were captive. In the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, when we are told of all of these great saints of the Old Testament, who by faith, wrought all of these wonderful things, the chapter concludes, "Now these all died in faith, not having received the promise." That is, of resurrection and of eternal life, "but seeing it afar off, they embraced it, they held on to it, and they claimed that they were just strangers and pilgrims here." They were looking for a city which hath foundation, whose maker and builder is God. And then in the end of the chapter, again it says, "These all died in faith not having received the promise, God having reserved some better thing for us, that they without us could not come into the perfect or completed state."

Until Jesus made the provision on the cross to put away sins, they could not come into the completed state in heaven. The Old Testament sacrifices served to cover their sins, but it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats could put away sin. All they could do was to testify of a better offering that was to come, the offering of Jesus Christ Himself for our sins, by which He made the way into heaven for all men. So those in the Old Testament who were by faith believing the promise of God and trusting God through faith to fulfill His promise, they were in one side of hell being comforted by Abraham, and they were released from that captivity at the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Peter, the epistle of Peter, we read where Jesus went down and preached to those souls that were in prison. And so for three days and three nights Jesus was preaching the glorious Good News to those who had been waiting with faithful Abraham for God's promises to be fulfilled. What a time of rejoicing that must have been. And then when He ascended, He broke the bars of the grave. He ascended. He led the captives from their captivity, and gave gifts unto men. So Peter is quoting this in the New Testament, he said, "David, being a prophet, spoke not of himself; his sepulcher is with us till this day. But he was speaking of Jesus, and we bear witness, God did not leave His soul in hell, neither did He allow the Holy One to see corruption."

For thou wilt show to me the path of life: and in thy presence is fullness of joy; and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore ( Psalms 16:11 ).

This now is the exalted place of Jesus Christ, at the right hand of the Father. He said, "Henceforth You'll not see Me until you see Me sitting there at the right hand of My Father in glory." At thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore, in thy presence there is fullness of joy God has shown to me, not death. "Thou will not leave my soul in the grave, but You have shown to me the path of life." And so the glorious promise to the Son. "And who for the joy that was set before Him by the Father endured the cross though He despised the shame" ( Hebrews 12:2 ).

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

This verse is a kind of topic sentence for the section. It is a prayer for protection in some unidentified distress based on the psalmist’s confidence in the Lord’s protection.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. Joy in present distress 16:1-8

In this first section of the psalm, David reflected on what he had come to know about the Lord and how this knowledge comforted him.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 16

This psalm voices the joy David experienced in his life, because of his trust in God and fellowship with God, even though he faced distressing physical dangers. David appears in this psalm as the type of person that he described in the previous psalm. Chisholm classified this psalm as indirectly Messianic (cf. Acts 2:22-31; Acts 13:35-37), [Note: Chisholm, pp. 293-95.] and Merrill called it a psalm of confidence. [Note: Merrill, "Psalms," p. 414.]

The meaning of "mikhtam" (NASB) in the title is not clear. All the suggested explanations that I have read (engraved in gold, to cover, secret treasure, pithy saying, etc.) seem unconvincing. Fortunately we do not need to know the sure meaning of this term to understand and appreciate the psalm. Ironside believed there is some correspondence between Psalms 16 and the meal offering in Israel’s worship (Leviticus 2). He also saw these connections: Psalms 40 and the burnt offering, Psalms 85 and the peace offering, Psalms 22 and the sin offering, and Psalms 69 and the trespass offering. [Note: Ironside, p. 77.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Preserve me, O God,.... Prayer is proper to Christ as man; he offered up many prayers and supplications to Cost, even his Father, and his God, and as the strong and mighty God, as the word i here used is commonly rendered by interpreters; with whom, all things are possible, and who is able to save; see Hebrews 5:7; and this petition for preservation was suitable to him and his case, and was heard and answered by God; he was very remarkably preserved in his infancy from the rage and fury of Herod; and very wonderfully was his body preserved and supported in the wilderness under a fast of forty days and forty nights together, and from being torn to pieces by the wild beasts among which he was, and from the temptations of Satan, with which he was there assaulted; and throughout the whole of his ministry he was preserved from being hindered in the execution of his office, either by the flatteries, or menaces, or false charges of his enemies; and though his life was often attempted they could not take it away before his time: and whereas Christ is in this psalm represented as in the view of death and the grave, this petition may be of the same kind with those in John 12:27; and put up with the same submission to the will of God; and at least may intend divine help and support in his sufferings and death, preservation from corruption in the grave, and the resurrection of him from the dead; and it may also include his concern for the preservation of his church, his other self, and the members of it, his apostles, disciples, and all that did or should believe in his name, for whom he prayed after this manner a little before his death; see Luke 22:31;

for in thee do I put my trust: or "have hoped" k; the graces of faith and hope were implanted in the heart of Christ, as man, who had the gifts and graces of the Spirit without measure bestowed on him, and these very early appeared in him, and showed themselves in a very lively exercise, Psalms 22:7; and were in a very eminent manner exercised by him a little before his death, in the view of it, and when he was under his sufferings, and hung upon the cross, Isaiah 1:6

Matthew 27:46; and this his trust and confidence in God alone, and not in any other, is used as a reason or argument for his preservation and safety.

i אל "Deus fortis seu potens", Muis; "Deus omnipotens", Cocceius, Michaelis. k חסיתי בך "speravi in te", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

Michtam of David.

      1 Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.   2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;   3 But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.   4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.   5 The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.   6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.   7 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.

      This psalm is entitled Michtam, which some translate a golden psalm, a very precious one, more to be valued by us than gold, yea, than much fine gold, because it speaks so plainly of Christ and his resurrection, who is the true treasure hidden in the field of the Old Testament.

      I. David here flies to God's protection with a cheerful believing confidence in it (Psalms 16:1; Psalms 16:1): "Preserve me, O God! from the deaths, and especially from the sins, to which I am continually exposed; for in thee, and in thee only, do I put my trust." Those that by faith commit themselves to the divine care, and submit themselves to the divine guidance, have reason to hope for the benefit of both. This is applicable to Christ, who prayed, Father, save me from this hour, and trusted in God that he would deliver him.

      II. He recognizes his solemn dedication of himself to God as his God (Psalms 16:2; Psalms 16:2): "O my soul! thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord, and therefore thou mayest venture to trust him." Note, 1. It is the duty and interest of every one of us to acknowledge the Lord for our Lord, to subject ourselves to him, and then to stay ourselves upon him. Adonai signifies My stayer, the strength of my heart. 2. This must be done with our souls: "O my soul! thou hast said it." Covenanting with God must be heart-work; all that is within us must be employed therein and engaged thereby. 3. Those who have avouched the Lord for their Lord should be often putting themselves in mind of what they have done. "Hast thou said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord? Say it again then, stand to it, abide by it, and never unsay it. Hast thou said it? Take the comfort of it, and live up to it. He is thy Lord, and worship thou him, and let thy eye be ever towards him."

      III. He devotes himself to the honour of God in the service of the saints (Psalms 16:2; Psalms 16:3): My goodness extends not to thee, but to the saints. Observe, 1. Those that have taken the lord for their Lord must, like him, be good and do good; we do not expect happiness without goodness. 2. Whatever good there is in us, or is done by us, we must humbly acknowledge that it extends not to God; so that we cannot pretend to merit any thing by it. God has no need of our services; he is not benefited by them, nor can they add any thing to his infinite perfection and blessedness. The wisest, and best, and most useful, men in the world cannot be profitable to God, Job 22:2; Job 35:7. God is infinitely above us, and happy without us, and whatever good we do it is all from him; so that we are indebted to him, not he to us: David owns it (1 Chronicles 29:14), Of thy own have we given thee. 3. If God be ours, we must, for his sake, extend our goodness to those that are his, to the saints in the earth; for what is done to them he is pleased to take as done to himself, having constituted them his receivers. Note, (1.) There are saints in the earth; and saints on earth we must all be, or we shall never be saints in heaven. Those that are renewed by the grace of God, and devoted to the glory of God, are saints on earth. (2.) The saints in the earth are excellent ones, great, mighty, magnificent ones, and yet some of them so poor in the world that they need to have David's goodness extended to them. God makes them excellent by the grace he gives them. The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour, and then he accounts them excellent. They are precious in his sight and honourable; they are his jewels, his peculiar treasure. Their God is their glory, and a diadem of beauty to them. (3.) All that have taken the Lord for their God delight in his saints as excellent ones, because they bear his image, and because he loves them. David, though a king, was a companion of all that feared God (Psalms 119:63), even the meanest, which was a sign that his delight was in them. (4.) It is not enough for us to delight in the saints, but, as there is occasion, our goodness must extend to them; we must be ready to show them the kindness they need, distribute to their necessities, and abound in the labour of love to them. This is applicable to Christ. The salvation he wrought out for us was no gain to God, for our ruin would have been no loss to him; but the goodness and benefit of it extend to us men, in whom he delighteth, Proverbs 8:31. For their sakes, says he, I sanctify myself,John 17:19. Christ delights even in the saints on earth, notwithstanding their weaknesses and manifold infirmities, which is a good reason why we should.

      IV. He disclaims the worship of all false gods and all communion with their worshippers, Psalms 16:4; Psalms 16:4. Here, 1. He reads the doom of idolaters, who hasten after another God, being mad upon their idols, and pursuing them as eagerly as if they were afraid they would escape from them: Their sorrows shall be multiplied, both by the judgments they bring upon themselves from the true God whom they forsake and by the disappointment they will meet with in the false gods they embrace. Those that multiply gods multiply griefs to themselves; for, whoever thinks one God too little, will find two too many, and yet hundreds not enough. 2. He declares his resolution to have no fellowship with them nor with their unfruitful works of darkness: "Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, not only because the gods they are offered to are a lie, but because the offerings themselves are barbarous." At God's altar, because the blood made atonement, the drinking of it was most strictly prohibited, and the drink-offerings were of wine; but the devil prescribed to his worshippers to drink of the blood of the sacrifices, to teach them cruelty. "I will have nothing to do" (says David) "with those bloody deities, nor so much as take their names into my lips with any delight in them or respect to them." Thus must we hate idols and idolatry with a perfect hatred. Some make this also applicable to Christ and his undertaking, showing the nature of the sacrifice he offered (it was not the blood of bulls and goats, which was offered according to the law; that was never named, nor did he ever make any mention of it, but his own blood), showing also the multiplied sorrows of the unbelieving Jews, who hastened after another king, Cæsar, and are still hastening after another Messiah, whom they in vain look for.

      V. He repeats the solemn choice he had made of God for his portion and happiness (Psalms 16:5; Psalms 16:5), takes to himself the comfort of the choice (Psalms 16:6; Psalms 16:6), and gives God the glory of it, Psalms 16:7; Psalms 16:7. This is very much the language of a devout and pious soul in its gracious exercises.

      1. Choosing the Lord for its portion and happiness. "Most men take the world for their chief good, and place their felicity in the enjoyments of it; but this I say, The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup, the portion I make choice of, and will gladly take up with, how poor soever my condition is in this world. Let me have the love and favour of God, and be accepted of him; let me have the comfort of communion with God, and satisfaction in the communications of his graces and comforts; let me have an interest in his promises, and a title by promise to everlasting life and happiness in the future state; and I have enough, I need no more, I desire no more, to complete my felicity." Would we do well and wisely for ourselves, we must take God, in Christ, to be, (1.) The portion of our inheritance in the other world. Heaven is an inheritance. God himself is the inheritance of the saints there, whose everlasting bliss is to enjoy him. We must take that for our inheritance, our home, our rest, our lasting, everlasting, good, and look upon this world to be no more ours than the country through which our road lies when we are on a journey. (2.) The portion of our cup in this world, with which we are nourished, and refreshed, and kept from fainting. Those have not God for theirs who do not reckon his comforts the most reviving cordials, acquaint themselves with them, and make use of them as sufficient to counterbalance all the grievances of this present time and to sweeten the most bitter cup of affliction.

      2. Confiding in him for the securing of this portion: "Thou maintainest my lot. Thou that hast by promise made over thy self to me, to be mine, wilt graciously make good what thou hast promised, and never leave me to myself to forfeit this happiness, nor leave it in the power of my enemies to rob me of it. Nothing shall pluck me out of thy hands, nor separate me from thy love, and the sure mercies of David." The saints and their bliss are kept by the power of God.

      3. Rejoicing in this portion, and taking a complacency in it (Psalms 16:6; Psalms 16:6): The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Those have reason to say so that have God for their portion; they have a worthy portion, a goodly heritage. What can they have better? What can they desire more? Return unto thy rest, O my soul! and look no further. Note, Gracious persons, though they still covet more of God, never covet more than God; but, being satisfied of his loving-kindness, they are abundantly satisfied with it, and envy not any their carnal mirth and sensual pleasures and delights, but account themselves truly happy in what they have, and doubt not but to be completely happy in what they hope for. Those whose lot is cast, as David's was, in a land of light, in a valley of vision, where God is known and worshipped, have, upon that account, reason to say, The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; much more those who have not only the means, but the end, not only Immanuel's land, but Immanuel's love.

      4. Giving thanks to God for it, and for grace to make this wise and happy choice (Psalms 16:7; Psalms 16:7): "I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel, this counsel, to take him for my portion and happiness." So ignorant and foolish are we that, if we be left to ourselves, our hearts will follow our eyes, and we shall choose our own delusions, and forsake our own mercies for lying vanities; and therefore, if we have indeed taken God for our portion and preferred spiritual and eternal blessings before those that are sensible and temporal, we must thankfully acknowledge the power and goodness of divine grace directing and enabling us to make that choice. If we have the pleasure of it, let God have the praise of it.

      5. Making a good use of it. God having given him counsel by his word and Spirit, his own reins also (his own thoughts) instructed him in the night-season; when he was silent and solitary, and retired from the world, then his own conscience (which is called the reins,Jeremiah 17:10) not only reflected with comfort upon the choice he had made, but instructed or admonished him concerning the duties arising out of this choice, catechized him, and engaged and quickened him to live as one that had God for his portion, by faith to live upon him and to live to him. Those who have God for their portion, and who will be faithful to him, must give their own consciences leave to deal thus faithfully and plainly with them.

      All this may be applied to Christ, who made the Lord his portion and was pleased with that portion, made his Father's glory his highest end and made it his meat and drink to seek that and to do his will, and delighted to prosecute his undertaking, pursuant to his Father's counsel, depending upon him to maintain his lot and to carry him through his undertaking. We may also apply it to ourselves in singing it, renewing our choice of God as ours, with a holy complacency and satisfaction.