Psalm 16

Introduction.—Ps. 16 is an expression of complete happiness such as springs from complete submission to God. The psalmist progresses from the thought of God as his sole protector to a declaration of faith in life everlasting, a declaration rarely so clearly expressed in the OT. The last verses of the psalm have Messianic import. Six fairly regular stanzas make up the structure of the poem. Some suggest as a special occasion for the background of the psalm, the experience recorded in 1 Sam. 26:19, but this is only speculation. On the Davidic authorship of the psalm see Acts 2:25; cf. AA 227.

On the superscription see pp. 616, 627.

1. Preserve me. The psalm begins with an earnest, trustful prayer. The psalmist is not crying for help in time of danger. He simply prays for continued care.

Put my trust. Or, “take refuge.”

2. O my soul. The phrase does not appear in the Hebrew. It is inserted because in the Hebrew the verb for “thou hast said” is feminine. If the verb form is correct, “feminine of address” must be understood. However, several Hebrew manuscripts, supported by the LXX, have the verb in the first person, thus permitting the simple translation, “I said to the Lord,” etc.

My Lord. The Hebrew word used here is not Yahweh, but ХAdonai, “my Master” (see Vol. I, p. 35).

My goodness extendeth not to thee. Literally, “my good not upon thee.” The meaning of the Hebrew phrase thus translated is not clear. The RSV translation, “I have no good apart from thee,” is based on the interpretive translation of the Targums and Jerome. Perhaps the psalmist meant, “God is the source of all my good, and therefore the only object of my trust and devotion.”

3. Saints. Heb. qedoshim, literally, “holy ones.” Holiness is godlikeness (see Lev. 19:2). God’s people, obedient to His law and wearing the robe of Christ’s righteousness, should rejoice that God calls them His saints. David takes delight in associating with the saints. They are God’s excellent men—God’s true nobility. Love to God is the surest bond of unity among God’s people (see Ps. 55:14; 133).

4. Sorrows. Those who choose another god than Jehovah will have continued sorrow, whereas the psalmist receives only good from the one true God.

Drink offerings of blood. Whereas wine was used as a “drink offering” in the worship of Jehovah (Ex. 29:40; Num. 15:5, 7), this phrase seems to imply that the blood of animals was used for a similar purpose by the heathen. To the Hebrew this was a repulsive idea (see Gen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; 7:26). David would have no part whatsoever in the worship of heathen gods. He would not even soil his lips by mentioning their names.

5. Inheritance. Compare Num. 18:20. In the same manner that God was the inheritance of Levi rather than land, when the land of Canaan was allotted to the tribes, so the psalmist maintains that God is his inheritance. Well may the Christian thus place his trust in God. Let our prayer be: “None on earth but Thee.”

My cup. My lot or condition in life (see Ps. 11:6). In Ugaritic literature (see p. 618) “cup” has the meaning “fate,” or “destiny.” The psalmist’s thirst finds satisfaction only in God.

Maintainest. Probably from the Heb. tamak, “to hold fast.”

My lot. Compare Num. 26:55. The psalmist may have had in mind the apportioning of the land of Canaan by lot.

6. Lines. Heb. chabalim, “lengths of rope for measuring and allotting a field.” Since God had chosen the psalmist’s portion, it was the choicest.

Goodly heritage. The “inheritance” of v. 5. This realization causes the psalmist to break out into the thanksgiving of the following verses.

7. Reins. See on Ps. 7:9. The inmost feelings tell of God.

In the night. In the quiet of the night God speaks to man’s heart with peculiar sweetness (see Ps. 4:4).

8. I have set. Peter interprets vs. 8–10 and Paul v. 10 as prophetic of the resurrection of Christ in the flesh (Acts 2:25–31; 13:35–37). As such, this part of the psalm is definitely Messianic. In Christ’s deliverance from the tomb and in His resurrection the full meaning of these verses became clear. On the resurrection of Jesus, see Luke 24:39; John 20:27.

Always before me. In David’s eyes, God was no mere abstraction, but a Person actually at his side. Enoch walked with God (Gen. 5:22; see 5T 596; 8T 329–331). Moses kept a vision of God before him (see 5T 652). We need a consciousness of the constant presence of God. Not only will a sense of God’s presence be a deterrent to sinning, but it will gladden the heart, brighten the life, and give meaning to circumstances.

At my right hand. The phrase, applied both to man and to God, is especially common in Psalms. The position is one of honor and dignity, defense and protection. Here the latter is intended.

Shall not be moved. See Ps. 15:5. The Christian may well rejoice because he is standing on the Rock of Ages.

9. Glory. Heb. kabod, “honor,” “reputation.” The LXX reads “tongue,” which is also the reading of Acts 2:26. David is the most exuberant of singers. Every fiber of his being praises God. His life on earth is a foretaste of his life to come, in heaven. “The melody of praise is the atmosphere of heaven” (Ed 161).

Rest. Heb.shakan, “settle down,” “dwell,” “settle down to abide.”

10. Leave. Heb. Фazab, “abandon.” The sentence reads literally, “Thou wilt not abandon my soul to sheХol.”

Soul. Heb.nephesh, a word occurring 755 times in the OT, 144 times in the psalms, most frequently translated “soul.” This translation is unfortunate, for “soul” conveys to many English readers ideas that do not properly belong to nephesh. A brief analysis of the Hebrew word will help to clarify what the Bible writers meant when they used this word.

Nephesh comes from the root naphash, a verb occurring only three times in the OT (Ex. 23:12; 31:17; 2 Sam. 16:14), each time meaning “to revive oneself” or “to refresh oneself.” The verb seems to go back to the basic meaning of breathing.

A definition for nephesh may be derived from the Bible account of the creation of man (Gen. 2:7). The record declares that when God gave life to the body He had formed, the man literally “became a soul of life.” The “soul” had not previously existed, but came into existence at the creation of Adam. A new soul comes into existence every time a child is born. Each birth represents a new unit of life uniquely different and separate from other similar units. The new unit can never merge into another unit. It will always be itself. There may be countless individuals like it but none that is actually that unit. This uniqueness of individuality seems to be the idea emphasized in the Hebrew term nephesh.

Nephesh is applied not only to men but also to animals. The clause, “let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life” (Gen. 1:20), is literally, “let the waters swarm swarms of souls of life [individuals of life].” Beasts and fowl are called “living creatures” literally, “souls of life,” better, “individuals of life” (Gen. 2:19). Hence animals as well as human beings are “souls.”

This basic idea of “soul” being the individual rather than a constituent part of the individual, seems to underlie the various occurrences of nephesh. It is therefore better to say a certain person or a certain animal is a soul than to say he or it has a soul.

From the basic idea of a nephesh being an individual, or a person, springs the idiomatic use of nephesh for the personal pronoun. Expressions like “my soul” are idiomatic for “I,” “me”; “thy soul” for “you”; “their soul” for “they,” “them.”

Since each new nephesh represents a new unit of life, nephesh is often used synonymously with “life”. In 119 instances the KJV translates nephesh by “life,” and there are other instances where “life” would have been a more accurate translation (see on 1 Kings 17:21).

The majority of the occurrences of nephesh may be appropriately translated by “person,” “individual,” “life,” or by the appropriate personal pronoun. “The souls that they had gotten in Haran” (Gen. 12:5) is simply “the persons that they had gotten in Haran.” “My soul shall live because of thee” (Gen. 12:13) is simply, “I shall live because of thee.” “That soul shall be cut off” (Lev. 19:8) is simply, “he shall be cut off.”

Hell. Heb.sheХol, the figurative dwelling place of the dead, where those who have departed from this life are represented as sleeping together (see on Prov. 15:11). See the fulfillment of this prediction in the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:25–31). On principles of OT prophetic interpretation, see on Deut. 18:15.

Holy One. Heb. chasid, frequently translated “saint” (see Ps. 30:4; 31:23; 50:5; 79:2; etc.; see Additional Note on Ps. 36).

Corruption. Heb. shachath. “Pit,” as the word is frequently translated (Job 33:18, 24, 28, 30; etc.); shachath is also translated “ditch” (Job 9:31), “corruption” (Job 17:14), “grave” (Job 33:22), “destruction” (Ps. 55:23).

11. Shew me. Literally, “cause me to know.”

Path of life. The path that leads to life.

Fulness of joy. Enough and more than enough to satisfy God’s child (see Eph. 3:20).

At thy right hand. Or, “in Thy right [hand].” God’s hand is full, ready to bestow eternal pleasures upon His child. This store of pleasure will never be exhausted. It is coeternal with the Infinite (see 1 Cor. 2:9; GC 674–678; Ed 301–309).

This psalm is a beautiful expression of the soul’s choice of God, its delight in Him, its repudiation of other gods, its comfort in the lot that God assigns, and its calm assurance of His help now and forever.

Ellen G. White comments

4 GC 310

6 ML 359

8 CH 424; GW 258, 417; MH 510; SC 74

7T 213

8, 9 ML 153

9, 10 AA 227

11 AH 513; ML 5, 32, 211, 292, 349; 2T 480