Psalm 16 - You Will Not Abandon My Soul

A Miktam of David.

1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 

4 The sorrows of those who run after  another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 

11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

     This is a wonderful Psalm filled with joy and confidence in God. Just look at the beginning of this Psalm, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” There is that theme of refuge in the Lord that we have seen several times already in our reading of the Psalms. Do you think that the Psalmist is trying to appeal to us to turn to God in all situations that we are faced with, whether good or bad, joyful or turbulent? One writer said, “To the righteous the Lord is a refuge, a solace to those who are hurting and suffering."

     Did you notice the heading of this Psalm? “A Miktam of David.” What is a “Miktam”? …Good question. The answer is…I don’t know. Some scholars would suggest it means “to cover” giving it the impression of a secret or hidden prayer. In fact this title will appear several more times, Psalms 56-60 are also called “Miktams”.

     Look at verse 2, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” This is something we all need to consider: That without God we have no goodness. There are many who think that being obedient to God isn’t really necessary, or that God doesn't even REQUIRES that of us. That we can just live a “good moral life” and that God will just accept you based solely on that. You will even hear people say, “Oh my grandma never went to church, but she was such a good person. Made cookies for the neighborhood kids, always had a kind word for you. I just KNOW she’s in Heaven.” What we must realize is that we have no goodness apart from obedience to God. There is no such thing as being a good person if we are not serving the Lord.

     Finally, who is David talking about in verse 10? Is it about David, himself? We don’t have to wonder about that because the apostle Paul explains that verse for us in Acts 2 demonstrating that David is not the subject of this verse…JESUS is. That the language of Psalm 16 is too strong for David, for he has known corruption…but not the Messiah!

     What a wonderful Psalm that speaks volumes of the joy and contentment that can be found in the one that serves God fully.