It is a practice among those who believe the Bible and who preach the Gospel to quote scriptures and read the scriptures that apply to the subject on which they are speaking. Peter quoted words from this psalm when he was speaking of the resurrected Christ on the day of Pentecost after the Lord ascended into heaven. That quotation, along with other New Testament references to this psalm, places it among the messianic psalms that directly refer to our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are three references to God that identify some of the titles used in scripture as they relate to God. He is the Almighty in verse one, Jehovah God, who is eternal in His being in verse two, and then others refer to Him as the One who is our Master and the Owner of all that He has purchased with His blood. There are also three parts to the psalm, giving, first, reasons for trusting God. Secondly, the benefits of trusting Him, and in the last part of the psalm, the confidence of all who truly do trust in Him.
This whole psalm is uplifting and positive in that it is the testimony of David, whose atonement (Mitcham) for sin has been made, and God is satisfied to accept us in the Beloved. There seems to be a special joy in David's testimony, which honors the Lord in a special way. Trusting in the Lord without reservation must bring joy to God's heart, and it does to ours. David opened his heart and let his emotions express what he meant because he knew the Lord personally. He knew that any goodness that was truly righteous had been given to him by the Lord. God is a good God and is the Source of all true goodness. We receive from Him that which is good when our faith in Him is real.
Believers all over the world have experienced and still do acknowledge the goodness of God to them. It is because of His goodness and mercies that follow us all through our lives that true worship and personal appreciation characterize true children of God. To those of us who have fellowship with our Lord, we seek and find good fellowship with those of "like precious faith." We find great delight in knowing the saints who are the excellent of all the earth. In contrast to them are those who "hasten after another god." Those who ignore God use the names of their gods as a way to try to get power, but it only increases their sorrow. There is no way to "get blood out of a turnip," and there is no way to get peace and power from an idol of one's own imagination.
Just like David wrote in the psalm, to believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, He is our "portion and cup." He has provided all we need by His atonement and has made it possible for us to "take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord." The "portion," "cup," "lot," and "good inheritance" make the Lord Himself our most prized possession. "For I am His, and He is mine, forever and forever."
The privilege of communicating with God gives Him the way to give us counsel and, hopefully, the wisdom we need to act on what He teaches. David has known security from God in his life and was not going to be "moved." He was not going to go off on a tangent that would please his old nature, nor was he going to allow obstacles to deter him from the path the Lord set before him.
Our human nature has a way of making our plans first and then calling in God to bless what we want rather than the other way around. It is our responsibility to know God by faith and to make sure our thoughts, prayers, and actions are consistent with His thoughts, the way He wants us to live, and the actions we do in our service to Him. When we are willing to obey His all-knowing guidance, we will make the right decisions and do what His will is.
When a believer in Christ is confident that he or she is in fellowship with the Lord in each and every matter, we can live with assurance that this is the right thing to do and the right way to go. We will not be shaken by the everyday events that tend to overwhelm us when we act on our own. Every person, saved or unsaved, will sometimes experience trouble, failure, and suffering. The believer does not have to feel the helplessness and upset that unbelievers experience. Unbelievers are on their own. Believers have the Lord with them. We know who we are, why we are here, and who is really in control. In spite of those things that seem so big and insurmountable, we can go forward with confidence in the Lord.
Our confidence is not limited to this lifetime. Our future is secure both physically and spiritually. By faith, we live; by faith, we die because we know there is a resurrection. In the future, we will practice what we are training for and learning here. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is prophesied at the end of this psalm. This fact gives us great assurance in that we know, "Because He lives, we shall live also." This brought gladness and joy to David as it does to the children of God today. This joy lasts and brings contentment to those who experience the sweetness of fellowship with the Lord. Day by day, He is with us. Our joy and faith are based on the Lord being with us. We dwell securely in His presence and do not need to doubt the outcome even when we die.
Our Lord died on the cross when He suffered for our sins. Before He dismissed His spirit, He knew "all things were now accomplished." Redemption was complete. Atonement was full and forever made on our behalf. Many witnessed his burial; the stone was sealed, and a human watch was set before Joseph's new tomb. He, who has the keys of life and death, used them both. He gave His life. He took it back again. Christ is raised from among the dead! His soul was not left in the place of the dead, nor did corruption ever begin or happen in the slightest way upon the body of the sinless Savior.
"With such a blessed hope in view, we would more holy be. More like our risen, glorious Lord, whose face we soon shall see." There is great confidence in those who enjoy sweet fellowship with the Lord. Even though we cannot control death, death doesn't control us. Our Lord gives life and takes it away at His appointed time. So, we do not have to fear death because even that is under His control. Not only is the person who is a child of God "absent from the body and present with the Lord," but the body will be raised, and "we shall be changed." We start here on the "path of life" of fellowship with our Lord. That path leads us to, and through death, into the presence of God, where we will be without the limitations of a sinful body. There, we will find what "fullness of joy" really is, and the unfolding delights of fellowship with our Lord will continue forever.
PSALM 16. Christ Arose! The burial, resurrection, and exaltation of the Messiah. “Michtam” = to cover. The joys and benefits of a life lived in fellowship with God are a result of the atonement, = to cover. This is a “Messianic Psalm of the Dependent Man. Verses 1-7 deal with the PATHWAY of FAITH, and verses 8-11 with the PATHWAY of LIFE. The key to understanding the psalm is in Acts 2:25-28, where Peter quotes verses 8-11 as referring to the resurrection of Christ. v. 1-2. Attitude toward God: dependent; looking up; God is mentioned six times in the first two verses and sixteen times in the whole psalm. This contrasts with Eve, who acted independently.
v.3. Attitude toward the people of God: excellent, nobles, people of moral excellence. He finds His delight in His saints. v.4. Attitude toward pagan idolatry: when the Lord was at Caesarea Philippi, He testified as to His Person (the god, Pan, had a temple there). That is where Peter said, “Thou art the Christ…” The contrast between true worshipers and those who worship another god is that another god brings sorrow into the lives of idolaters; God has nothing to do with their drink offerings of blood, and won’t mention their names. v. 5-6. Attitude toward material things: His portion – the Levites had no tract of land; His cup – what I actually take is overflowing. The Lord guards the boundaries of His inheritance, which He likens to a pleasant estate; His lot – the priest and Levite had no land, no family plot; His lines – marked out the property are comprised entirely of good things. v. 7-8. Attitude to the will of God: fulfilling the will of the Lord was the object and target of His life. He received counsel by day and even at night as He prayed, His heart instructed Him. v. 8. This begins the section dealing with the Pathway of life. This is quoted by Peter and Paul. He has always lived for the Lord. The “right hand” speaks of Power [Ps. 89:13], Safety [Ps. 20:6], Honor [Ps. 45:9; 110:11], Pleasure [Ps. 16:11], Favor [Ps.80:17]; Support [Ps. 18:35]. Here, it speaks of Safety and Security v.9-10. Queber = grave or netherworld in the Old Testament. The word Sheol indicates a condition rather than a geographical location. It is used to describe the condition of everyone who died, believers and unbelievers alike. It is an indefinite, imprecise word. It expresses uncertainty rather than knowledge. In the New Testament, Hades is used because Christ has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. Hades is used only for unbelievers. When the Savior said, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in Sheol…” He was revealing His foreknowledge that God would not allow Him to remain in the disembodied state. He entered Sheol but did not remain there. Christ’s lifeless body was kept from corruption for three days and three nights. v.11. Path of life: 7 OT scriptures speak of resurrection [Gen.22:5; Job 19:23-27; Ps.16:11; Ps.17:14-15; Dan.12:2-3; Isa.26:19; Hos,13:14]. The Lord has full confidence that God will show Him the path from death back to life again. This leads to God’s presence, where He will experience joy and pleasures forevermore.