Psalm 16: A Psalm Of Trust By David And Christ

Psalm 16:1  Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.

King David wrote this beautiful Psalm that tells us about his heart of love for God.

Some call a "michtam" a golden Psalm because it contains a preview of Jesus Christ the Messiah.

This applies to David as he cheerfully sought refuge in Jehovah, the One, True God.

He seeks preservation for himself because he knew that he was constantly exposed to his own sin nature, and the sinful actions of those around him.

Like David, we must commit our soul to God for salvation from sin and deliverance from evil.

When we seek God's care and His instruction from the scriptures, we will experience His providential care of us. 

We will enjoy His life changing truth more each day as He molds us and shapes us into usable servants of God.

Hebrews 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 

David's prayer foreshadows the prayers of Christ. Jesus offered up many prayers and supplications to His Father, with whom all things are possible.

The author of the book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus experienced strong crying with many tears as He prayed to His Father.

Jesus committed His earthly life to His Father, to please HIm in all things and found His greatest delight in obeying His Father's will.

Jesus prayed for the salvation of Israel, for His disciples to be strengthened and for His own strength to meet the pressing demands of His ministry to others

Luke 22:39-44  And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. 40  And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. 41  And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 

Here is an example of Jesus' strong and fervent prayers on the very night of His betrayal.

He asked the Father to remove the cup, which symbolized the sins of all humanity, but He also said that the Father's will must be done.

Jesus prayed with such power and intensity and emotion, that an angel came alongside to strengthen the Son of God, and He sweat drops of blood.

Thus, we can see how this Psalm is applicable to Christ.

David passionately prayed to Jehovah and Jesus passionately prayed to His Father.

Both men put their fullest, most complete trust in God.

Psalm 16:2-3  O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; 3  But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. 

David continued his prayer with a solemn declaration of dedicating himself to God and God alone.

The divine names used here are Jehovah Adonay. 

Jehovah is the unchanging God of eternity, the name of God most connected with redemption and the God who dwells with those whose hearts are humble and whose spirits are contrite.

Adonay means God is the one who safely secures our heart and gives us strength as we need it.

It is a blessed duty of Christians to acknowledge Jehovah for our Lord, to fasten our faith upon Him with tenacious cords of love, so that we learn to be subject to Him in all things.

It is as if David said "My soul, you have said these things and believed God, now live accordingly."

David acknowledge that his own goodness is not comparable to God's goodness. 

Believers in Christ must seek to be good because our LORD is good and we must especially seek to be good to others, as we love our neighbors as ourselves.

Yet, like David, we must admit our goodness is finite compared to God's goodness. 

Our goodness will never merit anything from God but we must ask our Lord to work it into us.

Those who are renewed by the grace of God, and devoted to the glory of God, are called saints on earth. 

David sought communion with other believers or saints in the earth. 

To those who had need, he offered his goodness in showing respect, treating others with dignity, or helping meet their needs if possible.

Psalm 16:4  Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. 

In contrast, David described the terrible plight of unbelievers, who are idolaters.

At judgment day, their sorrows will be multiplied as the LORD judges them according to their wicked ways.

King David was adamantly against idolatry because all the nations and people he conquered were idolatrous peoples.

He saw first hand the immorality, depravity and human debasement that accompanies pagan worship.

Therefore, he refused to associate with any of them. 

He would not accept any food or drink offered to idols.

Psalm 16:5-6  The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. 6  The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. 

King David amassed much wealth through the Lord helping him win in warfare.

He had 100,000 talents of gold and one million talents of silver, with a talent weighing about 75 pounds!

He dedicated almost all of it to the Temple that his son Solomon constructed.

In spite of having such vast wealth, David claimed Jehovah as his portion, the One who filled his cup with blessings and protected and preserved the king.

When David surveyed the beautiful lands of Israel, he said that the portion God set aside for him in heaven was better than the most pleasant place on earth.

This is comparable to the riches of our inheritance through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 

Christ has given His children all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.

Ephesians 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 

We receive the redemption from sin and full forgiveness because of the riches of God's grace.

Ephesians 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 

Christians are expected to search the scriptures to discover the riches of the glory of what God has given us in Christ.

Psalm 16:7  I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. 

In this case, blessing the LORD is an act of worship, a kneeling down before Him to thank and praise God for the many benefits he lavishes upon each one of His sheep.

God guides our steps through the preaching, teaching and reading of His Word.

So ignorant and foolish are we that if left to ourselves, our hearts will follow our eyes, and we shall choose what satisfies our flesh.

If, like David, we take God for our portion of spiritual blessings before any temporal things, then we may thankfully acknowledge the  goodness of divine grace directing us to make right choices.

His word is a light to our path to show us the spiritual obstacles so that we avoid falling into sin.

His Word is a beacon to show us the path of blessing that He wants us to walk on (See Psalm 119:105).

Even at night, when we cannot sleep, we can think about our wonderful LORD and spend time praying to Him.

This calms our heart and strengthens our spirit.

The conclusion of this Psalm applies to both David, for he certainly wrote these words to express what was in his heart, and especially it applies to Jesus Christ.

The apostle Peter preached his very first sermon and as guided by the Holy Spirit to apply these words to Christ.

Psalm 16:9-11  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10  For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. 

David said that his own heart was glad and full of joy.

He voiced his own, personal hope that he would be raised from the dead one day.

Thus, day by day, King David relied upon Jehovah to show him the right path that he should take.

David basked in the presence of the LORD, and it is noteworthy to remind us that the LORD never took His Spirit from David (See 1 Samuel 16:13).

This is why a warrior king was also the sweet Psalmist of Israel. This is why David dedicated his life to living for the glory of God and why he wrote so beautifully and passionately about God.

Acts 2:25-28  For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26  Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27  Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 28  Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 

Peter preached about Christ's resurrection from the dead prior to citing this Psalm and applying it to Christ.

Though King David wrote Psalm 16 as guided by God's Spirit, Peter proved that David spoke prophetically about Christ in the Psalm.

Thus, David foresaw Jesus Christ the Messiah, before His face.

This expresses David's and Christ's profound closeness to God and a desire for uninterrupted communion with him.

As Jesus approached His time of suffering and death on a cross, He knew that His Father was with Him through all of it, and that He had been given power to lay down His life for us, and to take it up again.

Thus, Jesus before His death could say that He had great hope and His soul was filled with joy, because He knew that His time in Abraham's bosom (or paradise) would be a short duration.

Hebrews 12:1-2  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Christ's joy connects with the joy He had before His death on the cross, foreseeing how vast numbers of sinners would be saved through gospel preaching in His name.

Thus, Christ is central in Psalm 16 and the response of David to this truth must also be our response.

We are to be encouraged by all the saints who walked before us until this present day.

They also lived in a cursed world beset by sinners and wickedness on all sides.

Therefore, we must run our faith race with patient endurance, day by day depending upon God for all things, and day by day seeking to bring honor and glory to our Lord.

Thus, Jesus endured the agony on the cross, and He rejected all the shame and vile insults heaped upon His name, because of the joy He foresaw of all those whom He would save!

Bob