Thoughts on Psalm 16

Tradition holds that Psalm 16 is called The Golden Psalm of David. This Psalm is a Psalm of praise. Psalm 16 is a parallel poem. David writes about his “Confidence in the Lord” and then he writes of his “Experience of Faith.” This couplet is repeated once.

David acknowledges that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is his God. David speaks of his confidence in God by calling God his refuge. David explains that those who follow other gods will not be supported by David.

David then tells of his experience in choosing God. He uses imagery from the time of Jacob taking the promised land. When the land was taken, Jacob cast lots to give each tribe their portion. David says that God is his portion and his cup. God is his provider and sustainer. He then says that God holds his lot. God hold’s David’s dice. In other words, God is in charge of all the random events in David’s life. For Christians, there are no random events, there is no such think as luck or fate. Sovereign God is in charge of all the little and big things, all the planned and all the random events.

David then expresses confidence in God because God is his teacher. God instructs through his Word. David says that with such instruction, taken to heart, he will not be shaken. David says that if he keeps God close, he will never fail.

David concludes with a prophetic statement about not being abandoned in the grave and his hope is that he will not decay in the grave. This is referred to twice in the book of Acts. Peter speaks of this Psalm in Acts 2:29-31 and Paul quotes this Psalm in Acts 13:36-37. The New Testament interpretation of Psalm 16:10 is that it is speaking of Christ and his resurrection.

Christians today can learn from this Psalm. We can get into the Word of God, get involved in Church and Bible study and gain a confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ. We can learn what God has done and see what God is doing now and learn what God will do in the various biblical prophecies. With this knowledge we can then experience God, daily, in our lives. The more confidence we have the strong our faith will be to see God, know God and experience God in our daily lives.

The more we seek God, learn about God and know God, the greater our experience with him day by day. Anyone who truly seeks God will never be disappointed.

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