Psalm 16, Boundary Lines & the Path of Life

A miktam of David.

The Hebrew word "miktam" is obscure.  Some Hebrew scholars suggest it means "covering" and that this would refer to one lips, in other words, a miktam might be a private, silent prayer.  Or this might be a musical term: a "covering" might refer to a metal covering for a cymbal or some type of drum.

Psalm 16: 1-3, No good thing apart from you

Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; 

apart from you I have no good thing."

As for the saints who are in the land, 

they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.

God and the Community of God are the delights of David. He has no value outside his connection to YHWH.

Psalm 16: 4, Others run after other gods

The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.  

I will not pour out their libations of blood 

or take up their names on my lips.

An Old Testament concept: David is committed to the one God, YAHWEH; David will not in any way associate with other gods or idols.  He will not pour out their blood drinks or mention their names.  This concept is foreign to us in the twenty-first century.  But then we have our own idols....

Psalm 16: 5-6, Pleasant boundary line

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; 

you have made my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Instead of "running after other gods", David is pleased that God's gifts.  The possessions given to him have been pleasant and delightful.  There is an implication of guidance and wisdom in these gifts.

Psalm 16: 7-10, You are set before me

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; 

even at night my heart instructs me.

I have set the LORD always before me. 

Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; 

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the grave, 

nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

God provides guidance, counsel, instruction.  Because of this guidance, David knows he is not abandoned.  Note the emphasis "even at night"!  Even when David is tired and weary, his "heart" instructs him, as part of God's counsel.

Verse 10, including the phrase "nor will you let your Holy One see decay", is quoted in the New Testament, in Acts 2:25-28 by Peter, with a Messianic view.  Peter equates the "Holy One" here with the Jewish Messiah, although the Hebrew would apparently allow that phrase to apply to a more generic "righteous one" like David.  Paul, with the New Testament interpretation of this verse, quotes it in an early sermon, in Acts 13:35, early in his first missionary journey, visiting a synagogue in southern Turkey.

Psalm 16: 11, Joy and eternal pleasures

You have made known to me the path of life; 

you will fill me with joy in your presence, 

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Again, the emphasis is on guidance and direction.  David has been able to see the "path of life" and following it, he has had joy in God's presence.

Some think that "following God" means denying all personal pleasures, but David, with genuine self-interest, is happy to follow God and in so doing, experience joy and pleasure.

Comparing this psalm with other Bible passages:

Compare verses 7-8 of Psalm 16 with Joshua's statement in Joshua 1:8-9.  Both passages have a decision and a promise.

Also look at the Shema, Deuteronomy 6: 4-9.  What does Moses say to meditate on?  And how often?