Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 16:1
Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
1. Preserve me ] Not that he is at the moment in special danger; but only in God’s keeping (Psa 12:7; Psa 17:8) can soul and body be safe.
God ] El, as in Psa 5:4; Psa 17:6.
for in thee &c.] For in thee have I taken refuge. God is responsible for protecting His liegeman. See note on Psa 7:1, and cp. Psa 17:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1, 2. The Psalmist’s prayer and profession of faith.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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 Psa 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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 16:1-11
Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust.
Faith in the presence of God
This term suggests that the Psalm is one of strongly marked, incisive thought. It is a Psalm doubly notable–
1. Because it contains one of the brightest and most unhesitating expressions of faith in the presence of God, as extending through and beyond death, and preserving the life both of soul and body. It therefore stands in marked contrast with the desponding doubts of such passages as Psa 88:1-18 –basing itself on the conviction, which our Lord declared to underlie the whole covenant, that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
2. Because it is quoted most explicitly in the New Testament as a Messianic prophecy, an inspired utterance, which was no doubt in some degree applied by the Psalmist to himself as having unity with God, and therefore defying death, but which could be in its full meaning spoken of the Messiah alone (Act 2:25-31; Act 13:35). For in Him alone was the, unity with God to be perfect–so that He should be at once the son of David, and yet God with us–therefore in Him alone was it impossible that humanity could be holden of death, either in the prison of Hades (1Pe 3:19) or the corruption of the grave. (Alfred Barry, D. D.)
Jehovah, the believers chief good
This poem naturally falls into three strophes.
1. The writers utterances to God, and Gods people of his supreme delight in Jehovah (Psa 16:1-4).
2. The direct statement of the blessedness of such a lot (Psa 16:5-8).
3. The assurance that it would prevail over death and the grave (Psa 16:9-11). Cheyne says, the Psalmist assumes successively the tone of profession, of description, and of prophecy.
I. The profession. In view of the fluctuations and uncertainties of the world, the writer invokes Gods preserving care, for the reason that this is his habitual resort. He neither has nor wishes any other. But this absolute dependence on the Most High is very far from being servile or constrained. It is spontaneous and joyous. He knows no fountain of true happiness save Jehovah. The love of saints and the abhorrence of idolatrous apostates go together.
II. The description (Psa 16:5-8). Here is an emphatic statement of the fact that nothing earthly, visible, material is what satisfies the Psalmist, but only Jehovah Himself. It is the Giver, not His gifts, that meets his wants. The happiness of such a condition is insisted on. In Davids eyes God is no abstraction, but a person real, living, walking by his side. Hence his abiding confidence. The whole utterance is one of strong triumphant faith.
III. The prophecy (Psa 16:9-11). Here the description of the present passes into a forecast of the future. Some of the terms are peculiar. Glory probably means tongue. Sheol is the place of departed spirits. Corruption may mean the pit. The poet is taking a calm outlook upon death and the grave as they lie before every man in the natural course of events. Shall this be the end of his career? Nay, heart and flesh alike are safe. David will not be abandoned to the dismal shades, nor will his bodily frame perish irrecoverably. The Psalm as a whole is a remarkable exhibition of Old Testament piety. (Talbot W. Chambers, D. D.)
A good hope
The heading of this Psalm, and of Psa 56:1-13; Psa 57:1-11; Psa 58:1-11; Psa 59:1-17; Psa 60:1-12, Michtam, may mean Golden Psalm, or Sculpture Psalm, this latter term indicating a Psalm of strong incisive thought. The Psalm seems, by its tone of fresh, joyous confidence, to belong to the early part of Davids career. It may have been written when David was in the wilderness of Ziph (1Sa 26:19). The Psalm may be used to illustrate the following points:
1. Only out of an experience of Gods gracious dealings can a full trust in God be gained. David had known God from his early shepherd life.
2. The uncertainty of all things on which men rely; men change or fail; riches take wings; of many possessions we tire, but trust in God never disappoints. He is the one satisfying good.
3. Those who have God at all must have Him for all in all. No idols must draw us away. Self-seeking and world-seeking pleasures may be our idols.
4. Keeping close to God is security for this world, and for the world to come. Really right is right with God, and whoever is really right is right forever. The joy we have in God, neither time, nor change, nor death can end. The following subjects are treated: Soul joy in God. Soul joy in the godly. Soul fear of the ungodly. Soul confidence in the present. Soul purpose to maintain the godly life. Soul assurance that God will maintain loving relations with the godly forever. (Robert Tuck, B. A.)
The good mans plea
The Psalmist entreats Divine protection, rejoices in his religious privileges, and expresses unbounded confidence in God.
I. A good mans cry for divine protection. Whether his peril arose from the idolatrous heathen or from domestic enemies, we cannot say; but it was sufficiently urgent to drive him to God for shelter. Is not this one of the chief uses of earthly trials?
II. A good mans arguments for a divine response.
1. He pleads his faith in God.
2. He pleads his own moral value (Psa 16:4-6). A holy exultation now thrills the Psalmists heart.
There are two sources of his joy.
1. The sight of the misery of idolaters.
2. The contemplation of his own blessedness. The figurative language of Psa 16:6 is derived from the division of the land of Canaan amidst the tribes of Israel. Precious truths underlie it.
(1) The nature of his inheritance.
(2) The certainty of his inheritance.
(3) The pleasantness of his inheritance. (Robert Rollocks.)
The Divine preservation
The Psalmist will be preserved; he will not only be created. There is a cold deism which says, Having been created, that is enough; the rest belongs to myself; I must attend to the details of life; creation may have been a Divine act, but all education, culture, progress, preservation must fall under my own personal care. The Psalmist begins in another tone. He opens his Psalm with the great word preserve–equal to, Attend to all my cares and wants; pity my feebleness; take hold of my right hand, and of my left hand, and be round about me, and never leave me for one moment to myself. That is true worship. Only a sense of the Divine nearness of that kind can adequately sustain a noble and growing religion. We need a daily prayer; we die for want of daily food; every morning must be a revelation in light, every night must be a revelation in rest. This is not a selfish preservation, a preservation from evil, or danger, or suffering only, but the kind of preservation that is necessary to growth. Who has not seen the guards round the trees, especially the little trees, the young growths, so that they may have a chance of taking hold of the earth, and lifting themselves up to the sun, and bringing out of themselves all the secret of the Divine purpose in their creation? A selfish preservation would be an impious desire, but the preservation being asked for as an opportunity of growth is a preservation for which the noblest souls may daily pray. It is, then, not enough to have been created; even that Divine act becomes deteriorated and spoiled, impoverished, utterly depleted of all ennobling purpose and inspiration, unless it be followed by continual husbandry or shepherdliness, nursing or culture–for the figure admits of every variety of change; the end being growth, strength, fruitfulness. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
The portrait of a God-trusting soul
Such soul is represented in two aspects.
I. His experience under the influence of the present. He has–
1. A profound consciousness of his dependence for safety and for good. My goodness extendeth not to Thee. That is, my happiness is not independent of Thee.
2. A delight in the fellowship of the good. The saints, the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
3. An abhorrence of the practices of the wicked. Their drink offering of blood will I not offer.
4. An exultation in the Lord as his portion.
5. A high satisfaction with providential arrangements. The lines have fallen to me, etc.
II. In reference to the future. He is–
1. Thankful. I will bless the Lord.
2. Thoughtful. My reins also, etc.
3. Calm. I shall not be moved.
4. Happy. My heart is glad.
5. Trustful. My flesh also shall rest in hope–
(i) Of restoration to life. Thou wilt not leave, etc.
(ii) Of happiness. The path of life.
(iii) Of fulness of joy in Gods presence. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The plea of our trustfulness
The first thing David does is to commend himself to the protection of God, as the God in whom he had placed his confidence. This is what all of us will do who are living under the influence of vital and experimental religion. If we be among the number of His people, we may confide in Him with our whole heart, for every communication of His grace, and for every exercise of His power, which our varied circumstances may require. This trust we will constantly repose in God, because He is constantly deserving of it, and because it is constantly demanded for our personal comfort and stability. It will be especially active and vigorous when we are exposed to those peculiar difficulties and dangers by which every Christian is beset in the course of his pilgrimage. We may not rest satisfied with a mere consciousness of unlimited reliance on God; we may give it free expression in the language of devout and fervent supplication. We have found in God an all-sufficient refuge. This Psalm intimates that he had taken the Lord to be his Lord; and it is impossible for any of us, who are acquainted with our duty and our interest, to make a better or a different choice. He is entitled to the supremacy over us in every respect in which that supremacy can be either exercised by Him or acknowledged by us. It is not only our duty, it is also our interest, to take the Lord for our Lord. In this dedication of ourselves to God it is necessary that the heart be really and chiefly concerned. It is the soul that must say to Him, Thou art my Lord Aware of our aptness to forget what we have resolved and promised in reference to God, we must frequently remind our souls, as it were, of the ties by which they are voluntarily and solemnly bound to Him, and of the consequent obligations which they have to fulfil. We are not our own, but His. We cannot be too careful to prevent this impression from being impaired Another evil is to be guarded against the Pharisaical idea is apt to steal upon us, that we have something to boast of, that our labours may be beneficial to Him to whom they are rendered, and that on account of these we are entitled to His favour and protection. There cannot be a greater or more pernicious mistake. While our goodness extendeth not to God, so as that it can be useful to Him or meritorious in His sight, the Psalmist says, It extendeth to the saints that are in the earth. There are saints in the earth. But their holiness has much imperfection mixed with it, and comes far short of what the Divine law requires of them. It exists in their principles, in their desires, in their endeavours, and in their actual acquirements. Being thus saints, they are excellent. God is the standard of excellence, and they are like God. The Psalmist not only asserts the excellence of the saints, but declares that in them was all his delight. And such will be the case with us if our minds are actuated and governed by right sentiments. We shall delight in God as the centre of all perfection, and as the fountain of all good. We shall delight in such of His creatures as are entitled to our complacency from the resemblance which they bear to Him. It is to the saints, who are thus excellent, and in whom we take delight, that our goodness extends; we do them good according to our ability. Between them and us there is a spiritual and intimate relationship. And we are especially careful to let our goodness extend to them when they are suffering persecution on account of their marked separation from the world, and their faithful adherence to the cause of truth and duty. (A. Thomson, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
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 michtam ledavid, which the Chaldee translates, “A straight sculpture of David.” The Septuagint, , “The inscription on a pillar to David;” as if the Psalm had been inscribed on a pillar, to keep it in remembrance. As catham signifies to engrave or stamp, this has given rise to the above inscription. 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. Ps 60:1
That David was the author there can be no doubt. It is most pointedly attributed to him by St. Peter, Ac 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 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.
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, 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, 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Preserve me from all mine enemies.
In thee do I put my trust; therefore thou art in honour and by promise obliged not to deceive my trust.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. Preserve me, &c.keepor watch over my interests.
in thee . . . I . . .trustas one seeking shelter from pressing danger.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on 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 Heb 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 Joh 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 Lu 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, Ps 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, Isa 1:6
Mt 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 “Deus fortis seu potens”, Muis; “Deus omnipotens”, Cocceius, Michaelis. k “speravi in te”, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Psalm begins with a prayer that is based upon faith, the special meaning of which becomes clear from Psa 16:10: May God preserve him (which He is able to do as being , the Almighty, able to do all things), who has no other refuge in which he has hidden and will hide but Him. This short introit is excepted from the parallelism; so far therefore it is monostichic, – a sigh expressing everything in few words. And the emphatic pronunciation shamereni harmonises with it; for it is to be read thus, just as in Psa 86:2; Psa 119:167 shamerah (cf. on Isa 38:14 ), according to the express testimony of the Masora.
(Note: The Masora observes , i.e., twice in the Psalter is in the imperative, the o being displaced by Gaja (Metheg) and changed into aa, vid., Baer, Torath Emeth p. 22f. In spite of this the grammarians are not agreed as to the pronunciation of the imperative and infinitive forms when so pointed. Luzzatto, like Lonzano, reads it shomereni .)
The text of the next two verses (so it appears) needs to be improved in two respects. The reading as addressed to the soul (Targ.), cf. Lam 3:24., is opposed by the absence of any mention of the thing addressed. It rests upon a misconception of the defective form of writing, (Ges. 44, rem. 4). Hitzig and Ewald (190, d) suppose that in such cases a rejection of the final vowel, which really occurs in the language of the people, after the manner of the Aramaic ( or ), lies at the bottom of the form. And it does really seem as though the frequent occurrence of this defective form ( = Psa 140:13; Job 42:2, = 1Ki 8:48, = Eze 16:59, cf. 2Ki 18:20, now pointed , with Isa 36:5) has its occasion at least in some such cutting away of the i, peculiar to the language of the common people; although, if David wrote it so, is not intended to be read otherwise than it is in Psa 31:15; Psa 140:7.
(Note: Pinsker’s view ( Einleit. S. 100-102), who considers to have sprung from as the primary form of the 1 pers. sing., from which then came and later still , is untenable according to the history of the language.)
First of all David gives expression to his confession of Jahve, to whom he submits himself unconditionally, and whom he sets above everything else without exception. Since the suffix of (properly domini mei = domine mi , Gen 18:3, cf. Psa 19:2), which has become mostly lost sight of in the usage of the language, now and then retains its original meaning, as it does indisputably in Psa 35:23, it is certainly to be rendered also here: “Thou art my Lord” and not “Thou art the Lord.” The emphasis lies expressly on the “my.” It is the unreserved and joyous feeling of dependence (more that of the little child, than of the servant), which is expressed in this first confession. For, as the second clause of the confession says: Jahve, who is his Lord, is also his benefactor, yea even his highest good. The preposition frequently introduces that which extends beyond something else, Gen 48:22 (cf. Psa 89:8; Psa 95:3), and to this passage may be added Gen 31:50; Gen 32:12; Exo 35:22; Num 31:8; Deu 19:9; Deu 22:6, the one thing being above, or co-ordinate with, the other. So also here: “my good, i.e., whatever makes me truly happy, is not above Thee,” i.e., in addition to Thee, beside Thee; according to the sense it is equivalent to out of Thee or without Thee (as the Targ., Symm., and Jerome render it), Thou alone, without exception, art my good. In connection with this rendering of the , the (poetic, and contracted from ), which is unknown to the literature before David’s time, presents no difficulty. As in Pro 23:7 it is short for . Hengstenberg remarks, “Just as Thou art the Lord! is the response of the soul to the words I am the Lord thy God (Exo 20:2), so Thou only art my salvation! is the response to Thou shalt have no other gods beside Me ( ).” The psalmist knows no fountain of true happiness but Jahve, in Him he possesses all, his treasure is in Heaven.
Such is his confession to Jahve. But he also has those on earth to whom he makes confession. Transposing the w we read:
While Diestel’s alteration: “to the saints, who are in his land, he makes himself glorious, and all his delight is in them,” is altogether strange to this verse: the above transfer of the Waw
(Note: Approved by Kamphausen and by the critic in the Liter. Blatt of the Allgem. Kirchen-Zeitung 1864 S. 107.)
suffices to remove its difficulties, and that in a way quite in accordance with the connection. Now it is clear, that , as has been supposed by some, is the dative governed by , the influence of which is thus carried forward; it is clear what is meant by the addition , which distinguishes the object of his affection here below from the One above, who is incomparably the highest; it is clear, as to what defines, whereas otherwise this purely descriptive relative clause (which von Ortenberg transposes into ) appears to be useless and surprises one both on account of its redundancy (since is superfluous, cf. e.g., 2Sa 7:9; 2Sa 2:18) and on account of its arrangement of the words (an arrangement, which is usual in connection with a negative construction, Deu 20:15; 2Ch 8:7, cf. Gen 9:3; Eze 12:10); it is clear, in what sense alternates with , since it is not those who are accounted by the world as on account of their worldly power and possessions (Psa 136:18, 2Ch 23:20), but the holy, prized by him as being also glorious, partakers of higher glory and worthy of higher honour; and moreover, this corrected arrangement of the verse harmonises with the Michtam character of the Psalm. The thought thus obtained, is the thought one expected (love to God and love to His saints), and the one which one is also obliged to wring from the text as we have it, either by translating with De Welte, Maurer, Dietrich and others: “the saints who are in the land, they are the excellent in whom I have all my delight,” – a Waw apodoseos, with which one could only be satisfied if it were (cf. 2Sa 15:34) – or: “the saints who are in the land and the glorious-all my delight is in them.” By both these interpretations, would be the exponent of the nom. absol. which is elsewhere detached and placed at the beginning of a sentence, and this l of reference (Ew. 310, a) is really common to every style (Num 18:8; Isa 32:1; Ecc 9:4); whereas the understood of the fellowship in which he stands when thus making confession to Jahve: associating myself with the saints (Hengst.), with (von Lengerke), among the saints (Hupf., Thenius), would be a preposition most liable to be misapprehended, and makes Psa 16:3 a cumbersome appendage of Psa 16:2. But if l be taken as the Lamed of reference then the elliptical construct , to which ought to be supplied, remains a stumbling-block not to be easily set aside. For such an isolation of the connecting form from its genitive cannot be shown to be syntactically possible in Hebrew (vid., on 2Ki 9:17, Thenius, and Keil); nor are we compelled to suppose in this instance what cannot be proved elsewhere, since is, without any harshness, subordinate to as a genitival notion (Ges. 116, 3). And still in connection with the reading , both the formation of the sentence which, beginning with , leads one to expect an apodosis, and the relation of Psa 16:3 to Psa 16:2, according to which the central point of the declaration must lie just within , are opposed to this rendering of the words .
Thus, therefore, we come back to the above easy improvement of the text. are those in whom the will of Jahve concerning Israel, that it should be a holy nation (Exo 19:6; Deu 7:6), has been fulfilled, viz., the living members of the ecclesia sanctorum in this world (for there is also one in the other world, Psa 89:6). Glory, , is the outward manifestation of holiness. It is ordained of God for the sanctified (cf. Rom 8:30), whose moral nobility is now for the present veiled under the menial form of the ; and in the eyes of David they already possess it. His spiritual vision pierces through the outward form of the servant. His verdict is like the verdict of God, who is his all in all. The saints, and they only, are the excellent to him. His whole delight is centred in them, all his respect and affection is given to them. The congregation of the saints is his Chephzibah, Isa 62:4 (cf. 2Ki 21:1).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Believing Confidence; Consecration to God. | |
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 (v. 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 (v. 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 (Psa 16:2; Psa 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 Chron. xxix. 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 (Ps. cxix. 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, Prov. viii. 31. For their sakes, says he, I sanctify myself, John xvii. 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, v. 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, Csar, 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 (v. 5), takes to himself the comfort of the choice (v. 6), and gives God the glory of it, v. 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 (v. 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 (v. 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, Jer. xvii. 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.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Psalms 16 – THE GOLDEN PSALM
Verses 1-11
A Jesus-Messiah Psalm (Resurrection of the Kings)
Both human and Divine sufferings of the Messiah (Jesus) reached their apex or zenith on the cross of Christ. They were justified, however, by His resurrection from the grave and ascension into heaven, triumphant in truth, over all the foes and forces of evil. Through His sufferings our fears can be allayed, laid aside, and our hopes strengthened; Through steadfast trust in this triumphant Messiah-Redeemer we may live in daily hope and assurance, Rom 8:11; 1Co 15:58.
Verse 1, 2 are an outcry of David’s soul for God to preserve him from immediate danger because his total trust or commitment was to the Lord, as admonished Pro 3:3-5; 1Pe 5:7. See also Psa 9:10; Psa 22:8; Psa 25:20; Psa 146:5; 2Co 1:9; 2Ti 1:12. He added that his personal goodness did not extend to or add anything to the goodness of God. God’s holiness and goodness alone was the foundation of David’s hope. Of His own sovereign will and pleasure He communicates His holiness to men who cry to Him alone, not to false gods, for help and hope, Psa 145:18-19; Job 35:7; Joh 6:37; Joh 15:5; See also Psa 115:1-9. As David looked to the coming JehovahMessiah as “my trust,” “my Lord,” and “my goodness,” so should and must men today to find victory in life and in death.
Verses 3, 4 the “saints that were in the earth, even to the excelling ones in holy living,” are declared to be David’s delight or source of joy among men in Israel, in the earth. Only those redeemed in Israel and committed to faithful Hebrew worship, in the house that Moses built, are ever called saints in the Old Testament; Just as none is referred to in the New Testament times as a saint or saints, except those in fellowship with, baptized and in the house that Jesus built, the church which is greater than that Moses built, Mar 13:34-35; 1Ti 3:15; Heb 3:1-6. David adds that those who hasten after another god will have their sorrows increased. Even their drink offerings of blood David would not offer, if they brought them to him, nor would he take up their names into his lips to intercede to God for their sins, if at the same time they petitioned or gave gifts to other gods. Just as literal Israel was consecrated to God as a priesthood of saints, only through worship, after the Divine order of the “house that Moses built,” so only are the redeemed consecrated to, or ever called saints in this church era, except and unless they have confessed Jesus, accepted baptism, and committed to serve in “the house that Jesus built,” see? Exo 19:6; Deu 7:6; 1Pe 2:5-9; 1Ti 3:15; Heb 3:1-6; Mar 13:34-35; Eph 2:19-21; Eph 3:21; See also 2Th 1:10, “He shall come to be glorified in his saints and admired in all them that believe, Rev 19:5-9.
Verses 5, 6 witness that the Lord was David’s portion, the inheritance of his cup, to satisfy his needs, and maintain his lot in Israel and in Judah, through the Messaih whom he trusted to come. Just as David’s lot was maintained through Judah, so is the New Testament saints “lot” maintained through the church, His bride, for a glorified reunion with Him in a special way as saints, members of His house, His church, His temple, etc., Rev 19:5-9; 1Th 1:10. David added that the lines (or allotment of David in Judah) had fallen to him in “pleasant places” in prophetic assurances, Gen 49:10; Isa 7:14; Isa 9:6; Mic 5:2; Luk 1:31-33; Jos 16:5; Num 34:2; Amo 7:17. Prosperity was David’s certain lot in the Lord. He who possess the Possessor possesses all that He possesses, 1Co 3:21-23; See also Rom 8:16-17; 1Pe 1:4-5; Heb 6:19-20; Hallelujah! What a portion or lot! Sometimes heirs lose their inheritance here because they have no trustworthy attorney or advocate to represent or defend them in their lot, but not so with the “saints,” of Israel, and of the church. In such He and they are yet to be glorified, in a special way, before the Father, 1Jn 2:1-2.
Verse 7 relates David’s resolve was to bless the Lord who had doled out to him counsel, even through his subconscious mind “in the night seasons,” all hours of the night. The term “reins” refer to the innermost feelings and thoughts of one, even to the conscience, the monitor of the soul, through which God yet speaks to men, through angels to help, in the night time, giving help and solving problems in the light of the world, Jas 1:1-5; Heb 1:14. Let us commune with our Lord even in the night, Psa 4:4; Psa 2:10; Luk 22:53.
Verse 8 relates David’s testimony that he had set (lifted up) the Lord before him, held Him high, as the one to be esteemed, adored, emulated, and loved as the apple of his eye. He added that because the Lord was at his right hand, as his strength and help, he would not be removed from his kingship in Israel and his faith in the ultimate triumph of his soul and his people Israel over all idolatry, anarchy, and evil. Like Paul he resolves to stand steadfast in pursuing the will of God. So must we, 1Co 15:58; Gal 6:9.
Verse 9 adds that in the light of the help of God at his right hand, his hand of strength, his heart was made glad, his glory was an occasion of continual rejoicing, even in trouble; and he was resolved that his flesh would rest in hope, both in life and in death. He would live confidently, rejoicing in the Lord, in the full security of His care; As both the prodigal and all his household was called to rejoice in the Father’s house, security, and care, so should all God’s children, Luk 15:7; Luk 15:32; 1Th 5:16; Php_4:4. As He trusted in God to bring His body from the grave, so should we, Job 14:14-15; Job 19:26; Rom 8:11; Joh 5:28-29.
Verse 10 adds that the Lord, true redeemer would not “leave,” permit, desert, or abandon his soul in (into hell), nor “suffer his holy one” (in body) “to see corruption.” God did not permit David’s soul to go to hell, tho his body went to the grave, nor did He permit His Holy One (Jesus) of whom David was a Kingly lineage forerunner, to see corruption or putrefaction. He brought Him forth from the grave, by His Spirit, on the third day, Rom 8:11; Luk 1:35; Dan 9:24; Act 2:25-27; Act 13:35-37; Joh 1:14; Joh 1:16. Because He lives we shall (again) also live; It appears that Jesus suffered the pangs of hell, finished His redemptive work on the cross, not in a mythological sashay through hell after His death, as brought into much Protestant theology through Dante’s Inferno and other fictitious records, Joh 17:4; Joh 19:30; For “when he had by himself purged our sins, (he) sat down on the right hand of the Father,” of the majesty on high, where His soul remained for three days until the Father raised His body, He returned to stay in it until He was raptured into glory, some 40 days later, Romans 8-11; Act 1:8-11. For to His Father He had voluntarily “commended His Spirit,” from the cross, when He gave up the ghost (spirit) as recounted Luk 23:46. He who watches over us will neither abandon our souls to hell, in the death hour, nor permit our bodies to see annihilation, 1Co 15:38; 1Co 15:51; Php_3:20-21.
Verse 11 relates David’s triumphant faith that the Lord would show, point out to, lead him in the path of life, to His very presence, where there is fullness of joy, even forevermore. Then he adds “at thy right hand exists pleasures for evermore,” of which Paul once received a glimpse, as recounted, 1Co 2:9; Psa 17:7; Psa 36:8; Act 2:28. The truly trusting soul can enter the shadow valley of death, having no fear, knowing that He who never leaves or forsakes, as the “Light of the World,” drives all darkness from death, Psa 23:6; Joh 8:12.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
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.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE ACCEPTABLE MAN
Psalms 15-18
IN walk, work and word.
Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle f who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour (Psa 15:1-3).
In both spirit and speech.
In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not (Psa 15:4).
In character and conduct.
He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved (Psa 15:5).
THE DEPENDENT MAN
He looks to God for his reservation.
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: my goodness extendeth not to Thee;
But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
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.
The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot (Psa 16:1-5).
He acknowledges the goodness of God.
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 reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved (Psa 16:6-8).
He trusts the keeping grace of God.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy Presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Psa 16:9-11).
Psa 17:1-15.
Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
Let my silence come forth from Thy Presence; let Thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
Thou hast proved mine heart; Thou hast visited me in the night;. Thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
Concerning the works of men, by the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
I have called upon Thee, for Thou wilt hear me, O God: incline Thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
Shew Thy marvellous lovingkindness, O Thou that savest by Thy right hand them which put their trust in Thee from those that rise up against them.
Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of Thy wings.
From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is Thy sword:
From men which are Thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly Thou fillest with Thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall he satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness (Psa 16:9-17:15)
THE GRATEFUL MAN
He affirms his personal affection.
I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my Strength, in whom I will trust; my Buckler, and the Horn of my salvation, and my high Tower.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to he praised: so shall I he saved from mine enemies (Psa 18:1-3),
He rehearses his wondrous salvation.
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry came before Him, even into His ears.
Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because He was wroth.
There went up a smoke out of His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under His feet.
And He rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, He did fly upon the wings of the wind.
He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
At the brightness that was before Him His thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave His voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
Yea, He sent out His arrows, and scattered them; and He shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at Thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Thy nostrils.
He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because He delighted in me.
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath He recompensed me (Psa 18:4-20).
He assigns his triumphs to Gods grace.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
For all His judgments were before me, and I did not put away His statutes before me.
I was also upright before Him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyesight.
With the merciful Thou wilt shew Thyself merciful; with an upright man Thou wilt shew Thyself upright;
With the pure Thou wilt shew Thyself pure; and with the froward Thou wilt shew Thyself froward.
For Thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
For Thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
For by Thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
As for God, His way is perfect: the Word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him.
For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?
It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
He maketh my feet like hinds feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation: and Thy right hand hath holden me up, and. Thy gentleness hath made me great.
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
For Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but He answered them not.
Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and Thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, Thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: Thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
Therefore will I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto Thy name.
Great deliverance giveth He to His king; and sheweth mercy to His anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore (Psa 18:21-50).
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
INTRODUCTION
The first clause contains in germ the thought of the entire psalm, namely, that the pious man has always protection with God against all his enemies. From this assurance arises the cry of prayer (Psa. 16:1), whose form shows the experience of pressing danger, but immediately passes over into the confession of the way in which the Psalmist proposes to act in consequence of his relation to God (Psa. 16:2) and to His people (Psa. 16:3). In Psa. 16:4 the Psalmist maintains himself against the worshippers of idols. In Psa. 16:5-6 we have a description of the good chosen in God, and of the happiness allotted on account of this. It then turns, praising Jehovah (Psa. 16:7), to testify of the position of the Psalmist established in Him (Psa. 16:8), and rises from the assurance of this communion with God, not only to a jubilant declaration of present Divine protection (Psa. 16:9), but in prophetic inspiration to a prophetic promise of the everlasting enjoyment of salvation (Psa. 16:10-11).Moll. The psalm is appropriate to the whole class of pious sufferers, of which Christ is the most illustrious representative. It is only in Him, therefore, that some parts of it can be said to have received their highest and complete fulfilment.Alexander.
FAITH IN GOD
(Psa. 16:1-2.)
The Psalmist in a time of trial thus expresses his confidence in God. This faith in God is:
I. Personal. Preserve me, O God (Psa. 16:1). Thou art my Lord (Psa. 16:2). It was an individualising faith. Just as Adam sought to hide himself amid the trees of the garden, so do we imagine our selves hidden in the multitude. Let us seek to realise our needful personality in the sight of God.
1. Let us realise Him as my Creator. Not as creating merely all worlds and all nations, but as specially forming me, and giving to me a singular and independent spirit. Think not only of the ocean of humanity as flowing from His creative hand; but remember that the dewdrop, I, Me, was the distinct creation of His almighty power and love.
2. As my Ruler. Philosophy has an utter contempt for individualsit concerns itself with masses, multitudes, agesGod rules the universe. It must contemplate all on the sublime scale. We are often told that the danger of society in these days is in centralisation; certainly the danger in our philosophy is in aggregation. We are, in opposition to this, to believe in God, as my Ruler and my King.
3. As my Saviour. We are not to look on the Gospel message as a public proclamation on the street wall, but as an autograph letter from our clement King, addressed with our name, and left by the postman at our door. This faith in God is:
II. Absolute. In Thee do I trust (Psa. 16:1).
1. He trusts in God only. In the 2d verse, he acknowledges God as His sovereign Lord. Thou art my Lord, My supreme Lord;who hast an absolute right to all my services.Kay. And in the 4th verse, he repudiates all other gods. He rests his whole weight on God, placing no expectations elsewhere. God is recognised as the only source of individual enjoyment.Alexander.
2. He trusts in God for all. My goodness extendeth not to thee (Psa. 16:2). I have no good beyond thee. This is the one grand thought which stamps the psalm, Thou, O Lord, art my portion, my help, my joy, my all in all.Perowne. What the pagans vainly sought for in many gods, the Psalmist found in One; what the worldling vainly seeks for in many objects, the believer exults to find in the favour of God.
This faith is:
III. Habitual. Do I put my trust. Or, For I have trusted in Thee. This is no new or sudden act, but one performed already. He not only trusts in God at present, but has trusted Him before. The recognition of God was not a mere momentary act, but a habitual affection of the mind.Alexander. There is such a thing as crying to God in a moment of trouble or danger, and neglecting Him in days of peace. A true faith is a constant faith. I have set the Lord always before me (Psa. 16:8).
1. God will honour faith like this in the hour of danger. During the negro rebellion Mr. Francis Gardiner was travelling from one town to another, in Jamaica, in a gig. Some advised him to take firearms to protect himself, and he assented. He went a little way with the firearms, but soon returned, saying, I am not comfortable with them: and once more went on his journey without them. Soon he fell among a party of negroes, who stopped his horse. One said, He is a missionary; but the others said, No, he is a Government spy. Then they said, If he be a Government spy he will have firearms; if a missionary, he will have no arms. He was searched, and no firearms being found upon him, the negroes, instead of murdering him, led him safely on his journey. We generally have too much policy and too little faith.
2. Such faith will be honoured in the hour of trial. The worlds refuges fail just when they are most needed, but they who hide themselves in God shall not be confounded. Dr. Livingstone tells us of an African tree. The Mopan-tree is pretty to look at in the bright sunshine of early morning, but the leaves hang perpendicularly as the sun rises high, and afford little or no shade through the day. True image of worldly shelters and helpers! They look promising enough in the bright sunshine of the morning, in health, wealth, popularity; but, alas! when the burning heat of trial and trouble come, they fail, and the hot beams beat on our naked head! The Psalmist here takes God for his hiding-place, and he is safe and singing.
3. Such faith will be honoured in the hour of death. Jordan is deeper or shallower according to our faith in the King of the place. David has trusted in God, and, in presence of death and the grave, he shouts like a conqueror (Psa. 16:9-11). If we emulate his faith, we shall know his triumph.
THE PEERAGE OF HEAVEN
(Psa. 16:3.)
Alexander translates this verse: As to the saints who are in the land, they are the nobles in whom is all my delight. Thus the people of God are designated as peers, a divine aristocracy.
We observe:
I. Their patent of nobility. By what right are they called nobles? They are the children of the King. They have been begotten again to a Divine and immortal inheritance. And this fact they reveal
1. By the dignity of their character. They show their lofty birth by their purity and sublimity of character and conduct. Their glory is not in purple, stars, and coronets, but in splendid moral qualities. The excellent, properly the outwardly illustrious; the root-meaning is that of glitter, splendour, &c. It contains the idea of a moral as well as of a merely outward glory.Perowne.
2. By the elevation of their life. In all things they seek to act from great motives, by great principles, to great ends. One of our earls was derided because, when he was made knight of the garter, he put the garter on all his shovels, wheelbarrows, and pickaxes. But the moral noble puts the sign of his estate on all that he has, on all that he does, down to the commonest and most trifling things. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness unto the Lord; and the pots in the Lords house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts (Zec. 14:20-21). Thus are they real nobles, men of whom the world is not worthy. Some think rich men to be excellent, some think learned men to be excellent, some count men in authority so to be; but here we are taught that those men are excellent who are sanctified by Gods graces.Greenham. The title of His Excellency more properly belongs to the meanest saint than to the greatest governor. The true aristocracy are believers in Jesus. They are the only Right Honourables. Stars and garters are poor distinctions compared with the graces of the Spirit.Spurgeon.
Observe:
II. Their oath of fealty. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord (Psa. 16:2). He recalls his covenant with God. As the new-made peer swears fidelity to his king, so have the saints vowed to be the Lords. Let us remember this:
1. In the hour of danger to our comfort. We are Gods sworn ones, and shall He not ever shelter and save us?
2. In the hour of temptation to our caution. When allurements are held out to us to worldliness and sin, remember, O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord; The vows of God are upon us. In the clearest, loftiest, most solemn moments of life, again and again have we pledged ourselves to God; let us not in a moment of excitement or weakness forget the glorious oath. The righteous man sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not; surely we shall change not wherein we have sworn to our eternal advantage.
High Heaven, that heard the solemn vow,
That vow renewed shall daily hear,
Till in lifes latest hour I bow,
And bless in death a bond so dear.
Observe:
III. Their bond of unity. What is the esprit de corps? (Psa. 16:3). The meaning of this verse is, that the Psalmists recognition of Jehovah as the Lord, and as the only source of happiness, is not peculiar to himself, but common to the whole body of the saints or holy ones, in whose society he delightedAlexander. What is expressed here is love to God and love to His saints.Delitzsch. This is the spirit, the bond of union.
1. Love to God. This is the grand basis of their oneness, trust in God, love to God. Where any two souls cry out simultaneously, God be merciful to me a sinner, the portion wall is broken down, and they are bound together more firmly by a sigh than by the loftiest formulas. They but hinder real union prevailing among us who are always haggling about words and isolated expressions.Bchsel. A common faith in God is the innermost evangelical alliance.
2. Love to Gods people. In whom is all my delight (Psa. 16:3). In Gods land there are others who, like David, cleave to God, and with these he claims fellowship.Perowne. Where there is a true love to God, there will be a living delight in His people.
IV. Their uncompromising loyalty (Psa. 16:4). Their sorrows shall be multiplied, who wed themselves to another god.Kay. Not idols merely, but any created object of supreme affection.Alexander. The Psalmist declares that he will not join in their impious services, nor even name the names of their divinities. He will have no complicity with such whatever. It was a great consolation that, during his exile, being much with heathens, he had remained true to his God. He had not lifted up his hand to Dagon while protected in Philistia. He had not pronounced the name of an idol, which Moses had forbidden the Jews to do, nor had he attended the bloody altar of Moloch. Come then to this school, all ye lukewarm, ye degenerate souls, who trim between the world and the Church. It is of small moment to you to protract the hour of returning from market, or with whom you take the cheerful glass. Take care what you do: you may go a step too far.Sutcliffe.
Observe:
V. Their grand Inheritance (Psa. 16:5-6). The idea is, that in the Lord the Psalmist has all that he can wish or hope for.Alexander. And it is a secure and everlasting portion.
The old saying declares, Carry great ensigns and you shall be great. The believer carries great ensignsa great name, a great service, a great king, a great future. May all that name the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
THE INHERITANCE OF THE SAINTS
(Psa. 16:5-6.)
I. Their inheritance is Divine.
1. God Himself. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup (Psa. 16:5). There is an allusion, probably, to the division of the land of Canaan among the tribes, no part of which was assigned to the tribe of Levi, because, as was expressly declared, Jehovah would be their portion or share (Num. 18:20), and the gifts consecrated to Jehovah the provision for their support. That which was true nationally of Levi was true in its deepest spiritual import of every believing Israelite. What must not he possess, says Savonarola, who possesses the Possessor of all?Perowne. In the text all Israel is viewed as a spiritual priesthood; who, wholly devoted to God, had Him for their everlasting reward.Kay.
2. And God alone is the portion of His people. They ask for nothing beyond Him. Moll renders the 2d verse of this Psalm; My happiness is not added to Thee. Nothing that must be added to Thee makes me happy, but Thou alone, giving exclusive and full satisfaction. Compare the analogous thought and expression, Psa. 73:25. Yet,
3. The saints have everything in God. The heritage or portion thus described is God Himself, but considered as including all desirable possessions.Alexander. We have all gifts in the Giver. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. The blessing of God makes all places bright and happy; or, as some translate, in pleasant things. It signifies both pleasant circumstances, and a pleasant locality.Delitzsch. The blessing of God imparts a profound charm and significance to all our possessions, relationships, circumstances. And finally the blessing of God makes all seasons bright. In the 7th verse, the night seasons are full of holy and happy communings. Gods smile makes all seasons bright, even the darkest. If I say, The darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. All places, all things, all seasons, all are yours.
This inheritance:
II. Is secure. Thou maintainest my lot (Psa. 16:5). Nor is this comparison unnecessary, says Calvin, for if often happens that the rightful owners are thrust out from their own possession, because there is none to defend them. But God hath given Himself to us as our inheritance in such wise that by His aid we are ever maintained in the enjoyment thereof. David knew that his earthly power and glory might be torn away from him, but in God he had a kingdom which could not be moved. Thus in the 8th verse, I shall never be moved. The gates of hell shall never prevail; Christ, our Samson, hath flung them off their hinges.Trapp.
It is:
III. Joyful (Psa. 16:6). I have a goodly heritage. Yea, my inheritance is acceptable unto me. What had come to him as his inheritance, he embraced with the full approval of his judgment and his affections.Kay. It was just what he wanted. Men of the world toil for wealth, splendour, power, notoriety, and having attained the object of their ambition, grieve over it, as the disappointed child grieves over the fingered butterfly. But in the knowledge, love, and service of God we realise a treasure and joy congenial and satisfying to our deepest nature.
It is:
IV. Permanent (Psa. 16:9-11). Here the Psalmist exults in a glorious hope, full of immortality. Davids hope rests on this conclusion: it is impossible for the man who, in appropriating faith and actual experience, calls God his own, to fall into the hands of death.Delitzsch. His life is hid with Christ in God, and so far from death spoiling him in any sense, it will but give him fuller possession of his glorious inheritance. How perishable all merely human good! There is a wild Indian story which tells of a girl falling in love with a handsome young warrior, who was however, really, but an image of snow. Immediately after their marriage they took a journey, and as the sun appeared in the horizon the bridegroom melted away. Man, falling in love with earthly things, is wasting his affections upon an image of snow: The fashion of this world passeth away. But rich and happy in the blessing of God, we are rich and happy for evermore.
A house we call our own
Which cannot be oerthrown:
In the general ruin sure,
Storms and earthquakes it defles;
Built immovably secure,
Built eternal in the skies.
BEULAH
(Psa. 16:9-11.)
The Psalmist is here on the mountain top. He gains a bright view of the glorious future, and is filled with rapture. He is assured of life, resurrection, immortality.
Observe:
I. The grandeur of his hope.
1. In the 10th verse, he exults to believe that he shall be altogether saved from the power of death and the grave. He believes that neither his nobler part, his glory, nor yet his body, shall suffer loss. Gods holy ones, Gods favourites, shall not be forsaken; their bodies not abandoned to the tomb, their souls not abandoned to the invisible world. But,
2. The Psalmist not only exults in being delivered from the power of death, he anticipates unknown glories (Psa. 16:11). Passing out of the shadow of death, he will pass into the glorious light of Gods unveiled face. There is a path of life winding through the valley and shadow of death, leading through the churchyard, and leading right into the golden goal. The glory to be revealed is here indicated.
(1.) Its fulness. Fulness of joy. Satiety, or rather satisfaction, in its strangest sense.Alexander.
(2.) Its variety. Pleasures The plural, joys, denotes not only richness, but variety.Alexander. Our manifold nature will find all it needs when it thus drinks at the rivers of His pleasure.
(3.) Its perpetuity. For evermore.
II. The ground of his hope. A certain writer has defined commentators as, The worthy folks that too often write on books as men with diamonds write on glass, obscuring light with scratches. But on this passage before us we have the benefit of two inspired commentators, St. Peter and St. Paul, who quote this psalm in the 2d, 3d, and 13th chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. They show that the Psalmist had the Messiah in his illuminated eye when he uttered these soaring words. These words were true of David only in a very limited sense; they found their full realisation only in Him who was David Lord. We may regard David as exulting in these lofty prospects on the ground of his faith in the Messiah. Because Christ should thus triumph, he knew his triumph assured in Christ. The hope of his own immortality was based upon, and bound up in, the life of Him who was at once his Son and his Lord. What was true of David in the lower sense, was true in the fullest and highest sense of Christ; was only true of David, because it was true of Christ; and is only true of any of us in and through Him, according to His own words, Because I live, ye shall live also.Perowne.
The path of life, is the work of Christ. Thou wilt show me the path of life. The Guide is the presence of Christ. The true Beulah is Calvary; from the shadow of the Cross we gain a clear and confident vision of the glory of the skies. Yea, though I walk through the valley and the shadow of death, &c.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Psalms 16
DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
An Ideal Israelites Triumph over Death.
ANALYSIS
Stanza I., Psa. 16:1-4, Prayer for Preservation: offered in Dependence on Jehovah, Discernment of his Doings, and Detestation of Idolatry. Stanza II., Psa. 16:5-8, Contentment with Jehovah as a Present Portion, under Divine Counsel creates Confidence for the Future. Stanza III., Psa. 16:9-11, Exultant Expectation of Escape from Death and Entrance upon Heavenly Delights.
(Lm.) Tablet[120]By David
[120] So Sep. With this well agrees Thirtles suggestion: The term Michtam seems best explained by a personal or private prayer or meditation. A tablet would well serve such a purpose. Seems to mean primarily an inscriptionDel.
1
Preserve me O God, for I have taken refuge in thee.[121]
[121] This short introit is without any parallel clause, and is therefore nonostichia sigh that expresses everything in few wordsDel.
2
I have said[122] to JehovahMy Sovereign Lord art thou,
[122] So some cod. (w. 2 ear. pr. edns., Sep., Syr., Vul.)Gn.; and so Del., Per., Dr., Kp., Br., M.T.: thou saidst (O my soul prob. understood).
for my well-being goeth not beyond[123] thee.
[123] Ml.: upon, over. That is, in addition to thee, beside thee, equivalent in meaning to apart from thee, or without theeDel.
3
To the holy ones who are in his land
Jehovah is making wonderful his delight in them.[124]
[124] So it shd. be (w. Sep.)Gn. M.T. (as rendered in R. V. text): As for the saints that are in the earth, They are the excellent in whom is all my delight. Delitzschs rendering is striking: I say to Jahve: Thou are the Lord, Besides thee there is for me no weal, and to the saints that are on the earth: These are the excellent, in whom is all my delight. So is Drivers: I have said unto Jehovah, Thou are my Lord; my good is not beyond (?) thee. As for the holy ones that are in the land, they are the nobles in whom is all my delight. But, for the text as emended above, see Exposition.
4
They will multiply their sorrows who backwards do hurry:[125]
[125] So, in substance, Br. Their anguish shall be multiplied who have taken an idol in exchangeDel. Their sorrows are multiplied that take another in exchange (for Jehovah).
I will not pour out their drink-offerings because of bloodshed,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5
Jehovah is my share my portion and my cup,
Jehovah is the maintainer of my lot for me:[126]
[126] So Br. M.T. (R.V.): The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot. On which Del. beautifully says: The very thing which the tribe of Levi exhibits in a national and external manner is true in its whole spiritual depth of every believer; it is not the earthly, the visible, the created, the material that has been assigned him as his possession and enjoyment, but Jahve, He alone; in Him, however, also perfect satisfaction.
6
The measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant places,
verily! mine inheritance is mighty over[127] me.
[127] So Sep. The Sep. gives a well-known word, a usual construction and an appropriate meaningBr. Cp. Psa. 117:2.
7
I will bless Jehovah who hath counselled me,
yea! in the dark night have mine impulses[128] admonished me:
[128] U.: reins: Lit. kidneys. Regarded by the Hebrews as the springs of feelingDr. Conceived of as the seat of the blessed feeling of the possession of JahveDel.
8
I have set Jehovah before me continually,
because he is on my right hand I shall not be shaken.
9
Therefore doth my heart rejoice in Jehovah
and my glory[129] exulteth in my God[130]
[129] For glory in like sense, see Psa. 30:12, Psa. 57:9, Psa. 108:2. And see Exposition.
[130] Thus (but with Yahweh twice) does Br. gain a line here and fill up the stanza. Del., keeping to the shorter M.T., calls the seven lines seven rays of light.
even my flesh shall dwell securely:
10
For thou wilt not abandon my soul to hades,
neither[131] wilt thou suffer thy man of kindness[132] to see the pit:
[131] So some cod. (w. Sep., Syr., Vul.)Gn.
[132] Written men: read man (sing.) Some cod. (w. 8 ear. pr. edns.) both write and read: man (sing.)Gn.
11
For thou wilt make known to me the path of life,
fulness of joy is with thy face,[133]
[133] In association with, in communion with the divine face or presenceBr. In thy presenceDel., Per., Leeser, Carter. Dr.
delightfulness is at[134] thy right hand evermore.
[134] OnBr. AtPer. InDel., Dr. (viz., to distribute: cf. Pro. 3:16.)
(Nm.)
PARAPHRASE
Psalms 16
Save me, O God, I have come to You for refuge.
2 I said to Him, You are my Lord; I have no other help but Yours.
3 I want the company of the godly men and women in the land; they are the true nobility.
4 Those choosing other gods shall all be filled with sorrow; I will not offer the sacrifices they do or even speak the names of their gods.
5 The Lord Himself is my inheritance, my prize! He is my food and drink, my highest joy! He guards all that is mine.
6 He sees that I am given pleasant brooks and meadows as my share![135] What a wonderful inheritance!
[135] Literally, The boundary lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places.
7 I will bless the Lord who counsels me; He gives me wisdom in the night. He tells me what to do.
8 I am always thinking of the Lord; and because He is so near, I never need to stumble or to fall.
9 Heart, body, and soul are filled with joy.
10 For You will not leave me among the dead; You will not allow Your beloved one to rot in the grave.
11 You have let me experience the joys of life and the exquisite pleasures of Your own eternal presence.
EXPOSITION
This is the language of an Ideal Israelite, as a glance at Stanza II. will show. Of the spirit of the Ideal Israelite, it is needless to say, both David and Hezekiah largely partook. For that very reason, they must have been predisposed to accept and utilise any worthy psalmody-contributions from Levite-Seers. If the writer of the present psalm was literally a Levitea priestthen his protest against idolatry at the close of Stanza I. would assume an aspect of personal repugnance of much the more intense; and suggests the possibility that in the days of declension into idolatry, from the days of Ahaz and onwards, the same men may have sometimes been expected to act both as priests to Jehovah and as priests to idols.
Stanza I. as here critically emended by Ginsburg and Briggs, has in it several features of great interest. The very opening word, in view of the ending of the psalm, challenges a deeper significance than usual: Preserve me, save me from death, hold me in being. I said to Jehovah: the Becoming One, who has yet more and more of the riches of his own immortal being to communicate: My Sovereign Lord art thou: I am at thy disposal. My welfare, my blessedness, is not without thee: has no independent existence. Make of me what thou wilt: I have no blessedness but in thee. A Christians mind is irresistibly carried along to think what these words must have meant to the youthful Jesus of Nazareth; and once our thoughts reach that point of departure, we are naturally led on to conceive of the joy with which the Messiah would note how the holy men and women in the days of his manifestation on earth would perceive that Jehovah was making wonderful his delight in them, and in their kinsfolk and neighbours, as they were taught and healed. We pretend not to give to the words of the psalm any such exclusive application; for they apply to every visitation of Israel and every deliverance wrought in their midst, from the day they were written. Jehovah ever delighted in his holy ones, and on many occasions made his delight appear wonderful. The reference to idolatry in Psa. 16:4, no doubt received its exactest fulfilment in the latter days of the monarchy, before idolatry had received its great check by the punishment of the Exile. Yet, still, we cannot think of that young Nazarene, save as entering into a fellowship of spirit with the faithful priests who in the times long before his coming had stedfastly refused to lend themselves to idolatrous rites; to which we may add the reflection that the occasional contact of Galileans in later times with caravans of idol worshippers, would be sufficient to keep alive in Northern Israel a whole detestation of the cruel customs of heathenism. We frankly admit that it is in foresight of what follows in this psalm that we thus early begin to breathe the Messianic spirit.
It is, however, when we rise to the spiritual elevation of Stanza II. that we become more positively conscious of the Messianic atmosphere. And, indeed, it is just as an atmosphere that its penetrating and elevating energy is felt. It is here that the ideal Israelite submits himself to our admiring gaze. Jehovah is his portion and in his portion he delights; nor his portion only, but the maintainer and defender of it. Then he thinks of the measuring lines which have marked out his portion for him, as if with mental reference to the broad acres which such lines have mapped out for others: leaving him still perfectly contented with his own lot. Thus he reflects on his inheritance until it becomes mighty over him, throws over him a mighty spell. Again we say: How can a Christian help thinking of words which fall in line as fulfillment? How can he restrain his thoughts from One of whom he has read in a primitive Christian document: Who, in consideration of the joy lying before him, endured a cross, shame despising; and on the right hand of the throne of God hath taken his seat? That, surely, was an inheritance worthy to become mighty over even the Messiah. This Ideal Israelite still further lays bare his inmost being as he allows us to see that he discovers the counsels of Jehovah in, or by means of, the impulses of the dark night, when silent reflection causes the activities of the day to stir the inmost springs of being. In this case, however, the impulses are so chastened and purified as to call forth blessings on Jehovah who uses them to unveil his will. We can never in this world know how mighty and timely was the nightly training of Him, who after being thronged through the day with the multitudes coming and going, spent whole nights in prayer. As dangers thickened and enemies became more bitter and determined, he set Jehovah before him continually, Because he was on his right hand, he was not shaken from his purpose to go up to Jerusalem, and there become obedient as far as death.
In advancing now to the third stanza of this psalm we can scarcely fail to bring with us the one outstanding observation: That it is the moral elevation of the second stanza which prepares the way for the victory of the third. Therefore: because Jehovah himself is my portion; because I am fully content with mine inheritance, and it has a mighty influence over me; because night and day I follow Divine counsel and unreservedly place myself under Divine guidance for the future; therefore my heart is glad,and in the strength of my joy I am led on to victory over death.
If the moral elevation of the second stanza is uniqueas we think it isif, in its own way, there is nothing quite equal to it elsewhere in the Psalms; then we need not be surprised to be led on to a more complete analysis of the human constitution than is to be found anywhere else in the Old Testament. Such an analysis does, indeed, appear to await us. The triumph to be realised is sufficiently complete that the WHOLE MAN, in the most exhaustive analysis of him, should be summoned to rejoice in it: therefore, my heartmy glorymy flesh are marshalled to advance to its realisation,my heart, that is, my intelligent nature; my glory, that is, my spirit, God-given, God-related, the recipient of Divine impressions, the spring of emotional force; my flesh, that is, my body, with its well-known uses, wants, weaknesses and susceptibilities. Each of these is coupled with a suitable verb: my heart rejoices with intelligent joy; my glory exulteth with joy intensified into ecstasy; my flesh shall rest,fatigued with stress and strain, shall rest; weakened by work and weariness, shall rest and be still; shall rest and be refreshed and renewed. For some cause, the flesh lags behind the heart and the glory; my heart already rejoiceth (verb in the complete tense); my glory already exulteth (verb again practically in the complete tenseimperfect with waw conversive); but my flesh shall rest (verb in the incomplete or incipient tense). Further, an element of surprise is introduced along with the flesh: aph even, implying, something surprising or unexpected (O.G. p. 65)Yea, moreover, even (= surprising to say) my flesh shall rest securely. Then, too, the noun, flesh, in being set before its verb, is by a well-known rule emphasised. There was good cause for the surprisegood cause for the emphasis. For the flesh was in danger: in danger of corruption! in danger, because the contingency supposed was the event of death. It must have been death; otherwise there would have been no entrance into hades, and consequently the promise of not being abandoned to hades would have been superfluous. When Dr. Burney wrote in The Interpreter for July 1907, p. 375, that my flesh is only employed of the living body, he must have forgotten Job. 19:26 and Psa. 79:2. Flesh, clearly, may mean the dead body; and that it does so mean here, naturally follows from the surprise and the emphasis already noted; and, we may add,forms the allusion to danger made by the adverb securely; for why should the flesh alone be represented as in danger, but for the assumed fact of its exposure to early decay by death?
The point to which the danger extends is the point at which victory commences. This godly man dies, yet even his flesh rests securely. Why?
For thou wilt not abandon my soul to hades. My soul may here be taken to include the whole personality, according to the most common usage of the word throughout the Old Testament; and this brings it into parallelism with the term hasith in the next line:
Thou wilt not abandon my soul (that is, ME) to hades,
Neither wilt thou suffer thy hasith (=thy man of kindness = thine Ideal Israelite=thy Levite=ME, bearing as I do that character) to see the pit.
It is, of course, implied that he, the man, would enter hades; although he, the man, would not be abandoned to it. He would not, with the wicked, see the pit in hades: that is expressed. He would not, in his flesh, suffer harm; seeing that his flesh would dwell securely. The dominion of hades over him would be harmless, and therefore presumably brief. He would not remain long in hades. He would not suffer harm in hades. His whole personality would come safely through hades. As much as this, the words naturally convey: we need not press them to signify more. It is obvious how completely they were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth by his early resurrection.
Less than resurrection cannot be intended; for resurrection is the true and complete antithesis to death. If Jesus had not been raised bodily, to that extent he would have been abandoned to hadeswhich includes the grave.
Besides, the path to life naturally starts from the lowest point to which Jehovahs loved and loving One was permitted to descend. If he was suffered to lay aside his body, then he was permitted to take it again. Not only does the path of life lead up out of the underworld inclusive of the grave, but it leads up into heaven. It matters not, in this connection, where heaven is; but it matters much that it is where Jehovah most gloriously manifests his presence and unveils his face. Fullness of joy, for redeemed man, is in communion with the divine face or presence. Delightfulnessmore than pleasure (rather an abused word), more than beauty or loveliness to the eye, more than sweetness to the taste: all combined, and unspeakably more. The general thought is that mans utmost capacity for happiness will be satisfied in the Divine Presence, or with (the unveiling of) the Divine face, to behold which he is invited, and to which under the guidance of Redeeming Love he tends.
The original situation is provided in 1 Samuel 26. For hasten after another (4) see 1Sa. 26:19; for maintainest my lot (5), see 1Sa. 26:25; for heritage (6), see 1Sa. 26:19; 1Sa. 26:25; for the Lord before him (8) see 1Sa. 26:16; 1Sa. 26:19-20; 1Sa. 26:24; for deliverance (1, 10, 11), see 1Sa. 26:24, On Psa. 16:11, cp. 1Sa. 26:10. The whole was also remarkably appropriate for the reign of Hezekiah, and doubtless the psalm was adopted on that account. The delineation is found in Isaiah 57 (which is attributed to Isaiah of Jersualem), wherein whoredom (Psa. 16:3-4; Psa. 16:8) expresses the hastening after another. In the words of this psalm, in Psa. 16:4-5, the pious of Judah were enabled to dissociate themselves from abominations specifically described by the prophet. The drink offerings of the depraved people are repudiated; and over against their portion and lot, another is made the subject of boasting (cp. Isa. 57:6). As for Psa. 16:8-11 of the psalm, they are remarkably appropriate for the man who was brought to the gates of death and then raised to newness of life (Isa. 38:18-20; cp. Psa. 17:15; Psa. 140:13)Thirtle, Old Testament Problems, pp. 313, 314.
It will be seen, from the giving of the above liberal extract, how far these Studies are from ignoring the existence of typical prophecy in the Psalms. Whenever, and to whatever extent, foreshadowing types can be found, their employment in exposition is helpful. Nevertheless, as protested in dealing with Psalms 2, it is conceived that we should dutifully expect now and then examples of the bounding away of the Spirit of Foresight into things to come. These adjustments being borne in mind, the present writer has no need to excuse himself for having in the above Exposition felt himself at once carried away to think of Jesus of Nazareth as the Great Fulfiller.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
The word save and salvation are often used in the psalmswhat is its particular meaning? Does it have application to us?
2.
Please read Act. 2:25 ff and discuss.
3.
Ohthat the expression of the psalmist in Psa. 16:5 were ours! How can we obtain this personal relationship with our God?
4.
How does the 23rd psalm compare with Psa. 16:6?
5.
Discuss the Messianic and personal aspects of this psalm.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) For in thee.Better, for I have found refuge in thee (as in Psa. 7:1; Psa. 11:1). The verb is in the preterite.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. Preserve me See introductory note.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘A Michtam of David.’
The word michtam has been related to the Akkadian katamu, ‘to cover’. Some therefore see it as a prayer for, or with an assurance of, protection. It is a part of the Davidic collection, with special reference to the house of David.
During his inspired building up of the psalm he ascends to greater and greater heights of being lost in YHWH, until in the end he recognises that those who had been made ‘holy’ (separated to God, devout, faithful) like him could not possibly face corruption. To suggest that one so made holy by God could be laid in the grave and left there to rot was beyond his comprehension and acceptance. Their future had to be in the presence of God. It was by no means fully thought out. It was a flight of the soul. But it contained within it the seed thought that would blossom out into the resurrection of God’s Holy One, the Greater David. He foresaw more than he knew. For what was true for David would be even more true for the great Seed of David.
In Act 2:25 Peter says of this psalm that the one who spoke through it was David, and he added that he spoke as a prophet, for through it he foresaw not only his own certainty of life with God in some form beyond the grave, but in seed form to an even greater resurrection and certainty of life for his Greater Son.
After an opening call on God as his refuge and stronghold in Psa 16:1 the Psalm can be divided up into four central thoughts, indicated by the mention of YHWH.:
He has said to YHWH, ‘You are my Lord’ (2-4).
YHWH maintains his lot and destiny (5-6).
YHWH has given him counsel (7).
‘I have set YHWH always before me’ (8-11).
In these four ideas lies the fullness of the Christian life, recognition of His Lordship, recognising that our ways are in His hands, receiving our counsel and wisdom from God, and setting God always before our faces.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
He Looks To God As His Refuge ( Psa 16:1 b).
‘Preserve me, O God, for in you do I take refuge.
The michtam opens with a plea for protection. The psalmist commits himself to God and prays that God (El) will preserve him in all circumstances, because he sees God as a safe refuge in Whom he can find shelter. It is a prayer based on the confidence of what God is to him, not because of some particular situation of urgency that requires assistance, but as an overall basis of life. We too should seek to take such refuge in God daily in a similar way. It is the right situation to be in for a man of faith.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psalms 16
Psa 16:1 (Michtam of David.) Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
Psa 16:1
NLT, “A psalm of David”
Rotherham, “A Precious Psalm of David”
DRC, “The inscription of a title to David himself”
LXX, “ ”
VgClem, “Tituli inscriptio, ipsi David”
Comments – A similar Hebrew word ( ) (3800) means, “something carved out, i.e. ore; hence, gold.” Peter Craigie tells us that some scholars translate the title “A Golden Psalm” from “early rabbinical interpretations.” [20] Therefore, we get a variety of translations that carry the idea of treasure or gold.
[20] Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, in Word Biblical Commentary: 58 Volumes on CD-Rom, vol. 19, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Inc., 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), 154.
LITV, YLT, “A Secret Treasure of David”
Luther, “Ein glden Kleinod David”
There are six so called “Michtam Psalms” (16, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60), which open with the phrase “Michtam of David.” A similar title “the writing of Hezekiah” is used as the title for the psalm of Hezekiah in Isa 38:9-20, which uses a similar Hebrew word ( ) (H4385), means “a writing, the characters of something written, or a document such as a letter, a copy, an edict, or a poem.”
Psa 16:1 “Preserve me, O God” Comments – The Hebrew word “preserve” is ( ) (H8104).
Psa 16:1 “for in thee do I put my trust” Comments – The Hebrew word “I put my trust” is ( ) (H2620).
Psa 16:2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
Psa 16:2
NIV, “Apart from you I have no good thing.”
NASB and AmpBible, “I have no good besides thee.”
NLT, “I have no other help besides yours.”
Jesus refers to the Father’s goodness in Luk 18:19, “And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.” There are many references to the goodness of God (Jas 1:17).
Jas 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Psa 16:2 Comments – The Hebrew text literally reads, “you said unto YHWH, ‘My Lord (art) thou. My goodness (kindness) not unto you.’”
Psa 16:3 But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
Psa 16:4 Psa 16:4
Psa 16:5-6 The Lots and Lines of Our Inheritance – The words “lot” and “lines” refer to the inheritance of the Promised Land that was given out to the twelve tribes by the casting of the lot. David is saying that God’s eternal inheritance is of more value than his earthly inheritance. We see this same idea in Heb 11:8, where Abraham is said to have looked forward by faith to a heavenly city built by God.
Heb 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
Psa 16:5 The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
Psa 16:5
Psa 16:6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
Psa 16:6
Psa 16:7 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
Psa 16:7
Psa 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Psa 16:9 Psa 16:9
The LXX translated this word as “tongue,” ( ). Therefore, the New Testament quote of this passage in Act 2:25-32 renders this word as “tongue” as well.
Act 2:26, “Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:”
Psa 16:9 Comments – We see the spirit, soul and body referred to in Psa 16:9.
Psa 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Psa 16:11 Psa 16:8-11
Act 2:25-28, “For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.”
On his first missionary journey, Paul the apostle argued with the Jews of Antioch in Pisidia in their synagogue regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ by quoting from Psa 16:10.
Act 13:35, “Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Prophecy of Christ’s Suffering and Resurrection.
v. 1. Preserve Me, O God, v. 2. O My soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art My Lord; v. 3. but to the saints that are in the earth and to the excellent, in whom is all My delight, v. 4. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god, v. 5. The Lord is the Portion of Mine inheritance, v. 6. The lines, v. 7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given Me counsel, v. 8. I have set the Lord always before Me, v. 9. Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoiceth, v. 10. For Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell, v. 11. Thou wilt show Me,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
THE sixteenth psalm is so far connected with the fifteenth that it is exclusively concerned, like the fifteenth, with the truly righteous man. It “depicts the true Israelite as rejoicing in God as the highest Good, and placing affiance in him in the face of Death and Hades” (Kay). The ascription of it to David in the title may well be acquiesced in. It has been called “a golden psalm,” and the word “Michtam” in the title has been understood in this sense; but that is more probably a musical term, like “Mizmor,” “Maschil,” “Shiggaion,” etc. It is “full of the spirit of David,” and remarkably evangelical in tone; its Messianic character is attested by the Apostle Peter (Act 2:25; Act 13:35). It seems to divide itself only into two strophesone extending from Psa 16:1 to the end of Psa 16:6, and the other from Psa 16:7 to the conclusion.
Psa 16:1
Preserve me, O God; i.e. keep me, guard meprotect me both in body and soul. It does not appear that the writer is threatened by any special danger. He simply calls upon God to continue his protecting care. For in thee do I put my trust. In thee, and in thee only. Therefore to thee only do I look for protection and preservation.
Psa 16:2
O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord. The ordinary Hebrew text, , “thou hast said,” requires the insertion of “O my soul,” or something similar. But if we read with a large number of manuscripts, with the LXX; the Vulgate, the Syriac, and most other versions, no insertion will be necessary. The meaning will then be, I have said to Jehovah. Thou art my Lord; Hebrew, adonai“my Lord and Master.” My goodness extendeth not to thee. This meaning cannot be elicited from the Hebrew words. Tobah is not “goodness,” but “prosperity” or “happiness” (comp. Psa 106:5); and ‘aleyka is best explained as “beside thee,” “beyond thee.” The psalmist means to say that he has no happiness beside (or apart from) God. (So Ewald, Hengstenberg, Cheyne, the ‘Speaker’s Commentary,’ and the Revised Version.)
Psa 16:3
But to the saints that are in the earth; rather, it is for the saints. It (i.e. my prosperity) is granted me for the advantage of the saints that are in the land; i.e. of all the true Israelites. “I hold it in trust for them” (Kay). And to (rather, for) the excellent, in whom is all my delight. And, especially, I hold it in trust for “the inner circle of the excellent ones,” in whom God takes pleasure (Psa 147:11), and in whom therefore I also “delight.”
Psa 16:4
Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god. This is the only note of sadness in the entire psalm, and it is inserted to add force by contrast to the joyous outburst in Psa 16:5. If men would not cleave to Jehovah, but would “hasten after”or perhaps it should be translated “wed themselves to”another god (see Exo 2:16, the only other place where the word occurs), then they must not expect “prosperity,” or joy of any kind. Their “sorrows will be multiplied;” distress and anguish will come upon them (Pro 1:27); they will have to pay dear for their apostasy. Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer. Drink offerings of actual blood are not elsewhere mentioned in Scripture, and there is very little evidence of their having been offered by any of the heathen nations, though it is conjectured that they may have been employed in the worship of Moloch. It is therefore best to explain the expression, as hero used, metaphorically, as drink offerings as hateful as if they had been of blood (comp. Isa 66:3). Nor take up their names into my lips. By “their names” we must understand the names which they usedthose by which they called their gods. The Law forbade the mention of these names by Israelites (Exo 23:13; Deu 12:3).
Psa 16:5
The Lord is the Portion of mine inheritance. God had said to Aaron, when he gave him no special inheritance in Canaan, “I am thy Part and thine Inherit-ante among the children of Israel” (Num 18:20). David claims the same privilege. God is his “Portion,” and he needs no other. And of my cup. A man’s “cup” is, in Scripture, his lot or condition in life (Psa 11:6; Psa 23:5)that which is given him to drink. David will have God only for his cup. Thou maintainest my lot; i.e. thou makest it firm and sure (comp. Psa 30:6, “In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved”).
Psa 16:6
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places. The “lines” which marked out the place of his abode (comp. Deu 32:9; Jos 17:5). These had fallen to him “in pleasant places”in Jerusalem and its near vicinity. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. Some explain “heritage” here by the “inheritance” of Psa 16:5. But the word used is different; and it is most natural to understand David’s earthly heritage, or lot in life. This, he says, is “pleasing” or “delightsome” to him.
Psa 16:7
I will bless the Lord, who hath given his counsel. God has become David’s “Counsellor” (see Psa 32:8), makes suggestions to him which he follows, and so guides his life that he feels bound to praise and bless him for it. My reins also instruct me in the night seasons. The reins, according to Hebrew ideas, are the seat of feeling and emotion. David is “instructed” or “stimulated” (Hengstenberg) to bless God by the feelings which stir within him as he lies awake at nightfeelings, we must suppose, of affection and gratitude.
Psa 16:8
I have set the Lord always before me. I have brought myself, that is, to realize the continual presence of God, alike in happiness and in trouble. I feel him to be ever with me. Because he is at my right hand (i.e. close to me, ready to protect and save), therefore I shall not be moved. Nothing will shake me or disturb me from my trust and confidence.
Psa 16:9
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth. The thought of God’s continual presence at his right hand causes David’s “heart” to be “glad,” and his “glory”i.e. his soul, or spirit (Gen 49:6), man’s true gloryto rejoice. My flesh also shall rest in hope. His “flesh”his corporeal nature, united closely with his “heart” and “spirit”rests, and will rest, secure, confident that God will watch over it, and make the whole complex manbody, soul, and spiritto “dwell in safety” (Psa 4:8).
Psa 16:10
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; literally, to Sheol, or “to Hades.” The confidence in a future life shown here is beyond that exhibited by Job. Job hopes that he may not always remain in Hades, but may one day experience a “change” or “renewal” (Job 14:14); David is certain that his soul will not be left in hell. Hell (Sheol) is to him an “intermediate state,” through which a man passes between his life in this world and his final condition in some blest abode. Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. The present Hebrew text has , “thy holy ones,” i.e. thy saints generally; but the majority, of the manuscripts, all the ancient versions, and even the Hebrew revised text (the Keri) have the word in the singular number, thus agreeing with Act 2:27, Act 2:31; Act 13:35, which give us the translation, , and declare the psalmist to have spoken determinately of Christ. Certainly he would not have spoken of himself as “God’s holy one.” The translation of shachath () by “corruption” has been questioned, and it has been rendered “the pit,” or “the grave,” but quite gratuitously. The LXX. have as the equivalent; and the rabbinical commentators, giving it the same meaning, but expounding it of David, invented the myth that David’s body was miraculously preserved from corruption.
Psa 16:11
Thou wilt show me the path of life; i.e. the path which leads to the Source and Centre of all life, even God himselfthe way to heaven, in contrast with corruption and Sheol. In thy presence is fulness of joy; literally, satiety of joyenough, and more than enough, to satisfy the extremest cravings of the human heart. At thy right hand; rather, in thy right handready for bestowal on thy saints. Are pleasures for evermore. An inexhaustible store, which may be drawn upon for ever.
HOMILETICS
Psa 16:10
The antidote to death.
“Thou wilt not leave,” etc. More than thirty generations of believers read and sang this psalm, pondered and prayed over it, and drew, no doubt, sweet though vague comfort from this verse, before the hidden glory of its meaning was disclosed. The temple built by David’s son was laid in ashes. The Scriptures were carried with the captives to Babylon, and brought back. A second and at last a third temple arose on Mount Moriah. Empires arose and fell. Above one thousand years rolled away. At last, one summer morning, when the Feast of Pentecost had returned in its yearly round, and Jerusalem was filled with gladness, the time arrived for putting the key into the lock. The same Spirit who inspired the prophecy, interpreted it. “Peter, standing up with the eleven,” etc. (Act 2:14, Act 2:25-32).
I. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH, IN ITS TWO MOST FEARFUL ASPECTS.
1. The separation of the soul. “My soul in hell,” or “to hell.” The Revisers here (and elsewhere) have given the Hebrew word Sheol, because the English word “hell” has come to be applied exclusively to the state of the lost. Thanks to the gospel, we have no word by which to translate this Hebrew word, because we have no corresponding idea. Often it is translated “grave;” but only figurativelyit never means a literal sepulchre. It is the world, place, or state of departed spirits, good or bad, happy or unhappy (in Greek, Hades). It is this view of deaththe parting, rending asunder of spirit and body, which Solomon describes (Ecc 12:7). It is this which appals. We see the deserted house of clay; but where is the tenant? Gone, as if into nothingness and eternal silence.
2. The corruption of the body. The other view of death increases our distress. Death may come gently, as though but a deeper sleep; even with a solemn, sad beauty of its own. But the beauty death brings, it hastens to destroy. Just because that sleeping form is so dear, we must hasten to hide it out of sight. Cover it with green turf and flowers. Let not thought pierce the secrets of the grave. Nothing is plainer than that God meant death to be terrible. It is something wholly different to man from what it is to the lower animals. God knew we should love sin, and think it beautiful. So when he tells us “the wages of sin is death,” it is as though he said, “Look at what death does to the body; that is the image of what sin does to the soul!” Whither shall we turn? The answer gleams forth in that word “not.” “Thou wilt not leave,” etc. Here is
II. THE ANTIDOTE TO THE TERROR OF DEATH IN THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS. (Act 2:31, Act 2:32.) So St. Paul at Antioch in Pisidia (Act 13:34-37). We are not now concerned with any reference these words may have to David himself. Modern critics are intensely anxious always to find a precise occasion for every psalm (after the manner of Horace’s odes), though such a rule would be wholly misleading if applied to modern poetry. But suppose it so. What concerns us is the glorious event to which the Apostles Peter and Paul apply these words as a prophecy. “Now is Christ risen from the dead; Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
1. Christ’s resurrection proves the fact of immortality; q.d. that death, which destroys the bodily life, does not touch the spirit, the self. “Behold,” he said, “it is I myself “not a spectre, a phantom. “This same Jesus,” said the angels (Luk 24:39; Act 1:11). The doctrine or belief of immortality was common to Jews and Gentiles. The Egyptians based their religion on it. The Greeks had their Elysium and Tartarus. So other nations. What was wanted was not doctrine, but proof. No proof so entirely decisive as thisthat One should publicly die, and be buried, and rise from the dead. The value of the resurrection of Christ’s body lay in the proof thus given, that, though his body died, he lived. Death, then, does not end us. Hence the only way in which denial of immortality can now be maintained is by denying the resurrection of Jesus. For its reality there is not only
(1) that mass of testimony which St. Paul summarizes (1Co 15:5-8; comp. Act 2:32, etc.); and
(2) the utter failure of the Jewish authorities to produce any contrary evidence; but
(3) the whole history of the founding of Christianity, based entirely on this fact. It would have been utterly contrary to human nature for the disciples to have preached and suffered as they did, had they not believed in the Saviour they preached; equally impossible for them to have believed, if he had not really risen. Further, neither their faith nor their preaching would have availed, had not the living Christ fulfilled his promises (Mat 28:20; Act 1:4, Act 1:5).
2. Christ’s resurrection is the assurance. As he has been one with us in death, we are to be one with him in life. His resurrection is the seal both of his power and of his faithfulness; and both are pledged (Joh 10:28-30; Joh 14:19). True, this flesh must “see corruption;” this “earthly house be dissolved.” But for the humblest believer, as much as for an apostle, “to depart,” is” to be with Christ;” “Absent from the body, at home with the Lord” (Php 1:23; 2Co 5:8). And the body is to be “raised incorruptible;” not fleshly, but spiritual (Php 3:20, Php 3:21; 1Co 15:50-53; Joh 5:28, Joh 5:29; Joh 6:39). Because he lives, where he lives, as he lives, we shall live also.
CONCLUSION. All this turns on one simple, infinitely significant questionAre we his?
Psa 16:11
The path of life.
The attractiveness and ease, or the reverse, of any path may depend on many conditions. Smooth or rough, steep or level, plain or confused with turns and windings; bright with sunshine or dark with tempest. But the main question isWhither will it lead? We speak often of human life as a journeya path along which, like pilgrims, we are travelling. Whither does it lead? Apart from Christ and his gospel, the only answer isto the grave. Our Saviour’s death and resurrection have changed all this; made both life and death something quite other than before. He lived in order to die; died in order to live again; lives again, to make us partakers of his life.
I. JESUS LIVED THAT HE MIGHT DIE. In quite another sense from what is true of all men, or of any other, his life was the path of death. In the prime of life and unrivalled usefulness, he thirsted for death; not the rest of the grave, but the conflict of the cross (Luk 12:50). As the purpose of his coming (Mat 20:28). The fulfilment of prophecy (Luk 9:31). The commission of the Father (Joh 10:17, Joh 10:18). The pain of his joy (Heb 12:2).
II. JESUS DIED THAT BE MIGHT LIVE AGAIN. Life saw for him the path of death; death, the path of life. To this the text points, as interpreted by the Holy Spirit (Act 2:24-32). His resurrection has changed our whole view of death, and. therefore of life (Heb 2:14, Heb 2:15). What seemed the mountain barrier against which the last waves of life break, proves to be but the narrow strait leading into the boundless ocean of life indeed.
III. JESUS LIVES TO MAKE US PARTAKERS OF HIS LIFE. (Joh 14:3, Joh 14:19; Joh 10:28.) CONCLUSION. It is a poor, mean view of Christianity which speaks of it as preparation for death. It is preparation for life. It is moreit is the beginning, the first stage, the infancy and childhood, of eternal life (1Jn 5:11, 1Jn 5:12; Col 3:1-4).
Psa 16:11
Fulness of joy.
The natural effect of sin is to quench all desire after God, deaden all sense of his presence; to make the thought of him unwelcome, even terrible. “I heard thy voice and was afraid.” The beginning of spiritual life is turning to God. Its highest attainments, joy in God. The supreme happiness to which it looks forward, fulness of joy in his presence.
I. God has bestowed on human nature A WONDERFUL CAPACITY FOR JOY. The sunshine of the heart, in which “all the flowers of life unfold:” Look at the child with a birthday gift, a game, a holiday. Joy shines in his eyes, sets him singing and dancing. As our nature expands, and life’s varied experience gathers strength, such simple exuberance of joy becomes impossible; but its sources are deeper, more manifold. No longer a dancing brook, but a deep well, sometimes brimming over. AS the Bible is fuller than all other books of human life, so you can nowhere match the fulness and variety of its images of joy. Beside its warm Eastern pictures, our Western modern life looks bleak and sad. But above the whole range of common life, it opens the range of spiritual joythe joy of forgiveness, of salvation, of knowledge, of trust, peace, security; of fellowship with God in Christ (Joh 15:11; Joh 16:20, Joh 16:22). Higher still the Scripture lifts our thoughtsto the joy of angels; to God’s own joy (Luk 15:7, Luk 15:10, Luk 15:32; Zep 3:17).
II. GOD IS THE SOURCE OF ALL JOY. Even the gladness of the frisking lambs, of the gnats dancing in the sunshine, of the lark singing in the sky, is his gift; even as the momentary twinkle on the breaking spray is the sun’s image. All pure joy is from God. There are impure joys”the pleasures of sin.” But as the mountain stream is pure at its source, though in its course through plains and cities it becomes foul and tainted; so the original desires and affections of our nature are pure. Sin alone corrupts.
III. JOY UNKNOWN BEFORE, AND ELSE UNATTAINABLE, comes into human life through faith in the Saviourour crucified, risen, glorified Lord. “Then were the disciples glad” (Joh 20:30). Well they might be; for the heaviest grief human hearts ever suffered was in a moment rolled away, and “life and immortality brought to light.”
1. The joy of forgivenessof knowing we are right with God (Rom 5:11).
2. Of strength, safety, courage, comfort, in fellowship with Christ (Joh 14:18).
3. The joy of hope (1Pe 1:8).
IV. “FULNESS OF JOY;” Joy unalloyed, complete, enduring, is not for this world. Not possible where all fairest flowers fade, fruits wither, brightest days have their sunset, fountains run dry. “In thy presence,” etc. There will be many sources of “everlasting joy” (Isa 35:10) in the heavenly life: society, deliverance from pain, grief, sin, conflict, etc. (Rev 7:15-17). But the source of all, “the fountain of living waters” (Jer 2:13), wilt be God’s presence (Roy. 21:22, 23).
CONCLUSION. Is this the heaven we desire; for which we are preparing? There is no other prepared for us. In that measure in which the presence of God, realized by faith, love, prayer, is a source of joy here and now, we have the earnest and pledge of “fulness of joy” for ever.
HOMILIES BY C. CLEMANCE
Psa 16:1-11
Once thine, ever thine: the song of a saint, the vision of a seer.
This psalm yields many texts for instructive discourse; but it is not on any of them that we propose now to dwell, but on the psalm as a whole. It is one of the most evangelical in all the five books of the Psalms. It opens with a prayer and a plea; but its main current is that of joy and praise. It is moreover repeatedly quoted in the New Testament, where, by the Apostles Peter and Paul, some of its words are declared to be those of David the prophet, and to have received fulfilment in Christ, and in him alone. We cannot, however, apply all the psalm to the Messiah. Some of it is evidently the expression of a private personal experience, and the utterance of a joyously devout saint, whose joy and devotion have both been inspired by a revelation of God to him; while other parts of it are the still more elevated utterances of one who was borne along by the Holy Ghost, to tell of visions which he saw of One in whom his royal line should witness the culmination of its glory! The touching expressions in 2Sa 23:3-5 will account for both the words of the saint and the words of the seer which are here found. As the saint, David was inspired by revelation; as the seer, he was inspired for it. And by making these two main divisions we shall, perhaps, best homiletically expound the psalm.
I. WE HAVE HERE THE SONG OF A SAINT INSPIRED BY REVELATION. In this light the contents of the psalm are very varied. We number them, not as re]lowing in exact logical or culminative order, but that we may call the student’s and preacher’s attention thereto, one by one; observing that we follow the Revised Version, which is most excellent. Here is:
1. A prayer and a plea. (2Sa 23:1.) Apparently he is in peril; what, we do not know; but, as is his wont, he makes his hiding-place in God; and very touching is the plea he puts in: “for in thee do I put my trust.” Our God loves to be trusted. The confidence which his people repose in him is in his sight of great price; and he will hotcannot disappoint them.
2. The psalmist has taken Jehovah to be his own God. Jehovahthe eternal Godthe God of Israel, was his own sovereign Lord. And as he confided to him all his cares, so he yielded to him his entire homage.
3. He finds in God his supreme joy. “I have no good beyond thee” (cf. Psa 63:1-11 :25). All the largest desires of the soul have their perfect satisfaction in God.
4. In his fellow-saints, he finds a holy brotherhood. In them is his delight (Psa 42:4; Mal 3:16). The closest and dearest bond of permanent friendship is found in the fellowship of holy life and love in God.
5. He shuns the ungodly. In blended pity and anger he looks on those of his nation who have lapsed into idolatry, and exchanged the worship of Jehovah for the service of idols (cf. Jer 2:13; Rom 1:25, Revised Version).
6. The portion which he has in God is secured to him. (2Sa 23:5.) It cannot slip from his grasp, nor be snatched out of his hand, nor can he in any way be despoiled thereof. God will uphold him in possession, and will give him timely counsel and assistance (2Sa 23:7).
7. God is ever before him, as a constantly present Friend. He is no abstraction. But one ever at his right hand, to guard, guide, advise, gladden, and strengthen. Yea, to give him a steadfast, unconquerable firmness in the midst of numerous foes.
8. Consequently, he has a heritage of wealth with which he is well pleased. (2Sa 23:6.) The inheritance assigned to him as it were by lot, and marked out as it were by line, was one which gave him a plenitude of delight.
9. For he knows that the near and dear relationship between himself and God is one which not even death itself can disturb. David caught a glimpse of the sublime truth of how much God had meant when he told Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (cf. Mat 22:31, Mat 22:32). We have almost the truth which is expressed in 1Th 5:10. “My flesh,” he says, “shall rest in hope.” Yea, more; David even peers beyond the unseen state (Sheol); he beholds it conquered, and the one whose God is the Lord delivered for ever from the hold of death. And even this is not all; but he sees far, far beyond, awaiting the believer, fulness of joy and eternal delights in the immediate presence of the great eternal God. So that the burden of the song may be summed up in our final thought on this aspect of the psalm, that:
10. Once God‘s, he was his for ever! “Thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol” (cf. Psa 48:14; Psa 73:26). Is it any wonder that, with such a heritage in Divine love, the psalmist should find his heart glow with joy, and that his tongue should break out into shouts of praise? Surely if such a God is ours, and ours for ever, we are well provided for, and shall be well guarded, throughout eternity.
II. WE HAVE HERE ALSO THE VISION OF A SEER WHO WAS INSPIRED FOR A REVELATION. We have in that memorable sermon on the Day of Pentecost, when Peter opened up the kingdom to Israel, a remarkable reference to this very psalm (cf. Act 2:25-31). In which the apostle declares that what David said respecting the Holy One, he spoke as a prophet, seeing far ahead the fulfilment of the covenant God had made with him. And in Act 13:34-37 the Apostle Paul makes an equally distinct reference to this psalm, while he even more emphatically declares this prophetic utterance to be a Divine declaration. And we get a plain and distinct account of such far distant scriptural forecasts in 2Pe 1:21. Thus we can clearly trace a second significance in the latter half of Psa 16:1-11; as it recounts “the sure mercies of David.” For, indeed, if it had not been for the Divine promise and oath made to hima promise and an oath the fulfilment of which could never be disturbed by the vicissitudes of time, there might not and probably would not have been the like joyful repose of the saint in God, in the prospect of death and of eternity. So that, although the vision of the prophet comes second in our consideration, it was really the first in importance, and the foundation of all the rest. And all this may be brought home in fruitful teaching, in four or five progressive steps.
1. David had had a direct revelation that his throne should be established for ever. (2Sa 23:3-5; 2Sa 7:12-16; Psa 72:1-20; Psa 89:20-37.) And to his dying day, amid all the disturbances of his house, this covenant, “ordered in all things and sure,” was all his salvation, and all his desire.
2. In the foreglancings of prophetic vision he saw the Holy One in the coming age as its Ruler and its Head.
3. He beheld also the Holy One going down into the tomb. To Sheol; not hell, but Hades, the invisible realm of the departed.
4. He beheld the Holy One rising again. As the Lord and Conqueror of death; as the Head of the redeemed, he beheld him leaving the grave, and going forward and upward as their Forerunner. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus carries along with it that of all his followers.
5. It was on this sublime Messianic hope that the psalmist built his own. And, indeed, it was on this that such as Abraham fixed their gaze, with leaping gladness and thankful joy “That which is true of the members is true, in its highest sense, of the Head, and is only true of the members because they are joined to the Head” (Perowne); 1Th 5:10.
III. IN COMBINING THE SONG OF THE SAINT AND THE VISION OF THE SEER, WE HAVE MOST ELEVATED AND ELEVATING TEACHING FOR OURSELVES.
1. Here is the great secret of life made known to and by the holy prophets. As one expositor remarks, the antithesis in the psalm is not between life here and life there, but between a life in God and a life apart from him.
2. That God should have disclosed this great secret by his Spirit can bring no difficulty whatever to those who understand communion with God.
3. The grand redemption of God’s grace is realized in a fellowship of holy souls in blest and everlasting relation to God as their Portion, their endless Heritage of infinite purity and delight.
4. This fellowship of life centres round him whom no death can retain in its hold, even round him who is the Resurrection and the Life. Believers are one in God because one in Christ.
5. His triumph over the tomb is the pledge of theirs. He has gone ahead as their Forerunner, and has in their name taken his place in the Father’s house, preparing theirs likewise.
6. Hence the entire blessing of God’s great salvation is summed up in the words, “Thou wilt show me the path of life.” In which phrase, as Austin finely says, “we have a guide, Thou; a traveller, me; a way, the path; the end, life.“ Happy are they who choose this Guide, who follow this way, who inherit such a life! How the troubles and perils of this life seem to dwindle away when we can realize that such a God and such a home are ours! and not ours only, but also of all those who have said to Jehovah, “Thou art my Lord”!C.
HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH
Psa 16:1-11
Life-long convictions.
Happy the man who holds to his faith in God through all changes and chances of this mortal life! Religion to him is a reality. He speaks of what he knows. He commends what he has proved to be good. He can rejoice in the assurance that God, who has been with him hitherto, will keep him safely to the end, and that the portion which satisfied his soul in this life will satisfy his soul eternally. We may take the psalm as expressing certain life-long convictions.
I. THAT GOD IS TO BE TRUSTED AS THE SUPREME GOOD. Man is prone to seek happiness apart from God. This proves both his littleness and his greatness: his littleness in turning from God; his greatness, as nothing earthly can satisfy him, and his soul is restless till it finds rest in God. “Thou art my Lord” is the true response to God’s declaration, “I am the Lord thy God” (Exo 20:2; Psa 73:25).
II. THAT THE SAINTS ARE TO BE REGARDED AS EARTH‘S TRUE NOBLES. When God has his right place, man gets his right place also. He is valued, not for his wealth, but for his worth; not for his circumstances, but for his character; not for his high standing among men, but for his near relation in love and holiness to God. If we love God, we shall love what God loves. If we delight in God, we shall delight in what God delighteth in. As a poet of our own has taught us
“‘Tis only noble to be good.
Kind hearts are more than coronets,
And simple faith than Norman blood.”
III. THAT WICKEDNESS, WHATEVER IT PROMISES, MUST IN THE END BRING WRETCHEDNESS. The wicked may be many; they may seem to prosper; they may appear as if they were to prevail, and have their own way in everything. There will be at times strong temptations to join themto live as they live, to eat, drink, and be merry. But the heart that has known God recoils with horror from such a thought. What can come of forsaking God, but misery? This is the witness of history, observation, and experience. And we should be thankful that it is so. It is a proof of God’s love, as well as of God’s righteousness. That “the way of transgressors is hard” puts for many a warning in their path, and sounds for many a merciful call in their ears. “Turn ye: why will ye die?” (Eze 33:11; Isa 55:1-7; Job 33:27-30).
IV. THAT THE DESTINY OF THE GOOD IS DIVINELY ORDERED. Life is not fixed by chance, or by blind fate, or by man’s own designing and devising. It is of God’s ordering (Pro 19:21). As it is with the stars above, so it is with souls beneath. They stand as God ordains (Psa 119:91; Psa 147:3, Psa 147:4). As it was with Canaan, which was divided among the tribes by lot (Num 26:55; Jos 13:6), so it is with the inheritance of God’s believing people; it is settled by the hand of God. In many thingsas to our birth, and kinsfolk, and associations, and so onwe have no choice. [But trusting in God, we cheerfully accept the place which he has appointed for us. And when we are free to choose, we seek counsel of God, and gladly and gratefully rest in his will (Heb 13:5). What the King of Babylon did according to his lights when at the parting of the ways (Eze 21:21), we do, in a higher way (Act 9:6).
V. THAT GODLINESS HAS THE PROMISE BOTH OF THIS LIFE AND OF THAT WHICH IS TO COME.
1. This life. (Psa 16:6-8.)
2. Guidance. (Psa 16:7.)
3. Protection. (Psa 16:8.)
4. The life to come. (Psa 16:11.)
This truth, dimly revealed of old, shines out brightly and beautifully in the gospel.W.F.
Psa 16:11
The future state.
In this prayer it is implied that there is one “path,” which is truly “the path of life”the path by which we can reach the highest ideal of our being, and be blessed for ever; and further, that God, and God alone, is able to show us this path. It may be said that the prayer has been answered in the fullest sense by Christ Jesus. We may use the words with reference to Christ’s teaching as to a future state. Christ has shown us
I. THE CERTAINTY OF A FUTURE STATE. Reason may speculate, imagination may form pictures, the instincts of the heart may prompt the hope that there is a future state of being; but it is only through Holy Scripture that we attain to full conviction. What was dimly revealed to Old Testament saints has been now “made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ” (2Ti 1:10).
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF CHARACTER AS DETERMINING MAN‘S PLACE IN A FUTURE STATE. Our Lord always teaches that holy character is indispensable to blessedness. True life is from God, and tends to God (Joh 5:26; Col 3:3). “The path of life” must be entered upon here, or we can never reach from earth to heaven. Faith and action determine character, and character settles destiny. “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (Joh 8:24).
III. THE INTIMATE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE LIFE THAT NOW IS AND THAT WHICH IS TO COME. There is continuity. Death transfers, but it does not transform. Life is the seed-time for eternity. Our present actions, good or bad, determine our future fate (Gal 6:7, Gal 6:8; Rom 2:6-10).
IV. THAT EVERYTHING TENDS TO A GREAT CRISIS, WHEN JUDGMENT SHALL BE GIVEN UPON ALL MEN. Our Lord teaches us that judgment is already begun. Whatever we do has its effect. Every deed of self-denial and justice and love brings its blessing, and every deed of evil its curse. But there is to be a final judgment, and our Lord shows us that the acts of that great day will be based on law; that God will render unto every man according to his works. It is very striking also that our Lord should put such emphasis upon acts of love and charity (Mat 25:31-46).
V. THAT HE HIMSELF WILL HOLD THE SUPREME PLACE AS JUDGE AND KING IN THE WORLD TO COME. If the future state is a reality, this has been made certain by Christ (Joh 2:25). If character will determine our place in eternity, it is through Christ that we are to attain to the meetness of character required (Col 1:12). If the awards of the judgment are final, it is because Christ is Judge, and there can be no appeal against his decisions. If the future state is, for the good, to be a state of highest and divinest “life,” it is because they have been made partakers of the life of Christ, and shall dwell for ever with him in the light and love of God.W.F.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT
Psa 16:1-6
Grounds of the prayer for preservation.
This psalm is golden in thought, feeling, and expression. The substance of it is comprised in the first verse: “May God preserve him who has no other refuge in which he can hide but him!” The subject up to the end of the sixth verse may be calledGrounds of the prayer for preservation.
I. HE HAS TAKEN GOD FOR HIS SUPREME GOOD. (Psa 16:2, “I said to Jehovah, Thou art my Lord; beside thee I have no good.”) The “good” here in contrast with the “sorrows” in Psa 16:4. “Whom have I in heaven but thee,” etc.? It is the answer of the soul to, “Thou shalt have no other gods but me.” “Thou, O Lord, art my Portion, my Help, my Joy, my All in all.”
II. HE DELIGHTS IN THE FELLOWSHIP OF ALL THE GOOD. (Psa 16:3.) He trusts God in company with the best and noblest in the land. If they trust and serve, it is my privilege also. That is one thought. Another isI love the holy and the excellent who reflect most of God; not the worldly rich and great and powerful. The saints and only they are the excellent to him, even as they are to God. He is one with God. in thishe is wholly on God’s side; therefore, he says, save me from impending danger.
III. HE ABHORS APOSTATES AND THEIR IDOLS. (Psa 16:4.) He will be loyal, and refuse all participation in the fellowship or the rites of the surrounding idolaters. Even the names of the false gods he refuses to take upon his lips. Philosophy, and luxury, and commerce, and wisdom in government, and the glories of conquest, combined to recommend the seductive idolatries of Philistia, Phoenicia, Syria, Assyria, Egypt. But he regarded them all with righteous scorn. We have need of a strong and simple trust in God, and sympathy with the good, to be able to repudiate the idolatries that ever surround usthe worship of wealth, success, fashion.
IV. HE POSSESSES ALL THINGS IN GOD. (Psa 16:5, Psa 16:6.) The Lord is the Portion of mine inheritancean allusion to the division of the land among the tribes. And this was preserved to him by the protecting power of God. God was also his meat and drink (equivalent to “cup”). “The lines,” etc.in allusion to the ancient custom of marking out plots of land by measuring-lines. He had a goodly heritage. “What must not he possess who possesses the Possessor of all?” “All things are yours, for ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”S.
Psa 16:8-11
The confidence of the psalmist’s faith in the future.
The two main ideas of the writer are
(1) a sense of Divine privilege in having God as his chief Good; and
(2) a confiding, hopeful prayer for deliverance from death.
Not, of course, from death altogether; he could not hope to be finally delivered from the grave. The prayer therefore, must have been for deliverance, from impending, danger, from death that was then. threatened at that time, and for being conducted into and preserved in “the path of life.” The application which has been made of the ninth and tenth verses to Christ by Peter and Paul has led to a misunderstanding of the original sense. They say that the prayer was fulfilled in Christ, and not in David; that David did see corruption, and that Christ did not. But the best Hebrew scholars say that it is a confident prayer, not to be given over to death, but to be preserved in the way of life. We must understand, of course, death at present; for it could not mean death altogether, nor deliverance from the grave after death. The general subject of these verses, then, isThe confidence of the psalmist‘s faith in the future, because he had chosen God as his chief Good.
I. THE SENSE OF GOD‘S PRESENCE INSPIRES A FEELING OF SAFETY. (Psa 16:8.) “Not in the moment of peril only, but at all times has he his eye fixed upon God.” “God in David’s eyes is no abstraction, but a Person, real, living, and walking at his side,” and able to protect him from danger. Have we such a sense of companionship with God? I shall not be movedneither in character, nor in purpose, nor in work.
II. HE REJOICED IS THE CONFIDENCE THAT GOD WOULD NOT ALLOW HIM TO PERISH.
Not only preserve him in life, but lead him on to that life whose joy is beholding the Divine face, and partaking of the everlasting pleasures which are at his right hand. The idea of immortality springs out of the sense of his relationship to God; for he could not think that such a relationship could end with death. If we are the sons of God, that is the strongest guarantee that we shall continue to partake of God’s life, rich and manifold and everlasting. Christ said, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” This passage has its highest fulfilment when applied to the resurrection of Christ.S.
Psa 16:8
The supreme choice of the soul.
“I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” “I have set Christ always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
I. THIS IS TO MAKE THE JOURNEY OF LIFE FULL OF LIGHT. Pillar of cloud and fire. And this, in whatever view you look at this lifewhether as a stage on which work has to be done, or on which good has to be acquired, or as a journey to reach our destiny. By this light we can clearly see the nature of the work that must be done; the kind of good that must be sought; and the glorious destiny awaiting us. But let a man make himself or the world the light by which he walks, the guide he follows, then his work, his well-being, and the future all become dark. Some dark moments there will be, when God’s way is through the clouds or through the great deep.
II. THIS WILL MAKE US TRULY STRONG. “I shall not be moved.” We may know duty, self-interest, and the way to honour, and yet be too weak to follow them. Weakness of purpose and will is our misery and guilt. It is not merely our misfortune, but our sin. Importance of strength. “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” The only way to become strong is by “looking unto Jesus.” All other stimulants soon spend their strength and leave us prostrate. But the setting God always before us will endow us with all strength to resist all temptations, and all fortitude to endure.
III. THIS IS TO MAKE THE AIM OF LIFE REALLY GREAT. Our lives are mostly paltry and little. We go about filled with little vanities and ambitions, aiming at little ends, and content with little results. Often under the guise of humility our larger aims are mostly of the depraved or secular sortwealth; social position; fame on the battlefield, or in the senate, or in literature. But to “have God always before us” is the real lasting greatness. This is the only true ideal of life.
IV. THIS IS TO MAKE THE WAY OF LIFE SECURE. “Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
1. Not moved with fear.
2. Not moved from his hope.
3. Not moved from his righteousness.S.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Psalms 16.
David, in distrust of merit, and hatred of idolatry, fleeth to God for preservation: he sheweth the hope of his calling, of the resurrection, and life everlasting.
Michtam of David.
Title. miktam ledavid: Michtam of David. David’s sculpture. This title occurs before some other Psalms, and it is rendered constantly by the LXX, , “an inscription for, or to be engraved on, a pillar.” Houbigant translates it, arcanum, secret. It seems to mean, that those Psalms to which this word is prefixed are especially remarkable, and worthy of everlasting remembrance; worthy to be written in golden letters, and set up in some public place to teach; for so it is expressed Psalms 60.; that is, that the people might learn them, and be able to join. This Psalm, besides the admirable expressions of David’s faith and confidence in God, when, as it is supposed, he was violently persecuted by Saul, contains a very remarkable prophecy concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly his resurrection from the dead. See the remarks on the title of Psalms 60.
Psa 16:1. Preserve me, O God, &c. The application which St. Peter makes of a great part of this Psalm to Jesus Christ, Act 2:25-31 obliges us to look upon it as a prophesy, wherein he himself is introduced as speaking to God the Father. These first words of the Psalm, Preserve me, O God, &c. briefly comprehend the prayer of Jesus Christ to his Father, related Joh 17:2; Joh 17:26 and that which he made to him in his agony, Mat 26:39; Mat 26:42; Mat 26:44 together with that great confidence in the love of God his Father, which he shewed even to his death; which made his enemies insultingly say to him on the cross, Let him deliver him now, if he will have him.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psalms 16
Michtam of David.
1Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
2O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord:
My goodness extendeth not to thee;
3But to the saints that are in the earth,
And to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
4Their 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.
5The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup:
Thou maintainest my lot.
6The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
Yea, I have a goodly heritage.
7I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel:
My reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
8I have set the Lord always before me:
Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth:
My flesh also shall rest in hope.
10For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;
Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
11Thou wilt shew me the path of life:
In thy presence is fulness of joy;
At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
For the title vid. Introduction. The mention of the worship of idols, Psa 16:4, is not of such a character as to lead us to think of the times of the exile (Bttcher, Proben p. 42 sq., de inferis 343 sq.); and the language does not lead to a time subsequent to the eighth century (Ewald), but to David (Hitzig). The special occasion in his life, however, cannot be known. Many think of the time of his abode at Ziklag (Knapp) among the Philistines, where desire after the pious (Jahn) and temptation to the worship of idols (Paul., Hitzig) were very natural. Hitzig thus explains Psa 16:3; Psa 16:5; Psa 16:9 by 1 Samuel 30 vid. below. Delitzsch thinks of a severe sickness in the latter part of Davids life, after the building of the palace of cedar,1 whilst Hupfeld disputes the idea that Psa 16:10 likewise shows that he was in great danger (Hengst.), and Bhl again, with the ancients, holds fast in general to the time of Sauls persecution. The position of this Psalm in the order of Psalms is perhaps determined by the expression, not be moved, Psa 16:8 b, the same with which the previous Psalm closed.
Its Character.The first clause contains in germ the thought of the entire Psalm, namely, that the pious man has always protection with God against all his enemies. From this assurance arises the cry of prayer Psa 16:1, whose form shows the experience of pressing danger, but immediately passes over into the confession of the way in which the Psalmist proposes to act in consequence of his relation to God (Psa 16:2) and to His people (Psa 16:3). The terse and bold manner, short even to obscurity, in the presentation of the contrast (Psa 16:4) in which the Psalmist maintains himself against the worshippers of idols, with all its sadness, yet maintains an energetic tone, then passes over into a uniform, undulating flow of a calmed frame of mind in the description (Psa 16:5-6) of the good chosen in God, and of the happiness allotted on account of this. It then turns, praising Jehovah (Psa 16:7), to testify of the position of the Psalmist established in Him (Psa 16:8), and rises from the assurance of this communion with God, not only to a jubilant declaration of present Divine protection (Psa 16:9), but in prophetic inspiration to a prophetic promise of the everlasting enjoyment of salvation (Psa 16:10-11). The following interpretation will explain the prophetic and Messianic character of this passage.
Str. I. Psa 16:1. [Alexander: The prayer keep, save, or preserve me, implies actual suffering or imminent danger, while the last clause, I have trusted in Thee (A. V., In Thee do I put my trust), states the ground of his assured hope and confident petition. The preterite form implies that this is no new or sudden act, but one performed already. He not only trusts in God at present, but has trusted Him before. Comp. Psa 7:1; Psa 11:1.C. A. B.]
Str. II. Psa 16:2. I say to Jehovah.The Rabb. and many interpreters, after the Chald. paraphrase, regard amart as an address to the soul which is here to be supplied [A. V., O my soul, thou hast said]. For reasons against this vid. Hupf., who yet, in order to get the first person which the other ancient translations give, would read not directly with Mich., Olsh., et al., amarti, after some Codd. in Kennic. and De Rossi, but after Gesenius accepts a defective orthography as Psa 140:12; Job 42:2; Eze 16:59, and 1Ki 8:48; but does not decide whether this failure of the yod has its reason merely in a defective writing, or in a pronunciation which had become common in the language of the people after the Aramaic manner, and after the analogy of the 2d fem. sing (Hitzig, Ewald, Delitzsch), and merely declares that he is opposed to the supposition of Hiller and Bttcher, who think of the present Aramaic pronunciation of the 1st person perfect, emreth.
My Lord.The suffix, which has lost its significance in ordinary usage in its blending together with adn, is here emphatic on account of the contrast (Hitzig, Delitzsch, Hupf.); yet it is not therefore to be read adon (Mich.), as Psa 110:1, but as Psa 35:23 shows, adonai is to be retained (which with kametz is usual as plural majest. in order to designate God, with pattach forms the real plural=my Lords, vid. Gesenius, Thes.). The contrast of the Psalmist to the worshippers of idols is thus prepared, likewise in the second member of the verse, the strongly emphasized personal relation of the Psalmist to Jehovah, whom he has in Psa 16:1 called upon as El. (Aquil. ), and now confesses as his Master and himself therefore as His servant. These references disappear in the translation: the Lord, preferred by De Wette et al.; which would render prominent, instead of the contrast of the Psalmist with the worshippers of idols, which is in accordance with the text, the contrast of Jehovah with the idols: Bhl regards it as cas. absol.=O Thou Lord!
My good,etc.Luthers translation: I must suffer on Thy account for the saints, is impossible to the language. Likewise all direct Messianic references are not only arbitrary and without reason, but entirely inadmissible on account of Psa 16:4 b. The first words, Psa 16:2 b, cannot mean anything else but my good, and indeed not in the moral sense=kindness, merit, virtue (Aquil., Calv. [A. V., goodness]), but in the sense of welfare, good, prosperity. If we could only translate, my happiness is nothing on Thy account, then we might attain in sense the explanation of Luther. But does not mean propter, and (shortened form of ) does not mean nihil but non, and elsewhere always stands before a finite verb. But there is no verb here. To supply such a verb is not in any case to be guess work or to introduce an independent idea (as Grotius explains: my happiness is not desired with Thee), but must limit itself to that which is most natural, that is to the verb esse. Moreover, then the imperative form is not as natural as the simple copula. It is likewise not to be translated: my welfare is not incumbent upon Thee; thither to the saints (Bhl), although al may denote the duty incumbent upon any one. In this sense Isaki explains: the good which Thou showest me is not incumbent upon Thee as a duty, but the saints. We must translate: bonum meum non est supra te (Geier, Gesen. et al.). The Psalmist, who has already declared himself to be a servant of Jehovah, now explains, that he finds in Jehovah his highest good and all his happiness, yet he expresses this negatively, in order to exclude every thought of communion with idols (Psa 16:4). This is effaced by the translation of the Peschito; my happiness from Thee; it is likewise only unexactly rendered; by Jerome, sine te; by Symm., ; little better by Cocc, Kster et al., by prter te. There is certainly a reference to the prohibition Exo 20:3 (Hengst., Ewald). But there it says: thou shalt have no other gods . This means properly, towards My person (Hupf., Hitzig), or, before My face (Bhl). The meaning of by the side of and out side of, in the sense of past by the side of, which excludes the object named, has not been proved in the language; but no more that of on the side of the same, to which formerly with the translation supra te, the explanations inclined. Likewise the translation of De Wette is ill-founded: all my welfare is not to me above thee. The pregnancy of the expression consists in this, that the Psalmist wishes to know his good and happiness, considered not as first being added to God and as an addition towering above Him, but that God Himself is his summum bonum. [Thus Riehm: It is more closely to be explained: my happiness is not added to Thee=nothing, that must be added to Thee, makes me happy, but Thou alone, giving exclusive and full satisfaction. Comp. the analogous thought and expression Psa 73:25. With this agrees Psa 16:5, where Jehovah likewise is called the Psalmists portion.C. A. B.].2 This interpretation, which is correct in accordance with the language, answers so well to the context that it is superfluous to press out of by an artificial interpretation the idea of only (Hupf.: my happiness rests only on Thee). Hitzig even wishes to express (=immo, rather), and by distorted use of the words to gain the contrast of Master and benefactor (Thou art my Master, my happiness rests rather upon Thee). The sense would then be: whilst usually the servant cares for his Lord, here the contrary is the case. The Vulgate (quoniam bonorum meorum non eges) follows the Sept.: . In the English, Dutch, Hirshberg and Berlenb. Bibles, in part likewise in Calvin and J. H. Mich., this translation then gains the explanation that all good which the speaker either acquires or experiences, does not refer to God, for whom (Berlenb.: on whose account) it is unnecessary, but to the saints for whom it is partly necessary, partly salutary. According to Stier these words are an intentional riddle and afford the ordinary reader the superficial sense: only with Thee is my salvation, but give to the deeper searcher of prophecy the deeper double meaning: my welfare (I seek, I will have) not with Thee, and my good actions (even in this denial are necessary and profitable) not for Thee, but with the saints on earth and for them. In accepting such a mystical double sense he finds a prelude to Php 2:6-9, and even explains thus far Luthers previous translation: I am not in good circumstances with Thee. In conformity with the statement just made, our translation does not say: I prefer nothing to Thee; it is, moreover, not supplied or covered by the turn of expression: There is no happiness for me above and beyond Thee. The sense is, God is to me the essence and fulness of all good, therefore no affliction can diminish it, no prosperity increase it.
With the saints [A. V., To the saints].The construction is exceedingly disputed and difficult. If we seek a verb for the dative, we find it only in the following verse. Then there arises a connection of words such as Deu 8:13; Prov. 4:10; 33:10, and the sense would be: the saints have many sorrows (they multiply themselves; Bttcher, Proben p. 42 sq.), or indeed according to another possible etymology: their idols (Ewald). But such a contrast is not in the text, as that the former saints and friends of the Psalmist had apostatized whilst he had remained faithful; the expressions which imply this are at once supplied and thus the desired thought is put into the text. In order to escape these difficulties and this violence to the text many interpreters regard this verse as a clause complete in itself. The majority then regard the first words as nominative absolute=as for the saints. But the examples adduced in support of such an interpretation are either misunderstood or false readings (vid. Bttcher 1. c.). This interpretation appears still more inadmissible in connection with the interpretation of the words which follow. According to Bttchers careful statement it is grammatically entirely inadmissible to take the stat. constr. as stat. absol. and to translate: as to the saints and the noble, I have all my delight in them. The attempt of Schnurrer (dissert, phil. crit. 1777), after the example of the Sept., to find a verb in adr, in order to translate, As to the saints whom I honor and in whom I have all my delight, must at the same time undertake to transpose the in Psa 16:3 b, and thus alter the text twice. The proposal of Storr (comment, 1796), with whom Umbreit, De Wette et al. agree, to regard the , which is in conformity with the text, as the introduction of the conclusion (The saints they are the noble in whom I have all my delight, in contrast with others who have their delight in other magnates), is full of meaning, and were it not for the interpretation of the first word in Psa 16:3 as stat. absol., in itself admissible, but yet taken closely, demands that should be connected more closely with . The interpretation: To the saints! as Isa 8:20, a calling upon God (Bhl), or the poet and his friends (Thol.), is grammatically unassailable; but has little correspondence with the course of thought of this Psalm and is foreign to its prevailing tone of prayer. Under these circumstances we are inclined to think of a connection with the previous verse. The relation of the clauses to one another as contrasted in the interpretation of Kimchi, Calvin, Stier, namely that, that good of the Psalmist cannot benefit God the Lord, but the saints, has already been considered; we have only to remark here that there is likewise no particle of contrast in the text. The proposal of Hensler, renewed after the ancient interpreters (Bemerkungen ber Stellen der Psalmen, 1791), to regard as in apposition to adonai and then to connect the following words closely = nothing is above Thee (surpasses), the saints, is shattered already on the fact that it is unusual to give the word the meaning of nihil. We cannot seriously think of a dependence of the dative lik. doshim upon adonai=Thou art the Lord of the saints (Steudel, Programme of 1821), on account of the intermediate clause. We might rather accept a dependence upon amart=I speak to the saints, especially if the contents of the address, is not sought in the words: all my delight is in them (Kimchi, Flamin.), or in Psa 16:4 (Hofm., Weissagung und Erfllung, I. 162), but in Psa 16:3 b, and indeed so, that the is removed to the beginning of Psa 16:3 a and the to the beginning of Psa 16:3 b (Delitzsch)=and to the saints which are in the land: these are the noble in whom is all my delight. But without regard to the alteration of the text which is indeed simple, the address to the saints, placed parallel with the address to God, does not properly correspond with the tone which prevails elsewhere in the Psalm. It only remains, therefore, to regard the as the sign of belonging to (Calv., Hengst., Hupf.). But it does not follow from this, that the Psalmist says: his good and his happiness is with God or rests upon God, in so far as he belonged to the saints. He says rather, that he, in belonging to the saints, in whom is all his delight, does not regard and treat his good and happiness as something additional to God, but that he directly has regarded and confesses in this communion of saints that God Himself is his good and happiness. I regard this explanation of mine as corresponding with the context and the language. On the other hand the interpretation of the dative by Winer in his lexicon, according to the example of, weakens the sense and is not sufficiently proved in the language.It is uncertain, whether we are to regard Psa 16:3 b as parallel with Psa 16:3 a and supply the lamed of the first clause at the beginning of the second before adr, whose stat. construct, is explained by the fact, that it belongs to the following clause which is in sense a relative clause (most interpreters), or whether we are not rather to regard the connection of clauses, so that the idea, of the saints is more closely defined as those who are in the land (or on the earth) and are the noble in whom, etc. (Bttcher). In any case the stat. construct, is not an expression of the superlative (Umbreit, Kster), and is likewise not only to be connected with the following noun=the noble, all my pleasure is in them (De Wette), or the noble, the totality of my delight is in them (Hengst.), but with the entire clause (Hupf.), although it is not to be explained thus; the splendid with all, whom I desire (Sachs). Kster leaves the disregarded by the translation: To the consecrated they belong, the noble who please me entirely.3
The Kedoshim are according to the idea the , the members of the people of God, as those consecrated to the service of Jehovah. The apposition, who are on earth, shows that the reference is to their objective relation to the covenant. This clause states, that the Psalmist speaks of the congregation which is upon earth not so much in distinction from the congregation in heaven or the angels (Aben Ezra), as with reference to his personal relation to God just mentioned. The explanation of those buried in the earth (Chald., Isaki) is entirely foreign to the text, and there is no evidence of a limitation to those who were in the Holy Land (Hupf.), in contrast to those members of the people of the covenant which were abroad. The following clause shows, however, that the Psalmist has not in mind the external communion of the so-called visible Church, but the living members of this Church as his associates. The adrim are not the magnates, the aristocratic nobility in distinction from the saints, which among the lower classes, the m haaretz are regarded as such, but the saints, in whom, as in the excellent and enlightened, the Divine appears reflected. According to Hitzig David was then in Philistia, 1 Samuel 27. Driven from his land, the temptation to apostatize from Jehovah was natural, 1Sa 26:19. To the rejection of the temptation Psa 16:4 of our Psalm is said to refer, and Psa 16:7 to the fact that David, at the command of God, had undertaken the pursuit of his enemies, and sent presents from the booty to the elders of the cities of Judah, 1Sa 30:26, who are therefore called his friends. These are the noble and the excellent in whom David has all his delight. It is true that David, as in Psa 16:2 b he is said to say that he had his success in battle from Jehovah, ought to have sent a part of the booty of this victory over the Amalekites, as a thank-offering, to the house of God and its priests; but there was then no central worship, 1Sa 22:18; comp. 1Ch 13:3. Therefore David has from abroad sent the present to those who belong to the national God. This then is supposed to be said by Psa 16:3, that it belongs to the saints in the land. David likewise says, Psa 16:4 a, how he himself has experienced that it fares badly with the heathen; similarly Psa 16:9; Psa 16:11, that fulness of joy rewards the service of Jehovah.4Olshausen regards the text as entirely corrupted. The Vulgate translates, after the Sept: In the saints, which are in His land, He has made wonderful all His (my) delight, or after another reading already observed by Augustine, He has wonderfully fulfilled all my desire.
Str. IV. Psa 16:4. Many are their sorrows [A. V., Their sorrows shall be multiplied].This clause is likewise disputed as to its construction and meaning. Some, as already mentioned, combine it with the preceding clause, but must then supply something essential. Others (Mich., Olsh., Maurer, Ewald), with Chald., Symm., Jerome, interpret of idols. But only the masculine of this stem is used in the sense of: carved-work=images of idols. The feminine, which is here used, signifies: sorrows (Pesch., Aquil., Sept.). Since now it is connected with a suffix which refers to persons, which can be more closely indicated only in the following words, the next words are usually, with the Rabb., regarded as an asynd. relative clause. The masculine of the verb frequently occurs with the feminine of the noun when it precedes, and the expression their sorrows, instead of the sorrows of those who, is defended by Hitzig. Hupf. and Delitzsch, on the other hand, find this hard and inadmissible. The former would rather, with Schnurrer, Hensler, Ruperti (in Eichhorns All gemeiner Biblioth., vol. 6), read it as hiphil (=multiply [so A. V.]), whereby all would be normal. The latter divides Psa 16:4 a into two independent clauses, which represent the place of a nom. absol., and are to prepare the statement describing the internal difference between David and such people.Many interpreters after the ancient translations regard the following words as a paraphrase of apostasy from God, whilst they translate: who hasten backwards. Schnurrer even changes into . It would be better to translate: who hasten elsewhere (Geier, Storr, Rosenm., De Wette, Stier), or hasten after another (Luther), hasten to others (namely idols, Gesen., Ewald). But has the meaning of hasten only in the piel; in the kal only the meaning: purchase, namely for a wife, Exo 22:15, can be proved. Many interpreters (Salomo ben Melech, Calv., et al.), with reference to the figure of marriage, to represent the relation of the congregation to God, take the expression here in this way. Hitzig, who finds that there is considered here not the contrast between the faithful and the apostate in Israel, but between the worshippers of idols and the worshippers of Jehovah, translates: who strive to obtain another. Hupf. goes back to the meaning of purchase, without its reference to marriage, and to its relationship to to exchange; he thinks of the exchange of the hereditary true God for a false one (Psa 106:20; Hos 4:7; Jer 2:11), and reminds us of Isa 42:8; Isa 48:11; where likewise is in the singular and absolute. Thus most recent interpreters, among whom, however, Bttcher, Hengstenberg, Delitzsch, hold fast to the allusion to the figure of wooing, and remark that there is here said not exactly other gods, as Exo 20:3 and frequently; but an indefinite expression is chosen, which leads not to the ordinary but to the so-called more elegant, worship of idols. It is questionable whether the following plural suffixes are to be referred to the worshippers of idols, with whom the Psalmist breaks off every kind of communion, with the refusal to commune with them in their offerings, and with whose names he will not defile his lips (Delitzsch), whom he will not mention in his prayers (Bhl); or whether they refer to the idols themselves, in favor of which are especially Exo 20:7; Exo 23:13 (make no mention of the name of other gods); Hos 2:19, and the contrast with Psa 16:5 (Calv., Grot., Bttch., Ewald, Hengst., Hupfeld, Hitzig [Perowne]).
The drink-offerings of the Israelites consisted of wine, and drink-offerings of blood are likewise not found among the heathen, but wine was mixed with blood (Zec 9:7) and drunken only in connection with terrible undertakings, under fearful oaths. This special reference, however, is far from the meaning of the text, which Isaki, Aben Ezra, J. D. Mich., Winer overlook. Some interpreters, therefore (Kimchi, Stier, Delitzsch), regard the expression as figurative of offerings made with bloody hands and conscience stained with blood, which make every offering unclean. Others better as a comparison, as if they consisted of blood instead of wine, Isa 66:3, to which comparison blood of grapes, Gen 49:11; Deu 32:14, forms the transition (Schnurrer, Hengst., Hupf.). According to Hitzig the is comparative, and the meaning is: I forbear to offer their drink offerings more than to offer their blood. The supposition that an action is mentioned which is only to be done by priests, and therefore because David could not have done this, this passage must have a Messianic interpretation (Bhl), overlooks the fact that the reference here is not at all and cannot be to the altar and the legally arranged functions, but to the refusal to participate in the worship of gods in a form which in the mouth of the Messiah would be entirely inappropriate. The Vulgate, after the Sept., differs entirely from the Hebrew: then weaknesses were multiplied; afterwards they hastened. I will not assemble their assemblies of blood, nor bring their name upon my lips.
Str. V. Psa 16:5. Portion of mine inheritance and of my cup., besides 2Ch 31:4, only in the Davidic Psalms, is stat. const. and to be connected with both genitives (Hupf. upon Psa 11:6), but not in the sense of portion of food (Hupf.), together with portion of drink as the two parts of a feast, the usual figure of Divine favor and benefits, Psa 22:26; Psa 23:5; Pro 9:2; but corresponding with the other expressions of this Psalm a figurative expression of nourishing possession and quickening enjoyment, as the Psalmist has both in Jehovah through Jehovahs favor. The first figure is brought about thus: in the general division of the land the tribe of Levi received no possession in the land, but was to live of the parts of the offerings which fell to the share of those who were occupied in Divine service about the sanctuary, on account of Jehovah, Deu 18:1-2. Jehovah Himself is, therefore, called their = share, Deu 10:9, in special application to Aaron, Num 18:20; more widely extended to the entire house of Jacob, Jer 10:16, first brought about by the design that the entire people should be a kingdom of priests, Exo 19:6, and therefore applicable to every individual as well as to the whole body of saints and nobles, Psa 16:3.From the division of the holy land by lot between the various tribes and their members originated likewise the expression =, the lot taken out of an urn, which, however, since decision by lot was regarded as Gods act, has become in the Old Testament the symbol and type of all grants of the royal righteousness and grace of God, as the possession thereby given is the foundation and essence of all Divine blessing (Hupfeld). Since that which falls to any one by lot has the same name, gral, e. g.Jdg 1:3; Isa 57:6, it is very natural to regard as hiphil of a word and to explain it after the analogy of the Arabic (A. Schultens): Thou enlarged that which has fallen to me by lot (Hengst., Bhl, et al.). Since, however, the meaning of the word is disputed, Bttcher and Kster go back to a root = Thou makest my lot to fall (that is, to fall out of the urn). This second meaning, however, given for the sake of explanation, is without example in the use of the word. The proposal of Ewald to regard the difficult form of the word likewise as nomen abstr. cannot be carried out. The present view of Bttcher is more likely, that it is a diminutive form, little or costly possession; thus: Thou art the jewel of my lot. Hupf. and Delitzsch go to the root and regard the form as the participle in incorrectly written =Thou who administerest my lot, or Thou who maintainest, keepest in its integrity that which has fallen to me by lot. Hitzig for this form refers to the analogy of , 1Ch 27:30, but regards the root which is ordinarily accepted, as inappropriate to the context and corrects as = perpetuus, whilst he expresses the conjecture that might be an archaic expression (against which, however, Psa 16:8), and translates: Thou art constantly my possession.
Str. VI. Psa 16:6. Hitzig understands this verse locally of a beautiful region. Delitzsch regards the expression likewise=Elysian fields, but as a figurative designation of God Himself. The abstract loveliness, Job 36:11, is better, which, however, is not to be resolved into an adverb: in a lovely manner (Bttcher, Hupf., Bhl); for the expression is not to be separated from the local coloring and reference, Mic 2:5; Jos 17:5. (=likewise) is used here as confirmatory, giving gradation to the thought; the fact just mentioned is recognized in the feelings of the poet (Hupf.).
Str. VII. Psa 16:7. Advised [A. V., hath given me counsel], is not=cared for (Knapp), but=provided with good counsel, which some (Isaki, De Wette, Olsh.) refer to the general exhortation to the fear of God and faithfulness, others and indeed, on account of the following clause, more correctly (Kimchi, Calv., Hengst., Hupf.), to the action of God in the heart of the Psalmist in choosing and laying hold of the good above described. (properly to set right) is often used of Divine teaching and warning, e. g.Psa 94:12; Isa 28:26; Deu 4:36; so that the warning of the reins seems to refer not to the thoughts (most interpreters), but rather is parallel to the advice of God (Calv., Hupf.).5
Str. VIII. Psa 16:8. Some regard the (A. V., because) as=when, since they find the antecedent to the following clause introduced; most interpreters, however, regard it as = for, as a statement of the reason of the preceding statement. Standing or being at the right hand (Psa 109:31; Psa 110:6; Psa 121:5) is the figure of protecting nearness. [Perowne: God in Davids eyes is no abstraction, but a Person, real, living, walking at his side.C. A. B.]. The subject is omitted, as Psa 22:28; Psa 55:20; Psa 112:4.
Str. IX. Psa 16:9. Glory.[Delitzsch: Therefore, because Jehovah is so near him to help him, his soul is transported in joy, , and his glory, that is, his soul rejoiceth, whilst, as the fut. consec. expresses, his joy breaks forth in rejoicing. No passage of Scripture is so like this as 1Th 5:23. is (()) = (vid. Delitzsch, Psychol. p. 98), , ; the , which the Apostle there wishes for his readers in respect to the three parts of their nature, David here expresses as a confident expectation.C. A. B.]
My flesh also shall dwell in safety.[A. V., rest in hope]. The form of connection shows that flesh is not here as Rom 7:18 (Hitzig) periphrase of the person, but means the body. But the question is whether it means the body as living, being under the Divine protection in a condition of quiet happiness, undisturbed, and without danger from my hostile affliction (Hengstenberg, et al.), Ps. 4:9; Deut. 33:12, 38; Jer 23:6; Prov. 1:38; or whether not rather the same body with reference to its future rest in safety in the grave? It is true the following verse speaks of preservation (not in death but) from death, and the limitation of the meaning of Psa 16:10 a to preservation from the danger of death in a now threatening case, is possible from the language, Psa 30:4; comp. Psa 9:14. But if it is recognized not only by Clauss, Thol., Delitzsch, but also by Ewald and Hupf. with reference to Calvin, that the way of life and the joy with God in the following verses, refer to something more than merely deliverance of life from danger, and the supposition is natural, that it expresses the hope, that the pious shall not at all be the booty of death, but share in everlasting communion with God; then it is still more natural not to remain by the first steps of the recognition of a deeper and more comprehensive meaning. For in Psa 16:10 a the confidence is expressed, that God will not overlook or give up the soul to Sheol. Herein is expressed the hope of immortality in a wider sense; for Sheol is in any case the gathering place of departed souls in distinction from the grave which receives the body, Gen 37:35. Already in this connection Psa 16:9 b may indeed speak of the preservation and secure rest of the entombed body, and prepare the thought which the Sept. already anticipates with its . This is still more certain from Psa 16:10 b. For the expression: Thou wilt not give up thy to see , as merely parallel with the previous = thou wilt not let him die, would have a form, which would lead to the thought that the speaker has the hope not to die at all, rather than to that recognized by Hupf., Ewald, et al., that he hopes for a blessed continuance of life with God extending beyond death. This leaves undecided whether it is to be regarded as in the manner of Enoch and Elias, or otherwise. But now it has not been proved that must certainly be derived from = to sink down, and must be translated grave, as Psa 7:15, where the Sept. has likewise . The derivation of in the meaning , ruin, corruption, is indeed very possible (Gesen., Winer), Isa 49:9, admissible, Psa 55:23, more appropriate than the other, Job 17:14, scarcely to be denied. Since there the word is in the masc. gender in the signification of pit, in the feminine, however, according to Pro 26:27, the difference of meaning with a similarly of sound is still less doubtful, as there are parallels for it in all languages, likewise often in the Hebrew. Bhl adduces as especially convincing , as meaning in the masc. sinking down, Job 36:16; Isa 30:30; comp. Psa 38:3, in fem, rest (derived from ). All the ancient translations have this interpretation with the exception of the Chald. The ancient Jews have had be little doubt of it, that from it has originated the rabbinical fable, that the body of David has never decayed. It forms the nerve of the evidence in the Messianic reference of this passage to the resurrection of Jesus, testified to as a fact in the sermons of Peter at Pentecost, (Act 2:25 sq.) and of Paul in the synagogue of Antioch (Act 13:35-37). It forms in our text an essential member in the progress of thought, and an important declaration of revelation respecting the resurrection of the body (vid., Doctrinal and Ethical). The is, according to Hupfelds admirable investigation of Psa 4:3, the bearer of the Divine grace in all the relations in which this is shown at work, first of all, and chiefly, according to the passive form, standing in a state and covenant, of grace with Jehovah, sometimes applied to the narrower circle of the pious, likewise to an individual servant of God as especially favored in the midst of the elect people of God; then, although seldom, likewise actively exercising grace as well of God, Psa 145:17; Jer 3:12, as of one man to another, Psa 12:1; Psa 18:25; Psa 43:1; comp. Mic 7:2. The Sept., with its Messianic interpretation, has likewise translated very properly . All the ancient translations, and most MSS., have the singular. The Masora likewise says: yod is not pronounced. Thus if this had read in the MSS. , as now likewise some, and especially ancient Spanish Codd. have it, this is not to be regarded as plural, but as singular, and indeed so that it is not so much to be regarded as the so-called emphatic plural or plural of majesty (Bhl, after the ancient interpreters) as rather the yod is to be considered as, Gen 16:5; Psa 9:14; Jer 46:15, as a sign of the seghol, (Hitzig).
Psa 16:11. Make known (A. V., show) is frequently used not of theoretical knowledge, but of practical experience. The way of life, (A. V., path of life) = way to life (Pro 5:6) leads upwards in contrast to Sheol, which is downward, Pro 15:24; comp. Pro 2:19; Pro 6:23; Pro 10:17.At thy right hand.Comp. Pro 3:16, so that God administers. The explanation of Hengst. by thy right hand, as delivering and punishing, Pro 17:7, is against the parallel (in thy presence, demanded by the of association). denotes not only enduring Joy in contrast to fleeting pleasures of the world, but likewise enduring forever. The word is an accusative adverb instead of , hence Sept. correctly, .
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. He who has living faith in the true God, turns to Him in every threatening danger, not only in sickness and danger of death, but with every experience of the insecurity of human life, and under the impressions of its painful perplexities. But the same faith which drives the oppressed to God, opens their lips to prayer, and creates in them the assurance of being heard, as well as the confidence of being sheltered by God.
2. There are prayers and songs which have not only grown up from the soil of confessing the living God of revelation, and are supported by it as by its ground of faith and life, but which give expression to this confession as such, and thereby gain the form of didactic testimonies. These, on account of their lyrical and devotional character, retain their edifying as well as their comforting characteristics; they even advance to real prophetical discourse, when they originate in personal experience from communion with God, which is the essential substance of faith, and by virtue of this origin not only breathe in general the breath of another world, but reveal the mysteries of Divine life.
3. This prophetic testimony of the praying believer is on the one side confession, on the other, prophecy, yet in both respects brought about by the individual condition of the speaker, not less than by his historical position, particularly within the economy of the kingdom of God. This gives the present statement partly its peculiar vivid color, partly its internal as well as external limits
4. The true prophet knows his position, and does not deny it. But still less is he proud of it. In his relations to God he is at the same time His servant and friend. The Almighty God of revelation is his Lord and his only good. Whatever good he knows, loves, has, and seeks, is for him not something additional to God, but it is comprehended in God, and is his portion on account of his communion with God. But this is not a peculiar relation, distinguishing him from other men. On the contrary God has an elect people on earth. He has in the land and abode of the prophet members of the congregation of saints. The true prophet confesses and regards himself as one of them, and as being in communion with them, testifies to their communion with God.
5. Not every kind of Divine service is well pleasing to God, and religious differences are not to be regarded as trifling. The true prophet contends rather against the fatal delusion that it depends only upon its religious character, and not so much upon its concrete nature. He earnestly and decidedly separates himself from those who perform sacrifices and call indeed upon their gods, but yet renounce the true God, who is likewise their Creator, and would help them, and have exchanged Him for that which can and will only bring them trouble instead of salvation. His whole delight, on the other hand, is in the members of the congregation of God, who, notwithstanding their position as servants, are yet the noble and enlightened in whom the Majesty of God is glorified, and the glory of the saints reflected.
6. In this personal relation to God and to the congregation of God in the land, the prophet has and holds his highest good and his greatest happiness; he recognizes and praises his best jewel and his constant joy. He not only receives what he needs from God, but he has in and with God all that he needs and all his pleasure. But this does not make him proud. He remembers that this blessed relation to God has originated not from his own will; therefore he praises God who has proved to be the best for him. He remembers that notwithstanding his communion with God, he is yet not one with God, and that even unity would be very different from identity. If he lives in God and God in him, he is yet not swallowed up in God, and God has not been sunk in him. God is indeed no stranger to him, still less an enemy, yet God is and remains another person. Therefore day and night he longs and strives to preserve, strengthen, and deepen this communion, which is the ground of his confidence, the subject of his joy, and the source of his life. Eligant cupidi divitias, voluptuosi delicias pompatici dignitates, quibus fruantur, pars vero mea est et erit Deus in ternum (Gloss ordin).
7. Death, the Grave, and Hell, have lost their terrors to the man who is assured of this communion with God. He has God, and in God life; for God is life, eternal life, blessed life, unfathomable in its depth, inexhaustible in its fulness, all-sufficient in its glory and power. But living in this world and in the flesh he cannot escape death or avoid the grave; and as a servant of God knowing the Divine order and subject to it, he cannot forget or despise either of them. But as a friend of God he knows and feels that in all cases he is sheltered in God; for God cannot forsake the man who does not forsake Him, and the man who has no good except God, and will have nothing above God or beside Him, thereby gains with God and in God the fulness of joy and good.
8. He who has made this confidence of the assurance of faith and confession of it, a matter of experience in life, to him the hope of eternal life gains a personal meaning. He regards God as the source, contents, and aim not only of true and eternal life, but at the same time of his personal life. This illuminates for him the night of death. He knows that he, the favored friend of God, walking the way of life unto life in the obedience of faith, will even in death go to God, and will attain that which is in the presence of the angels, at the right hand of the only living God. Since this experience is still in the future, but is already now the object of his faith, the Psalmist prophesies whilst he confesses his hope of faith. There is likewise here in subject and form more than the flashing up of the hope of immortality in the Old Testament. It is true there is not yet given a doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, but yet a prophetic declaration of the assurance of participating in the eternal and blessed life of God, in which the germs of a doctrine of the resurrection are disclosed, which are rooted entirely in the ground of revelation, and for their development into clearness of recognition point far beyond themselves, their own time, and the person of the speaker.
9. The speaker is not the Messiah, either as a pre-existing person, or as a figure of speech, still less merely a pious poet who expresses obscure hopes in poetical hyperbole, but he is David as a prophet, 2Sa 23:2; Act 2:30. Whilst David on the basis of previous experience of personal communion with God, and under the impression of present experiences of the same, speaks in the hope of faith, of the sure continuance of the same extending into eternity; this is in expressions which have an entirely personal reference, yet not in the form of an application of a general truth to the Psalmist or others like him, but in such a way that it directly breaks through the reference to David, and must have called forth thoughts of prophetical illumination and Messianic meaning, so soon as the attention was directed to the very peculiar character of their conception. This might have been the case with David himself in subsequent reflection upon his Psalm in the sense of 1Pe 1:10-12. For this passage distinguishes between the statements of the prophets, and their own searching after, the special sense of their prophecies, and the particular meaning designed by the Spirit of Christ working in them. As a matter of course after the death of David, when this Psalm was used among the sacred songs of the congregation, its Messianic reference could not but increase in certainty and recognition among the congregation of God. But this does not imply that the Messianic interpretation of this as well as other passages of the Psalms, first originated from the reflection of the congregation (Schultz in den Theol. Stud. und Krit., 1866, Heft 1). Moreover with every recognition of historical accommodation, as well in understanding Messianic prophecy as in its origin and form, the sense of this passage is not to be limited to the idea, that David was in no danger of death so long as his kingdom was not destroyed with him, and that when he died his kingdom still remained (Hofmann, Schriftbeweis 2:1, 357). It is true many interpreters have not sufficiently distinguished between inquiry into the original sense of this passage, and the application of the truth drawn from it. Moreover they have not unfrequently introduced into the passage, or into the consciousness of David, ideas of the resurrection of the Messiah, and the participation therein of every member of the congregation, even in the Old Testament, who believes in Him. But this could only be known from the stand-point of its fulfilment in the New Testament. But three things are certainly in the text; (1) that David bases the confidence of his hope of participating in the life which is in God, and is imparted by God, upon his personal relation to God; (2) that this hope is expressed in words, which express more than David at first supposed or knew, and which have found their real fulfilment exclusively in a definite fact, namely, in the resurrection of Jesus Christ; (3) that the manner of expression constitutes the passage in question a Messianic prophecy, yet not in a typical, but in a prophetical sense, such as it is likewise treated in the New Testament.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
It brings great blessings to confess God as our Lord; but the most delightful lot falls to those who lay hold of God Himself as their highest good, and make use of the communion of saints for this purpose.The communion of saints cannot be united with a participation in the practices of those who have forsaken God.The pious not only enjoy in this world a pleasure of which the world knows nothing; but they have to expect likewise pleasures which the world cannot receive.He who has communion with God has to be very careful to cherish it, and therefore earnestly to use the institutions, means of grace, and advice provided for this.Only those joys have an abiding value, which we find in the presence of God, and which we receive from the hand of God.The best remedy against troubles and temptations of all kinds is to keep God constantly before our eyes and in our hearts. The assurance of the everlasting duration of our existence is comforting and refreshing only when it is connected with the believers hope of eternal life in the presence of God.Everlasting life is assured to those who have made the living God their true Lord, their blissful good, their abiding portion.
Starke: The supports of our trust in God are His fatherly affection and pity for His children, as well as His infinite power as the Lord of all lords.God has His saints and nobles not only in heaven, but likewise on earth.He who recognizes the inheritance of the Lord as lovely and beautiful, will be disgusted with the inheritance of the world; he will refuse it, and shun no sufferings to gain the beautiful inheritance.The evil spirit constantly excites the sinful heart to evil; but the Holy Spirit day and night awakens in believers holy desires, and excites them to good.Faith is not an idle or lazy thought, but is active, busy, industrious to look to God and at no time to turn away the eyes of the heart from Him.From the living trust of the heart in God, arises internal joy and sincere love to God and all creatures.The tongue is given to man to glorify the Divine name, and joyfully recount his benefits.If Christ the Head went to meet the desired issue of His sufferings with full assurance, then His members can likewise certainly believe that God will give all their troubles a glorious end, 2Ti 4:18.The body of Jesus could not become corrupt because there were no sins in His members. We must become corrupt, because sin still dwells in our mortal bodies, but we thus lay aside the corruptible in order to arise incorruptible.In this life Christians have in Gods word only a foretaste of heavenly joy; but in that life this joy will be complete; then it will no longer be said: happy to-day, sad tomorrow; but without intermission will they be entirely joyous from God, through God, and in God.Luther: The chiefest and highest passion, trust in God, makes the difference between the people of God, which are His possession, and those who are not His people. The way of life is a work of the power and justice of God alone.
Menzel: He who knows and loves God, believes on Him; he who believes, praises Him and confesses Him; he who confesses Him is persecuted; he who is persecuted is comforted by God; he whom God comforts He instructs, and thence proceed the most beautiful fruits.Frisch: He is rich enough for time and eternity who can at all times boast of his God alone.The saints of God are likewise His nobles.If we have God in view, and direct all that we do and have done according to His most holy point of view, no one on earth can deprive us of our inheritance.Umbreit: He who has God for his cup really and truly derives from Him by means of faith in the most secret communion, the Holy Ghost and eternal life.The most cheerful light springs up here from the depths of faith, and is poured over the gloomy grave.Guenther: There is nothing more lovely or blessed for the children of God than blissful communion with God.Diedrich: To have the grace of God and know it as always victorious, is the golden mystery, the excellent, heavenly wealth of believers, and all this has been given to them by God in His word.If we are closely united with all saints in God, we are likewise internally separated from unbelievers; and he who declares himself one of the saints, must likewise feel that he is separated from them, and must confess that their condition is likewise unhappy, their nature is wicked and lost.
[Matth. Henry: Covenanting with God must be heart work, all that is within us must be employed therein and engaged thereby.Christ delights even in the saints on earth, notwithstanding their weakness and manifold infirmities, which is a good reason why we should.The saints and their bliss are kept by the power of God.Death destroys the hope of man, Job 14:14, but not the hope of a good Christian, Pro 14:32. He has hope in his death, living hopes in dying moments; hopes that the body shall not be left forever in the grave; but, though it see corruption for a time, it shall at the end of time be raised to immortality. Christs resurrection is an earnest of ours, if we be His.Barnes: No one can safely so familiarize himself with vice as to render it a frequent subject of conversation. Pollution will flow into the heart from words which describe pollution, even when there is no intention that the use of such words should produce contamination. No one can be familiar with stories or songs of a polluted nature, and still retain a heart of purity.Spurgeon: The title of His Excellency more properly belongs to the meanest saint than to the greatest governor. The true aristocracy are believers in Jesus. They are the only Right Honorables. Stars and garters are poor distinctions compared with the graces of the Spirit.The night season which the sinner chooses for his sins is the hallowed hour of quiet, when believers hear the soft still voices of heaven, and of the heavenly life within themselves.Christs resurrection is the cause, the earnest, the guarantee, and the emblem of the rising of all His people. Let them, therefore, go to their graves as to their beds, resting their flesh among the clods as they now do upon their couches.C. A. B.]
Footnotes:
[1][This is more consistent with the general tone of the Psalm, the omission of any allusion to warlike enemies or troublous times, the maturity of the Psalmists faith and hope, the calmness with which he contemplates death, the consciousness of his entire acceptance with God, and above all the Messianic allusions vers 911. It may, however, have been composed under the influence of the prophecy of Nathan, 2 Samuel 7.It could not consistently with the Messianic allusions have been earlier than this.C. A. B.]
[2][Perowne translates: I have no good beyond Thee. Literally my good (my happiness), as in Psa 106:5; Job 9:25, is not beyond or beside Thee. The good here spoken of is in contrast with the sorrows in Psa 16:4, and answers to the words, my lot, my cup, my inheritance, in Psa 16:5-6. For the sentiment may be compared Psa 73:25, Whom have I in heaven but Thee…. This is the one grand thought which stamps the Psalm, Thou O Lord, art my portion, my help, my joy, my all in all. So also Alexander: My happiness is not beside Thee, independent of, or separable from Thee? The interpretation of Moll and Riehm is, however, far better.C. A. B.]
[3][Perowne: We may take in the sense of belonging to, joining myself to, and the passage would mean, I have no good beyond Thee, belonging as I do to the fellowship of the saints, and the noble in whom, etc. Indeed some such meaning seems to be required by the context; for it is evident that it is the design of the Psalmist to contrast his own happy lot, and that of others who, like himself, had found their happiness in Jehovah, with the miserable condition of those whose sorrows were increased, because they went after other gods.C. A. B.]
[4][This theory of Hitzig is ingenious, but too artificial and strained. It does not agree in tone with other Psalms of that period. This Psalm certainly belongs to a later period in his life after the Messianic prophecy of Nathan.C. A. B.]
[5][Perowne: God has led me to find my joy in Him, and now in the night seasons, as the time most favorable to quiet thought, I meditate thereon. The heart itself is said to admonish, because it anxiously listens to the voice of God, and seeks to conform itself thereto.C. A. B.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
This blessed Psalm is so directly applied, under the influence of God the Holy Ghost, by the apostles Peter and Paul, to the person and work of the Lord Jesus, that we must wholly overlook David the writer of it, (except considering him as a prophet,) so as not to lose the great object intended by it, in supposing that ought of David is meant by what this Psalm contains. Here Christ, and his faith in covenant engagements, are beautifully set forth.
Michtam of David.
Psa 16:1
This is the first time we have met with the word Michtam by way of title since we opened the book of Psalms. Various have been the translations of this word; but all agree, that it is meant to imply somewhat very important. Some have rendered it, precious; others, golden; and others, precious jewel. And as the Holy Ghost, by the apostles Peter and Paul, hath shown, that it is all about the Lord Jesus Christ, what is here said of him is precious, is golden, is a jewel indeed. Lord! I would say for myself and Reader, as we enter upon its perusal, ‘Make it by the sweet savour of his name, precious indeed as ointment poured forth.’ The very first opening of it, in those words of Jesus, which David here marked down by the spirit of prophecy, plainly proves to whom it belongs, by the parallel passage in Jesus’s life. See Joh 12:27 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Assurance in God
Psa 16
The Psalmist lived in a period when belief in the reality of many gods was still strong, and when a man who would follow the one true God had to prefer to do so against the attractions of other deities, and against the convictions of a great number of his fellow-countrymen that these deities were living and powerful.
I. It is remarkable how, when a man really turns to God, he turns to God’s people as well, and how he includes them in the loyalty and in the devotion which he feels toward his Redeemer. His confidence and the sensitiveness of his faith in and toward God become almost an equal confidence and an equal sensitiveness toward his fellow-believers. So it is throughout the Scriptures.
II. In these days such a duty is unfortunately more complicated than with the Psalmist The line between God’s Church and the world is not so clear as it was to him, and the Church is divided into many and often hostile factions. All the more it becomes the test of our religion if our hearts feel and rejoice in the fellowship of God’s simpler and more needy and more devoted believers, however unattractive they may otherwise be. This Psalmist’s chief and practical help to us men and women today is that he became sure of God not because of any miracle or supernatural sign, on his report of which we might be content indolently to rest our faith, but in God’s own providence in his life and in God’s quiet communion with him through the organs God Himself has created in every one of us. For all time, whether before or after Christ, these are the chief grounds and foundations of faith in God.
III. God’s guidance of his life, first of all, produces in a man a great sense of stability. He who has found God so careful of him, he whom God hath regarded as worth speaking to and counselling and disciplining him, will be certain that he shall endure, provided that he is sure of his own loyalty. The life so loved of God, so provided for, and in such close communion with the Eternal is not, cannot be, the creature of the day, and this assurance stands firm in face of even death and the horrible corruption of the body. We are assured of the future life because we have known God, and as we have found Him to be true to us and proved ourselves true to Him.
George Adam Smith, Homiletic Review, 1906, vol. LII. p. 458.
Psa 16
This Psalm was the last Scripture read by Hugh M’Kail the evening before his execution in the Grass-market of Edinburgh. After reading it he said to his father, and those about him: ‘If there were anything in this world sadly and unwillingly to be left, it were the reading of the Scriptures. I said: ” I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living”. But this needs not make us sad; for where we go, the Lamb is the book of Scripture, and the light of that city, and where He is, there is life, even the river of the water of life, and living springs.’
John Ker.
Death the Gate of Life
Psa 16:9-11
The very sight of the tremendous and irresistible power of death draws one to think of its weakness and limitations. We have here a saint of old who had no such light as ours in the very act of rising by virtue of his religious experience to the loftiest elevation of triumphant confidence.
I. The Grounds of the Triumphant Confidence. The realization of Jehovah’s presence at his right hand; the blessedness and stability which flowed therefrom; these are the facts which lead the singer to grasp the confidence that he will never die.
( a ) The capacity to commune with God is surely an indication of something in humanity which is not born for death.
( b ) The exercise of that capacity makes it for the man himself an absolute impossibility to conceive that such a thing as death should have power over it.
II. The Contents of the Triumphant Confidence. ( a ) In a very real sense we see here the religious life abolishing death even while it did not see the way in which its confidence was to be fulfilled.
( b ) The whole course of the devout soul will be in the way of life in the deepest sense. Mors janua vitae ; the road to life leads through death. That thought was trembling on the Psalmist’s lips.
III. The Fulfilment of the Confidence. The Psalmist’s hopes were not fully realized because his communion was not perfect. But Christ has conquered death for us all, and now with the light of His resurrection we can take the words of the text with deeper meaning.
Alexander Maclaren.
References. XVI. 8. M. R. Vincent, God and Bread, p. 59. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxii. No. 1305. Homiletic Magazine, vol. xii. p. 18. W. F. Shaw, Sermon-Sketches, p. 37. XVI. 8-10. Archbishop Thomson, Lincoln’s Inn Sermons, p. 62. XVI. 8-11. A. Maclaren, Sunday Magazine, 1881, p. 738. XVI. 9. A. R. Ashwell, God in His Work and Nature, p. 1. XVI. 9, 10. ‘Plain Sermons’ by contributors to Tracts for the Times, vol. ix. p. 120. XVI. 10. J. Keble, Sermons for Easter to Ascension Day, pp. 74, 128. C. Stanford, From Calvary to Olivet, p. 24. Expositor (3rd Series), vol. v. p. 308. Ibid. (2nd Series), vol. vii. p. 40.
Emotions of a Saint in Heaven
Psa 16:11
Heaven is the Christian’s goal.
I. He has been made the subject of a change that affects everything connected with him save his identity.
II. The unencumbered action of the spirit.
III. The friendships of heaven will be of a higher order than those of earth.
IV. He will stand in the presence of Christ.
This faint view of the joys of the redeemed inspires two reflections: ( a ) That excessive grief over the departed is unwarranted.
( b ) That we should make sure of our inheritance with the saints in light.
A. S. Gardner, Pulpit and Grave, p. 251.
References. XVI. 11. H. Moffat, Church Sermons, vol. i. p. 49. XVI. International Critical Commentary, vol. i. p. 117. W. F. Shaw, Sermon-Sketches, p. 37. J. Hammond, Expositor (1st Series), vol. iv. p. 341. I. Williams, The Psalms Interpreted of Christ, p. 279. XVII. 3. H. P. Liddon, Contemporary Pulpit, vol. ii. p. 193. XVII. 5. Parker, City Temple, vol. i. p. 60. XVII. 7. Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 141. XVII. 8. F. W. Brown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. i. p. 190. E. A. Bray, Sermons, vol. i. p. 114. G. Bainton, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxxi. p. 244. XVII. 13. E. Thring, Uppingham Sermons, vol. ii. p. 128.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
A Mictham of David
Psa 16
“A Michtam,” some say, a musical term. There is another and preferable interpretation namely, “a golden legend.” Under this interpretation we may regard the psalm as a kind of jewel-case. All the best treasures of the great singer are to be found in this precious casket. Call the psalm a golden treasury; then it will come before us as containing the most precious things David ever thought about, the most precious hopes by which David was ever animated; a collection of apothegms; pithy, solid, grand sentences; words to be quoted in the field of battle, to be whispered in the chamber of affliction, to be breathed in the hour and article of death. Let us see how far the psalm justifies that interpretation of the word Michtam.
The Psalmist will be “preserved”; he will not only be created. There is a cold Deism which says: Having been created, that is enough; the rest belongs to myself; I must attend to the details of life; creation may have been a divine act, but all education, culture, progress, preservation must fall under my own personal care. The Psalmist begins in another tone. He opens his psalm with the great word “preserve,” equal to, Attend to all my cares and wants; pity my feebleness; take hold of my right hand and of my left hand, and be round about me, and never leave me for one moment to myself. That is true worship. Only a sense of the divine nearness of that kind can adequately sustain a noble and growing religion. We need a daily prayer; we die for want of daily food; every morning must be a revelation in light, every night must be a revelation in rest. “Pray without ceasing”; pray for the renewal of the tissue, the continual numbering of the hairs of the head, the suggestion of every syllable, the inspiration of every thought. This is not a selfish preservation, a preservation from evil, or danger, or suffering only, but the kind of preservation that is necessary to growth. Who has not seen the guards round the trees, especially the little trees, the young growths, so that they may have a chance of taking hold of the earth, and lifting themselves up to the sun, and bringing out of themselves all the secret of the divine purpose in their creation? A selfish preservation would be an impious desire, but the preservation being asked for as an opportunity of growth, is a preservation for which the noblest souls may daily pray. It is, then, not enough to have been created: even that divine act becomes deteriorated and spoiled, impoverished, utterly depleted of all ennobling purpose and inspiration, unless it be followed by continual husbandry or shepherdliness, nursing or culture for the figure admits of every variety of change the end being growth, strength, fruitfulness.
“For in thee do I put my trust.” That was the claim which the Psalmist felt he had upon God. It is a great claim. The words may be so uttered as to become a commonplace; but there is nothing commonplace, in the sense of trivial, in such words as these. The meaning is: I have committed myself to thee; we stand or fall together; I have boldly told the nations that I have no other sanctuary, no other hope, and that if help do not come from heaven I am weak like other men. It is a noble challenge; it is the only course by which we can really that is, livingly and exhaustively glorify God. We do not give to him our veneration only, our formal and distant respect, but we plunge ourselves into him; we cut off all other associations, and live, and move, and have our being in God. Where such a challenge can be addressed with the sincerity of the heart, all heaven seems to be too little to form an answer to an appeal so complete in its pathos.
The Psalmist gives an outline of the Universal Church whilst he is in this hot rapture. Not until imagination burns do men become poet-prophets. Nothing can be done in cold mind, dry intellect, icy blood. The Psalmist having uttered his prayer, looks round about, and sees “the saints,” and “the excellent” “that are in the earth.” With ineffable spiritual modesty he says, in words difficult of translation, “My goodness extendeth not to thee,” as though he would say: I have no status before thee, if it become a mere matter of argument and rightful possession; that is forfeited; but I have this in my heart which thou wilt appreciate, a desire for the communion and fellowship of everybody who loves thee. That in itself is a conception of true worship. We cannot extend the altar, but we can extend the church. The Cross does not subject itself to our manipulation, but the meaning of the Cross may be spoken in every tongue under heaven, and every soul may be invited to this great festival of love. This is the germ of the Universal Church. Up to this time we have been limited by a local term; we have had long pilgrimage with one called Israel: now we begin to see the day breaking over distant lands. The earth is greener than we thought it to be; there are harvest-fields beyond the river which we counted our limit: on the other side Jordan, and on the other side Euphrates yea, even to the ends of the earth, there is a possibility of growth and a possibility of harvest.
“But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight” ( Psa 16:3 ). This is the communion of saints. This is the truly united church. Observe, the terms are themselves of a universal quality: “the saints,” “the excellent;” the reference is to character, not to opinion, not to varied ways of looking at things which cannot be positively settled; the Psalmist dwells upon the eternal quantity character, holiness, excellence, pureness; these speak all languages, assume the hues of all climes, and under manifold outward diversity conceal an agreement subtle and undefinable as life itself. Who has discovered life? who has taken it out with his dainty fingers and looked at it objectively? Yet it is everywhere a spirit, a ghost, a mystery, giving its real value to everything, making a child valuable to the state, making the tiniest life a centre of sensitiveness a possibility of agony. Did we look in this direction, we should lose all that is bitter in sectarianism, and cherish all that is good in the proper distribution of gift, and talent, and spiritual capacity. We should then belong to the Universal Church. Men are one, to a large extent, in worship. When they rise from their knees they begin, to contend with one another: then “pray without ceasing.” This is the great gem which we have found in this golden treasury: a conception of humanity new, gracious, inclusive.
“Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god” ( Psa 16:4 ).
The word “hasten” comes from a root which signifies to buy a wife. The idea of the Psalmist, therefore, is Their sorrows shall be multiplied that go out after idolatry, which has again and again been associated with adultery in the whole of the Old Testament writings. “After another god.” Where do we find the word “god” in the plural number? Opening the divine book we read, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth;” and reading further on, we find the mysterious plural as used by the Eternal himself, signifying holy and inaccessible mysteries of being. But where is the word vulgarised and used as a term of temptation? Verily, in the grammar of the serpent. Said he, “Ye shall be as gods.” A new term in what little human speech was then possible; an impiety in grammar; a distant and not at all obvious suggestion in the direction of polytheism. Who can tell how such ideas get into the mind? There is no insobriety in saying that they are insinuated into the mind by tempting spirits. Trifle with grammar, and you may come to trifle with theology; deplete language of its morality, and you may deplete worship of its inspiration. The Psalmist here pledges himself to a definite prophecy. We are entitled to ask, Is it true? History can be the only field of evidence; by history, meaning the religious experience of the individual and the religious experience of the commonwealth. The more gods, the more sorrow; the more gods, the more familiarity, the less reverence, and the less worship. The Chinese, who have thousands of deities, flog the gods that do not answer them. This is literal, and this is necessary; to have innumerable gods is to have no god; to have a life all miracles is to be destitute of the supernatural; we must have unity, the sacred mystery of personality, the grand idea of centralisation, monarchy, eternal supremacy.
Why does the Psalmist speak in these high and noble tones? The reason is satisfactory. He bases his larger hope upon his own complete and abiding happiness. Thus the man himself becomes the argument:
“The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. 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 reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore…” ( Psa 16:5-9 ).
This is an appeal which is not only tenable, but graciously compulsory. “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup” literally, of my condition in life; I have nothing else; but, as some commentator has said, how rich must he be who possesses the Possessor of all! “Thou maintainest my lot,” not only thou directest me in general providence, for in that sense God holds the wicked in his power, but thou dost keep my lot for me; it is evermore in thy right hand; I am not put in trust with it, because some mishap might occur in this life of tumult, and strange and bewildering surprise; thou dost dispose the lot, and then keep it in thine own hands. So that the soul lives in continual nearness to the Father, within whisper-distance of him, so that communication can pass and repass, and the outer world not know when his signal has flamed in the heavens for the guidance of the dependent and adoring soul.
“The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places” ( Psa 16:6 ).
The land was marked out by lines, so that the inheritance began at this point and ended at that point; it was toward the rising of the sun, or toward the setting of the sun; or was near the river, or was far off among the hills; but it was an inheritance that “fell out,” that belonged to the individual whose name was divinely associated with it; and the Psalmist says, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places.” No matter where they are, for the whole land is pleasant. Is it not possible to think our inheritance the very best of all? The same blessed and comforting thought is felt in the family. What mother does not think her own children the very best? admitting, as she may do, with a mother’s reluctance, this drawback and that disadvantage; still, taking a certain view of the case, how her children stand up with attractions, in her judgment, not to be surpassed! So every man may deal with his inheritance. He may call it “a goodly heritage.” Though some years there be little upon it, still the heritage is “goodly”: the year before last the harvest was very abundant, and next year it may be more abundant still. The heritage is not to be blamed: the climate may be variable; all the transitory influences of the year may be more or less disappointing, but the heritage, the land, is moist with a divine blessing, living with a divine promise. He who takes this view of life its cup, its lot, its heritage has the contented mind which is a continual feast.
Now arises the advantage of connecting the Psalms with the period of history at which they were written. Many of these Psalms have their historical counterpart in the Books of Samuel. Referring to the history as given in those books, you will find that these exclamations on the part of the Psalmist are not the utterances of a rhapsodist. These are not terms in poetry, or phases of an imaginative life: the man who wrote all these words was not living in some lordly castle, whence he could survey velvet lawns, and mysterious landscapes, and fruitful gardens, and hear the singing of birds that lingered around the castle roof as if charmed by some subtle hospitality within; the man who wrote this psalm may be said to have written part of it upon the rock, to have finished the sentence in a cave, to have completed the eloquence when the air was rent by the cry of pursuing foes. In all such psalms the circumstances are the true commentaries. Enough for us to know at this moment that this man was not uttering a Sabbath-hymn in a church specially built for him, and protected as to all intrusion and unholy violence and trespass; he was writing in an unroofed church, or writing in a hidden den or cave. If trust in the living God will stand the test of such circumstances, he must be a bold man who can throw away the advantage of thus vitally associating himself with the living God.
How the ideas grow on the expanding mind of the harper! Not only does he see an outline of the Universal Church, but along with that, and almost consequent upon it, he sees an outline of Immortality. This is an idea which has been growing in the Old Testament. Now and again some word has been interjected into the story that did not seem to belong to it, or was of another quality a word with a colour, a flush, as if light from an unknown source had struck upon it and lighted it up into new beauty. Job has said one or two words for the explanation of which we must wait; the Psalmist now speaks of his flesh resting in hope, of his soul not being left in the unseen place, and of the Holy One not seeing corruption. A beautiful threefold division, too, is coming into human language: “My flesh,” “my heart,” “my soul,” what more can the apostle say in his noble rapture but “body, soul, and spirit”? No fourth quality has been added. David, in whom was sleeping, according to the flesh, the Son of God, began to see a strange outlining of new possibilities of being. He is more than flesh, he is more than soul he is flesh, soul, and heart; and because he has this conception of the inner nature he says, Surely the flesh shall share this glory somehow; I cannot tell in what manner, but “my flesh also shall rest in hope.” As if to say, I cannot tell all that is in me; I am struggling to say something that will not be said, but I am alive, stirred, inflamed: oh that some prophet gifted with the genius of words could interpret me into speech! To impair the doctrine of immortality is to strike at the goodness of God. In denying immortality we may be said to deny the Creator. We cannot treat immortality as a doctrine only; it is really part of the divine nature. Given God, and immortality in some form is a necessity. Has he created us simply to let us die? Has he given us all these gifts merely to mock us at the last, by allowing us to drop into oblivion and nothingness? Does he permit us to climb to the very door of heaven, and to hear the songs that are sung inside, simply that he may thunder to us, You cannot have part or lot in this inheritance; your destiny is obliteration? Some argument must be founded upon instinct, impulse, yearning, longing, speechless unconsciousness. When we are all, body, soul, and spirit, lifting ourselves up to him, is it like him to deny the aspiration? or like him to give us that further movement which will connect us consciously with his own eternity? To this latter faith I incline. God has not created aspirations which he cannot satisfy. There is more in us than we can tell, and to these wordless impulses God sends this revelation of immortality.
The New Testament use of this psalm we will find in Act 2:25-28 : “For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.” “Being a prophet,” Peter adds, “being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.” We must bring Christ into the Psalms as well as history, to catch all their light, to hear all their music, and enjoy all their gladness. O blessed darling of Israel, David, thou wast the sweet singer of Israel; Christ was in thee. Who can explain the mystery of heredity and propagation? The very Son of God was in him at the time. He was, according to the flesh, the father of the Messiah at the time. And if we are related to the past, who can tell in what degree and in what mysterious manner we are related to the future? Who is singing in that songster, preaching in that preacher, writing in that author? The world may have to wait ages before it gets the full explanation of many a word of eloquence, and many a deed of charity.
Prayer
Almighty God, thou givest songs in the nighttime; that is our surprise. Thou makest us to pray in the morning, and causest us to sing at night, and at midday thou dost make us lie down in the shadow, for the heat is too great for us. All the day long thy love is revealed unto us; thou hast not left one hour without a sign of thy presence and care. We bless thee for this assurance; it is triumph in the day of battle, it is healing in the night of sickness, it is immortality in the last struggle. We thank thee we are able to say that in our right hand is thy rod, and in our left hand thy staff, and though the valley of the shadow of death is still where it ever was, yet a great light from heaven shines upon it, and it becomes an upward way a valley leading to the skies. Behold, thou hast made all things new. Out of the dust thou didst make man: is not the dust, then, living ancient dust itself the remains of incalculable life? Thou didst turn the sheepskin into a covering for human nakedness: do not all things minister to man? Thou hast turned the common bread into thy body, O Christ, and the wine into thy blood, O Lamb of God, and thou wilt perfect this process of transformation until the whole earth shall become beautiful, pure, a temple of God, full of holy song, the scene of holy service. We delight to watch these processes of transformation, to see them in ourselves, to behold the child passing away and the old man slowly coming on, to see how the letter is dispossessed by the spirit, so that we who lived once in a narrow limit now enjoy a glorious liberty; to watch how all things that we once prized pass away like shadows that are unvalued, until a land that we had not dreamed of comes down to us in our visions of faith, and we are drawn to it as to an unseen and blessed country. Once we lived in the letter, and in things visible, and in things we could handle, and in things we called realities; now, looking upon them all stored up in their empty wealth, we say, Vanity of vanities; all is vanity: these are but symbols pointing us onward to the true things that abide for ever the things of thought and holiness, love and consecration, and hope and heaven, Thus thou dost lead us on day by day. The child puts down his playthings as exhausted, the youth lays hold of things that appear to be of immediate value; the man also puts these away, and begins to struggle after things invisible, immeasurable, ineffable. Truly, this is the birth of the Spirit, the new life, the larger existence, and only God can satisfy it, only Christ can answer its questions, only the Holy Spirit can work within it the miracle of contentment. We bless thee for all the tumult which has made us anxious for rest; even for the vain and noisy controversy which has made us yearn for prayer. All things that help us towards the sanctuary are of thy sending and thine appointing; they are mysteries from heaven: we accept them as such, and bless the living Lord for such ministries. Thou knowest what we need and that we are always needing. Thou hast made our life a necessity, and our very sighing an aspiration. We must pray. We say we cannot pray, and we pray whilst we say we cannot: our tears are prayers, our groans are petitions, our unrest is a wordless speech addressed to God. For the interpretation of these things we bless thee. We did not understand them at the first, but now we see the whole meaning and bless thee for it: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. Continue thy work of education, purification, even until we know the meaning of sanctification the spotless purity of God. Give us the mastery of life, the high supremacy, which looks down upon it from heavenly heights and scorns the things that threaten but cannot execute, that promise but cannot fulfil, that tempt but cannot realise. This life we can have in Christ Jesus thy Son even this sovereignty over time and space. May we so live in him that we know not whether we have eaten or not, whether we have been fasting before God or feasting in some great banqueting-house of heaven: deliver us from the consciousness which dwarfs the soul, which imprisons and impoverishes the spirit, and give us to know that sweet absorption in thy love which takes no note of weeks or days or months or dying years, but is filled with the eternity of God. Overrule for us whatever happens in life. Save us from looking at things when they are too near at hand; show us that distance is necessary to true judgment distance of time as well as distance of space. May we therefore be in no haste to sin with our tongue; may we have the grace of patience which waits today and to-morrow and the third day, and then looks upon the perfectness of God. Deliver us from all that would embitter our life. Wherein we have been disappointed, may our disappointment not become sourness in the soul. Oh, keep us sweet of mind pure, childlike in heart; may we never lose the morning dewiness, but feel how good a thing it is to be near God, and accept life in its daily portions as a daily education. When we are ill thou wilt know how to handle us, so that we shall know not the pressure yea, shall feel the comfort of thine hand. When we are in darkness thou canst still speak to us: for is not the song sweetest when the singer cannot be seen? and are there not messages which may not be delivered in the light? When we are weary, disquieted, and ill at ease, give us a sense of thy nearness, and let our poor fingers touch the walls of thy sanctuary. Look upon men and women who have done wrong, and are shut up in prison for their wrongdoing. As for the criminal is the criminal within the region of prayer? Thou knowest: we cannot tell, for our prayers die in sight of the awful wickedness. But surely the fool may be saved the man who has been snared and entrapped, who is sound at heart and generally innocent; the Lord have pity upon such, the Lord send comfort and hope after penitence. Be with our dear ones far away, in other lands, yet still at home; some speaking other languages, and longing to speak their native tongue; some in trouble on the sea that great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. The Lord hear us, draw us to the Cross, the scene of blood, the Aceldama made by God and not by men, the altar of propitiation, the mysterious mercy-seat Amen.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
XVI
THE MESSIANIC PSALMS AND OTHERS
We commence this chapter by giving a classified list of the Messianic Psalms, as follows:
The Royal Psalms are:
Psa 110 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 72 ; Psa 45 ; Psa 89 ;
The Passion Psalms are:
Psa 22 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 69 ;
The Psalms of the Ideal Man are Psa 8 ; Psa 16 ; Psa 40 ;
The Missionary Psalms are:
Psa 47 ; Psa 65 ; Psa 68 ; Psa 96 ; Psa 100 ; Psa 117 .
The predictions before David of the coming Messiah are, (1) the seed of the woman; (2) the seed of Abraham; (3) the seed of Judah; (4) the seed of David.
The prophecies of history concerning the Messiah are, (1) a prophet like unto Moses; (2) a priest after the order of Melchizedek; (3) a sacrifice which embraces all the sacrificial offerings of the Old Testament; (4) direct references to him as King, as in 2Sa 7:8 ff.
The messianic offices as taught in the psalms are four, viz: (1) The Messiah is presented as Prophet, or Teacher (Psa 40:8 ); (2) as Sacrifice, or an Offering for sin (Psa 40:6 ff.; Heb 10:5 ff.) ; (3) he is presented as Priest (Psa 110:4 ); (4) he is presented as King (Psa 45 ).
The psalms most clearly presenting the Messiah in his various phases and functions are as follows: (1) as the ideal man, or Second Adam (8); (2) as Prophet (Psa 40 ); (3) as Sacrifice (Psa 22 ) ; (4) as King (Psa 45 ) ; (5) as Priest (Psa 110 ) ; (6) in his universal reign (Psa 72 ).
It will be noted that other psalms teach these facts also, but these most clearly set forth the offices as they relate to the Messiah.
The Messiah as a sacrifice is presented in general in Psa 40:6 . His sufferings as such are given in a specific and general way in Psa 22 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 69 . The events of his sufferings in particular are described, beginning with the betrayal of Judas, as follows:
1. Judas betrayed him (Mat 26:14 ) in fulfilment of Psa 41:9 .
2. At the Supper (Mat 26:24 ) Christ said, “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him,” referring to Psa 22 .
3. They sang after the Supper in fulfilment of Psa 22:22 .
4. Piercing his hands and feet, Psa 22:16 .
5. They cast lots for his vesture in fulfilment of Psa 22:18 .
6. Just before the ninth hour the chief priests reviled him (Mat 27:43 ) in fulfilment of Psa 22:8 .
7. At the ninth hour (Mat 27:46 ) he quoted Psa 22:1 .
8. Near his death (Joh 19:28 ) he said, in fulfilment of Psa 69:21 , “I thirst.”
9. At that time they gave him vinegar (Mat 27:48 ) in fulfilment of Psa 69:21 .
10. When he was found dead they did not break his bones (Joh 19:36 ) in fulfilment of Psa 34:20 .
11. He is represented as dead, buried, and raised in Psa 16:10 .
12. His suffering as a substitute is described in Psa 69:9 .
13. The result of his crucifixion to them who crucified him is given in Psa 69:22-23 . Compare Rom 11:9-10 .
The Penitential Psalms are Psa 6 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 130 ; Psa 143 . The occasion of Psa 6 was the grief and penitence of David over Absalom; of Psa 32 was the blessedness of forgiveness after his sin with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah; Psa 38 , David’s reference to his sin with Bathsheba; Psa 51 , David’s penitence and prayer for forgiveness for this sin; Psa 102 , the penitence of the children of Israel on the eve of their return from captivity; Psalm 130, a general penitential psalm; Psa 143 , David’s penitence and prayer when pursued by Absalom.
The Pilgrim Psalms are Psalms 120-134. This section of the psalter is called the “Little Psalter.” These Psalms were collected in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, in troublous times. The author of the central psalm of this collection is Solomon, and he wrote it when he built his Temple. The Davidic Psalms in this collection are Psa 120 ; Psa 122 ; Psa 124 ; Psa 131 ; Psa 132 ; Psa 133 . The others were written during the building of the second Temple. They are called in the Septuagint “Songs of the Steps.”
There are four theories as to the meaning of the titles, “Songs of the Steps,” “Songs of Degrees,” or “Songs of Ascents,” viz:
1. The first theory is that the “Songs of the Steps” means the songs of the fifteen steps from the court of the women to the court of Israel, there being a song for each step.
2. The second theory is that advanced by Luther, which says that they were songs of a higher choir, elevated above, or in an elevated voice.
3. The third theory is that the thought in these psalms advances by degrees.
4. The fourth theory is that they are Pilgrim Psalms, or the songs that they sang while going up to the great feasts.
Certain scriptures give the true idea of these titles, viz: Exo 23:14-17 ; Exo 34:23-24 ; 1Sa 1:3 ; 1Ki 12:27-28 : Psa 122:1-4 ; and the proof of their singing as they went is found in Psa_42:4; 100; and Isa 30:29 . They went, singing these psalms, to the Feasts of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Psa 121 was sung when just in sight of Jerusalem and Psa 122 was sung at the gate. Psa 128 is the description of a good man’s home and a parallel to this psalm in modern literature is Burns’s “Cotter’s Saturday Night.” The pious home makes the nation great.
Psa 133 is a psalm of fellowship. It is one of the finest expressions of the blessings that issue when God’s people dwell together in unity. The reference here is to the anointing of Aaron as high priest and the fragrance of the anointing oil which was used in these anointings. The dew of Hermon represents the blessing of God upon his people when they dwell together in such unity.
Now let us look at the Alphabetical Psalms. An alphabetical psalm is one in which the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are used alphabetically to commence each division. In Psalms 111-112, each clause so begins; in Psa 25 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 145 ; each verse so begins; in Psa 37 each stanza of two verses so begins; in 119 each stanza of eight verses so begins, and each of the eight lines begins with the same letter. In Psa 25 ; 34 37 the order is not so strict; in Psa 9 and Psa 10 there are some traces of this alphabetical order.
David originated these alphabetical psalms and the most complete specimen is Psa 119 , which is an expansion of the latter part of Psa 19 .
A certain group of psalms is called the Hallelujah Psalms. They are so called because the word “Hallelujah” is used at the beginning, or at the ending, and sometimes at both the beginning and the ending. The Hallelujah Psalms are Psalm 111-113; 115-117; 146-150. Psa 117 is a doxology; and Psalms 146-150 were used as anthems. Psa 148 calls on all creation to praise God. Francis of Assisi wrote a hymn based on this psalm in which he called the sun his honorable brother and the cricket his sister. Psa 150 calls for all varieties of instruments. Psalms 113-118 are called the Egyptian Hallel. They were used at the Passover (Psalm 113-114), before the Supper and Psalm 115-118 were sung after the Supper. According to this, Jesus and his disciples sang Psalms 115-118 at the last Passover Supper. These psalms were sung also at the Feasts of Pentecost, Tabernacles, Dedication, and New Moon.
The name of God is delayed long in Psa 114 . Addison said, “That the surprise might be complete.” Then there are some special characteristics of Psa 115 , viz: (1) It was written against idols. Cf. Isa 44:9-20 ; (2) It is antiphonal, the congregation singing Psa 115:1-8 , the choir Psa 115:9-12 , the priests Psa 115:13-15 and the congregation again Psa 115:16-18 . The theme of Psa 116 is love, based on gratitude for a great deliverance, expressed in service. It is appropriate to read at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and Psa 116:15 is especially appropriate for funeral services.
On some special historical occasions certain psalms were sung. Psa 46 was sung by the army of Gustavus Adolphus before the decisive battle of Leipzig, on September 17, 1631.Psa 68 was sung by Cromwell’s army on the occasion of the battle of Dunbar in Scotland.
Certain passages in the Psalms show that the psalm writers approved the offering of Mosaic animal sacrifices. For instance, Psa 118:27 ; Psa 141:2 seem to teach very clearly that they approved the Mosaic sacrifice. But other passages show that these inspired writers estimated spiritual sacrifices as more important and foresaw the abolition of the animal sacrifices. Such passages are Psa 50:7-15 ; Psa 4:5 ; Psa 27:6 ; Psa 40:6 ; Psa 51:16-17 . These scriptures show conclusively that the writers estimated spiritual sacrifices as more important than the Mosaic sacrifices.
QUESTIONS
1. What are the Royal Psalms?
2. What are the Passion Psalms?
3. What are the Psalms of the Ideal Man?
4. What are the Missionary Psalms?
5. What are the predictions before David of the coming Messiah?
6. What are the prophecies of history concerning the Messiah?
7. Give a regular order of thought concerning the messianic offices as taught in the psalms.
8. Which psalms most clearly present the Messiah as (1) the ideal man, or Second Adam, (2) which as Prophet, or Teacher, (3) which as the Sacrifice, (4) which as King, (5) which as Priest, (6) which his universal reign?
9. Concerning the suffering Messiah, or the Messiah as a sacrifice, state the words or facts, verified in the New Testament as fulfilment of prophecy in the psalms. Let the order of the citations follow the order of facts in Christ’s life.
10. Name the Penitential Psalms and show their occasion.
11. What are the Pilgrim Psalms?
12. What is this section of the Psalter called?
13. When and under what conditions were these psalms collected?
14. Who is the author of the central psalm of this collection?
15. What Davidic Psalms are in this collection?
16. When were the others written?
17. What are they called in the Septuagint?
18. What four theories as to the meaning of the titles, “Songs of the Steps,” “Songs of Degrees,” or “Songs of Ascents”?
19. What scriptures give the true idea of these titles?
20. Give proof of their singing as they went.
21. To what feasts did they go singing these Psalms?
22. What was the special use made of Psa 121 and Psa 122 ?
23. Which of these psalms is the description of a good man’s home and what parallel in modern literature?
24. Expound Psa 133 .
25. What is an alphabetical psalm, and what are the several kinds?
26. Who originated these Alphabetical Psalms?
27. What are the most complete specimen?
28. Of what is it an expansion?
29. Why is a certain group of psalms called the Hallelujah Psalms?
30. What are the Hallelujah Psalms?
31. Which of the Hallelujah Psalms was a doxology?
32. Which of these were used as anthems?
33. Which psalm calls on all creation to praise God?
34. Who wrote a hymn based on Psa 148 in which he called the sun his honorable brother and the cricket his sister?
35. Which of these psalms calls for all varieties of instruments?
36. What is the Egyptian Hallel?
37. What is their special use and how were they sung?
38. Then what hymns did Jesus and his disciples sing?
39. At what other feasts was this sung?
40. Why was the name of God delayed so long in Psa 114 ?
41. What are the characteristics of Psa 115 ?
42. What is the theme and special use of Psa 116 ?
43. State some special historical occasions on which certain psalms were sung. Give the psalm for each occasion.
44. Cite passages in the psalms showing that the psalm writers approved the offering of Mosaic animal sacrifices.
45. Cite other passages showing that these inspired writers estimated spiritual sacrifices as more important than the Mosaic sacrifices.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
PSALMS
XI
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS
According to my usual custom, when taking up the study of a book of the Bible I give at the beginning a list of books as helps to the study of that book. The following books I heartily commend on the Psalms:
1. Sampey’s Syllabus for Old Testament Study . This is especially good on the grouping and outlining of some selected psalms. There are also some valuable suggestions on other features of the book.
2. Kirkpatrick’g commentary, in “Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges,” is an excellent aid in the study of the Psalter.
3. Perowne’s Book of Psalms is a good, scholarly treatise on the Psalms. A special feature of this commentary is the author’s “New Translation” and his notes are very helpful.
4. Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. This is just what the title implies. It is a voluminous, devotional interpretation of the Psalms and helpful to those who have the time for such extensive study of the Psalter.
5. Hengstenburg on the Psalms. This is a fine, scholarly work by one of the greatest of the conservative German scholars.
6. Maclaren on the Psalms, in “The Expositor’s Bible,” is the work of the world’s safest, sanest, and best of all works that have ever been written on the Psalms.
7. Thirtle on the Titles of the Psalms. This is the best on the subject and well worth a careful study.
At this point some definitions are in order. The Hebrew word for psalm means praise. The word in English comes from psalmos , a song of lyrical character, or a song to be sung and accompanied with a lyre. The Psalter is a collection of sacred and inspired songs, composed at different times and by different authors.
The range of time in composition was more than 1,000 years, or from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra. The collection in its present form was arranged probably by Ezra in the fifth century, B.C.
The Jewish classification of Old Testament books was The Law, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings. The Psalms was given the first place in the last group.
They had several names, or titles, of the Psalms. In Hebrew they are called “The Book of Prayers,” or “The Book of Praises.” The Hebrew word thus used means praises. The title of the first two books is found in Psa 72:20 : “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” The title of the whole collection of Psalms in the Septuagint is Biblos Psalman which means the “Book of Psalms.” The title in the Alexandrian Codex is Psalterion which is the name of a stringed instrument, and means “The Psalter.”
The derivation of our English words, “psalms,” “psalter,” and “psaltery,” respectively, is as follows:
1. “Psalms” comes from the Greek word, psalmoi, which is also from psallein , which means to play upon a stringed instrument. Therefore the Psalms are songs played upon stringed instruments, and the word here is used to apply to the whole collection.
2. “Psalter” is of the same origin and means the Book of Psalms and refers also to the whole collection.
3. “Psaltery” is from the word psalterion, which means “a harp,” an instrument, supposed to be in the shape of a triangle or like the delta of the Greek alphabet. See Psa 33:2 ; Psa 71:22 ; Psa 81:2 ; Psa 144:9 .
In our collection there are 150 psalms. In the Septuagint there is one extra. It is regarded as being outside the sacred collection and not inspired. The subject of this extra psalm is “David’s victory over Goliath.” The following is a copy of it: I was small among my brethren, And youngest in my father’s house, I used to feed my father’s sheep. My hands made a harp, My fingers fashioned a Psaltery. And who will declare unto my Lord? He is Lord, he it is who heareth. He it was who sent his angel And took me from my father’s sheep, And anointed me with the oil of his anointing. My brethren were goodly and tall, But the Lord took no pleasure in them. I went forth to meet the Philistine. And he cursed me by his idols But I drew the sword from beside him; I beheaded him and removed reproach from the children of Israel.
It will be noted that this psalm does not have the earmarks of an inspired production. There is not found in it the modesty so characteristic of David, but there is here an evident spirit of boasting and self-praise which is foreign to the Spirit of inspiration.
There is a difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint. Omitting the extra one in the Septuagint, there is no difference as to the total number. Both have 150 and the same subject matter, but they are not divided alike.
The following scheme shows the division according to our version and also the Septuagint: Psalms 1-8 in the Hebrew equal 1-8 in the Septuagint; 9-10 in the Hebrew combine into 9 in the Septuagint; 11-113 in the Hebrew equal 10-112 in the Septuagint; 114-115 in the Hebrew combine into 113 in the Septuagint; 116 in the Hebrew divides into 114-115 in the Septuagint; 117-146 in the Hebrew equal 116-145 in the Septuagint; 147 in the Hebrew divides into 146-147 in the Septuagint; 148-150 in the Hebrew equal 148-150 in the Septuagint.
The arrangement in the Vulgate is the same as the Septuagint. Also some of the older English versions have this arangement. Another difficulty in numbering perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another, viz: In the Hebrew often the title is verse I, and sometimes the title embraces verses 1-2.
The book divisions of the Psalter are five books, as follows:
Book I, Psalms 1-41 (41 chapters)
Book II, Psalms 42-72 (31 chapters)
Book III, Psalms 73-89 (17 chapters)
Book IV, Psalms 90-106 (17 chapters)
Book V, Psalms 107-150 (44 chapters)
They are marked by an introduction and a doxology. Psalm I forms an introduction to the whole book; Psa 150 is the doxology for the whole book. The introduction and doxology of each book are the first and last psalms of each division, respectively.
There were smaller collections before the final one, as follows:
Books I and II were by David; Book III, by Hezekiah, and Books IV and V, by Ezra.
Certain principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection:
1. David is honored with first place, Book I and II, including Psalms 1-72.
2. They are grouped according to the use of the name of God:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovah psalms;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohim-psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovah psalms.
3. Book IV is introduced by the psalm of Moses, which is the first psalm written.
4. Some are arranged as companion psalms, for instance, sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes more. Examples: Psa 2 and 3; 22, 23, and 24; 113-118.
5. They were arranged for liturgical purposes, which furnished the psalms for special occasions, such as feasts, etc. We may be sure this arrangement was not accidental. An intelligent study of each case is convincing that it was determined upon rational grounds.
All the psalms have titles but thirty-three, as follows:
In Book I, Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 33 , (4 are without titles).
In Book II, Psa 43 ; Psa 71 , (2 are without titles).
In Book IV, Psa 91 ; Psa 93 ; Psa 94 ; Psa 95 ; Psa 96 ; Psa 97 ; Psa 104 ; Psa 105 ; Psa 106 , (9 are without titles).
In Book V, Psa 107 ; III; 112; 113; 114; 115; 116; 117; 118; 119; 135; 136; 137; 146; 147; 148; 149; 150, (18 are without titles).
The Talmud calls these psalms that have no title, “Orphan Psalms.” The later Jews supply these titles by taking the nearest preceding author. The lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; and 10 may be accounted for as follows: Psa 1 is a general introduction to the whole collection and Psa 2 was, perhaps, a part of Psa 1 . Psalms 9-10 were formerly combined into one, therefore Psa 10 has the same title as Psa 9 .
QUESTIONS
1. What books are commended on the Psalms?
2. What is a psalm?
3. What is the Psalter?
4. What is the range of time in composition?
5. When and by whom was the collection in its present form arranged?
6. What the Jewish classification of Old Testament books, and what the position of the Psalter in this classification?
7. What is the Hebrew title of the Psalms?
8. Find the title of the first two books from the books themselves.
9. What is the title of the whole collection of psalms in the Septuagint?
10. What is the title in the Alexandrian Codex?
11. What is the derivation of our English word, “Psalms”, “Psalter”, and “Psaltery,” respectively?
12. How many psalms in our collection?
13. How many psalms in the Septuagint?
14. What about the extra one in the Septuagint?
15. What is the subject of this extra psalm?
16. How does it compare with the Canonical Psalms?
17. What is the difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint?
18. What is the arrangement in the Vulgate?
19. What other difficulty in numbering which perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another?
20. What are the book divisions of the Psalter and how are these divisions marked?
21. Were there smaller collections before the final one? If so, what were they?
22. What principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection?
23. In what conclusion may we rest concerning this arrangement?
24. How many of the psalms have no titles?
25. What does the Talmud call these psalms that have no titles?
26. How do later Jews supply these titles?
27. How do you account for the lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ?
XII
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS (CONTINUED)
The following is a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms:
1. The author: “A Psalm of David” (Psa 37 ).
2. The occasion: “When he fled from Absalom, his son” (Psa 3 ).
3. The nature, or character, of the poem:
(1) Maschil, meaning “instruction,” a didactic poem (Psa 42 ).
(2) Michtam, meaning “gold,” “A Golden Psalm”; this means excellence or mystery (Psa 16 ; 56-60).
4. The occasion of its use: “A Psalm of David for the dedication of the house” (Psa 30 ).
5. Its purpose: “A Psalm of David to bring remembrance” (Psa 38 ; Psa 70 ).
6. Direction for its use: “A Psalm of David for the chief musician” (Psa 4 ).
7. The kind of musical instrument:
(1) Neginoth, meaning to strike a chord, as on stringed instruments (Psa 4 ; Psa 61 ).
(2) Nehiloth, meaning to perforate, as a pipe or flute (Psa 5 ).
(3) Shoshannim, Lilies, which refers probably to cymbals (Psa 45 ; Psa 69 ).
8. A special choir:
(1) Sheminith, the “eighth,” or octave below, as a male choir (Psa 6 ; Psa 12 ).
(2) Alamoth, female choir (Psa 46 ).
(3) Muth-labben, music with virgin voice, to be sung by a choir of boys in the treble (Psa 9 ).
9. The keynote, or tune:
(1) Aijeleth-sharar, “Hind of the morning,” a song to the melody of which this is sung (Psa 22 ).
(2) Al-tashheth, “Destroy thou not,” the beginning of a song the tune of which is sung (Psa 57 ; Psa 58 ; Psa 59 ; Psa 75 ).
(3) Gittith, set to the tune of Gath, perhaps a tune which David brought from Gath (Psa 8 ; Psa 81 ; Psa 84 ).
(4) Jonath-elim-rehokim, “The dove of the distant terebinths,” the commencement of an ode to the air of which this song was to be sung (Psa 56 ).
(5) Leannoth, the name of a tune (Psa 88 ).
(6) Mahalath, an instrument (Psa 53 ); Leonnoth-Mahaloth, to chant to a tune called Mahaloth.
(7) Shiggaion, a song or a hymn.
(8) Shushan-Eduth, “Lily of testimony,” a tune (Psa 60 ). Note some examples: (1) “America,” “Shiloh,” “Auld Lang Syne.” These are the names of songs such as we are familiar with; (2) “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” are examples of sacred hymns.
10. The liturgical use, those noted for the feasts, e.g., the Hallels and Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 146-150).
11. The destination, as “Song of Ascents” (Psalms 120-134)
12. The direction for the music, such as Selah, which means “Singers, pause”; Higgaion-Selah, to strike a symphony with selah, which means an instrumental interlude (Psa 9:16 ).
The longest and fullest title to any of the psalms is the title to Psa 60 . The items of information from this title are as follows: (1) the author; (2) the chief musician; (3) the historical occasion; (4) the use, or design; (5) the style of poetry; (6) the instrument or style of music.
The parts of these superscriptions which most concern us now are those indicating author, occasion, and date. As to the historic value or trustworthiness of these titles most modern scholars deny that they are a part of the Hebrew text, but the oldest Hebrew text of which we know anything had all of them. This is the text from which the Septuagint was translated. It is much more probable that the author affixed them than later writers. There is no internal evidence in any of the psalms that disproves the correctness of them, but much to confirm. The critics disagree among themselves altogether as to these titles. Hence their testimony cannot consistently be received. Nor can it ever be received until they have at least agreed upon a common ground of opposition.
David is the author of more than half the entire collection, the arrangement of which is as follows:
1. Seventy-three are ascribed to him in the superscriptions.
2. Some of these are but continuations of the preceding ones of a pair, trio, or larger group.
3. Some of the Korahite Psalms are manifestly Davidic.
4. Some not ascribed to him in the titles are attributed to him expressly by New Testament writers.
5. It is not possible to account for some parts of the Psalter without David. The history of his early life as found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1and 2 Chronicles, not only shows his remarkable genius for patriotic and sacred songs and music, but also shows his cultivation of that gift in the schools of the prophets. Some of these psalms of the history appear in the Psalter itself. It is plain to all who read these that they are founded on experience, and the experience of no other Hebrew fits the case. These experiences are found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.
As to the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition, I have this to say:
1. This theory has no historical support whatever, and therefore is not to be accepted at all.
2. It has no support in tradition, which weakens the contention of the critics greatly.
3. It has no support from finding any one with the necessary experience for their basis.
4. They can give no reasonable account as to how the titles ever got there.
5. It is psychologically impossible for anyone to have written these 150 psalms in the Maccabean times.
6. Their position is expressly contrary to the testimony of Christ and the apostles. Some of the psalms which they ascribe to the Maccabean Age are attributed to David by Christ himself, who said that David wrote them in the Spirit.
The obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result if it be Just, is a positive denial of the inspiration of both Testaments.
Other authors are named in the titles, as follows: (1) Asaph, to whom twelve psalms have been assigned: (2) Mosee, Psa 90 ; (3) Solomon, Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ; (4) Heman, Psa 80 ; (5) Ethem, Psa 89 ; (6) A number of the psalms are ascribed to the sons of Korah.
Not all the psalms ascribed to Asaph were composed by one person. History indicates that Asaph’s family presided over the song service for several generations. Some of them were composed by his descendants by the game name. The five general outlines of the whole collection are as follows:
I. By books
1. Psalms 1-41 (41)
2. Psalms 42-72 (31)
3. Psalms 73-89 (17)
4. Psalms 90-106 (17)
5. Psalms 107-150 (44)
II. According to date and authorship
1. The psalm of Moses (Psa 90 )
2. Psalms of David:
(1) The shepherd boy (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 ).
(2) David when persecuted by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ).
(3) David the King (Psa 101 ; Psa 18 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 110 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 21 ; Psa 60 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 3:4 ; Psa 64 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 ).
3. The Asaph Psalms (Psa 50 ; Psa 73 ; Psa 83 ).
4. The Korahite Psalms (Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 84 ).
5. The psalms of Solomon (Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ).
6. The psalms of the era of Hezekiah and Isaiah (Psa 46 ; Psa 47 ; Psa 48 )
7. The psalms of the Exile (Psa 74 ; Psa 79 ; Psa 137 ; Psa 102 )
8. The psalms of the Restoration (Psa 85 ; Psa 126 ; Psa 118 ; 146-150)
III. By groups
1. The Jehovistic and Elohistic Psalms:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovistic;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohistic Psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovistic.
2. The Penitential Psalms (Psa 6 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 130 ; Psa 143 )
3. The Pilgrim Psalms (Psalms 120-134)
4. The Alphabetical Psalms (Psa 9 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 25 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 37 ; 111:112; Psa 119 ; Psa 145 )
5. The Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 11-113; 115-117; 146-150; to which may be added Psa 135 ) Psalms 113-118 are called “the Egyptian Hallel”
IV. Doctrines of the Psalms
1. The throne of grace and how to approach it by sacrifice, prayer, and praise.
2. The covenant, the basis of worship.
3. The paradoxical assertions of both innocence & guilt.
4. The pardon of sin and justification.
5. The Messiah.
6. The future life, pro and con.
7. The imprecations.
8. Other doctrines.
V. The New Testament use of the Psalms
1. Direct references and quotations in the New Testament.
2. The allusions to the psalms in the New Testament. Certain experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart, such as: (1) his peaceful early life; (2) his persecution by Saul; (3) his being crowned king of the people; (4) the bringing up of the ark; (5) his first great sin; (6) Absalom’s rebellion; (7) his second great sin; (8) the great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 ; (9) the feelings of his old age.
We may classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time, thus:
1. His peaceful early life (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 )
2. His persecution by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 7 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 120 ; Psa 140 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ; Psa 17 ; Psa 18 )
3. Making David King (Psa 27 ; Psa 133 ; Psa 101 )
4. Bringing up the ark (Psa 68 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 132 ; Psa 15 ; Psa 78 ; Psa 96 )
5. His first great sin (Psa 51 ; Psa 32 )
6. Absalom’s rebellion (Psa 41 ; Psa 6 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 109 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 39 ; Psa 3 ; Psa 4 ; Psa 63 ; Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 5 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 )
7. His second great sin (Psa 69 ; Psa 71 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 103 )
8. The great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 (Psa 2 )
9. Feelings of old age (Psa 37 )
The great doctrines of the psalms may be noted as follows: (1) the being and attributes of God; (3) sin, both original and individual; (3) both covenants; (4) the doctrine of justification; (5) concerning the Messiah.
There is a striking analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms. The Pentateuch contains five books of law; the Psalms contain five books of heart responses to the law.
It is interesting to note the historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms. These were controversies about singing uninspired songs, in the Middle Ages. The church would not allow anything to be used but psalms.
The history in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah is very valuable toward a proper interpretation of the psalms. These books furnish the historical setting for a great many of the psalms which is very indispensable to their proper interpretation.
Professor James Robertson, in the Poetry and Religion of the Psalms constructs a broad and strong argument in favor of the Davidic Psalms, as follows:
1. The age of David furnished promising soil for the growth of poetry.
2. David’s qualifications for composing the psalms make it highly probable that David is the author of the psalms ascribed to him.
3. The arguments against the possibility of ascribing to David any of the hymns in the Hebrew Psalter rests upon assumptions that are thoroughly antibiblical.
The New Testament makes large use of the psalms and we learn much as to their importance in teaching. There are seventy direct quotations in the New Testament from this book, from which we learn that the Scriptures were used extensively in accord with 2Ti 3:16-17 . There are also eleven references to the psalms in the New Testament from which we learn that the New Testament writers were thoroughly imbued with the spirit and teaching of the psalms. Then there are eight allusions ‘to this book in the New Testament from which we gather that the Psalms was one of the divisions of the Old Testament and that they were used in the early church.
QUESTIONS
1. Give a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms.
2. What is the longest title to any of the psalms and what the items of this title?
3. What parts of these superscriptions most concern us now?
4. What is the historic value, or trustworthiness of these titles?
5. State the argument showing David’s relation to the psalms.
6. What have you to say of the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition?
7. What the obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result, if it be just?
8. What other authors are named in the titles?
9. Were all the psalms ascribed to Asaph composed by one person?
10. Give the five general outlines of the whole collection, as follows: I. The outline by books II. The outline according to date and authorship III. The outline by groups IV. The outline of doctrines V. The outline by New Testament quotations or allusions.
11. What experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart?
12. Classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time.
13. What the great doctrines of the psalms?
14. What analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms?
15. What historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms?
16. Of what value is the history in Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah toward a proper interpretation of the psalms?
17. Give Professor James Robertson’s argument in favor of the Davidic authorship of the psalms.
18. What can you say of the New Testament use of the psalms and what do we learn as to their importance in teaching?
19. What can you say of the New Testament references to the psalms, and from the New Testament references what the impression on the New Testament writers?
20. What can you say of the allusions to the psalms in the New Testament?
XVII
THE MESSIAH IN THE PSALMS
A fine text for this chapter is as follows: “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Psalms concerning me,” Luk 24:44 . I know of no better way to close my brief treatise on the Psalms than to discuss the subject of the Messiah as revealed in this book.
Attention has been called to the threefold division of the Old Testament cited by our Lord, namely, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luk 24:44 ), in all of which were the prophecies relating to himself that “must be fulfilled.” It has been shown just what Old Testament books belong to each of these several divisions. The division called the Psalms included many books, styled Holy Writings, and because the Psalms proper was the first book of the division it gave the name to the whole division.
The object of this discussion is to sketch the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah, or rather, to show how nearly a complete picture of our Lord is foredrawn in this one book. Let us understand however with Paul, that all prophecy is but in part (1Co 13:9 ), and that when we fill in on one canvas all the prophecies concerning the Messiah of all the Old Testament divisions, we are far from having a perfect portrait of our Lord. The present purpose is limited to three things:
1. What the book of the Psalms teaches concerning the Messiah.
2. That the New Testament shall authoritatively specify and expound this teaching.
3. That the many messianic predictions scattered over the book and the specifications thereof over the New Testament may be grouped into an orderly analysis, so that by the adjustment of the scattered parts we may have before us a picture of our Lord as foreseen by the psalmists.
In allowing the New Testament to authoritatively specify and expound the predictive features of the book, I am not unmindful of what the so-called “higher critics” urge against the New Testament quotations from the Old Testament and the use made of them. In this discussion, however, these objections are not considered, for sufficient reasons. There is not space for it. Even at the risk of being misjudged I must just now summarily pass all these objections, dismissing them with a single statement upon which the reader may place his own estimate of value. That statement is that in the days of my own infidelity, before this old method of criticism had its new name, I was quite familiar with the most and certainly the strongest of the objections now classified as higher criticism, and have since patiently re-examined them in their widely conflicting restatements under their modern name, and find my faith in the New Testament method of dealing with the Old Testament in no way shattered, but in every way confirmed. God is his own interpreter. The Old Testament as we now have it was in the hands of our Lord. I understand his apostle to declare, substantially, that “every one of these sacred scriptures is God-inspired and is profitable for teaching us what is right to believe and to do, for convincing us what is wrong in faith or practice, for rectifying the wrong when done, that we may be ready at every point, furnished completely, to do every good work, at the right time, in the right manner, and from the proper motive” (2Ti 3:16-17 ).
This New Testament declares that David was a prophet (Act 2:30 ), that he spake by the Holy Spirit (Act 1:16 ), that when the book speaks the Holy Spirit speaks (Heb 3:7 ), and that all its predictive utterances, as sacred Scripture, “must be fulfilled” (Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:16 ). It is not claimed that David wrote all the psalms, but that all are inspired, and that as he was the chief author, the book goes by his name.
It would be a fine thing to make out two lists, as follows:
1. All of the 150 psalms in order from which the New Testament quotes with messianic application.
2. The New Testament quotations, book by book, i.e., Matthew so many, and then the other books in their order.
We would find in neither of these any order as to time, that is, Psa 1 which forecasts an incident in the coming Messiah’s life does not forecast the first incident of his life. And even the New Testament citations are not in exact order as to time and incident of his life. To get the messianic picture before us, therefore, we must put the scattered parts together in their due relation and order, and so construct our own analysis. That is the prime object of this discussion. It is not claimed that the analysis now presented is perfect. It is too much the result of hasty, offhand work by an exceedingly busy man. It will serve, however, as a temporary working model, which any one may subsequently improve. We come at once to the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah.
1. The necessity for a Saviour. This foreseen necessity is a background of the psalmists’ portrait of the Messiah. The necessity consists in (1) man’s sinfulness; (2) his sin; (3) his inability of wisdom and power to recover himself; (4) the insufficiency of legal, typical sacrifices in securing atonement.
The predicate of Paul’s great argument on justification by faith is the universal depravity and guilt of man. He is everywhere corrupt in nature; everywhere an actual transgressor; everywhere under condemnation. But the scriptural proofs of this depravity and sin the apostle draws mainly from the book of the Psalms. In one paragraph of the letter to the Romans (Rom 3:4-18 ), he cites and groups six passages from six divisions of the Psalms (Psa 5:9 ; Psa 10:7 ; Psa 14:1-3 ; Psa 36:1 ; Psa 51:4-6 ; Psa 140:3 ). These passages abundantly prove man’s sinfulness, or natural depravity, and his universal practice of sin.
The predicate also of the same apostle’s great argument for revelation and salvation by a Redeemer is man’s inability of wisdom and power to re-establish communion with God. In one of his letters to the Corinthians he thus commences his argument: “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? -For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preach-ing to save them that believe.” He closes this discussion with the broad proposition: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,” and proves it by a citation from Psa 94:11 : “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
In like manner our Lord himself pours scorn on human wisdom and strength by twice citing Psa 8 : “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Mat 11:25-26 ). “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Mat 21:15-16 ).
But the necessity for a Saviour as foreseen by the psalmist did not stop at man’s depravity, sin, and helplessness. The Jews were trusting in the sacrifices of their law offered on the smoking altar. The inherent weakness of these offerings, their lack of intrinsic merit, their ultimate abolition, their complete fulfilment and supercession by a glorious antitype were foreseen and foreshown in this wonderful prophetic book: I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goat out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all of the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Psa 50:8-13 .
Yet again it speaks in that more striking passage cited in the letter to the Hebrews: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers, once purged should have no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, But a body didst thou prepare for me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure: Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God. Saying above, Sacrifice and offering and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein, (the which are offered according to the law), then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second” (Heb 10:1-9 ).
This keen foresight of the temporary character and intrinsic worthlessness of animal sacrifices anticipated similar utterances by the later prophets (Isa 1:10-17 ; Jer 6:20 ; Jer 7:21-23 ; Hos 6:6 ; Amo 5:21 ; Mic 6:6-8 ). Indeed, I may as well state in passing that when the apostle declares, “It is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins,” he lays down a broad principle, just as applicable to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. With reverence I state the principle: Not even God himself by mere appointment can vest in any ordinance, itself lacking intrinsic merit, the power to take away sin. There can be, therefore, in the nature of the case, no sacramental salvation. This would destroy the justice of God in order to exalt his mercy. Clearly the psalmist foresaw that “truth and mercy must meet together” before “righteousness and peace could kiss each other” (Psa 85:10 ). Thus we find as the dark background of the psalmists’ luminous portrait of the Messiah, the necessity for a Saviour.
2. The nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah. In no other prophetic book are the nature, fullness, and blessedness of salvation so clearly seen and so vividly portrayed. Besides others not now enumerated, certainly the psalmists clearly forecast four great elements of salvation:
(1) An atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit offered once for all (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:4-10 ).
(2) Regeneration itself consisting of cleansing, renewal, and justification. We hear his impassioned statement of the necessity of regeneration: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts,” followed by his earnest prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” and his equally fervent petition: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psa 51 ). And we hear him again as Paul describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin Psa 32:1 ; Rom 4:6-8 .
(3) Introduction into the heavenly rest (Psa 95:7-11 ; Heb 3:7-19 ; Heb 4:1-11 ). Here is the antitypical Joshua leading spiritual Israel across the Jordan of death into the heavenly Canaan, the eternal rest that remaineth for the people of God. Here we find creation’s original sabbath eclipsed by redemption’s greater sabbath when the Redeemer “entered his rest, ceasing from his own works as God did from his.”
(4) The recovery of all the universal dominion lost by the first Adam and the securement of all possible dominion which the first Adam never attained (Psa 8:5-6 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 ; 1Co 15:24-28 ).
What vast extent then and what blessedness in the salvation foreseen by the psalmists, and to be wrought by the Messiah. Atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit; regeneration by the Holy Spirit; heavenly rest as an eternal inheritance; and universal dominion shared with Christ!
3. The wondrous person of the Messiah in his dual nature, divine and human.
(1) His divinity,
(a) as God: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Psa 45:6 and Heb 1:8 ) ;
(b) as creator of the heavens and earth, immutable and eternal: Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end Psa 102:25-27 quoted with slight changes in Heb 1:10-12 .
(c) As owner of the earth: The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein, Psa 24:1 quoted in 1Co 10:26 .
(d) As the Son of God: “Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee” Psa 2:7 ; Heb 1:5 .
(e) As David’s Lord: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool, Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:41-46 .
(f) As the object of angelic worship: “And let all the angels of God worship him” Psa 97:7 ; Heb 1:6 .
(g) As the Bread of life: And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven Psa 78:24 ; interpreted in Joh 6:31-58 . These are but samples which ascribe deity to the Messiah of the psalmists.
(2) His humanity, (a) As the Son of man, or Son of Adam: Psa 8:4-6 , cited in 1Co 15:24-28 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Compare Luke’s genealogy, Luk 3:23-38 . This is the ideal man, or Second Adam, who regains Paradise Lost, who recovers race dominion, in whose image all his spiritual lineage is begotten. 1Co 15:45-49 . (b) As the Son of David: Psa 18:50 ; Psa 89:4 ; Psa 89:29 ; Psa 89:36 ; Psa 132:11 , cited in Luk 1:32 ; Act 13:22-23 ; Rom 1:3 ; 2Ti 2:8 . Perhaps a better statement of the psalmists’ vision of the wonderful person of the Messiah would be: He saw the uncreated Son, the second person of the trinity, in counsel and compact with the Father, arranging in eternity for the salvation of men: Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 . Then he saw this Holy One stoop to be the Son of man: Psa 8:4-6 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Then he was the son of David, and then he saw him rise again to be the Son of God: Psa 2:7 ; Rom 1:3-4 .
4. His offices.
(1) As the one atoning sacrifice (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 ).
(2) As the great Prophet, or Preacher (Psa 40:9-10 ; Psa 22:22 ; Heb 2:12 ). Even the method of his teaching by parable was foreseen (Psa 78:2 ; Mat 13:35 ). Equally also the grace, wisdom, and power of his teaching. When the psalmist declares that “Grace is poured into thy lips” (Psa 45:2 ), we need not be startled when we read that all the doctors in the Temple who heard him when only a boy “were astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luk 2:47 ); nor that his home people at Nazareth “all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luk 4:22 ); nor that those of his own country were astonished, and said, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” (Mat 13:54 ); nor that the Jews in the Temple marveled, saying, “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” (Joh 7:15 ) ; nor that the stern officers of the law found their justification in failure to arrest him in the declaration, “Never man spake like this man” (Joh 7:46 ).
(3) As the king (Psa 2:6 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 45:1-17 ; Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:42-46 ; Act 2:33-36 ; 1Co 15:25 ; Eph 1:20 ; Heb 1:13 ).
(4) As the priest (Psa 110:4 ; Heb 5:5-10 ; Heb 7:1-21 ; Heb 10:12-14 ).
(5) As the final judge. The very sentence of expulsion pronounced upon the finally impenitent by the great judge (Mat 25:41 ) is borrowed from the psalmist’s prophetic words (Psa 6:8 ).
5. Incidents of life. The psalmists not only foresaw the necessity for a Saviour; the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation; the wonderful human-divine person of the Saviour; the offices to be filled by him in the work of salvation, but also many thrilling details of his work in life, death, resurrection, and exaltation. It is not assumed to cite all these details, but some of the most important are enumerated in order, thus:
(1) The visit, adoration, and gifts of the Magi recorded in Mat 2 are but partial fulfilment of Psa 72:9-10 .
(2) The scripture employed by Satan in the temptation of our Lord (Luk 4:10-11 ) was cited from Psa 91:11-12 and its pertinency not denied.
(3) In accounting for his intense earnestness and the apparently extreme measures adopted by our Lord in his first purification of the Temple (Joh 2:17 ), he cites the messianic zeal predicted in Psa 69:9 .
(4) Alienation from his own family was one of the saddest trials of our Lord’s earthly life. They are slow to understand his mission and to enter into sympathy with him. His self-abnegation and exhaustive toil were regarded by them as evidences of mental aberration, and it seems at one time they were ready to resort to forcible restraint of his freedom) virtually what in our time would be called arrest under a writ of lunacy. While at the last his half-brothers became distinguished preachers of his gospel, for a long while they do not believe on him. And the evidence forces us to the conclusion that his own mother shared with her other sons, in kind though not in degree, the misunderstanding of the supremacy of his mission over family relations. The New Testament record speaks for itself:
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them. How is it that ye sought me? Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them Luk 2:48-51 (R.V.).
And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Joh 2:3-5 (R.V.).
And there come his mother and his brethren; and standing without; they sent unto him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting about him; and they say unto him. Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answereth them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren) For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother Mar 3:31-35 (R.V.).
Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. For even his brethren did not believe on him. Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; because my time is not fulfilled. Joh 7:2-9 (R.V.).
These citations from the Revised Version tell their own story. But all that sad story is foreshown in the prophetic psalms. For example: I am become a stranger unto my brethren, And an alien unto my mother’s children. Psa 69:8 .
(5) The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was welcomed by a joyous people shouting a benediction from Psa 118:26 : “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mat 21:9 ); and the Lord’s lamentation over Jerusalem predicts continued desolation and banishment from his sight until the Jews are ready to repeat that benediction (Mat 23:39 ).
(6) The children’s hosanna in the Temple after its second purgation is declared by our Lord to be a fulfilment of that perfect praise forecast in Psa 8:2 .
(7) The final rejection of our Lord by his own people was also clear in the psalmist’s vision (Psa 118:22 ; Mat 21:42-44 ).
(8) Gethsemane’s baptism of suffering, with its strong crying and tears and prayers was as clear to the psalmist’s prophetic vision as to the evangelist and apostle after it became history (Psa 69:1-4 ; Psa 69:13-20 ; and Mat 26:36-44 ; Heb 5:7 ).
(9) In life-size also before the psalmist was the betrayer of Christ and his doom (Psa 41:9 ; Psa 69:25 ; Psa 109:6-8 ; Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:20 ).
(10) The rage of the people, Jew and Gentile, and the conspiracy of Pilate and Herod are clearly outlined (Psa 2:1-3 ; Act 4:25-27 ).
(11) All the farce of his trial the false accusation, his own marvelous silence; and the inhuman maltreatment to which he was subjected, is foreshown in the prophecy as dramatically as in the history (Mat 26:57-68 ; Mat 27:26-31 ; Psa 27:12 ; Psa 35:15-16 ; Psa 38:3 ; Psa 69:19 ).
The circumstances of his death, many and clear, are distinctly foreseen. He died in the prime of life (Psa 89:45 ; Psa 102:23-24 ). He died by crucifixion (Psa 22:14-17 ; Luk 23 ; 33; Joh 19:23-37 ; Joh 20:27 ). But yet not a bone of his body was broken (Psa 34:20 ; Joh 19:36 ).
The persecution, hatred without a cause, the mockery and insults, are all vividly and dramatically foretold (Psa 22:6-13 ; Psa 35:7 ; Psa 35:12 ; Psa 35:15 ; Psa 35:21 ; Psa 109:25 ).
The parting of his garments and the gambling for his vesture (Psa 22:18 ; Mat 27:35 ).
His intense thirst and the gall and vinegar offered for his drink (Psa 69:21 ; Mat 27:34 ).
In the psalms, too, we hear his prayers for his enemies so remarkably fulfilled in fact (Psa 109:4 ; Luk 23:34 ).
His spiritual death was also before the eye of the psalmist, and the very words which expressed it the psalmist heard. Separation from the Father is spiritual death. The sinner’s substitute must die the sinner’s death, death physical, i.e., separation of soul from body; death spiritual, i.e., separation of the soul from God. The latter is the real death and must precede the former. This death the substitute died when he cried out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” (Psa 22:1 ; Mat 27:46 ).
Emerging from the darkness of that death, which was the hour of the prince of darkness, the psalmist heard him commend his spirit to the Father (Psa_31:35; Luk 23:46 ) showing that while he died the spiritual death, his soul was not permanently abandoned unto hell (Psa 16:8-10 ; Act 2:25 ) so that while he “tasted death” for every man it was not permanent death (Heb 2:9 ).
With equal clearness the psalmist foresaw his resurrection, his triumph over death and hell, his glorious ascension into heaven, and his exaltation at the right hand of God as King of kings and Lord of lords, as a high Driest forever, as invested with universal sovereignty (Psa 16:8-11 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 68:18 ; Psa 2:6 ; Psa 111:1-4 ; Psa 8:4-6 ; Act 2:25-36 ; Eph 1:19-23 ; Eph 4:8-10 ).
We see, therefore, brethren, when the scattered parts are put together and adjusted, how nearly complete a portrait of our Lord is put upon the prophetic canvas by this inspired limner, the sweet singer of Israel.
QUESTIONS
1. What is a good text for this chapter?
2. What is the threefold division of the Old Testament as cited by our Lord?
3. What is the last division called and why?
4. What is the object of the discussion in this chapter?
5. To what three things is the purpose limited?
6. What especially qualifies the author to meet the objections of the higher critics to allowing the New Testament usage of the Old Testament to determine its meaning and application?
7. What is the author’s conviction relative to the Scriptures?
8. What is the New Testament testimony on the question of inspiration?
9. What is the author’s suggested plan of approach to the study of the Messiah in the Psalms?
10. What the background of the Psalmist’s portrait of the Messiah and of what does it consist?
11. Give the substance of Paul’s discussion of man’s sinfulness.
12. What is the teaching of Jesus on this point?
13. What is the teaching relative to sacrifices?
14. What the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah and what the four great elements of it as forecast by the psalmist?
15. What is the teaching of the psalms relative to the wondrous person of the Messiah? Discuss.
16. What are the offices of the Messiah according to psalms? Discuss each.
17. Cite the more important events of the Messiah’s life according to the vision of the psalmist.
18. What the circumstances of the Messiah’s death and resurrection as foreseen by the psalmist?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Psa 16:1 Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
Michtam of David ] i.e. David’s precious jewel, or psalm of gold, propter mirificam eius excellentiam, better worth than its weight in gold, both for the matter thereof, and the metre, Insignis Ode Davidis Trem , prae corona aestimatur hic Psalmus (R. Solomon). Aureum flumen orationis, said Cicero, concerning Aristotle’s Politics; there is in that book a golden flood of discourse; and Liber iste auro contra non carus, said another, concerning the lives of the philosophers written by Diogenes Laertius, No gold is comparable to that gallant piece. How much more may the same be said of this notable psalm! as that which, beside many other remarkable matters, lively setteth forth the mystery of Christ’s passion and resurrection, with the fruit of both; this he doth more like an evangelist than a prophet, and may, therefore, be called (as likewise Isaiah is) the evangelical prophet. And whereas, saith learned Beza, he calleth the Messiah Chasid, Psa 16:10 (that is, as I interpret it, that man upon whom the Father hath most plentifully poured out all his grace and bounty, which also we all draw from him alone by faith), David seemeth in this one word to have summed up the whole doctrine of the gospel.
Ver. 1. Preserve me, O God ] Keep me safe unto the kingdom, both temporal and eternal, which thou hast promised me; and now that I am fleeing to the Philistines for shelter, 1Sa 27:1 (for that is held to be the time when he composed this golden psalm), guard me, guide me, keep me by thy power through faith unto salvation. This prayer of his David was well assured should be granted; and, therefore, he giveth thanks, Psa 16:7 .
For in thee do I put my trust
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Michtam of David:” a heading of doubtful import, which means “golden” or “jewel,” or both, according to many. It is without doubt David’s writing, but of Christ, Who is here seen taking His place personally with God among the godly Jews here below. Deigning to be man, He is the perfectly dependent and trusting One (compare Isa 8 and Heb 2 ). He identifies Himself here with the saints and the excellent on the earth, as we know He did when He took His place to be baptised in Jordan, to the astonishment of the Baptist; as to which Mat 19 , Mar 10 and Luk 18 afford inspired illustration, one might say comment. Jehovah is loyally owned as the Lord. This is what Christ said to Him. In the place He had freely taken, the bondman’s place, He would not put Himself on a level with the Master; He said, “My goodness [is] not to thee.” He was here to obey, not to assert co-equality. So He would not be called “Good Master” by one that knew not who He is, only what He became. None the less, but the more, was His heart with the feeblest of Israel who turned to the God of Israel in genuine repentance, though He needed none, but John rather to be baptised of Him. Therefore said He to such, “All my delight [is] in them.”
It is Messiah’s trust in Jehovah through life and death into resurrection and glory. Associated with the saints, He had His hope in God only and for ever, and was shown the path of life, resurrection-life, and joy. It is glory in His presence for Christ.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 16:1-4
1Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
2I said to the Lord, You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You.
3As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
4The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
Psa 16:1 Preserve me, O God This is the only imperative (BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal imperative) in Psalms 16. It is an urgent prayer request. From Psa 16:10-11 it becomes obvious that the psalmist is facing death. He requests life but knows that even death will not separate him from God (cf. Rom 8:31-39).
In this Psalm Deity is called by
1. El, Psa 16:1 (general title of God in the ANE)
2. YHWH, Psa 16:2; Psa 16:5; Psa 16:7-8
3. Adon, Psa 16:2
See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY .
for I take refuge in You This is the theme of many Psalms! For refuge see notes at Psa 5:11.
Humans are made in the image and likeness of God Himself (cf. Gen 1:26-27). We were created for fellowship (cf. Gen 3:8). We can find peace, rest, joy, purpose, and safety only in Him!
Psa 16:2 This is the psalmist’s profession of faith. Psa 16:2 seems to summarize a previous prayer or confession.
NASBI have no good beside You
NKJVMy goodness is nothing apart from You
NRSVI have no good apart from You
TEVall the good things I have come from You
REBfrom You alone comes the good I enjoy
NET Biblemy only source of well-being
JPSOA
footnoteI have no good but in You
One is tempted to read into this phrase the NT doctrine of justification, but in the OT a better parallel is Psa 73:25-28. YHWH is the psalmist’s only good. The idols of the nations are false. The gracious, merciful, covenant God honors those who trust Him and live according to His covenant requirements (i.e., OT Mosaic covenant; NT the gospel, cf. Jer 31:31-34; Eze 36:25-27). The result is a life and an afterlife of fellowship with God.
Psa 16:3-4 There are many questions about how to understand this verse. The Jewish Study Bible says of them (p. 1297) that These are among the most obscure verses in the Psalter.
1. Who are the saints (BDB 872) Some (NEB, NJB) scholars take the last words of Psa 16:2 and bring the negative into Psa 16:3, which makes saints refer to the sacred spirits of the earth (i.e., the idols of Psa 16:4). See note below.
2. Who are the majestic ones (BDB 12) Because of parallelism they are either positive (i.e., godly ones, cf. TEV) or negative (i.e., Canaanite idols, NJB).
It is possible to take these two titles as referring to the covenant people in Psa 16:3 who become idolaters in Psa 16:4. Many translations separate Psa 16:3-4 into separate strophes. The question is, Do Psa 16:3-4 form a contrast or an extended description?
Psa 16:3 saints This is the Hebrew term Kadosh (BDB 872), which is used for
1. the faithful followers of YHWH Deu 33:3; Psa 34:9; Dan 8:24
2. spiritual beings (i.e., angels) Job 5:1; Job 15:15; Psa 89:5; Psa 89:7; Dan 8:13 (twice); Zec 14:5
SPECIAL TOPIC: SAINTS (HOLY) ()
Psa 16:4
NASB, NKJV,
NRSVsorrows
TEVtroubles
NJBteeming idols
LXXinfirmities
REBendless trouble
The word troubles (, BDB 781) is very similar to idols (, BDB 781, NJB). The context is obviously about idolatry. Exactly who is referred to in Psa 16:3 is uncertain.
It is possible to see the term another (, BDB 29 I, Psa 16:4) as other gods (, cf. Isa 42:8; NET Bible, p. 866, #29).
For an extensive discussion see NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 860-862 or UBS Handbook, pp. 141-142.
The psalmist who takes refuge in YHWH refuses to
1. pour out a drink offering of blood (of animal sacrifices or a metaphor for wine)
2. take their names on his lips (cf. Exo 20:3-5)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Title. Michtam. See App-65.
of = relating to.
David. And therefore refers to David’s Son, and David’s Lord, as do all the Davidic Psalms.
Preserve. Compare Heb 5:7-9.
put my trust = flee for refuge. Hebrew. hasah. App-69.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Let’s turn now to Psa 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 ( Psa 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 ( Psa 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 ( Psa 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?” ( 1Co 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 ( Psa 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 ( Psa 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 ( Psa 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 ( Psa 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 ( Psa 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” ( Mat 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 ( Psa 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” ( Heb 12:2 ).
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Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Psa 16:1. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
Ah, brethren! When we think of our daily dangers, and when we remember the sinfulness of our nature, this petition may well be our frequent prayer: Preserve me, O God; and this may well be our plea, as well as the psalmists: for in thee do I put my trust. We do trust in the name of the Lord, for we can never expect to be preserved except by his protecting grace.
Psa 16:2-3. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; but to, the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
My God, I would fain prove my gratitude to thee if I could; but what can I do for One so great as thou art? Thou art infinitely above me; thou needest nothing at my hands. What, then, can I do to show my love to thee? By my care for thy people I may prove what I would do for thee if I could. Are they hungry? I will feed them. Are they sick? I will visit them. If my goodness cannot reach the great Head of the Church, it shall at least wash the feet, for I do love thee, O my God; and I want, in some practical way, to show that I love, thee!
Psa 16:4. 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.
He who sincerely loves the true God cannot have any regard for his rivals; he will have no communion with false gods in any shape or form.
Psa 16:5. The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup:
That is the believers portion,his God. The Levites, as a tribe, had no inheritance in the land of Canaan; but God was their portion, and who shall dare to say that they had not the best of it? Now, child of God, if you could have your choice, what would you choose,goods or God? Earthly wealth, or the God who is the source of all good things?
Psa 16:5. Thou maintainest my lot.
One of our great men has for his motto, I will maintain it. But the psalmists is a much better one: Thou maintainest my lot. It is better to have God for our Guardian than to have all possible human strength with which to defend ourselves.
Psa 16:6. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
The Jewish rulers stretched the measuring or dividing lines over the plots of land that fell to the different members of the family; but here the man of God declares that, since God was his portion, the lines had fallen to him in pleasant places. There is no choice of places, or times, or circumstances, with the man who thoroughly loves his God. He can find God in loneliness, and so enjoy the best company, if he has God in poverty, he has great riches, O happy man, who has God to be his all!
Psa 16:7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel:
He has talked with me, checked me, rebuked me, instructed me, encouraged me: I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel. That does not, at first sight, look as if it were one of the choicest of blessings, yet the psalmist mentions it immediately after he has declared that the lines have fallen unto him in pleasant places,as if he felt that one of the choicest blessings of the covenant was that God had been his Counsellor.
Psa 16:7. My reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
God makes my heart, my conscience, my inmost being, to give me instruction. What a blessing that must have been to David! A man who has no inward monitor, because he has stifled his conscience, so that it no longer holds him by the ear, and speaks with him, is poor indeed; but blessed is he who has his God and his conscience to counsel and instruct him.
Psa 16:8. I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved.
Brother, have you always acted on the straight? Have you so conducted your business that you need not be ashamed for God himself to look at it? Then do not be afraid of anything that may happen to you, for you will come out all right at the last. There may be great trouble in store for you, and you may be stripped of all that you possess; but you shall never be ashamed.
Psa 16:9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
Every good thing belongs to the man who belongs to God. He need not be afraid even of the grave, for he can adopt the language which is here prophetically used for Christ himself. He is not afraid to die, for he can say:
Psa 16:10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;
Sheolthe place of the departed, the intermediate state into which the soul passes at death.
Psa 16:10. Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
In the fullest sense, this verse belongs to Christ alone; but, still, what belongs to the Head is also the portion of the members of his mystical body.
Psa 16:11. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
This exposition consisted of readings from PSALMS 16, and 63.
And this is the portion of every believer. Here little, but hereafter much, says Bunyan; but I will venture to alter it, and say, Here much, but hereafter more shall be our inheritance from age to age.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Psa 16:1-4
THE RESURRECTION OF THE MESSIAH;
A MYSTERY POEM OF DAVID;
THE GOLDEN PSALM;
A PROPHECY OF JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD (MICHTAM OF DAVID)
The fourth title given here is our own which we have preferred without denying in any sense the application of the others.
The superscription given here in parenthesis is of uncertain meaning, some suggesting that it means “The Golden Psalm,” and others denying that meaning. This uncertainty probably prompted Leupold’s designation of it as, “The Mystery Psalm of David.” Dummelow admitted the “possibility” that “Michtam” may mean “The Golden Psalm,” but added that, “It may have some musical meaning.”
Thanks to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and their confident quotation of fully half of this Psalm in the New Testament, the psalm carries no mystery whatever for us. It is a confident and dogmatic promise of God’s resurrection of his Holy One from the grave, so quickly after his death that no corruption whatever should destroy his body. We shall cite these quotations fully a little later.
It is important to note that the overall theme of this psalm is “The Righteous Man,” a theme that removes, absolutely, the application of it in any major sense to David, and restricts its application to the Only One who was ever truly and completely righteous, namely, Christ. Rawlinson stressed this: The sixteenth psalm is so far connected with the fifteenth that it is exclusively concerned, like the fifteenth, with “The Truly Righteous Man.”
Specifically, “The language of Psa 16:10 cannot be used of David in any sense whatever. David’s body saw corruption.”
There is absolutely no excuse whatever for limiting that promise and understanding it to mean that, “David’s body would not be suffered to lie in the grave forever.” Such a meaning contradicts what the text says.
Psa 16:1-4
“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 (Psa 16:1).
(2) Yahweh is his sovereign lord, beyond whom there is no good thing (Psa 16:2).
(3) He acknowledges the value and fellowship of the saints (Psa 16:3).
(4) He shuns all false worship (Psa 16:4).
“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.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 16:1-2. David makes another prayer for divine preservation. Goodness extendeth not to thee. The second word is not in the original. The clause means that David’s life of goodness was of no personal benefit to God. He will soon tell us who were to be benefitted by him if he lived a righteous life. Notwithstanding, because of his example lived for the ecouragement of others, he claimed assistance from God.
Psa 16:3. This verse tells for whose benefit David maintained his good life; it was the excellent saints of the Lord.
Psa 16:4. In this verse David brings up the subject of false gods. He predicts many sorrows for those who worship such gods. The latter part of the verse disclaims any fellowship with the above-mentioned characters.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
This is a song of satisfaction. The singer is not one who is unfamiliar with peril. The opening sentence is a sigh, revealing the consciousness of peril. Toward the close, the shadows of She01 and the terror of corruption are recognized. Yet these things find a place here only that they may be canceled by the facts which create a sense of triumph over all peril. Jehovah is the one and all-sufficient good and the saints are friends of the singer because they are also friends of Jehovah.
With those who exchange Jehovah for another god the psalmist will have no fellowship. The fact that Jehovah is the supreme good is developed in descriptive measures. He is a present good and the hope of all the future. A present possession, creating pleasant places and perpetual power. As for the future, the last enemies will not overcome. Beyond victory over them is the presence of the King and the place of His right hand with fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. The hope of this singer found its perfect fulfilment only in the Man of perfect trust, and through Him in all who share His life through the mystery of that death from which He came triumphantly to enter into the eternal joys.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
the Citizen of Zion and His Inheritance
Psa 15:1-5; Psa 16:1-11
The first of these psalms was probably composed to celebrate the bringing of the Ark to Mount Zion, 1Sa 6:20. It describes the character of those who have fellowship with God and dwell in His house all the days of their earthly lot. To the challenge of the soloist, Psa 15:1, the choir makes response, Psa 15:2-5, first positively, then negatively. We must act as non-conductors to evil; must mind what company we keep; and must cultivate a spirit of love and self-sacrifice which will never take advantage of others, Psa 15:5. Here is the secret of permanence and peace.
Michtam means golden, and may be truly applied to the next psalm, as also to Psa 56:1-13; Psa 57:1-11; Psa 58:1-11; Psa 59:1-17; Psa 60:1-12. Others explain the word as a secret. It is the song of the golden secret. The key is furnished in Act 2:25. The Apostle Paul expressly emphasizes the divine authorship in Act 13:35-38. Our Lord may have repeated Psa 16:8-11 when He was descending the dark valley, and so may we.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
It is in the last chapter of the Gospel of Luke that we read of our blessed Lord overtaking those two disciples on the way from Jerusalem to Emmaus, and He entered into their conversation as they were speaking together of Him, without at first giving them to know who it was that was walking with them. They were sad and He inquired the cause of it, and they told about Jesus and their hopes and how those hopes had been shattered by His crucifixion; but then they also added that certain women of the company who had been to the sepulcher that morning declared that they had seen a vision of angels who said that Jesus was now alive, but it was very evident they did not believe this; and then we read in verse 25, He said unto them, O fools. The word there does not have quite the obnoxious meaning that our word fool has. It really means simple ones. O simple ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself. I never read that but I think what a wonderful privilege those disciples had that day, and what a marvelous thing it would have been if that Bible reading of the Lord Jesus Christ had been delivered to a large audience with a stenographer sitting to one side so that we today could read that wonderful opening up of all the Scriptures that have to do with the things concerning Him. Why did He not give us such a book as that? It would have made a wonderful volume. Is not the reason this: He would have each one of us study the Word for ourselves in dependence on the Holy Spirit. He has just given us enough here to let us know that He is the theme of all Scripture, that wherever you turn in the Word of God, the subject is Jesus. And one thing I am sure of-on that day as they walked along, among the many portions of the Word that He expounded to them, was this sixteenth Psalm.
I suppose you have noticed the place this Psalm had in the ministry of the apostles afterward, in the book of Acts. In the second chapter of Acts, where we have Peters great sermon on the day of Pentecost, you find him quoting from it and applying it to our Lord Jesus Christ (ver. 25). David speaketh concerning Him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the way of life; Thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy countenance. And then listen to Peters comment on it: Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried. Why does he speak of David? David wrote this Psalm, but he pointed out that David was not writing of himself. Verse 30, Therefore being a prophet. Many do not realize that David was a prophet, but the Psalms are all prophetic, and that in a most marvelous way. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on His throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
And then if you turn over to the thirteenth chapter of the book of Acts you will see how the Apostle Paul refers to the second Psalm in verse 32: And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that He hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. Now that Psalm we have already looked at, and we have seen its application to Christ. Notice how this links up with what follows: And as concerning that He raised Him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, He said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore He saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. He is referring to the sixteenth Psalm. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption. But He, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. So we may be quite sure that our Lord Jesus opened up this Psalm to His disciples that day. And later on during the forty days that He was with them after His resurrection and before His ascension, expounding unto them the things of the kingdom of God, we can be certain He went through all these Old Testament scenes and gave them an explanation of these Scriptures such as they had never had before, and this accounts for the fact that from the day of Pentecost on, these disciples seemed so quick in applying them. They quoted again and again from the Old Testament, and to no book did they delight to refer so much as to the book of Psalms.
Now in the first seven chapters of the book of Leviticus we have five distinct offerings, which present in various ways the perfection of the Person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is an interesting fact that there are five Psalms which link in a special way with those five offerings. For instance, the first offering is the burnt offering. When you turn over to the fortieth Psalm, you find that is the Psalm of the burnt offering. Then for the moment passing over the second offering, the third is the peace offering; and if you turn over to the eighty-fifth Psalm you have the Psalm of the peace offering. That is followed by the sin offering, and Psalm twenty-two is the Psalm of the sin offering. And then that of the trespass offering. Psalm sixty-nine is the Psalm of the trespass offering.
I have passed over the meal offering or food offering. According to the old English way of speaking, the word meat took in all the repast. Our forbears would say, They sat down to meat. It did not mean simply flesh. The meal offering did not have any flesh in it. The burnt, the peace, the sin, and the trespass offerings-in all these, animals were sacrificed, but not in the case of the meal offering. It was an offering made of fine flour mingled with oil, and it spoke not of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, but of the perfection of His glorious Person, and it was the food of the priests of God. With all the other offerings the people were to bring the meal offering, and all these meal offerings were cakes or loaves made of fine flour. You housewives know the feeling of fine flour, not a coarse grain in it, and that typified the perfect Humanity of the Lord Jesus. So it spoke of the Lord Jesus perfect Humanity. I think if the Lord wanted to make a meal offering typical of me, he would have to make it of old-fashioned, Scotch, steel-cut meal, because there are so many sharp edges to me, and that would picture me perfectly. But when it was the Lord Jesus Christ, there was no roughness, no sharp edges, no eccentricities; everything was perfect in His wonderful character. The meal offering was made of fine flour mingled with oil, and oil is a type of the Holy Spirit of God, and you remember that Christ was born of the Spirit. The angel told His mother Mary that the power of the Highest would overshadow her and she would bring forth a Son, and from the moment Christ came into the world you have the mingling of the oil and the fine flour. This offering, as I said, was the food of the priests. And what is our food as believers? We are to feed upon Christ in the presence of God. You say, Well, I do not understand it. We feed on Christ by meditating on Christ Where do we get Christ? Right in His Word and therefore we feed on Christ as we read His Word and meditate on the precious things which are revealed concerning His perfections and His matchless glory. Now this sixteenth Psalm may appropriately be called the Psalm of the meal offering. For this is the Psalm that brings before us the perfection of the Humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Have you ever stopped to consider this: the Lord Jesus, though He was God over all, chose in grace to become a dependent man down here in this world? You say, What do you mean by a dependent man? Well, I mean that He chose to come down here and set aside His own will and just be dependent on the will of God. In other words, He came here to live a life of faith. He is called the author and finisher offaith. There is a little word in the Epistle to the Hebrews, finisher of our faith. But that is not what the Apostle said. He said He is the author and finisher of faith. He chose to be a man of faith. That comes out in the scene in the wilderness when Satan came to Him, when He had a true human body, and it was sustained by food as ours. After those forty days he must have been very hungry indeed, and Satan said, If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread (Mat 4:3). Could He have made bread out of stones? Oh, yes; but He had no word from the Father to do it, and He had chosen to be dependent on the Father in everything. He was not going to make bread out of stones in obedience to a suggestion from the devil. So He said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Mat 4:4). He was a lowly Man of faith in this scene, living on the Word of God that proceeded out of the mouth of God.
In the sixteenth Psalm we hear Him speak to His Father. What did He have to pray about? Well, we know what He said on one occasion. In the seventeenth of John we hear Him praying for His own. Many of these Psalms were the prayers of Jesus. It has been said, The strings of Davids harps are the chords of the heart of Jesus. And as you read these Psalms you are listening to the breathings of the heart of Jesus. Listen to Him: Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust. Now in the Epistle to the Hebrews that is applied to Him. He is the Man of faith here on earth. He went through this scene for thirty-three years in perfect subjection to the Fathers will-never attempting a step, never professing to give a revelation until He heard the Fathers voice, and He chose as Man on earth to learn from His own Bible what the mind of God was. They were surprised when on one occasion the Lord said, speaking of His second coming, Of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father (Mar 13:32). What did He mean? Did He not know all things? Yes, as God, but He chose to lay aside the use of His own omniscience; He chose not to draw on His infinite knowledge, but to learn from the Scriptures and to get the word from the Father from day to day; and because there was nothing in the Scripture that told when His second coming would take place, He could say: Of that dayknoweth no man. That helps us to see how truly He became Man, and how truly He lived a life of dependence on God.
The second verse is very striking. O My soul, Thou hast said. Now you must notice the different words for Lord. Wherever it is in small caps as here in the first instances, it translates the word Jehovah. When it is lower case, it is the Lord and Master. Read it like this: O My soul, Thou hast said unto Jehovah, Thou art My Master. Who is speaking? The Lord Jesus Christ, and He is addressing His own soul. He says, O, My soul, Thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art My Master. In other words, I am Thy servant. He came to the earth to be the Servant of Jehovah, the Servant of the Godhead. My goodness extendeth not to Thee; But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all My delight. What does He mean by that? Well, as God the Father looked down on the Lord Jesus, as He walked through this world, what did He see in Him? Absolute perfection. He was perfect in goodness; He was righteous in everything, in thought and word and deed. Scripture says He knew no sin, He did no sin, in Him is no sin; and yet He looks up to the Father and says, My goodness extendeth not to Thee; But to the saints that are in the earth and to the excellent, in whom is all My delight. What then did He mean by that? Is it not this: My Father, I am not pleading My goodness for Myself before Thee, but I am here on earth to do Thy will and to walk the path of righteousness on behalf of others. My goodness extendeth to the saints, the excellent in the earth, in whom is all My delight. Who were these saints, who were the excellent in the earth? Well, strange as it seems to say it, they were people who knew they were sinners and confessed it. When John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness Repent ye, he called on the people who owned their sin and guilt to be baptized with the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin. What did it mean? It meant this: the King is coming, and you have been waiting for Him, but you are not ready for Him. A lot of you are living in sin; many of you are selfish and proud; many of you are hypocritical. Get right with God; face your sin. If you own yourself a sinner, come down to the Jordan and let me baptize you. Poor sinners came to John and said, John, you are right. God is righteous and we are unrighteous; you baptize us as confessed sinners. As John put them down beneath the waters of Jordan, it was just another way of saying, These people deserve to die and they are confessing that they deserve to die; they are making confession of their sin; they are repentant.
And now look, John is baptizing, and Jesus comes; and when John gives the call for repentant sinners to come down to be baptized, Jesus walks down to the Jordan, and John says, O Lord, not this, I cannot baptize You: I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me? It is as though he would say, I am baptizing sinners; You are not a sinner. I cannot baptize You. I am a sinner; You might well baptize me, but it is not for me to baptize You. But Jesus said, You suffer it to be so now: for thus it be-cometh us to fulfil all righteousness. What did He mean by that? It is just as if He said: What you say is perfectly true; I am not a sinner; I have nothing to repent of, but I am going to fulfil every righteous demand of God, and I want you to let Me be baptized with them, because I am taking the sinners place. In other words, He says to the Father, I am not going to plead My goodness to Thee as an exemption from death, but My goodness I present on behalf of others and I am going to die for them. Those are the people in whom He delights, those who confess their sins. Some have an idea that saints are people who have no sins to confess. But it is the very opposite. Saints are those who come before God confessing their sins, and He constitutes them saints. I plead My goodness, says He, not on My own account, but to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all My delight.
And in the next verse He contrasts the people who turn away from God with them that walk in obedience to the Word of God. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god. How we need to remember that today. Well, you say, we do not go to other gods now. We know too much. I do not bow down to gods of gold, stone or brass or iron, But anything you put in the place of God Himself, anything you allow to dominate or control your life short of God Himself, is another god. Self is another god; money is another god when it takes the place of God; fame is another idol; and love is another. I have known some cases of the last named. I get lots of queer letters. A man wrote me like this: My dear pastor: I want your advice. I am interested in a divorced lady whom I intend to marry, and I would like to know if it is scriptural. And then in writing him I said, What difference does it make to you whether it is scriptural or not, if you intend to marry her anyway? And yet you write to me for advice. They make up their minds they are going to do a certain thing, and these things become gods that they worship. What is the result? Nobody every yet found peace of mind or joy of heart by going after anything that is contrary to the mind of God. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god.
And now, says the Lord Jesus, Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into My lips. I will never put anything before My soul but My Father God. The Lord, that is, Jehovah, is the portion of Mine inheritance and of My cup. You love the twenty-third Psalm, do you not? Do you know the real speaker in the twenty-third Psalm is the Lord Jesus Christ? You say, The Lord is my Shepherd. But Jesus said, Jenovah is My Shepherd; I shall not want. And it was Jesus who said, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with Me. And He went to the Cross. It is Jesus who said in that Psalm, My cup runneth over. Jehovah is the portion of Mine inheritance and of My cup. Now connect the twenty-third Psalm with it. My cup runneth over. If you can say, Jehovah is the portion of my cup, you will soon be able to say, My cup runneth over. You begin to apprehend something of Gods wonderful love and grace, and your cup will soon be filled right up and running over.
Thou maintainest My lot. You know when Israel came out of Egypt, God gave them different lots for their inheritance. What was Jesus lot? The lot of perfect subjection to the Fathers will. Thou maintainest My lot. The lines are fallen unto Me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. Who said this? The Man who is called the Man of Sorrows. Did it ever strike you in this way? As you read those four Gospels you never have the account of the life of a sad Man. He was characteristically a Man of gladness; He was a joyful Man but not a jolly one. You know there are some of us who either go down into the dumps or else we go over to the other side, and we become clowns and buffoons and are real jolly. But He was a glad Man, a joyful Man, a peaceful Man, because He was a Man living in fellowship with the Father, and all the sorrows He had to go through could not interfere in .any way with His Fathers love.
I will bless the Lord, who hath given Me counsel. In the book of the prophet Isaiah we read, He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth Mine ear to hear as the learned (50:4). What do I learn from that? I learn that my blessed Lord as a Man here on earth studied His Bible every day, and every morning He got something fresh from it He was a normal Child and a normal young Man and a normal mature Man. He was getting something from God every day, and He was passing it on to others. I learned years ago that if I am to be of any use to others, I must go quietly before Him and let Him open my eyes, let Him tell me something of His secrets, and when the time comes I will have something to pass on to other people. That is what our Saviour did. He learned from the Father. They are the words that the Father gives Him. What perfect subjection! I will bless the Lord, who hath given Me counsel: My reins also instruct Me in the night seasons. In other words, my inward being shall instruct me during the night seasons. The blessed Lord had many a sleepless night out there on the mountainside, alone with the Father. He knew what was before Him. He was the only Man in all Israel that understood the significance of all the sacrificial system. He could look at the Temple, He could see that sacrifice on the altar, and He knew He was the true Lamb of sacrifice. He could watch the passover lamb and knew it typified Himself. He could read the Word and He knew that all the Word had to do with Him. Just think what it was to Jesus to ponder over Isaiah 53, He was wounded for our transgressions, and to know that all applied to Him.
But now see the perfection of His obedience. I have set the Lord always before Me. The best I can say after half a century of service is, I have set Jehovah sometimes before me. I wish I had done it more. But to be able to say what He said, I have set Jehovah always before me, I have never had any other motive than to please Him, I have never had any other thought than to honor Him, we cannot say that. But here was One whose heart was perfect. The One who can say, I have set the Lord always before Me, can say in perfect confidence, because He is at My right hand, I shall not be moved. God was at His right hand before Herod, before Caiaphas, and even when the face of God had been hidden from Him on Calvary, still God always was at His right hand.
Now notice how He can look at the Cross. He knows all the anguish of the Cross, but He goes to that Cross in perfect confidence, knowing that He is coming through in triumph. Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoiceth. He is speaking of His tongue. Now James calls the tongue a deadly evil. David calls his tongue a glory. The tongue is a glory when it is used to bless the Lord. My flesh also shall rest in hope. I will go into that tomb in perfect confidence, knowing that Thou wilt raise Me up. For Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell. The word translated hell means Hades. It is the place for disembodied spirits between death and resurrection, that is, the unseen world. But He says, Thou wilt not leave My soul in Hades, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. My soul, that is the inward man. His body will not be allowed to corrupt. He knew that His Father would bring Him back from the dead. Neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. This could not refer to David, though David wrote it. David has not been raised; his body corrupted. But great Davids greater Son, our Lord Jesus, never saw corruption. And so, looking on to resurrection, He said, Thou wilt shew Me the path of life, that is, resurrection life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy. He is looking on to the glorious ascension when He will take His place again at Gods right hand in heaven. At Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Those pleasures He lives to share with those who trust Him. What a difference between pleasures of sin and pleasures for evermore! At [Gods] right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Psa 16:1-2
That we may see the wondrous blessedness of this mighty gift of God Himself, given by Himself to us, let us investigate one simple question: Wherein does true happiness consist?
I. Is it not above all in that which, in the highest sense of the word, we may call rest? This is no inactive, useless state. So far from it, is it not then, above all, when the man is thus at rest that he has really the best chance of developing all that is in him, and bringing all his talents to perfection? As on the imperturbed calmness of night the growth of all things seems to depend, so the man, unruffled by agitating passions and wearing anxieties, can then best expand his nature and fulfil the object of his being.
II. This rest, this power of being at rest, belongs, of all the functions of man’s being, to the heart alone, or, in other words, to the seat of his affections. And why? Because love satisfies the heart, and the heart can love, yea, is such that it can love Him who, being Himself infinite, is, if only He gives Himself to be loved, at once and for ever all that love can crave. By the sense of utter blankness which the heart experiences when it loves not, by the absolute incapacity of all earthly things to fill it, by its own strong cravings and yearnings, we learn that it is God’s will that its real and best affections should be concentrated on Him alone. Even as the needle rests from its strange, uneasy trembling then only when it points true to the pole, so the heart can then only be at rest when it is filled with the love of God.
III. This then is the reward of God’s faithful people. This loving God, all-wise, all-tender, all-sympathetic, all-great, all-sufficing, revealing Himself as Man to man, is He who gives Himself to the human heart to satisfy its longing for love. He who made the heart such that it yearns after Him and can find no peace but in Him, Himself becomes its portion. God is the reward of His people (1) in life; (2) in death; (3) in eternity. “At Thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore.”
W. J. Butler, Cambridge Lent Sermons, 1864, p. 225.
References: Psalm 16-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xx., p. 206; J. Hammond, Expositor, 1st series, vol. iv., p. 341; I. Williams, The Psalms Interpreted of Christ, p. 279.
Psa 16:3
The history of mankind, whether secular or religious, resolves itself ultimately into the history of a few individuals. God carries out His work of continuous redemption by the energy of the chosen few. Into their hearts He pours the power of His Spirit; upon their heads He lays the hands of His consecration. The deliverance of men has never been wrought by the multitude, always by the individual.
From this method of God’s working we may learn:-
I. The secret, and the sole secret, of moral power. What was it which again and again overcame the world? Was it not faith, showing itself by self-sacrifice? Is not that secret open to the knowledge, feasible to the practice, of every one of us?
II. We may notice, secondly, that the work of these saints of God, being always and necessarily human, is never permanent in its results. Christianity is no stereotyped system; it is no human theology; as such it is nothing; only as a Divine effort, only as an eternal progress, only as a living force, only as an inspiring, continuous effort, can Christianity regenerate the world.
III. Notice that the apparent failures were never absolute. No good man, no saint of God, has ever lived or died in vain. The seed is not quickened except it die; even in its death, but only by its death, comes the promise of the golden grain. Heaven is for those who have failed on earth.
F. W. Farrar, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxiii., p. 337 (see also In the Days of thy Youth, p. 337, and Sermons and Addresses in America, p. 185).
Reference: Psa 16:3.-S. W. Skeffington, Our Sins or our Saviour, p. 270; Expositor, 3rd series, vol. v., p. 307. Psa 16:5.-G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 19.
Psa 16:5-6
I. The first thought that comes out of the words before us is this: All true religion has its very heart in deliberately choosing God as our supreme good. (1) The highest form of possession even of things is when they minister to our thought, to our emotion, to our moral and intellectual growth. We possess even them really according as we know them and hold communion with them. But when we get up into the regions of persons, we possess them in the measure in which we understand them, and sympathise with them, and love them. A friend or a lover owns the heart that he or she loves, and which loves back again; and not otherwise do we possess God. (2) This possession of God involves, and is possible only by, a deliberate act of renunciation. There must be a giving up of the material and the created if there is to be a possession of the Divine and the heavenly. Remember that nothing less than these are Christianity: the conviction that the world is second, and not first; that God is best, love is best, truth is best, knowledge of Him is best, likeness to Him is best, the willingness to surrender all if it come in contest with His supreme sweetness.
II. Notice the second point that is here, viz., that this possession is as sure as God can make it. “Thou maintainest my lot.” (1) The Divine power surrounds the man who chooses God for his heritage, and nothing shall take that heritage from him. (2) He will help us, so that no temptations shall have power to make us rob ourselves of our treasure.
III. He who thus elects to find his treasure and delight in God is satisfied with his choice. “The lines are fallen in pleasant places; yea, the heritage is goodly to me.”
A. Maclaren, A Year’s Ministry, 1st series, p. 205.
References: Psa 16:6.-J. Baldwin Brown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. v., pp. 289, 312, 321, 376, 387; W. M. Statham, Ibid., vol. xxv., p. 180.
Psa 16:8
This text is not the exclamation of a man to whom a truth has come as a flash; it is the deliberate outcome of a long and varied retrospect.
I. God will not be, in any true sense, before our face unless we set Him there. It is a matter which involves our determination and effort, a matter of special training and practice.
II. This having God before the face requires persistency. The Psalmist tells us, not only of an act, but of a habit: “I have set the Lord always before my face.”
III. One who thus keeps God before him makes discoveries. (1) He finds himself revealed. (2) Setting God before our face carries with it a power of growth. (3) It engenders hope. “Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
M. R. Vincent, God and Bread, p. 59.
It will be admitted that few men get out of the powers with which they are endowed all they might get. And the reason is, their lives proceed without rule or system. They do not constrain the various forces of their nature into one direction, nor fling them with concentrated intensity on their object. Dissipation is the parent of mediocrity, because there is neither government, nor concentration, nor dominant idea in men’s lives.
I. A dominant idea is an idea which has taken such firm hold of the mind, that it necessarily presents itself along with any other idea that may arise, passes judgment upon it, and either allows it free course, or condemns it to inactivity and ultimate suppression. Restraining ruling ideas spring up naturally. The motions are the first parents of ideas. But early in man’s history, as in each individual life, is felt the force of some checking idea. Primitive man hears a voice rebuking mere animal desire, which says, “Thou shalt not eat of it,” and the moment that voice is heard a moral nature has arisen and heaven becomes possible. But in many cases these intellectual centres, whose presence within us indicates our claim to be men, seem to arise accidentally, to be the product rather of external circumstances than of internal intention. They form almost without our notice. Side by side grow up other centres, quite unconnected with the former. At one time action is governed by one centre, and at another by another, and this is why we see the strange contradictions which surprise us in the lives of so many men. Instead of our lives being like some well-ordered State, they are more like mob anarchy, twisted and twirled by the last breath and the latest appeal-a shapeless jumble of good, bad, and indifferent.
II. How are we to get rid of this state of things? It is a question we ought to settle even if there be no God at all. To be trundled into a grave by anybody who will deign to give us a push is not a very fine business for the heirs of all the ages. This; anarchy must be made to cease by setting up some governing authority endowed with absolute power. We must make our chosen idea into an established monarchy. We must determine to bring it before the mind every day. We must settle with ourselves that that one thing must be recalled whatever else is forgotten.
III. What shall be our dominant idea? The most natural, the most necessary, the most regulating, the most inspiring, idea is that of God. The idea of God is our birthright, but it is for us to make it dominant, that a new order may arise in what has been a moral chaos. Where God is sin cannot be, and where God is all beauty must be. Let this idea but become dominant, a new heaven and a new earth will arise, wherein dwelleth righteousness, and speckled vanity will sicken soon and die. “Time will run back and fetch the age of gold.”
W. Page-Roberts, Oxford Undergraduates’ Journal, June 10th, 1880.
References: Psa 16:8.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxii., No. 1305; Homiletic Magazine, vol. xii., p. 18. Psa 16:8-10.-Archbishop Thomson, Lincoln’s Inn Sermons, p. 62. Psa 16:8-11.-A. Maclaren, Sunday Magazine, 1881, p. 738. Psa 16:9.-J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 3rd series, p. 52.
Psa 16:9-10
I. Although the sacred Scriptures teach us to think nothing of temporal death but merely as a sleep, while they would beyond all things impress on our minds a sense of the day of judgment and that which is to follow it, yet the little that is told us of the state of our souls before the day of the judgment, and immediately when they depart from the body, is of itself very deeply affecting, and awful. We know “the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand,” saith the Lord. They live unto God; they are in the place where the soul of Christ has been; they are with Christ; they are blessed beyond all earthly blessedness. And the unfaithful and disobedient also, they are immediately in a place from whence they cannot get forth, and a place of woe far more miserable than any suffering in this world.
II. Since therefore there are two states so important to us, in one of which we shall continue to be until the great day of final retribution, we know not how much of mercy and goodness and how much benefit to us may be contained in this one article of the Creed, that Christ descended into the place of the dead. By His descent into hell He has sanctified and blessed the place of our souls; every trial in this world He has sanctified by His own example and by His presence upon earth, showing the bright light of His footsteps going before, nor does He leave us when we depart into that unknown and dark world of spirits; but when earth is departing from beneath our feet, then we feel His hand and hear His voice, saying, “It is I: be not afraid.”
Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times,” vol. ix., p. 120,
Psa 16:10
I. This verse proves most expressly the truth of our Saviour’s human soul and body; proves that as He took on Himself, really and truly, the substance of our nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, and lived and died in all respects a Man, sin only and sinful infirmity excepted, so also in His unseen state He continued to be a Man among men. His Divine soul went where other souls go; His precious body lay for a while in the grave, like other bodies. We know now for certain that souls departed and bodies in the grave, be they where they may, are within the merciful care of Him who is both God and man. He cannot fail to provide for them, for He has Himself gone through their condition, and can be touched with a feeling of what they require, as of all the other infirmities and imperfections of such a frail being as man.
II. Our comfort on further consideration will be found still more distinctly expressed. David’s expectation is, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,” i.e., in the dark, unseen state. But when our Lord Himself spoke of it, His word was not “hell,” but “Paradise.” What the actual blessings of Paradise are Holy Scripture nowhere explains; but thus much it gives us to understand: that the holy souls there are with Christ, in some sense, so near and so blessed, that St. Paul most earnestly desired to depart thither. He knew well what he wrote, for, besides the especial teaching of the Holy Ghost, he had himself been caught up into Paradise, and found it, not a mere place for taking of rest in quiet sleep, but a place where heavenly thought can be exercised and heavenly words spoken in such perfection as is unutterable on earth.
III. The words of the text intimate that, however happy and comfortable soever the Paradise of the dead may be, it is not a place of final perfection, but a place of waiting for something better, a region, not of enjoyment, but of assured peace and hope. For so much is hinted in that God is thanked and glorified for not leaving our Saviour’s soul in that place. It was an act of His mighty power, to whom all things bow and obey, to open for the soul of Jesus Christ the doors of that happy, though as yet imperfect, abode, and to make a way for His final and unspeakable exaltation by again uniting that soul to His blessed body.
Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times,” vol. ii., p. 73.
Without all question, this prophecy belongs in an especial sense to our Lord and Saviour. Yet we may, without presumption, go on to consider these heavenly promises as spoken to ourselves and to all who are in covenant with God through Jesus Christ. David spoke here in the sense of prophecy, and very likely was far from knowing himself the full meaning of all that he said. Still he could not mean less than this, that he had a fair and reasonable hope of being somehow delivered from the power of death and made partaker of heavenly joys in the more immediate presence of God.
I. We see here what kind of persons may reasonably hope to persevere in welldoing and in God’s favour, namely, those who make it a rule to live always as in God’s especial presence. “I have set God always before me, for He is on my right hand; therefore I shall not fall.” If you want to have a cheerful and rational dependence on your own continuance in welldoing, this one thing you must do: you must set God always before you. You must never act as if you were alone in the world, as if you were out of His sight by whom only you are in the world at all.
II. If a man were endeavouring to keep on that safe ground of assurance-reasonable hope, grounded on habitual obedience-then he might without presumption look for the other comforts mentioned in the Psalm. He might indulge in a calm and reverential joy of heart, such as David’s when he sang, “Wherefore my heart was glad,” such as that of the holy women when on Easter morning they saw the angels and “departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy.”
III. Next, the Psalmist notices as another, the greatest of all fruits of holy trust in the Almighty, that it causes our very “flesh “-that is, our mortal body-to “rest in hope.” It makes sleep quiet and secure. It takes out the sting of death. The chiefest of all privileges is to have hope in the grave, hope that through Him to whom these sacred promises belong of right our souls shall not be left in hell, in that dark, unknown condition to which, before the coming of Christ, the name of “hell” was usually given. The unseen region where the soul is to lodge is the place where once the spirit of our Saviour abode, and is therefore under His special protection. Thus we know how to think of the graves of our friends, and of those which are to be our own. We need not waste ourselves in ignorant and childish bewailings, but calmly and firmly trust, our friends to His care whose they are and whom they faithfully served.
Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times” vol. ii., p. 82.
References: Psa 16:10.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 57; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xviii., p. 215; C. Stanford, From Calvary to Olivet, p. 24; Expositor, 3rd series, vol. v., p. 308; Ibid., 2nd series, vol. vii., p. 40. Psa 16:11.-J. Taylor, Saturday Evening, pp. 298, 314; H. Moffatt, Church Sermons, vol. i., p. 49.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
A Revelation of the Christ of God (16-24)
PSALM 16
1. The obedient One (Psa 16:1-3)
2. The path He went (Psa 16:4-8)
3. Death and resurrection (Psa 16:9-11)
In the nine Psalms which compose this section Christ is marvellously revealed. We notice an interesting progress in the messianic message of this section, culminating in the manifestation of the King, the Lord of Glory in Psa 24:1-10. In the Sixteenth Psalm we behold Christ in His obedience on earth. See also Pauls testimony in Act 13:35.
Psa 16:1-3. Here we hear Him speak, it is not David who speaks of himself. This we learn from Act 2:25, when Peter quoted this Psalm and states that David spoke concerning Him (Christ). As the all obedient One, in humiliation He lived the life of faith and dependence on God. He took the place of lowliness in which He said to Jehovah, Thou art my Lord. And this humiliation was for the saints and the excellent, His own people in whom is all His delight.
Psa 16:4-8. In that path the Lord was His portion and His cup, He was His All, nor did He want anything beside Him. Thou maintainest my lot. Thus He could say the lines are fallen to me in pleasant places, yea, I have a goodly inheritance. And so He walked in obedience, learning obedience though He was the Son, with the Lord always set before Him.
Psa 16:9-11. These last three verses show that He went into death, the death of the cross as seen in Psa 22:1-31, with the assurance that His soul should not be left in sheol and that His body should not see corruption. It is the promise of resurrection and after that glory, the way of life through death into the presence of God, to the right hand of God, where there is fullness of joy and pleasures for evermore. It is a beautiful prophecy of Him who walked on earth in obedience, devoted to God, dying the sinners death, His resurrection and His presence in glory. We shall find these precious prophecies concerning Himself more fully revealed in this section.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Michtam
Michtam, “a prayer,” or “meditation.” See Psalms 56; Psalms 57; Psalms 59; Psalms 60.
trust (See Scofield “Psa 2:12”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Preserve: Psa 17:5, Psa 17:8, Psa 31:23, Psa 37:28, Psa 97:10, Psa 116:6, Pro 2:8
for: Psa 9:10, Psa 22:8, Psa 25:20, Psa 84:12, Psa 125:1, Psa 146:5, Isa 26:3, Isa 26:4, Jer 17:7, Jer 17:8, 2Co 1:9, 2Ti 1:12
Reciprocal: Gen 32:11 – Deliver Psa 11:1 – In the Psa 12:7 – thou shalt Psa 22:1 – far Psa 31:14 – Thou Psa 56:1 – Michtam Psa 86:2 – trusteth Heb 2:13 – I will
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The all-Obedient One.
Michtam of David.
{Verse 1, El, God, but also “power, strength.”
Verse 2, Adonai, which is the ordinary word for “Lord” when a title of God, but which is a plural form, just like that in Psa 8:1-9, but with the suffix of the first person singular; and so I have translated it, as does the common version.
This and the following verse are very variously translated. The knowledge of what is in the mind of the Spirit is of more value than mere critical acumen. If we see David only or principally, the difficulty of consistent rendering is very great, (as see Moll in Lange’s Commentary, who even denies tobhathi to be possibly moral goodness.) The translation here follows the common version, which the revision impoverishes into “I have no good beyond thee”; but that is found, and more strikingly expressed in the fifth verse. The next verse also keeps near to the common version. The “I have said,” which seems allowable, and adopted by most today, cannot be connected with “to the saints”, as many suggest, because the construct form addirei, “the excellent,” requires “in whom” rather than “in them.” And the sense would be again greatly impoverished.}
The first psalm here gives us Christ as the obedient One on earth. That He is Himself the speaker we may see from the tenth verse, which exclusively applies to Him. He alone is that “holy” or “pious one” who, as such, could not “see corruption” in the grave. So Peter conclusively argues, and he who knows Christ should recognize the features of his Beloved all through the psalm. The fourth verse is a difficulty, no doubt, although idolatry in its various forms was around the Lord, above all in His Galilean ministry. Galilee was then “Galilee of the Gentiles,” and Israel too was far from clear. But the background also seems always that of the last days, or at least these are in prospect; and thus their peculiar features -for Israel will fall again into idolatry in the last days -are specialized accordingly. Perspective in the prophets is often greatly foreshortened; but this feature was not absent during the Lord’s sojourn in Israel.
Considering the psalm as a whole, a brief glance will show how fully Christ is told out here. The psalm has five divisions, -is therefore a little pentateuch: for the Pentateuch in the new light of Christianity covers, as we know, the whole of man’s spiritual life here, a divine “pilgrim’s progress”; and in this case we have the One perfect pilgrim seen all through.
First, in one verse, you have the character of His whole life, -so strange for Him indeed, if we consider what He was; and yet on that very account brought into prominence here. His life a life of dependence, a life of faith, Himself “Leader and Finisher of faith.” “Preserve me, O God! for in Thee do I put my trust.”
Then, two verses show Him taking distinctly His place, not as God in divine supremacy, but as Man with men, and for men, -for the saints, in whom is all His delight.
Next, three verses proclaim Jehovah Himself His portion; His lot therefore being maintained by Him in pleasant places.
Fourthly, two verses speak of Him as in His path, content to be led, a learner, taught of divine wisdom, the object before Him being only God; and thus of the unfaltering steadfastness ever of His steps.
While, lastly, three verses trace this path to its end in glory; a way of life found through death itself into the presence of God -the pleasures at His right hand for evermore.
The Lord enable us with wisdom and with reverence to look at these things more in detail; and may our “meditation of Him be sweet” indeed.
This psalm is the first with the inscription “Michtam” -“Michtam of David.” For this there are three different meanings given, the common one being the marginal one, “a golden psalm”; but some say, “a hidden” one, a psalm with a hidden meaning; and some say “engraved,” so as not to pass away. Delitzsch gives “a psalm with pithy sayings,” an “epigram.” There are five others similarly inscribed, 56 -60, but of very different character from the present, to which one might conceive either of the first meanings being appropriate; but they add nothing that one can realize as of value to the understanding of the psalm.
1. If the sixteenth psalm be pentateuchal, the comparison with the first pentateuch should have interest for us. The theme of the first book, Genesis, is life, and that not simply of fallen and ruined, but much more of restored and renewed man. Of this not only the typical side of the six days, but also those biographies of which it is so largely composed, very plainly speak. This new life, as developed in a world departed from God and under death, manifests itself in a practical life of faith, whose springs and resources are in the unseen things,which are, in contrast with the seen, the things eternal.
In us, because fallen, life begins with a new birth; and where it exists, it is found in contrast with another principle within us, Cain-like, the elder born. The “works of the flesh,” too, alas, are found disfiguring, how much, the life of faith. We are now to contemplate the perfection of One in whom nature was never fallen, in whom there was no principle of evil, and upon whom (after thirty years passed in the world) the Father could set the seal of perfect approbation. There is no dark preface to His spiritual history; and yet as truly as -more truly than -with any of us, His life was a life of faith. Hard as it is (just because of what we know Him to be) to realize this, Scripture assures us of it in the fullest way. The epistle to the Hebrews, in giving the brotherhood of the sanctified to Him by whom they are sanctified, brings forward as applying to Him, a text exactly similar to the one before us: “I will put my trust in Him.” (Heb 2:13). And again, in a passage to which we have referred, asserts Him to be the “author” -rather “leader” -“and finisher of faith,” (Heb 12:2), the One who in His own Person completed the whole course of it. The glory of His Godhead must not, therefore, obscure for us the truth and perfection of His manhood. He is the One of whom it could be said, “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given,” while at the very same time “His name” was to be called “the Mighty God.” (Isa 9:6.) And the gospel of Luke declares Him as a child to have grown in wisdom as in stature. How impossible for any uninspired writer to have given us such an account of Him who is “God over all, blessed forever”! But God is earnest to have us know the full grace thus expressed. “Descended into the lower parts of the earth” to reach us, He is seeking intimacy. He is assuring us of His ability to sympathize with us in every sinless human experience, “in all things tempted like as we are, sin apart.” (Heb 4:15.)
This, too, is His perfection, which could not be manifest in the same way, if not subject to real and full trial. To explain or reconcile it with His Godhead, we may be quite unable: we are not called to do it. The blessed truth we need, and can accept, reverently remembering that “no one knoweth the Son, but the Father.” (Mat 11:27.) The depths of His love are revealed in the abysses of His humiliation; and here we find our present satisfaction and our joy forever. We must, not for a moment, suffer ourselves to be deprived of it; we must not allow its reality to be dimmed.
“Preserve me, O Mighty: for in Thee have I taken refuge,” is the language of One as absolutely in need of God, and hanging upon Him, as any one whosoever. He is in man’s world, such as sin has made it, not to hide Himself in any wise from its sorrows, but to know them all. Power may be in His hand, and manifested without stint in behalf of others; but for Himself He has none, will use none: to satisfy the hunger of forty days He will not make for Himself the bread which the need of others shall gain from Him without seeking. Conscious of the bleakness and barrenness of the scene into which he has come, “in Thee,” He says, “I have taken refuge.” The “dove in the clefts of the rock” is not our emblem only; it was His in days of keen distress when, “though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things that He suffered,” (Heb 5:8); -learned, as a new thing for Him, what obedience was.
Precious assurance for us! Christ the very pattern of faith in its every character, in every circumstance of trial: feeling all. indeed, with His capacity for feeling, where was no callousness, or dullness, or incompetence of any kind. With this, then, the “golden” sixteenth psalm begins.
2. In the next two verses the speaker declares Jehovah to be His Lord. He to whom obedience was a strange thing takes expressly the place of it. We had swerved from the path, even where it began, in Eden, as soon as put on it: had turned every one to his own way, as if it were well proved that our wisdom was more than God’s, and as if we owed Him nothing who created us. He, the Creator, comes therefore now Himself to take up and prove the path of His own ordinance, -not as He had ordained it, however, but far otherwise; amid all to show us that it was still no worse than He was content to walk in; -to show how for Him it could be meat and drink to do His Father’s will: to approve and vindicate it at His own cost, when it cost Him all.
“Lo, I come to do Thy will, O my God,” was the one purpose of His heart on earth. We allow ourselves many objects. We shrink from the intolerable thought of an absolute sovereign will with a claim upon us at all times, and one strictly defined path from which there is to be no wandering. But God revealed as He is now revealed makes that sovereignty the joy of a soul that knows that His will can only be according to His nature. For us, love, able to show itself as that, characterizes all His ways with us. But what was it for Him who had (as we have not) to meet the prior demands of righteousness upon us, that love might be free to show itself toward us? His path was not that which the Father’s love to Him would have dictated. Would not a man “spare his own son that serveth him”? But He “spared not His Son, but delivered Him up for us all.” How wondrous a Leader have we, then, in the path of obedience, who came expressly to fulfill this: “by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”! (Heb 10:10.)
Thus He says now to Jehovah, “my goodness extendeth not to Thee,” -words which are explained by that which follows: “it is for the saints that are upon the earth and the excellent.” That is, it is not to profit me with Thee: it is, in fact, the expression of that divine goodness, the ‘love” that “seeketh not its own,” but the blessing of others; and this, while the Speaker takes His place distinctly as the Servant of Jehovah, to do His will. Here, evidently, then, is the keynote of all that follows: how important that we should realize its meaning!
No doubt it will be objected that David could not have used the words intelligently in this way. But he did speak of the resurrection of Christ in the tenth verse, as is plain, and as Peter bore witness to the Jews in his day (Act 2:30-31), and there there can be no plea of any typical fulfillment or experience of David himself at all. The prophets spoke better than they knew, and did not always understand what they foretold, as the same Peter insists (1Pe 1:11-12). Therefore to limit things to David’s intelligence is not intelligent, even if we knew (as we do not know) just how much that was.
Christ alone, then, could be the real Speaker here; and thus moved by Divine love toward men, He does not take the place before God to which His perfection would entitle Him. It is not to avail for Him, to give Him the place due to His absolute obedience: otherwise the death of the cross -death in any way -could never have been His portion. This obedience of His -this goodness manifested in obedience -was for the saints, the excellent of the earth, in whom was His delight. For this it must be “obedience unto death,” -going as far as that. (Php 2:8.) He must empty himself of all, -sell all that He hath, if He would have what to Him is “treasure.” (Mat 13:44.)
Thus He dignifies His poor people with such titles as the saints, the excellent.” Nothing but grace in Him could account them so. Not that there is not in them true spiritual worth and moral beauty: they surely are, they must be, what He calls them. Yes; but they are made so by His call. And His heart looks on to the time of perfect consummation, when the glory of His workmanship shall be seen in them. “According to the time shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God wrought!” Thus shall we be not only, as Jacobs, “to the praise of the glory of His grace,” but as Israels also, “to the praise of His glory,” (Eph 1:6; Eph 1:12), which then shall be seen upon us.
Thus, then, the Lord descends to a path which displays His love to His own, and in which His personal claim on God is given up, that we might have claim. These two verses, therefore, give fittingly the Exodus section of this psalm, -which, as applied to Him, exhibits, not redemption, but the Redeemer. Not yet, indeed, is it seen how low His grace must stoop: the twenty-second psalm, for the first time, fully discloses that. Here it is the personal love which puts Him upon the path which, to accomplish such a purpose, cannot end but with the Cross.
3. Now comes the Leviticus section,which shows us what God is to this perfect man. He is His all: most beautifully told out in the words, “the measure of My portion and of My cup.” As it was said of the Levites, “The Lord is their inheritance,” so Christ is seen here as the true Levite.
But first we have, what has been objected as fatal to any Messianic interpretation of the psalms, the emphatic denunciation of those who “run after another” god. When we consider Israel’s history, it is not to be wondered that what is emphasized as the sin of the legal dispensation, Jehovah’s controversy with His people, even from the deliverance out of Egypt until their captivity in Babylon, should be denounced by the lips of Messiah. To say that in the days of the Herods and of heathen governors, the land swarming with the heathen, this evil was wholly extinguished even in Israel, so that it should be inappropriate for Him to utter His abhorrence of it, would surely be to go beyond the proof. Nor was the Lord’s prophecy of an “abomination of desolation, standing in the holy place,” fulfilled by the idolatrous ensigns of the Romans after the capture of the city, but looks forward to a form of idolatry yet to be found in the midst of Israel, in days preceding, by a short time only, His coming again. (Mat 24:1-51.) Why, then, such a warning as this should be unsuitable to a Messianic standpoint it would be difficult to say.
To the law which prohibited all other gods, not only does His full heart respond; but he declares Jehovah to be His entire portion, -the measure of it, -its whole content. But who, then, can measure this? It is a measure immeasurable, leaving room for nothing beyond, nothing more to be added to it.
“My portion and my cup:” what is the difference? My portion is what belongs to me, -what is mine, whether or not I enjoy it. My cup is what I actually appropriate, or make my own. Eating and drinking are significant of actual participation and enjoyment. Many a person has in this world a portion which he cannot enjoy; and many a one has a portion which (through moral perversity, it may be,) he does not enjoy. With the Lord, indeed, His portion and His joy were one: Jehovah was the measure of both. He had nothing beside; He wanted nothing beside. These two things should be found, through grace, in the Christian also. For all it is true, that God is the measure of our portion, -we have no other. Oh, that it were equally true that He was the measure of our cup, -of our enjoyment!
How strange and sorrowful that for us both should not be realized! How wonderful that we should seek elsewhere what cannot be found, while we leave unexplored the glories of an inheritance which is actually our own. We covet a wilderness, while we neglect a paradise. “My people have committed two evils,” says the Lord Himself; “they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have hewn out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns,which can hold no water.” (Jer 2:13.)
And this is the reason why, when we turn to God, and would fain comfort ourselves in Him, we do not find the comfort. Our portion does not yield us for our cup. Would we wonder if we saw an Israelite returning from the worship of Baal refused acceptance at Jehovah’s altar? “Covetousness is idolatry,” says the apostle. But what is covetousness? It is just the craving of a heart unsatisfied with its portion, for which the thing sought becomes the end that governs it: their lust, as you may see in many a heathen deity, becomes their god. “Their god is their belly” -the craving part -says the apostle again, “who mind earthly things.” (Php 3:19.)
And “the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” So here the voice of our blessed Forerunner: “Thou maintainest my lot.” It is a sure abiding possession that does not leave the heart to unrest. And how blessed a portion! “The lines are fallen unto Me in pleasant places: yea, my inheritance is fair to Me.” Yet it is the Son of God down here in a fallen world, who says this: at the same time a man of sorrows because of what the world was. And for us, be the wilderness what it may, God surely is undiminished by it. Yea. in the wilderness were wrought those miracles which made God known as a living reality. Where else did the manna fall morning by morning? Not even in. Canaan, when they entered there! And where else did the pillar of cloud and fire, changing its aspect for their need, go before them ever in the way, to find the path for them? Child of God, is it an evil path in which the Lord leads thee, and where these wonders are but signs for thee of deeper realities?
4. But the wilderness path itself is what now follows, the proving by the way: and again, how truly a man is He! “I will bless Jehovah, who has given me counsel; my reins also instruct me.” It is the same Person who speaks in the prophetic word of Isaiah: “The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I may know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learner.”* How real thus was His dependence, walking by the daily counsel of God, His ear early wakened to receive it! We remember how in His temptation in the wilderness, He applied to Himself the saying in Deuteronomy, that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God shall man live.” So did He live, then, even as we; only in a perfection all His own. On the one hand there was the direct guidance of the word of God; on the other, His own Spirit-led thoughts, the fruit of that Word digested and assimilated, by which all His practical life was formed. What a place with Him had the Word! “Scripture which cannot be broken,” as He said of it once in the face of unbelief. What a place should it not have with us!
{*The word is the same as for learned, before; but the sense requires the change.}
This retirement with God, this meditation by night, this daily sought, daily found guidance of God, -how much of it do we really know, in days of so much outward activity as these? The sweet communing of soul with a living Counselor and Lord, how much it is to be feared that this less characterizes the Christian’s life than it did of old, -in days that we deem much darker. Yet nothing can really make up for such a deficiency. It is in secret that the roots of faith lay hold of the sustenance that can alone mature into fruit in the outward life. “The secret of the Lord,” which is “with them that fear Him,” may we not say, is imparted in secret? How much does the Lord insist upon this secret life before God in His sermon on the mount, -“before your Father who seeth in secret”? Surely, there is little of this, as there should be; and must we not fear that it is becoming less?
It is literally, “my reins bind me,” -my thoughts hold me fast: those deep inner thoughts, in which what we are in inmost reality expresses itself. Do such thoughts hold
us fast? And if so, what is their character? Do they speak joy or sorrow? Peace or anxiety? Of earth or of heaven? Does the Word of God blend with them in harmony, or reprove them? In that season of quiet whose continual recurrence God has ordained for us, to withdraw us from alien influences into ourselves, does the soul freely, gladly, rise to Him? Or where does it wander? Where else does it seek a more congenial companionship? Can we say, with the delight of one of old, “When I awake, I am still with Thee”?
Look now at the purpose which all this implies: “I have set Jehovah always before Me.” These are the words of the same perfect Exemplar; and “he that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself to walk even as He walked.” And who can doubt how the Man Christ Jesus walked? If we have other ends before us, -money, or reputation, or a life of ease, or what not, -is not our life, in its whole principle, different from His? If it be said, we all fail, -true: but failure in the carrying out of a right principle is one thing, and having a wrong one is quite another. “I have set Jehovah before Me” expresses purpose, the choice of the heart; and He could say “always,” which we cannot. The essence of sin is, “we have turned every one to his own way”; and, if “Jehovah has laid on Him the iniquity of us all,” this is not that, delivered from the curse of it, we may go on under its bondage; still less, as freely following it. No: if this be iniquity, “let him that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
For Him who could say, “I have set Jehovah always before Me,” what was the result? “Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” There was no tottering, no unsteadiness in His steps: no circumstances, no power of the enemy, could hinder or turn Him aside. All other aims may be defeated, all other hopes frustrated; but where God is before the soul, it can never miss its aim: this is the secret of all prosperity and success. If we have set the Lord before us, we may go forward with the fullest and most assured confidence. And this is, in fact, found in such a course. What hinders faith like a double mind? What strengthens it like a single eye? How can we trust God for a selfish project? How doubt that He will fulfill His own mind? In the path of faith it is that we find faith for the path; and there alone.
5. And now we have the final, the eternal result. The principles of divine government secure the blessing or the curse, as the contrary goals of obedience or disobedience: and this is what Deuteronomy insists upon. For Him whom we have now before us, the government of God could have no mingled results, no doubtful or hypothetical blessing. If death were before Him, we know it as what He found simply in the path of obedience, and in love to men. From it, therefore, the Father’s glory necessitated the resurrection of His holy One: “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest secure: for Thou wilt not leave to Sheol” -hades -“my soul; Thou wilt not suffer thy Pious One* to see corruption.”
{*”Holy One” is not the sense, and “Pious (or godly) One” is very feeble; but we do not seem to be able to find a better word in English. Chasid speaks of tender, overflowing affection, in relation to God or to parents, and again of mercy overflowing from God to His creatures.}
There was but One who could come up out of death upon such a ground: He who, not for His sins, but in His matchless grace, went into it. “Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him out of death, and was heard for His piety;* though He were Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; and, being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.” (Heb 5:7-9.) Thus as Captain of our salvation was the One always personally perfect perfected. In the psalm we do not see, indeed, this descent into death as an atoning work, but we do see it as part of a path into which His love to the saints had made Him enter. But thus we recognize it as indeed “the path of life,” trodden by Him as Forerunner and Representative of the host of His redeemed. “Thou wilt show me,” He says, “the path of life.”
{*A different word, however, from that which is used in Greek for the Hebrew one of the psalm, and implying reverent fear of God.}
The path of life is the path that leads to this: for life in its full reality can only be enjoyed where God, its Source, is. Death is separation from the source of life. When the soul departs, the body left behind is dead; for soul and life are in Scripture one. So, man departed from God -for here the departure is on the reverse side -spiritual death becomes his condition. And the world takes its character from this: it is out of correspondence with God. The breach is witnessed of through its whole frame; on account of it the whole creation groaneth and travaileth together; and we too who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we also groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption -to wit, the redemption of our body. Thus, though we have life in us, it is a life whose proper display cannot yet be. a “life hid with Christ in God,” until “Christ our life shall appear.” Meanwhile our path leads up to this: opened for us through death itself by Him who going into it has abolished it, and brought life and incorruption to light by the gospel.
“In Thy presence fullness of joy.” What, indeed, to Him who says this, -the Son of the Father, in His self-assumed exile, His face now toward the glory which He had with Him before the world was! There is really no “in,” and to leave it out brings out better, perhaps, the force: “fullness of joys, Thy presence! At Thy right hand” -the place of approbation -“pleasures for evermore.”
So for us the joy of heaven is defined in this: “we shall be ever with the Lord”; “where I am, there ye shall be also.” The knowledge of the Father and of Jesus Christ whom He hath sent, characterizes now for us eternal life. Life in its fullness means for us, then, this knowledge in its own proper home. “In My Father’s house are many mansions,” says our Lord to His disciples; “if it were not so, I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you.” He would not have suffered them unwarned to have enjoyed so dear an intimacy with Himself, if eternity were not to justify and perpetuate it. And for us, every taste of communion now, every moment of enjoyed intimacy is the pledge of its renewal and perfection in the joy beyond. If it were not so, He would not permit it. The glory into which He is gone could not change the heart of Him who once left it for our sakes. The One who descended is the same also who is ascended up. The Glorified is the Crucified. We shall see in His face above the tender lowly condescension of the days of His flesh: “we shall see Him as He is,” only to find Him as He was: nearer as better known.
At His right hand, too, we shall all be; whatever special rewards there are, there will be gracious approbation for all It is sweet to know that whatever differences may obtain among us, the common joys will also be the deepest and greatest. Fruit of our own work which we may have, what can it be, compared with the fruit of His work, which we shall enjoy together? Children of God alike, the Father’s heart and home will be for all. To be members of Christ, His bride, joint-heirs with Him, will be our common portion. “Kings and priests unto His God and Father,” He has made our common privilege. There is an unhappy legal tendency to make special rewards mean what is real distortion of all this, as if some of His own, after all He has done for them, might be left in comparative distance from Him. Even the “many mansions” of the Father’s house have been made to minister to such a thought. Nothing could be less like the real purport of those blessed, assuring words, which just emphasize the room for all, the taking in of all, and for eternity.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
Psa 16:1. Preserve me, O God Hebrew , shamereeni, keep, support, guard, or defend me These words are evidently spoken by one in trouble and distress, or in danger, either from his enemies or in some other way. As David was frequently in such circumstances, they were probably primarily spoken by him in his own person, as a member of Christ, and they are words which often suit the case of any believer, who has frequently need to pray for support under troubles and distresses, to be protected against his spiritual enemies, and preserved and kept from the sins to which he is exposed. For in thee do I put my trust And therefore thou art in honour and by promise obliged not to deceive my confidence. The Hebrew, , chasiti back, properly means, I have fled to thee for protection, the verb , chasah, meaning, recipere se ad aliquem, sub cujus protectione tutus sit, ut pulli sub alis gallinarum, to betake ones self to any one, under whose protection one may be safe, as chickens under the wings of the hens. Thus they who make God their refuge and strength, and by faith commit themselves to his care, shall be safe under the shadow of the Almighty, and shall find him a present help in the time of trouble. Dr. Horne, who considers the whole Psalm as one continued speech, without change of person, supposes the contents of this verse, as well as of the rest of the Psalm, to be spoken by Christ, who, he thinks, is here represented as making his supplication to the Father for the deliverance promised to, and expected by, him. Certainly the words are applicable to Christ, for he prayed, Father, save me from this hour, and trusted in God that he would deliver him.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
REFLECTIONS.This is called by the Jews the Michtam or golden psalm, which David composed during his exile, or while he reigned in Hebron. It opens with a prayer that God would preserve him; for he trusted in him, and not in man. In his troubles his soul clave to the Lord, and he was humbled by the consideration of his unprofitableness, and the insufficiency of his own righteousness. My goodness extendeth not unto thee.
Davids piety was distinguished by alms to the saints, and by delight in the excellent of the earth, two sure marks of a regenerate soul; and where they are wanting, a man has great reason to suspect his own heart.
Davids piety was farther distinguished by abhorrence of those Jews who apostatized to a partial idolatry. Their sacrifices were stained with human blood; sorrows awaited them; and he would not even pronounce their name in company. Come then to this school, all ye lukewarm, ye degenerate souls, who trim between the world and the church. It is of small moment to you to protract the hour of return from market, or with whom you take the cheerful glass. Take care what you do: you may go a step too far. These are the men that David abhorred; these are the men the Lord will despise.
In prosperity Davids piety was distinguished by gratitude and love. The Lord was his portion, his cup, and his lot. Hence, alluding to the division of the land by Joshua, he says, the lines are fallen to me in pleasant places. Oh it is good to spiritualize the gifts of God, and to review the vast train of his mercies, till the soul shall be lost in astonishment and praise.
While Davids reins or thoughts were thus instructing him, his soul imperceptibly launched forth into the more gracious views of the Messiah and his glory. Celestial visions of futurity were disclosed, and brought him into contact with his Redeemer, whose language he seems to personate. He foresaw the Lord always before him; therefore his heart was glad, as the wise men when they saw the star. His flesh should rest in hope, for God would neither leave his soul hovering on earth, nor suffer his Holy One to see corruption. This passage both St. Peter and St. Paul apply in a most convincing manner to the Lord Jesus. Act 2:31; Act 13:35. The Lord of glory having expiated sin by his oblation on the cross, it was not proper that his body should sustain any farther humiliation and abasement. Nor was it proper on our account, for he is the resurrection and the life, the hope and the model of all his saints. Therefore he says, Thou wilt show me the path of life; that is, thou wilt open to me the gates of righteousness, and admit me to the glory I had with thee before the world was.
Heaven is viewed not only as a retreat from pain, and sin, and death; but as the consummation of eternal felicity. In this world our joys are transient and precarious; but in heaven there is fullness of joy, and at Gods right hand, where Christ reigns, are pleasures for evermore. The vast capacity of the soul is filled with the emanations of God. His perfections, shining in all the radiance of the divine nature, overshadow and delight the soul; and the unfolding of his eternal providence and grace shall be a source of pleasure always pure, always new, and grateful to the high circles of celestial society. What then were Davids trials, and what are all ours; if God shall count us worthy to behold his face in righteousness?
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
XVI. God, the Supreme Good.
Psa 16:1-3. The Psalmists devotion to God and His saints.
Psa 16:2 b, Psa 16:3. The text is corrupt; RV requires a slight emendation or we may supply, I have said, from Psa 16:2. And I have said of the holy ones that are in the land: they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight. But the LXX had a very different text. Some ancient authorities omit Psa 16:2 b or read, because thou hast no need of my goods. In LXX 3 reads, For the holy ones that are in the earth, he hath made all his good pleasure marvellous. Many attempts have been made to restore the original text by conjecture or with the help of the LXX. Such are, He dealeth nobly with the holy ones who are in the earth: all his good pleasure is in them; I have no bliss apart from thee and from the noble ones; all his good pleasure is in them. I have no bliss apart from thee and from the noble ones in whom is all my delight.
Psa 16:4-6. The Psalmist will have nothing to do with idols: God is his portion.
Psa 16:4. The meaning is again obscured by textual corruption. The following renderings have been given, e.g. They shall multiply their sins who hurry backwards, i.e. by apostasy: Many praise those who multiply their idols. In reality their drink offerings are no better than sacrifices of blood, i.e. of murder (cf. Isa 66:3), and the Psalmist will not pollute his lips with the names of foreign gods.
Psa 16:7-11. The contrasted lot of the righteous. Yahweh maintains him in the land he has inherited and fills his cup with joy. His reins, a chief seat of emotion, suggest to him in the lonely night the steps he shall take. He is secure in body and soul. RV renders rightly Thou shalt not leave his soul to Sheol; AV in Hell (Hades) is quite misleading. The Jewish saint does not expect to live after death. For the present at least he is not to die at all. Sheol will not lay hold of him: he will not see the pit (mg.), which is a synonym for Sheol. The rendering corruption is false. What is meant by exemption from death? It is tempting to regard the promise as one made to the ideal Israel. The nation once purified would endure for ever. But nothing in the context suggests this interpretation. Probably the poet is thinking merely of long life, the reward of the pious (cf. Psalms 63). To sum up, (Psa 16:11) Yahweh instructs the good man in the way of righteousness. He rewards him with length of days and is ready to confer the fullness of joy, spiritual and material.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
PSALM 16
Christ identifying Himself with the godly in Israel, expressing the life of faith before God.
Psalm 16 is a prophetic description of the Lord Jesus in His lowly path through this world. He is viewed not in His divine equality with God, though ever true, but in the place of perfect dependence as the servant of Jehovah. It presents the inward life of faith before God, rather than the outer life seen before men. It is a life that has God for its object, so that it is a life lived to God, as well as before God.
(v. 1) Christ takes a place as Man, and expresses His perfect dependence and confidence in God. Preserve me, O God, is the language of dependence: In thee do I put my trust, is the expression of confidence.
(v. 2) Christ not only takes the place of Man, but He takes the place of the Servant. He can say to Jehovah, Thou art my Lord. His goodness – His perfect obedience as the Servant – was not in order to give Him a place before God, or in order to secure benefits for Himself, but for the benefit of the saints. He became a Servant to serve others in love.
(v. 3) Christ, in His lowliness, not only takes the place of Servant, but, in grace, He becomes the associate of the godly remnant – the excellent of the earth – in whom He finds His delight.
(v. 4) Christ, though in grace the companion of the godly, was absolutely faithful to God. He would not hear of any god but Jehovah. In perfect faithfulness to Jehovah, He refused all that can be called another god. He was the separate Man.
(vv. 5-6) Christ in His pathway through this world was not only separate from all that can come between God and man, but His heart was satisfied with Jehovah. The Lord was His portion; and while passing on to the earthly inheritance that God had purposed for Him, He tasted, in the cup, the joy of the inheritance by the way. In the sense of the favour of the Lord, He could say, The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places.
(v. 7) Christ, in the path that leads to the inheritance, could bless Jehovah for His counsel. Instructed by the counsel of Jehovah, His own inmost thoughts gave Him light and instruction.
(v. 8) Guided by the counsel of Jehovah, and with Jehovah always before Him, He ever found in God His support.
(vv. 9-10) Thus supported, Christ could rejoice even in view of death, and pass through that dark valley with unclouded hope, knowing that His soul would not be left in Hades, nor His body suffered to see corruption (Act 2:25-28).
(v. 11) Christ saw the path of life beyond death, in resurrection, that leads to the right hand of God, where there is fullness of joy and pleasures for evermore (Heb 12:2).
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
16:1 [Michtam of David.] Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my {a} trust.
(a) He shows that we cannot call on God unless we trust in him.
Fuente: Geneva Bible 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. Act 2:22-31; Act 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.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 16:1-11
THE progress of thought in this psalm is striking. The singer is first a bold confessor in the face of idolatry and apostasy (Psa 16:1-4). Then the inward sweetness of his faith fills his soul, as is ever the reward of brave avowal, and he buries himself, bee-like, in the pure delights of communion with Jehovah (Psa 16:5-8). Finally, on the ground of such experience, he rises to the assurance that “its very sweetness yieldeth proof” that he and it are born for undying life (Psa 16:9-11). The conviction of immortality is then most vividly felt, when it results from the consciousness of a present full of God. The outpourings of a pure and wholesome mystic religion in the psalm are so entirely independent of the personality and environment of the singer that there is no need to encumber the study of it with questions of date. If we accept the opinion that the conception of resurrection was the result of intercourse with Persia, we shall have to give a post-exilic date to the psalm. But even if the general adoption of that belief was historically so motived, that does not forbid our believing that select souls, living in touch with God, rose to it long before. The peaks caught the glow while the valleys were filled with mists. The tone of the last section sounds liker that of a devout soul in the very act of grasping a wonderful new thought, which God was then and there revealing to him through his present experience, than of one who was simply repeating a theological truth become familiar to all.
The first turn of thought (Psa 16:1-4) is clear in its general purport. It is a profession of personal adherence to Jehovah and of attachment to His lovers, in the face of idol worship which had drawn away some. The brief cry for preservation at the beginning does not necessarily imply actual danger, but refers to the possible antagonism of the idol worshippers provoked by the psalmists bold testimony. The two meanings of Martyr, a witness and a sufferer, are closely, intertwined in fact. He needs to be preserved, and he has a claim to be so, for his profession of faith has brought the peril. The remarkable expression in Psa 16:2 b is best understood as unfolding the depth of what lies in saying, My God. It means the cleaving to Him of the whole nature as the all-comprehending supply of every desire and capacity. “Good for me is none besides Thee.” This is the same high strain as in the cognate Psa 73:25, where, as here, the joy of communion is seen in the very act of creating the confidence of immortality. The purest expression of the loftiest devotion lies in these few words. The soul that speaks thus to Jehovah turns next to Jehovahs friends and then to His foes. To the former it speaks, in Psa 16:3, of the gnarled obscurity of which the simplest clearing up is that adopted by the R.V. This requires a very small correction of the text, the omission of one letter (Waw = and) before “excellent,” and the transference to the second clause of “these,” which the accents append clumsily to the first. If we regard the to at the beginning, as the R.V. does, as marking simply reference (“as for”), the verse is an independent sentence: but it is possible to regard the influence of “I have said” as still continuing, and in that case we should have what the psalmist said to the saints, following on what he said to Jehovah, which gives unity to the whole context, and is probably best. Cheyne would expunge the first clause as a gloss crept in from the margin; and that clears the sense, though the remedy, is somewhat drastic, and a fine touch is lost, “I said to Thy loved ones, -these (and not the braggarts who strut as great men) are the truly excellent, in whom is all my delight.” When temptations to forsake Jehovah are many, the true worshipper has to choose his company, and his devotion to his only Good will lead to penetrating insight into the unreality of many shining reputations and the modest beauty of humble lives of godliness. Eyes which have been purged to see God, by seeing Him will see through much. Hearts that have learned to love Jehovah will be quick to discern kindred hearts, and, if they have found all good in Him, will surely find purest delight in them. The solitary confessor clasps the hands of his unknown fellows.
With dramatic abruptness he points to the unnamed recreants from Jehovah. “Their griefs are many-they exchange (Jehovah) for another.” Apparently, then, there was some tendency in Israel to idolatry, which gives energy to the psalmists vehement vow that he will not offer their libations of blood, nor take the abhorred names of the gods they pronounced into his lips. This state of things would suit but too much of Israels history, during which temptations to idol worship were continually present, and the bloody libations would point to such abominations of human sacrifice as we know characterised the worship of Moloch and Chemosh. Cheyne sees in the reference to these a sign of the post-exilic date of the psalm; but was there any period after the exile in which there was danger of relapse to idolatry, and was not rather a rigid monotheism the great treasure which the exiles brought back? The trait seems rather to favour an earlier date.
In the second section (Psa 16:5-8) the devout soul suns itself in the light of God, and tells itself how rich it is. “The portion of mine inheritance” might mean an allotted share of either food or land, but Psa 16:6 favours the latter interpretation. “Cup” here is not so much an image for that which satisfies thirst, though that would be beautiful, as for that which is appointed for one to experience. Such a use of the figure is familiar, and brings it into line with the other of inheritance, which is plainly the principal, as that of the cup is dropped in the following words. Every godly man has the same possession and the same prohibitions as the priests had. Like them he is landless, and instead of estates has Jehovah. They presented in mere outward fashion what is the very law of the devout life. Because God is the only true Good, the soul must have none other, and if it have forsaken all other by reason of the greater wealth of even partial possession of Him, it will be growingly rich in Him. He who has said unto the Lord, “Thou art my Lord,” will with ever increasing decisiveness of choice and consciousness of sufficiency say, “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance.” The same figure is continued in Psa 16:5 b. “My lot” is the same idea as “my portion,” and the natural flow of thought would lead us to expect that Jehovah is both. That consideration combines with the very anomalous grammatical form of the word rendered “maintainest” to recommend the slight alteration adopted by Cheyne following Dyserinck and Bickell, by which “continually” is read, for it. What God is rather than what He does is filling the psalmists happy thoughts, and the depth of his blessedness already kindles that confidence in its perpetuity which shoots up to so bright a flame in the dosing verses (cf. Psa 73:1-28). The consciousness of perfect rest in perfect satisfaction of need and desires ever follows possession of God. So the calm rapture of Psa 16:6 is the true utterance of the heart acquainted with God, and of it alone. One possession only bears reflection. Whatever else a man has, if he has not Jehovah for his portion, some part of himself will stand stiffly out, dissentient and unsatisfied, and hinder him from saying “My inheritance is fair to me.” That verdict of experience implies, as it stands in the Hebrew, subjective delight in the portion and not merely the objective worth of it. This is the peculiar preeminence of a God-filled life, that the Infinitely good is wholly Good to it, through all the extent of capacities and cravings. Who else can say the same? Blessed they whose delights are in God! He will ever delight them.
No wonder that the psalmist breaks into blessing; but it is deeply significant of the freedom from mere sentimental religion which characterises the highest flights of his devotion, that his special ground of blessing Jehovah is not inward peace of communion, but the wise guidance given thereby for daily difficulties. A God whose sweet sufficiency gives satisfaction for all desires and balm for every wound is much, but a God who by these very gifts makes duty plain, is more. The test of inward devotion is its bearing on common tasks. True wisdom is found in fellowship with God. Eyes which look on Him see many things more clearly. The “reins” are conceived of as the seat of the Divine voice. In Old Testament psychology they seem to stand for feelings rather than reason or conscience, and it is no mistake of the psalmists when he thinks that through them Gods counsel comes. He means much the same as we do when we say that devout instincts are of God. He will purify, ennoble and instruct even the lower propensities and emotions, so that they may be trusted to guide, when the heart is at rest in Him. “Prayer is better than sleep,” says the Mohammedan call to devotion. “In the night seasons,” says the psalmist, when things are more clearly seen in the dark than by day, many a whisper from Jehovah steals into his ears.
The upshot of all is a firm resolve to make really his what is his. “I set Jehovah always before me”-since He is “always my lot.” That effort of faith is the very life of devotion. We have any possession only while it is present to our thoughts. It is all one not to have a great estate and never to see it or think about it. True love is an intense desire for the presence of its object. God is only ours in reality when we are conscious of His nearness, and that is strange love of Him which is content to pass days without ever setting Him before itself. The effort of faith brings an ally and champion for faith, for “He is at my right hand,” in so far as I set Him before me. “At my right hand,”-then I am at His left, and the left arm wears the shield, and the shield covers my head. Then He is close by my working hand, to direct its activity and to lay His own great hand on my feeble one, as the prophet did his on the wasted fingers of the sick king to give strength to draw the bow. The ally of faith secures the stability of faith. “I shall not be moved,” either by the agitations of passions or by the shocks of fortune. A calm heart, which is not the same thing as a stagnant heart, is the heritage of him who has God at his side; and he who is fixed on that rock stands foursquare to all the winds that blow. Foolhardy self-reliance says, I shall never be moved, {Psa 10:6} and the end of that boast is destruction. A good man, seduced by prosperity, may forget himself so far as to say it, {Psa 30:6} and the end of that has to be fatherly discipline, to bring him right. But to say “Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved” is but to claim the blessings belonging to the possession of the only satisfying inheritance, even Jehovah Himself.
The heart that expands with such blessed consciousness of possessing God can chant its triumphant song even in front of the grave. So, in his closing strain the psalmist pours out his rapturous faith that his fellowship with God abolishes death. No worthy climax to the profound consciousness of communion already expressed, nor any satisfactory progress of thought justifying the “therefore” of Psa 16:9, can be made out with any explanation of the final verses, which eliminates the assurance of immortal life from them. The experiences of the devout life here are prophecies. These aspirations and enjoyments are to their possessor, not only authentic proofs “that God is and that He is the rewarder of the heart that seeks Him,” but also witnesses of immortality not to be silenced. They “were not born for death,” but, in their sweetness and incompleteness alike, point onwards to their own perpetuity and perfecting. If a man has been able to say and has said “My God,” nothing will seem more impossible to him than that such a trifle as death should have power to choke his voice or still the outgoings of his heart towards, and its rest in, his God. Whatever may have been the current beliefs of the psalmists time in regard to a future life, and whether his sunny confidence here abode with him in less blessed hours of less “high communion with the living God,” or ebbed away, leaving him to the gloomier thoughts of other psalms, we need not try to determine. Here, at all events, we see his faith in the act of embracing the great thought, which may have been like the rising of a new sun in his sky-namely, the conviction that this his joy was joy forever. A like depth of personal experience of the sweetness of communion with God will always issue in like far-seeing assurance of its duration as unaffected by anything that touches only the physical husk of the true self. If we would be sure of immortal life, we must make the mortal a God-filled life.
The psalmist feels the glad certainty in all his complex nature, heart, soul, and flesh. All three have their portion in the joy which it brings. The foundation of the exultation of heart and soul and of the quiet rest of flesh is not so much the assurance that after death there will be life, and after the grave a resurrection, as the confidence that there will be no death at all. To “see the pit” is a synonym for experiencing death, and what is hoped for is exemption from it altogether, and a Divine hand leading him, as Enoch was led, along the high levels on a “path of life” which leads to Gods right hand, without any grim descent to the dark valley below. Such an expectation may be called vain, but we must distinguish between the form and the substance of the psalmists hope. Its essence was unbroken and perfected communion with God, uninterrupted sense of possessing Him, and therein all delights and satisfactions. To secure these he dared to hope that for him death would be abolished. But he died, and assuredly he found that the unbroken communion for which he longed was persistent through death, and that in dying his hope that he should not die was fulfilled beyond his hope.
The correspondence between his effort of faith in Psa 16:8 and his final position in Psa 16:11 is striking. He who sets Jehovah continually before himself will in due time, come where there are fulness of joys before Gods face; and he who here, amid distractions and sorrows, has kept Jehovah at his right hand as his counsellor, defender and companion, will one day stand at Jehovahs right hand, and be satisfied forever more with the uncloying and inexhaustible pleasures that there abide.
The singer, whose clear notes thus rang above the grave, died and saw corruption. But, as the apostolic use of this psalm as a prophecy of Christs resurrection has taught us, the apparent contradiction of his triumphal chant by the fact of his death did not prove it to be a vain dream. If there ever should be a life of absolutely unbroken communion, that would be a life in which death would be abolished. Jesus Christ is Gods “Beloved” as no other is. He has conquered death as no other has. The psalm sets forth the ideal relation of the perfectly devout man to death and the future, and that ideal is a reality in Him, from whom the blessed continuity, which the psalmist was sure must belong to fellowship so close as was his with God, flows to all who unite themselves with Him. He has trodden the path of life which He shows to us, and it is life, at every step even when it dips into the darkness of what men call death, whence it rises into the light of the Face which it is joy to see, and close to the loving strong Hand which holds and gives pleasures forever more.