Psalm 16

Read Psalm 16

“Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge.” David called out to the Lord for help. He found in God his only hope for goodness. This was David's faith—that the Lord alone could provide what he needed for salvation.

David was not the only one in his generation that had this faith in God. He wrote of those that are called “the saints” in this psalm. These holy and excellent people were David's delight. David's trust in the Lord was expressed well in his sincere affiliation with others who were also committed to God as their only hope in life and death.

Others even in Israel had a very different value system. They chased after pagan gods. They bound themselves to demons in the false sacraments of spirits that could never bring them solid joys. They were planting seeds of idolatry and would only harvest bitter sorrows.

David had chosen a better way of life. Even if tragedies consumed him in this life, he was confident that the God of Israel would be his pleasant inheritance. With the settled assurance of lasting treasures, he worshiped the God of his salvation. He knew that he was safe in the Lord.

Even if his body rested in the grave, he knew that the final story of his life would not be the normal decay of his body that is the expectation of every human being. Nonetheless, after David died and was buried, his body did see corruption in the grave. We know now that David's words had another meaning. They would find their most complete fulfillment in the resurrection of Jesus after a very brief period in a borrowed tomb.

Jesus rose again to everlasting life after He died for our sins. He became the “path” of life that David wrote about at the end of Psalm 16. Because Jesus is now at the right hand of the Father, all who are His children have a secure promise of “pleasures forevermore.”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

O God, You are our strong hope. We thank You for Your church. We are together in Christ. We will not follow other gods. You are our portion. Our inheritance is beautiful. You are with us and our hearts are glad. You have heard the prayer of Your Holy Son. We have eternal pleasures at Your right hand forevermore.