Psalm 16
v.1
Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.
v.2
I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
It is possible to appear good in the sight of humans, but it is impossible to appear good in the eyes of the Lord without a personal relationship with Him.
v.3
As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
In this verse he states, as a further proof of his attachment to him, that he regarded with deep affection the saints of God; that he found his happiness, not in the society of the wicked, but in the friendship of the excellent of the earth…Thus he had what must ever be essentially the evidence of true piety - a feeling that God is all in all, and real love for those who are his; a feeling that there is nothing beyond God, or without God, that can meet the wants of the soul, and a sincere affection for all who are his friends on earth.
Delight in God also finds expression in a joyful acceptance of “the saints”… The psalmist thus expresses the importance of the community of the saints.
v.4
The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.
v.5
Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.
The one true, pure, abiding joy is to hold fellowship with God and to live in His love. The secret of all our unrest is the going out of our desires after earthly things. They fly forth from our hearts like Noah’s raven, and nowhere amid all the weltering flood can find a resting-place. The secret of satisfied repose is to set our affections thoroughly on God. Then our wearied hearts, like Noah’s dove returning to its rest, will fold their wings and nestle fast by the throne of God. ‘All the happiness of this life,’ said William Law, ‘is but trying to quench thirst out of golden empty cups.’ But if we will take the Lord for ‘the portion of our cup,’ we shall never thirst.
v.7
I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
v.8
I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
The language here is that of one who has confidence in God in time of great calamities, and who feels that he is safe under the divine favor and protection.
See also Isaiah 41:10.
v.9-10
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
The basis for the psalmist’s joy is twofold. (1) His God is the sovereign Master to whom he has fled for protection (vv.1-2). (2) The Lord has been good to him (vv.2b,5-8). His conclusion to this psalm of confidence begins with “Therefore”; but the “therefore” introduces additional, though related, reasons for his confidence. The Lord cares for him in life and in death. In life the Lord gives him security (vv.5-6) and in death, protection. He may go into “the grave,” but the Lord will not permit his beloved (Holy One) to suffer eternal alienation; even in death his relationship with God continues. The phrase “see decay” is a metaphor for total isolation and abandonment from God’s presence.
In the apostolic preaching this verse had a particular apologetic significance, as both Peter (Ac 2:27, 31) and Paul (Ac 13:35) quoted v.10 as proof of the resurrection of our Lord. They appropriately argued that since David died and did not rise from the grave, that psalm received a special significance in view of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus, as the Son of David, arose from the dead, “because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Ac 2:24). The resurrection of our Lord gives a ground for the confidence of all believers since they too will not suffer corruption. the Father will crown his beloved with life.
v.11
You will make known to me the way of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.