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Psalms 16

KJV · Chapter 16/150

1Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.

2O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

3But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

4Their 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.

5The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

6The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

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

8I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

10For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

11Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

David expresses complete trust in the Lord as his inheritance and portion, declaring that God will not abandon him to the grave and that in His presence there is eternal joy and pleasure.

Explanation

This psalm is called a 'Michtam' in its original title, a term of uncertain meaning, possibly linked to an inscription or a precious poem. The high point of the text is the statement that God 'will not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption' — words that the book of Acts (2:25-31) applies to the resurrection of Jesus, showing how the early Christians saw greater prophetic echoes in David's psalms. For today's reader, the psalm is an invitation to find identity and security not in possessions or territory, but in a relationship with God as the 'portion' of one's own life.

Fun facts

  • This psalm is quoted directly by Peter in his first sermon (Acts 2:25-31) and by Paul (Acts 13:35) as a reference to the resurrection of Jesus, making it one of the Old Testament texts most used in that sense.
  • The expression 'the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places' (v.6) uses the image of measuring land with cords in the distribution of inheritances in Israel — the same practice described in Joshua 13-19.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Psalms 16:1The psalm opens with a simple request for protection, resting only on trust: he claims no merit, only the fact that he trusts in God.
  2. Psalms 16:2It's a declaration of total dependence: he acknowledges God as Lord and admits that no good he himself does exists apart from this relationship with God.
  3. Psalms 16:3It says where his true delight lies: not in idols or other gods, but in the company of the faithful people living around him.
  4. Psalms 16:4Drink offerings of blood refers to rituals of other peoples who offered blood to their gods; refusing to take up their names on his lips means not even pronouncing the name of those foreign gods, a total refusal of any worship other than to the Lord.
  5. Psalms 16:5Unlike those who measured wealth by inherited land, he says his inheritance is God Himself — the source sustaining everything allotted to him in life.
  6. Psalms 16:6Lines refers to the cords used to measure and mark out land when dividing territory among the families of Israel. Saying that the lines fell in pleasant places means he received an excellent portion of inheritance, a metaphor for good fortune in life.
  7. Psalms 16:7He gives thanks for God's counsel, which reaches him even at night, in the stillness, when his deepest thoughts — the kidneys, as the Hebrews called the conscience — keep on instructing him.
  8. Psalms 16:8It describes a deliberate choice to keep God always in mind, like someone at his right hand, the position of one who supports and gives him firmness so he will not be shaken.
  9. Psalms 16:9Trust in God doesn't stay only in the inner self: it gladdens the heart and reaches even the body, which rests securely even in the face of danger.
  10. Psalms 16:10Here hell again translates Sheol, the realm of the dead. In its original sense it's David's hope of not dying before his time; later, in Acts 2, this verse is read as prophecy about the resurrection of Jesus, a reading that goes beyond what David likely had in mind when he wrote it.
  11. Psalms 16:11The psalm closes with an image of fullness: being in God's presence is described as the very path of life, with abundant joy and pleasures that never end.

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