Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 16:2
[O my soul], thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou [art] my Lord: my goodness [extendeth] not to thee;
2. The Massoretic Text reads thou (fem.) hast said, assuming that the poet holds colloquy with himself, and addresses his soul, as in Psa 42:5; Lam 3:24 (a passage evidently based on this psalm). So the Targum. But an ellipse of O my soul cannot be grammatically justified; and R.V. is certainly right in reading I have said, with LXX, Vulg., Syr., Jer. Cp. Psa 31:14; Psa 91:2; Psa 140:6.
my Lord ] The confession of Jehovah’s servant (cp. Psa 35:23), in contrast to the self-asserting independence of Psa 12:4. R.V. marg. the Lord is possible, but less satisfactory.
my goodness extendeth not to thee ] Render with R.V., I have no good beyond thee. “Not merely is God the source of all his weal, but everything which he recognises as a true good, God actually contains within Himself” (Robertson Smith). Cp. Psa 73:25. The P.B.V. my goods are nothing unto thee (cp. Psa 50:9 ff.) follows LXX and Vulg., : bonorum meorum non eges.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord – The words O my soul are not in the original. A literal rendering of the passage would be, Thou hast said unto the Lord, etc., leaving something to be supplied. De Wette renders it: To Yahweh I call; thou art my Lord. Luther: I have said to the Lord. The Latin Vulgate: Thou, my soul, hast said to the Lord. The Septuagint: I have said unto the Lord. Dr. Horsley: I have said unto Jehovah. The speaker evidently is the psalmist; he is describing his feelings toward the Lord, and the idea is equivalent to the expression I have said unto the Lord. Some word must necessarily be understood, and our translators have probably expressed the true sense by inserting the words, O my soul. the state of mind indicated is that in which one is carefully looking at himself, his own perils, his own ground of hope, and when he finds in himself a ground of just confidence that he has put his trust in God, and in God alone. We have such a form of appeal in Psa 42:5, Psa 42:11; Psa 43:5, Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
Thou art my Lord – Thou hast a right to rule over me; or, I acknowledge thee as my Lord, my sovereign. The word here is not Yahweh, but Adonai – a word of more general signification than Yahweh. The sense is, I have acknowledged Yahweh to be my Lord and my God. I receive him and rest upon him as such.
My goodness extendeth not to thee – This passage has been very variously rendered. Prof. Alexander translates it: My good (is) not besides thee (or, beyond thee); meaning, as he supposes: My happiness is not beside thee, independent of, or separable from thee? So DeWette: There is no success (or good fortune) to me out of thee. Others render it: My goodness is not such as to entitle me to thy regard. And others, My happiness is not obligatory or incumbent on thee; thou art not bound to provide for it. The Latin Vulgate renders it: My good is not given unless by thee. Dr. Horsley: Thou art my good – not besides thee. I think the meaning is: My good is nowhere except in thee; I have no source of good of any kind – happiness, hope, life, safety, salvation – but in thee. My good is not without thee. This accords with the idea in the other member of the sentence, where he acknowledges Yahweh as his Lord; in other words, he found in Yahweh all that is implied in the idea of an object of worship – all that is properly expressed by the notion of a God. He renounced all other gods, and found his happiness – his all – in Yahweh.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 16:2
O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord.
Dedication to God
The Host High is a God of truth and faithfulness. The text alludes to Davids dedication of himself to God, and implies that he had done so deliberately and sincerely.
1. Apply the words for admonition. Remember that it were better not to vow than, after having vowed, not to pay. A dedication is one of the best preservatives against temptation and sin.
2. Apply for instruction. They teach us what David thought of God. They teach that his dedication was deliberate and sincere.
3. Apply for comfort and encouragement. If you have thus dedicated yourself, then to you the promises and consolations of the Gospel belong. Reflections by way of improvement–
(1) Abide in Christ.
(2) Do much for Him to whom you owe so much.
(3) Be assured that God will do much for you. (John Ramsay, M. A.)
The advantages of a Christian reviewing his dedication to God
I wish I could have heard what you said to yourselves when I read these words. I could guess the language of some of you. You thought, I never said anything to the Lord, except it was–Depart from me. Others of you, perhaps, said, I believe that I did once say so to the Lord, but it was so lung ago that I had forgotten it. It must have been when I was in trouble. But I cannot say it now. Others said, Yes, I have said that, and often, and I am glad to say it again. Good men are excellent company for themselves, for they can converse with their souls. David is doing so here. He is telling of his dedication to God, and reviewing what he then said. Now this is a good thing to do.
I. It is useful in the hour of temptation. It will not prevent, necessarily, the assaults of sin, nor our being overcome by them. The eleven disciples forsook Christ, though they had solemnly engaged not to do so. But it is a help against such temptations to be often reviewing our vows to God. It arms us against sin.
II. As a bond of diligence and consistency in duty. Many also would stand back from wilful sins and grosser vices, yet grow remiss in their duty and become less circumspect, Now against this it is well to preserve a remembrance of our covenant engagements.
III. To afford great relief in distress. The believer may be subject to great spiritual distress. The light of Gods countenance may be withheld, and grace be very feeble. Then such communion with our own souls and with the Lord, as is indicated here, does help us much. Tell Him how we desire to stand to our engagements, and to be His forever. So our hearts will brighten even in the midst of flowing tears.
IV. As a support and encouragement in the immediate prospect of death. Nothing, then, but what is real and substantial will serve. Death is rapidly approaching. So let it, cries the devoted servant of God; the sooner it comes the better. The God whom I have served is able to deliver me; and He will deliver me from thy sting, O death, and from all the power of the grave. Many years ago I said to the Lord, Thou art my Lord, and He honoured me with a place among His servants; and now I feel Thee, blessed Savour, to be the strength of my heart; and I depend upon Thee as my portion forever. Into Thine hand I commit my spirit; for Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. Well, then, do you not think that happy is the people whose God is the Lord? But I want more than your approval. I want to know if you have said to the Lord, Thou art my Lord. Let me ask–
1. Have you ever felt the misery of being without God?
2. Have you ever given time for serious thought on this question? How solemn is your condition who live all your days in a hurry of business or thoughtless dissipation! But you who have taken the Lord to be your God, I would say to you: Cleave to God with purpose of heart. This is the bond of the servants of the Lord. I, such an one, whose name is hereunto subscribed, do hereby renounce all other masters which have had dominion over me, and bind myself to the Lord, to serve Him in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life: So help me God. And do much for Him. Also expect much from Him; you shall not be disappointed. And finally, you shall receive a crown of life. None ever served God for nought. (S. Lavington.)
A sacramental meditation
I. Before partaking. It was Davids wont, when in distress and ready to doubt whether he had really dedicated himself to God, to remind himself of the solemn transactions which had passed between him and God.
1. Let us consider the meaning and import of these words. He acknowledges Gods property in him, and claim upon him. And that he desires to be the Lords; that he prefers God to all else. He had chosen and acknowledged God as his God. And now, in distress, he repeats all this.
2. Let us remember what professions we have made. It is reasonable that we should; for we are in danger of forgetting. The world wears out the memory of them; and our afflictions tempt us to doubt that Jehovah is our Lord. Therefore it is good to renew our covenant. And it will help us to be more sensible of our duty, and will animate us under every suffering. And as we thus renew our vows we shall see such excellence in them as will engage us to fulfil them with diligence.
3. And there is no more fit time for this than at the Lords table. We commemorate the everlasting covenant. We profess our faith in Christs sacrifice. By His blood, which the wine represents, we are brought nigh to God and admitted into endearing relation to Him. Therefore let us, etc.
II. After partaking. Let us take review of what we have done, and each adopt the language of David, O my soul, etc. This means, I entirely approve, and give thanks for being inclined to say this. And acknowledge past unworthy behaviour. Failure in love to Him, and in faithfulness. But I desire that I may not again neglect my duty, that I may not yield to temptation, nor follow the world too eagerly, nor say to it what I had said to the Lord. Are we in affliction? That is a time to repeat the acknowledgment. Thou hast said to the Lord, Thou art my Lord: in Thee I have all things. Thou canst and wilt support and comfort me; make up my earthly losses, and teach me to glory in tribulation. Finally, do we feel the sentence of death in ourselves? There is no time more proper to repeat the acknowledgment, Thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord; my God, whom I have sincerely loved and served; to whom I have often committed my soul through Christ; and I would do it again with gratitude, hope and joy, when flesh and heart are failing. Let us thus, in every circumstance of life and death, remember our covenant transactions. If you have sincerely said, and are saying to the Lord, Thou art my Lord, let this be your comfort, that He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. (J. Orton.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 2. Thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord] Thou hast said layhovah, to Jehovah, the supreme, self-existing, and eternal Being; Thou art my Lord, adonai attah, Thou art my prop, stay, or support. As the Messiah, or Son of God, Jesus derived his being and support from Jehovah; and the man Christ was supported by the eternal Divinity that dwelt within him, without which he could not have sustained the sufferings which he passed through, nor have made an atonement for the sin of the world; it is the suffering Messiah, or the Messiah in prospect of his sufferings, who here speaks.
My goodness extendeth not to thee] There are almost endless explanations of this clause; no man can read them without being confounded by them. The SEPTUAGINT read ; Because thou dost not need my goods. The VULGATE follows the Septuagint. The CHALDEE: My good is given only by thyself. So the SYRIAC: My good is from thee. The ARABIC: Thou dost not need my good works. And in this sense, with shades of difference, it has been understood by most commentators and critics.
Bishop Horsley translates, Thou art my good – not besides thee. Dr. Kennicott, My goodness is not without thee.
I think the words should be understood of what the Messiah was doing for men. My goodness, tobathi, “my bounty,” is not to thee. What I am doing can add nothing to thy divinity; thou art not providing this astonishing sacrifice because thou canst derive any excellence from it: but this bounty extends to the saints – to all the spirits of just men made perfect, whose bodies are still in the earth; and to the excellent, addirey, “the noble or supereminent ones,” those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. The saints and illustrious ones not only taste of my goodness, but enjoy my salvation. Perhaps angels themselves may be intended; they are not uninterested in the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord. They desire to look into these things; and the victories of the cross in the conversion of sinners cause joy among the angels of God.
The kedoshim, “saints,” or consecrated persons, may refer to the first planters of Christianity, evangelists, apostles, c., who were separated from all others, and consecrated to the great important work of preaching among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. With these was all the desire, chephets, the good will and delight of Christ. In all their ministrations he was both with them and in them.
The passage, taken as referring to David, intimates that he abhorred the company of the profane and worthless, and delighted to associate with them that excelled in virtue.
On these two verses the translation and paraphrase of my old Psalter must not be forgotten: –
Ver. 1. Conserva me, Domine, c.
Trans. Kepe me Lord, for I hoped in the I said til Lord, my God thou ert for, of my gudes thu has na nede.
Par. – The voice of Crist in his manhede; prayand til the fader, and sayand: Lord, fader, kepe me imang peplis, for I hoped in the, noght in me. I said til the, my God, thu ert in that, that I am man; for thu has no nede of my godes; bot I haf of the, al that I haf; here is the wil pride of men confounded; that evenes that thai haf ought of tham self bot syn.
Ver. 2. Sanctis qui sunt in terra, c.
Trans. Til halowes the qwilk er his land, he selcouthed all my willes in tham.
Par. – Noght til wiked, bot til halows clene in saule, and depertid fra erdly bysynes, the qwilk er in his land: that es, that haf fested thair hope in the land of heven and rotyd in luf: the qwilk hope es als anker in stremys of this werld. He selcouthed al my willes, that of wonderful, he made my willes, of dying and rysing, sett and fulfilled in tham: that es, in thair profete, qware in that feled qwat it profeted tham my mekenes that wild dye, and my myght to rise.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
O my soul; which words are fitly understood; for it is manifest he speaks to one person of another. And it is usual with David to turn his speech to his soul, as Psa 42:6; 43:5.
Thou hast said; thou hast ofttimes avowed and professed it, and dost still persist to do so.
Thou art my Lord, by creation, and preservation, and otherwise; to whom I owe all service and obedience upon that account.
My goodness; whatsoever piety, or virtue, or good. ness is in me, or is done by me.
Extendeth not to thee, i.e. doth not add any thing to thy felicity; for thou dost not need me nor my service, nor art capable of any advantage from it. Or, is not for thee, as this word is used, Gen 16:5; 2Sa 1:26, i.e. for thy use or benefit. Or, is not upon thee, i.e. it lays no obligation upon thee, as this very word is taken, Jdg 19:20; Psa 56:12; Eze 45:17. All comes to the same thing. The sense is, God is all-sufficient and infinitely happy, and the author of all the good that is in or is done by any of his creatures; and therefore cannot prevent nor oblige God any further than he is graciously pleased to oblige himself. Thus he renounceth all opinion of merit; and though he urged his trust in God, as a motive to persuade God to preserve him, Psa 16:1, yet he here declares that he did not do it, as thinking that God was indebted to him for it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. my soulmust be supplied;expressed in similar cases (Psa 42:5;Psa 42:11).
my goodness . . . theeThisobscure passage is variously expounded. Either one of two expositionsfalls in with the context. “My goodness” or merit is not onaccount of Theethat is, is not for Thy benefit. Then follows thecontrast of Ps 16:3 (but is),in respect, or for the saints, &c.that is, it enures to them.Or, my goodnessor happiness is not besides Theethatis, without Thee I have no other source of happiness. Then, “tothe saints,” &c., means that the same privilege ofderiving happiness from God only is theirs. The first is the mostconsonant with the Messianic character of the Psalm, though thelatter is not inconsistent with it.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
[O my soul], thou hast said unto the Lord,…. Some take these to be the words of David speaking to the church, who had owned the Lord to be her Lord, and had declared what follows; others think they are the words of God the Father to his Son, suggesting to him what he had said; but they are rather an apostrophe, or an address of Christ to his own soul; and the phrase, “O my soul”, though not in the original text, is rightly supplied by our translators, and which is confirmed by the Targum, and by the Jewish commentators, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi;
thou [art] my Lord; Christ, as man, is a creature made by God; his human nature is the true tabernacle which God pitched and not man, and on this consideration he is his Lord, being his Creator; and as Mediator Christ is his servant, and was made under the law to him, obeyed him, and submitted to his will in all things; so that he not only in words said he was his Lord, but by deeds declared him to be so;
my goodness [extendeth] not to thee; such who suppose that David here speaks in his own person, or in the person of other believers, or that the church here speaks, differently interpret these words: some render them, “my goodness [is] not above thee” l; it is far inferior to thine, it is not to be mentioned with it, it is nothing in comparison of it; all my goodness, happiness, and felicity lies, in thee,
Ps 73:25; others, “I have no goodness without thee”: the sense is the same as if it was “I have said”, as read the Greek, Vulgate Latin, and Oriental versions, and so Apollinarius; I have none but what comes from thee; what I have is given me by thee, which is the sense of the Targum; see Jas 1:17; others, “my goodness is not upon thee” m; does not lie upon thee, or thou art not obliged to bestow the blessings of goodness on me; they are not due to me, they spring from thy free grace and favour; to this sense incline Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi; see Lu 17:10; others, “thou hast no need of my goodness”; nor wilt it profit thee, so R. Joseph Kimchi; see Job 22:2; or the words may be rendered, “O my goodness”, or “thou art my good, nothing is above thee” n; no goodness in any superior to God. But they are the words of Christ, and to be understood of his goodness; not of his essential goodness as God, nor of his providential goodness, the same with his Father’s; but of his special goodness, and the effect of it to his church and people; and denotes his love, grace, and good will towards them, shown in his incarnation, sufferings, and death; and the blessings of goodness which come thereby; such as a justifying righteousness, forgiveness of sin, peace, and reconciliation, redemption, salvation, and eternal life. Now though God is glorified by Christ in his incarnation, sufferings, and death, and in the work of man’s redemption, yet he stood in no need of the obedience and sufferings of his Son; he could have glorified his justice another way, as he did in not sparing the angels that sinned, in drowning the old world, and in burning Sodom and Gomorrah, and in other instances of his vengeance; though there is glory to God in the highest in the affair of salvation by Christ, yet the good will is to men; though the debt of obedience and sufferings was paid to the justice of God, whereby that is satisfied and glorified, yet the kindness in paying the debt was not to God but to men, described in Ps 16:8.
l “bonum meum non est supra te”, Gejerus. m “Bonum meum non est super te”, Montanus, Cocceius. n So Gussetius, p. 299.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2. Thou shalt say unto Jehovah. David begins by stating that he can bestow nothing upon God, not only because God stands in no need of any thing, but also because mortal man cannot merit the favor of God by any service which he can perform to him. At the same time, however, he takes courage, and, as God accepts our devotion, and the service which we yield to him, David protests that he will be one of his servants. To encourage himself the more effectually to this duty he speaks to his own soul; for the Hebrew word which is rendered Thou shalt say, is of the feminine gender, which can refer only to the soul. (305) Some may prefer reading the word in the past tense, Thou hast said, which I think is unobjectionable, for the Psalmist is speaking of an affliction which had a continued abode in his soul. The import of his language is, I am, indeed, fully convinced in my heart, and know assuredly, that God can derive no profit or advantage from me; but notwithstanding this, I will join myself in fellowship with the saints, that with one accord we may worship him by the sacrifices of praise. Two things are distinctly laid down in this verse. The first is, that God has a right to require of us whatever he pleases, seeing we are wholly bound to Him as our rightful proprietor and Lord. David, by ascribing to him the power and the dominion of Lord, declares that both himself and all he possessed are the property of God. The other particular contained in this verse is, the acknowledgement which the Psalmist makes of his own indigence. My well-doing extendeth not unto thee. Interpreters expound this last clause in two ways. As עליך, aleyka, may be rendered upon thee, some draw from it this sense, that God is not brought under obligation, or in the least degree indebted to us, by any good deeds which we may perform to him; and they understand the term goodness in a passive sense, as if David affirmed that whatever goodness he received from God did not proceed from any obligation he had laid God under, or from any merit which he possessed. But I think the sentence has a more extensive meaning, namely, that let men strive ever so much to lay themselves out for God, yet they can bring no advantage to him. Our goodness extendeth not to him, not only because, having in himself alone an all-sufficiency, he stands in need of nothing, (306) but also because we are empty and destitute of all good things, and have nothing with which to show ourselves liberal towards him. From this doctrine, however, the other point which I have before touched upon will follow, namely, that it is impossible for men, by any merits of their own, to bring God under obligation to them, so as to make him their debtor. The sum of the discourse is, that when we come before God, we must lay aside all presumption. When we imagine that there is any good thing in us, we need not wonder if he reject us, as we thus take away from him a principal part of the honor which is his due. But, on the contrary, if we acknowledge that all the services which we can yield him are in themselves things of nought, and undeserving of any recompense, this humility is as a perfume of a sweet odour, which will procure for them acceptance with God.
(305) The word, נפשי, naphshi, is commonly supposed to be understood, Thou, my soul, shalt say, or hast said. But all the ancient versions, except the Chaldee, read in the first person, I have said, and this is the reading in many MSS. The words, however, “Thou, my soul, hast said,” are equivalent to “I have said.”
(306) The Septuagint reads, Των ἀγαθων μου ου χρειαν ἐχεις Thou hast no need of my goodness, [or good things.] The reading in Tyndale Bible, “My goods are nothing unto thee.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) Thou hast said.The text of this passage is exceedingly corrupt. This appears (1) from the actual existence of various readings, (2) by the variations in the ancient versions, both from the Hebrew and each other. It will be best to take Psa. 16:2-3 together first. The consensus of the ancient versions in favour of the first person, I said, instead of thou hast said (the italicised words O my soul, are a mere gloss from the Chaldee), gives for Psa. 16:2 the plain and intelligible rendering
I said to Jehovah, Thou art my Lord,
I have no good besides thee.
Psa. 16:3 also requires emendation, being quite unintelligible as it stands. The simplest device is to omit the conjunction and recognise one of those changes of person so agreeable to Hebrew, when the verse will run
And of the saints who are in the earth,
They are the excellent in whom is all my delight.
The Authorised Version, in inserting extendeth, introduces the fine thought that
Merit lives from man to man.
And not from man, O God, to Thee;
but it could not have been the thought of the original, since my good, as Psa. 16:5-6 show, equals happiness, not conduct.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. O my soul These words are not in the original, but , thou hast said, being in the second person feminine, supposes the soul addressed, which is not uncommon in David’s dramatic style. See Psa 42:5; Psa 42:11; Psa 43:5. Comp. Lam 3:24.
My goodness extendeth not to thee Hebrew, my goodness [is] not above, , or beyond thee. Goodness is not to be here taken in the sense of beneficence, but of happiness. Nothing stood above, or aside from, God as an object of desire or aim. God himself was the source and sum of all satisfaction, as in Psa 73:25. This is the soul’s response to Exo 20:3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
He Has Said To YHWH, ‘You Are My Lord’ (2-4).
‘You have said to YHWH, You are my Lord,
I have no good beyond (apart from) you.
As for the saints (holy ones) who are in the earth,
They are the excellent (nobles) in whom is all my delight.’
The psalmist now addresses himself. ‘You (feminine singular) have said to YHWH.’ The reference of the feminine singular is unclear. He is possibly attributing it to some feminine noun applied to himself which he is carrying in his thoughts (compare ‘you, O my soul’ Psa 42:5 a; see Lam 3:24). Or it may be in deference to his reference to YHWH, with him seeing himself as God’s helpmeet.
He reminds himself that he has declared YHWH to be his sovereign Lord, to be the source of all his benefits, indeed of his whole life. For apart from Him he has nothing. So he delights in the fact that YHWH is everything to him, and he has no good beyond or apart from Him. He is a YHWH-gripped man.
Parallel with this is his delight in YHWH’s own true people, those truly set apart to God, His ‘holy ones’. He sees them as the true ‘nobles’ of Israel, the most excellent people on earth and as such takes delight in them. So all his thoughts at this time are of YHWH and of YHWH’s true people, His ‘holy ones’, to him the two most important things in life. For ‘holy ones’ compare his description of himself as ‘your holy one’ (Psa 16:10) although the Hebrew word is different. Certainly later it is a word used to describe God’s true people.
Others see the reference to ‘holy ones’ as signifying heavenly beings, but nowhere else are similar comments made about heavenly beings. They are always seen as background to the glory of YHWH, not as to be appreciated in their own right. To delight in the angels would be totally without precedent, whereas the use of ‘holy ones’ in the Psalms to denote God’s people is a regular feature (Psa 30:4; Psa 31:23; Psa 34:9; Psa 37:28; Psa 50:5; Psa 52:9 and often).
Psa 16:4
‘Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts for (or ‘exchange for’) another,
Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer,
Nor take their names on my lips.’
He spurns the idea of any contact with ‘another’, i.e. with any of ‘the gods’ whose names he will not take on his lips. Those who give gifts to such gods or who exchange YHWH for another god, will have their sorrows multiplied. As for him he will not offer to such gods drink offerings of blood or even take their name on his lips (he has assiduously avoided doing so here. They are nonentities).
‘The drink offerings of blood’ may refer to drink offerings offered with child sacrifices which certainly occurred elsewhere in connection with the worship of Molech (see Isa 57:5-6), or it may be that drink offerings of blood were made to some gods, or it may refer to drink offerings made by men of violence. Or he may simply be saying that their drink offerings are so detestable that they may be likened to offering the forbidden blood for the god to drink.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 16:2. O my soul, thou hast said, &c. I have said unto the Lord. Houbigant. My goodness extendeth not to thee, means, as applied to Christ, that the services which he performed by his ministry, and the benefits which he procured by his sufferings, did not, properly speaking, make any addition of happiness or glory to God; because, being infinitely perfect in himself, his glory cannot be increased by any services that are paid him. The saints and excellent mentioned in the next verse, mean the faithful in general, those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus. See 1Co 1:2. John 17.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
This is a most precious portion, in which we find Christ claiming the privilege of covenant relation, and, at the same time, disclaiming all pretensions to merit, from any supposed good Jehovah could derive from the Mediator’s righteousness. It is most evident, that Jehovah is not benefited by man’s redemption, though it is to the praise of the glory of his grace. But it is the seed of Christ, the excellent of the earth, in whom Christ, as the wisdom-man set up from everlasting, always delighted, Pro 8:31 . For their sakes Christ sanctified himself. Joh 17:19 . But, secondarily, and subordinately, this precious portion, as referring to the seed of Christ, and their safety and happiness in him, becomes very delightful also. For then it is as if a child of God in Christ should say, O my soul, thou hast said unto Jehovah, thou art my Adonai, my helper, my strength, my salvation: thus taking confidence in Jesus, and delight in his people.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 16:2 [O my soul], thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou [art] my Lord: my goodness [extendeth] not to thee;
Ver. 2. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord ] Or, I have said unto the Lord; and so I had rather read it, with Jerome and the Septuagint; because the letter Jod may be wanting in Amarti. See the like, Job 42:2 Eze 16:59 . David was here extra se abreptus, carried beyond himself, and so might easily speak short, and say Amart for Amarti; like as Moses, in a passion, said to God, At for Atta, Num 11:15 , as not able to speak out. Amor Dei est ecstaticus, &c.
Thou art my Lord
My goodness extendeth not to thee
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
thou hast said. Some codices, with two early printed editions, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read “I said”, in which case there is no Ellipsis, and “O my soul” should be omitted.
LORD*. One of the 134 places where the Sopherim changed Jehovah (of the primitive text) to Adonai (App-32).
My goodness, &c. = I have no good beyond Thee.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
thou hast: Psa 8:1, Psa 27:8, Psa 31:14, Psa 89:26, Psa 91:2, Isa 26:13, Isa 44:5, Zec 13:9, Joh 20:28
my goodness: Psa 50:9, Psa 50:10, Job 22:2, Job 22:3, Job 35:7, Job 35:8, Luk 17:10, Rom 11:35
Reciprocal: Gen 32:10 – not worthy of the least of all Num 7:5 – Take it Neh 9:5 – exalted Psa 48:14 – this God Psa 140:6 – I said unto Jer 4:19 – O my Act 17:25 – is Eph 5:9 – goodness Tit 3:8 – good
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 16:2-3. O my soul, thou hast said, &c. The words, O my soul, not being in the original, Houbigant translates the clause, I have said unto the Lord I have oftentimes avowed and professed it, and still persist so to do. Thou art my Lord By creation, preservation, and on various other accounts: the king, to whom I am subject, the master whom I serve, the father whom I obey, the husband and portion whom I love, and to whom I cleave. My goodness extendeth not to thee Whatever piety, or virtue, or goodness may be in me, or be done by me, it does not add any thing to thy felicity, for thou dost not need me nor my service, nor art capable of any advantage from it. Or, is not for thee, as the expression, , bal gnaleka, is sometimes used; that is, for thy use or benefit. Or, is not upon thee, that is, it lays no obligation upon thee. All which interpretations come to the same thing, and signify that God is all-sufficient and infinitely happy, and the author of all the good that is in, or is done by, any of his creatures; and therefore that good cannot prevent or oblige God any further than he is graciously pleased to oblige himself. Thus he renounces all opinion of merit; and, though he urged his trust in God, as a motive to induce God to preserve him, Psa 16:1, yet he here declares he did not do it as supposing that God was indebted to him for it. The words, as applied to Christ, mean, that the services which he performed by his ministry, and the benefits which he procured by his sufferings, did not, properly speaking, make any addition of happiness and glory to God; because, being infinitely perfect in himself, his glory cannot be increased by any services which are paid him, nor be diminished by the crimes of his creatures. But to the saints That is, the faithful, who are sanctified in Christ Jesus. See 1Co 1:2; John 17. As if he had said, I bear singular respect and love to all saints, for thy sake, whose friends and servants they are, and whose image they bear. This more properly agrees to David than to Christ, whose goodness was principally designed for, and imparted to, sinners, and who did not find men saints, but made them so; nor was it confined to them that lived with him upon the earth, but extended to all believers, of all ages, before and after him. And to the excellent Hebrew , veadiree, the magnificent, or mighty, or honourable, namely, the saints, as he now termed them, whom, because they were mean and despicable in the eyes of the world, he honours with their just titles, and by appropriating these titles to the people of God, he sufficiently intimates that all other men, how great soever, are truly ignoble before God, and vile persons, as he had termed them, Psa 15:4. In whom is all my delight That is, whose company and conversation are pleasant and desirable to me. See Psa 119:63.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16:2 [O my soul], thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou [art] my Lord: my {b} goodness [extendeth] not to thee;
(b) Though we cannot enrich God, yet we must bestow God’s gifts for the use of his children.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
David had told the Lord that He was his only hope. The writer had no good beside Yahweh, probably in the sense that he knew that he had no goodness of his own apart from God (cf. Psa 73:25).