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Commentary on Psalms 16 verses 1–7
This psalm is entitled Michtam, which some translate a golden psalm, a very precious one, more to be valued by us than gold, yea, than much fine gold, because it speaks so plainly of Christ and his resurrection, who is the true treasure hidden in the field of the Old Testament.
I. David here flies to God's protection with a cheerful believing confidence in it (Psa 16:1): "Preserve me, O God! from the deaths, and especially from the sins, to which I am continually exposed; for in thee, and in thee only, do I put my trust." Those that by faith commit themselves to the divine care, and submit themselves to the divine guidance, have reason to hope for the benefit of both. This is applicable to Christ, who prayed, Father, save me from this hour, and trusted in God that he would deliver him.
II. He recognizes his solemn dedication of himself to God as his God (Psa 16:2): "O my soul! thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord, and therefore thou mayest venture to trust him." Note, 1. It is the duty and interest of every one of us to acknowledge the Lord for our Lord, to subject ourselves to him, and then to stay ourselves upon him. Adonai signifies My stayer, the strength of my heart. 2. This must be done with our souls: "O my soul! thou hast said it." Covenanting with God must be heart-work; all that is within us must be employed therein and engaged thereby. 3. Those who have avouched the Lord for their Lord should be often putting themselves in mind of what they have done. "Hast thou said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord? Say it again then, stand to it, abide by it, and never unsay it. Hast thou said it? Take the comfort of it, and live up to it. He is thy Lord, and worship thou him, and let thy eye be ever towards him."
III. He devotes himself to the honour of God in the service of the saints (Psa 16:2, Psa 16:3): My goodness extends not to thee, but to the saints. Observe, 1. Those that have taken the lord for their Lord must, like him, be good and do good; we do not expect happiness without goodness. 2. Whatever good there is in us, or is done by us, we must humbly acknowledge that it extends not to God; so that we cannot pretend to merit any thing by it. God has no need of our services; he is not benefited by them, nor can they add any thing to his infinite perfection and blessedness. The wisest, and best, and most useful, men in the world cannot be profitable to God, Job 22:2; Job 35:7. God is infinitely above us, and happy without us, and whatever good we do it is all from him; so that we are indebted to him, not he to us: David owns it (Ch1 29:14), Of thy own have we given thee. 3. If God be ours, we must, for his sake, extend our goodness to those that are his, to the saints in the earth; for what is done to them he is pleased to take as done to himself, having constituted them his receivers. Note, (1.) There are saints in the earth; and saints on earth we must all be, or we shall never be saints in heaven. Those that are renewed by the grace of God, and devoted to the glory of God, are saints on earth. (2.) The saints in the earth are excellent ones, great, mighty, magnificent ones, and yet some of them so poor in the world that they need to have David's goodness extended to them. God makes them excellent by the grace he gives them. The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour, and then he accounts them excellent. They are precious in his sight and honourable; they are his jewels, his peculiar treasure. Their God is their glory, and a diadem of beauty to them. (3.) All that have taken the Lord for their God delight in his saints as excellent ones, because they bear his image, and because he loves them. David, though a king, was a companion of all that feared God (Psa 119:63), even the meanest, which was a sign that his delight was in them. (4.) It is not enough for us to delight in the saints, but, as there is occasion, our goodness must extend to them; we must be ready to show them the kindness they need, distribute to their necessities, and abound in the labour of love to them. This is applicable to Christ. The salvation he wrought out for us was no gain to God, for our ruin would have been no loss to him; but the goodness and benefit of it extend to us men, in whom he delighteth, Pro 8:31. For their sakes, says he, I sanctify myself, Joh 17:19. Christ delights even in the saints on earth, notwithstanding their weaknesses and manifold informities, which is a good reason why we should.
IV. He disclaims the worship of all false gods and all communion with their worshippers, Psa 16:4. Here, 1. He reads the doom of idolaters, who hasten after another God, being mad upon their idols, and pursuing them as eagerly as if they were afraid they would escape from them: Their sorrows shall be multiplied, both by the judgments they bring upon themselves from the true God whom they forsake and by the disappointment they will meet with in the false gods they embrace. Those that multiply gods multiply griefs to themselves; for, whoever thinks one God too little, will find two too many, and yet hundreds not enough. 2. He declares his resolution to have no fellowship with them nor with their unfruitful works of darkness: "Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, not only because the gods they are offered to are a lie, but because the offerings themselves are barbarous." At God's altar, because the blood made atonement, the drinking of it was most strictly prohibited, and the drink-offerings were of wine; but the devil prescribed to his worshippers to drink of the blood of the sacrifices, to teach them cruelty. "I will have nothing to do" (says David) "with those bloody deities, nor so much as take their names into my lips with any delight in them or respect to them." Thus must we hate idols and idolatry with a perfect hatred. Some make this also applicable to Christ and his undertaking, showing the nature of the sacrifice he offered (it was not the blood of bulls and goats, which was offered according to the law; that was never named, nor did he ever make any mention of it, but his own blood), showing also the multiplied sorrows of the unbelieving Jews, who hastened after another king, Caesar, and are still hastening after another Messiah, whom they in vain look for.
V. He repeats the solemn choice he had made of God for his portion and happiness (Psa 16:5), takes to himself the comfort of the choice (Psa 16:6), and gives God the glory of it, Psa 16:7. This is very much the language of a devout and pious soul in its gracious exercises.
1.Choosing the Lord for its portion and happiness. "Most men take the world for their chief good, and place their felicity in the enjoyments of it; but this I say, The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup, the portion I make choice of, and will gladly take up with, how poor soever my condition is in this world. Let me have the love and favour of God, and be accepted of him; let me have the comfort of communion with God, and satisfaction in the communications of his graces and comforts; let me have an interest in his promises, and a title by promise to everlasting life and happiness in the future state; and I have enough, I need no more, I desire no more, to complete my felicity." Would we do well and wisely for ourselves, we must take God, in Christ, to be, (1.) The portion of our inheritance in the other world. Heaven is an inheritance. God himself is the inheritance of the saints there, whose everlasting bliss is to enjoy him. We must take that for our inheritance, our home, our rest, our lasting, everlasting, good, and look upon this world to be no more ours than the country through which our road lies when we are on a journey. (2.) The portion of our cup in this world, with which we are nourished, and refreshed, and kept from fainting. Those have not God for theirs who do not reckon his comforts the most reviving cordials, acquaint themselves with them, and make use of them as sufficient to counterbalance all the grievances of this present time and to sweeten the most bitter cup of affliction.
2.Confiding in him for the securing of this portion: "Thou maintainest my lot. Thou that hast by promise made over thy self to me, to be mine, wilt graciously make good what thou hast promised, and never leave me to myself to forfeit this happiness, nor leave it in the power of my enemies to rob me of it. Nothing shall pluck me out of thy hands, nor separate me from thy love, and the sure mercies of David." The saints and their bliss are kept by the power of God.
3.Rejoicing in this portion, and taking a complacency in it (Psa 16:6): The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Those have reason to say so that have God for their portion; they have a worthy portion, a goodly heritage. What can they have better? What can they desire more? Return unto thy rest, O my soul! and look no further. Note, Gracious persons, though they still covet more of God, never covet more than God; but, being satisfied of his loving-kindness, they are abundantly satisfied with it, and envy not any their carnal mirth and sensual pleasures and delights, but account themselves truly happy in what they have, and doubt not but to be completely happy in what they hope for. Those whose lot is cast, as David's was, in a land of light, in a valley of vision, where God is known and worshipped, have, upon that account, reason to say, The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; much more those who have not only the means, but the end, not only Immanuel's land, but Immanuel's love.
4.Giving thanks to God for it, and for grace to make this wise and happy choice (Psa 16:7): "I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel, this counsel, to take him for my portion and happiness." So ignorant and foolish are we that, if we be left to ourselves, our hearts will follow our eyes, and we shall choose our own delusions, and forsake our own mercies for lying vanities; and therefore, if we have indeed taken God for our portion and preferred spiritual and eternal blessings before those that are sensible and temporal, we must thankfully acknowledge the power and goodness of divine grace directing and enabling us to make that choice. If we have the pleasure of it, let God have the praise of it.
5.Making a good use of it. God having given him counsel by his word and Spirit, his own reins also (his own thoughts) instructed him in the night-season; when he was silent and solitary, and retired from the world, then his own conscience (which is called the reins, Jer 17:10) not only reflected with comfort upon the choice he had made, but instructed or admonished him concerning the duties arising out of this choice, catechized him, and engaged and quickened him to live as one that had God for his portion, by faith to live upon him and to live to him. Those who have God for their portion, and who will be faithful to him, must give their own consciences leave to deal thus faithfully and plainly with them.
All this may be applied to Christ, who made the Lord his portion and was pleased with that portion, made his Father's glory his highest end and made it his meat and drink to seek that and to do his will, and delighted to prosecute his undertaking, pursuant to his Father's counsel, depending upon him to maintain his lot and to carry him through his undertaking. We may also apply it to ourselves in singing it, renewing our choice of God as ours, with a holy complacency and satisfaction.
The inheritance is the contemplation of the present and future ages; the inheritance of Christ is the understanding of God.
He who in his own person is the Lord’s portion, or has the Lord for his portion, must so bear himself as to possess the Lord and to be possessed by him. He who possesses the Lord and who says with the prophet, “The Lord is my portion,” can hold to nothing beside the Lord. For if he holds to something beside the Lord, the Lord will not be his portion.
"The Lord is the portion of Mine inheritance, and of My cup" [Psalm 16:5]. For together with Me they shall possess the inheritance, the Lord Himself. Let others choose for themselves portions, earthly and temporal, to enjoy: the portion of the Saints is the Lord eternal. Let others drink of deadly pleasures, the portion of My cup is the Lord. In that I say, "Mine," I include the Church: for where the Head is, there is the body also. For into the inheritance will I gather together their assemblies, and by the inebriation of the cup I will forget their old names. "You are He who will restore to Me My inheritance:" that to these too, whom I free, may be known "the glory wherein I was with You before the world was made." [John 17:5] For You will not restore to Me that which I never lost, but You will restore to these, who have lost it, the knowledge of that glory: in whom because I am, You will restore to Me.
[The psalmist is saying] “O Lord, why give me some other inheritance? Whatever you give, it isn’t worth much. You be my inheritance; I love you, I love you with all I am, with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind I love you. What can it mean to me, anything you give me apart from yourself?” That is to love God freely, to hope in God for God, to hasten to be filled with God, to be satisfied with him. He, after all, is enough for you; apart from him, nothing is enough for you.
See, my blessed sister, how much you have achieved; see to what a high peak you have attained, how you have found the grace of many benefits in one and the same Christ. He is, indeed, your true Bridegroom, he is also your brother, he is likewise your friend, he is your inheritance, he is your reward, he is God and the Lord. You have in him a Bridegroom to love: “For he is fair in beauty above the sons of men.” He is a true brother for you to hold, for by adoption you are the daughter of him whose natural Son Christ is. He is a friend of whom you need not doubt.… You have in him the inheritance that you may embrace, for he is himself the portion of your inheritance. You have in him the reward that you may recognize, for his blood is your redemption. You have in him God by whom you may be ruled, the Lord to fear and honor.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 16:5 is a profound declaration of David's unwavering faith and complete contentment in God alone, portraying the Lord as his ultimate inheritance, source of provision, and the active maintainer of his life's destiny. This verse encapsulates a radical shift in perspective from earthly possessions and security to a deep, personal reliance on the divine, affirming that God Himself is the believer's most precious and enduring treasure, securing their present and future.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Psalm 16 is designated a "Miktam of David," a term of uncertain meaning, often translated as "golden psalm" or "goldsmith's secret," suggesting its precious and enduring spiritual value. It is a psalm of deep trust and hope, articulating a profound personal relationship with God that transcends immediate circumstances. The psalm opens with a plea for preservation, as seen in Psalm 16:1 - A Plea for Preservation, quickly transitions to a declaration of David's exclusive devotion to the Lord, found in Psalm 16:2 - David's Devotion to the Lord, and culminates in an expression of joy and hope in God's presence and eternal life, articulated in Psalm 16:11 - Fullness of Joy in God's Presence. Verse 5 serves as the theological anchor for this trust, explaining why David can be so confident: his portion, his very life, is in God's hands.
Historical & Cultural Context: In ancient Israel, "inheritance" (Hebrew: naḥălâ) primarily referred to the allocation of land in the Promised Land to each tribe and family, ensuring their economic and social stability. This land was considered a perpetual possession, a gift from God, as detailed in Numbers 26:53 - Land Allotment by Lot. However, the Levitical priests were unique; they received no land inheritance because "the LORD is their inheritance," as stated in Numbers 18:20 - The Lord is the Levites' Inheritance. David, though not a Levite, appropriates this spiritual principle, declaring that his ultimate security and provision are found not in material wealth, status, or land, but in God Himself. The "cup" and "lot" were common metaphors for one's destiny, portion, or experiences in life, often determined by divine decree or fate.
Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within Psalm 16 and the broader Psalter. Firstly, it highlights God as the Ultimate Inheritance, shifting the focus from earthly possessions to the divine relationship as the most valuable asset. This concept is foundational to true contentment and security. Secondly, it underscores Divine Provision and Sustenance, portraying God as actively involved in distributing and maintaining one's life circumstances, whether blessings or trials, as symbolized by the "cup." Thirdly, the phrase "thou maintainest my lot" emphasizes God's Sovereignty and Active Preservation, assuring the believer that their destiny is not left to chance but is upheld by God's faithful and powerful hand. This active maintenance fosters a deep sense of Contentment and Security, allowing David to find peace and satisfaction regardless of external circumstances, knowing his life is firmly held by God. This resonates with the psalmist's declaration in Psalm 73:26 - God is the Strength of My Heart and My Portion Forever that God is the strength of his heart and his portion forever.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalms 16:5 is rich in Metaphor, employing the imagery of "portion," "inheritance," "cup," and "lot" to convey profound spiritual truths. These terms, typically associated with tangible, earthly possessions and destiny, are here applied to God and His relationship with the individual, elevating the concepts to a spiritual realm. The "portion of mine inheritance" is a powerful metaphor for God as the ultimate and most valuable possession, while the "cup" and "lot" metaphorically represent the entirety of one's life experiences and destiny, all held and maintained by God. The phrase "thou maintainest my lot" also subtly employs Personification, attributing the active, protective action of "maintaining" to God, emphasizing His personal and attentive involvement in the believer's life. The verse itself functions as a strong Declaration or Affirmation of faith, serving as a confident statement of David's trust and contentment in the Lord.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalms 16:5 stands as a powerful theological statement on the sufficiency of God and the nature of true blessedness. It challenges the common human inclination to find security and satisfaction in material wealth, status, or worldly achievements, redirecting the heart to God Himself as the ultimate source of fulfillment. This verse underscores the biblical truth that a relationship with the Creator is infinitely more valuable than any created thing, providing an unshakeable foundation for life. It speaks to the concept of divine sovereignty, where God is not merely a distant deity but an active participant who meticulously oversees and upholds the life of His children. This profound contentment in God alone is a recurring theme in Scripture, inviting believers to find their deepest joy and security in His presence and provision, rather than in fleeting earthly circumstances.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalms 16:5 offers a radical blueprint for Christian living, urging us to re-evaluate where we place our ultimate hope and security. In a world constantly pushing us to accumulate more, achieve more, and secure our future through earthly means, this verse calls us to a counter-cultural posture: to find our deepest satisfaction and most enduring inheritance in God alone. It challenges us to ask if God truly is our "portion" – the most valuable possession, the source of our contentment, and the one who defines our identity and destiny. When we embrace God as our all-sufficient inheritance, our perspective shifts; anxieties about tomorrow diminish, and gratitude for His sovereign care abounds. This trust fosters a profound peace, knowing that our "lot" – every circumstance, every joy, every trial – is not random but is actively maintained and upheld by His loving, powerful hand. This allows us to live with a freedom that is unburdened by worldly attachments and empowered by divine provision.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "the portion of mine inheritance" mean in this context?
Answer: In the context of Psalms 16:5, "the portion of mine inheritance" signifies that God Himself is David's most valuable and cherished possession. Unlike the typical inheritance of land or material wealth distributed among the Israelite tribes, David declares that his true and ultimate inheritance is not a physical possession but a personal relationship with the Lord. This echoes the unique status of the Levitical priests, who received no land but had the Lord as their inheritance, as described in Numbers 18:20 - The Lord is the Levites' Inheritance. It means that God is the source of his security, satisfaction, and lasting legacy, far surpassing any earthly treasure.
What is the significance of "my cup" and "my lot"?
Answer: In biblical imagery, the "cup" often symbolizes one's destiny, experiences, or the measure of blessing or judgment received in life. For example, Psalm 23:5 - My Cup Overflows speaks of an overflowing cup of blessing. The "lot" (Hebrew: gôrāl) refers to one's allotted destiny or circumstances, often determined by divine means, like casting lots. Together, "my cup" and "my lot" represent the entirety of David's life experiences, his circumstances, and his destiny. By declaring God as the portion "of my cup" and affirming that God "maintainest my lot," David expresses profound trust that God sovereignly oversees, provides for, and actively upholds every aspect of his life's journey, ensuring that all he receives and experiences is from God's hand and for His good purpose.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 16:5 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in Jesus Christ. David's declaration of the Lord as his "portion" and "inheritance" foreshadows the believer's supreme inheritance found in Christ, who is "all in all," as affirmed in Colossians 3:11 - Christ is All in All. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus secured for us an "inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you," as wonderfully described in 1 Peter 1:4 - An Imperishable Inheritance. He is not just a part of our inheritance; He is our inheritance, the very substance of our eternal life and blessing. Moreover, just as God "maintained David's lot," Christ, through His Holy Spirit, actively maintains and upholds the lot of every believer. He is our Good Shepherd who leads us, sustains us, and ensures that our steps are ordered by the Lord, as we read in Psalm 37:23 - The Steps of a Good Man are Ordered by the Lord, preserving us until the day of His return, as promised in Philippians 1:6 - He Who Began a Good Work Will Carry it on to Completion. In Christ, we find the ultimate contentment and security, knowing that our lives are held firmly in the hands of the One who conquered death and guarantees our eternal portion with Him, for "no one can snatch them out of my hand," as Jesus declares in John 10:28 - No One Can Snatch Them Out of My Hand. He is our true and eternal portion, satisfying every longing of the soul.