The Lord Will

Psalms

Psalm 16

KJV

1

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

2

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.

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.

5

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.

7

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

8

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

9

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.

Overview

Psalm 16 is a song of refuge and settled loyalty to God. It moves from a plea for preservation through delight in the faithful, rejection of rival worship, and confession that the LORD is portion, inheritance, counselor, and secure presence. The closing movement joins whole-person joy with hope beyond Sheol and culminates in the path of life and fullness of joy in God’s presence.

Setting and context

The superscription calls Psalm 16 a “Miktam of David.” The precise meaning of “Miktam” is uncertain, so it should not be assigned a confident technical definition. The psalm uses inheritance, worship, counsel, right-hand, Sheol, and path-of-life imagery to describe refuge and covenant loyalty. In Christian canonical reception, Acts 2:25–32 and Acts 13:35–37 apply Psalm 16:10 to Jesus’ resurrection; that later Christological use should be stated clearly without pretending that every detail of the psalm has only one historical horizon.

Themes

Refuge and preservation in God · Exclusive loyalty without coercion · Delight in the faithful community · The LORD as portion and inheritance · Counsel, practiced presence, and stability · Whole-person joy and bodily hope · Hope beyond Sheol and Christian resurrection reception · The path of life and joy in God’s presence

Reflection

Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering.

Reading notes

Refuge and preservation in God The LORD as portion and inheritance The path of life and joy in God’s presence

Key passages

Psalm 16:1: The plea “Preserve me” makes refuge in God the starting point: dependence, not self-protection, grounds the psalmist’s confidence. Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering. Psalm 16:2: The confession that the LORD is Lord and the source of good expresses exclusive dependence on God; translation traditions phrase the final clause differently, so no single English wording should be overpressed. Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering. Psalm 16:3: Delight in the “saints” or “excellent” of the land honors faithful people without creating a spiritual caste or inviting their worship. Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering. Psalm 16:4: The multiplying sorrows attached to rival gods lead the speaker to refuse their libations and names in worship; the verse is about covenant loyalty, not permission to persecute or coerce people of other religions. Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering. Psalm 16:5: Calling the LORD the psalmist’s portion and cup uses inheritance imagery to say that God himself is the defining good and security of the speaker’s life. Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering. Psalm 16:6: The boundary lines falling in pleasant places portray a welcomed inheritance; they should not be converted into a modern territorial entitlement or political land claim. Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering. Psalm 16:7: Blessing the LORD for counsel, including inward instruction at night, describes moral and spiritual formation; it does not guarantee infallible private revelations, dreams, or impulses. Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering. Psalm 16:8: Setting the LORD always before oneself and having him at the right hand expresses practiced trust and stability, not a promise that faithful people cannot suffer, fail, or be displaced. Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering. Psalm 16:9: Heart, glory, and flesh rejoicing together portray whole-person hope; resting in hope does not require denying grief, fear, illness, or mortality. Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering. Psalm 16:10: Confidence that God will not abandon the speaker to Sheol or let the “holy one” see corruption carries hope beyond death; Sheol should not simply be equated with every later concept of hell, and Acts 2 and 13 give verse 10 a specifically Christological resurrection reading. Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering. Psalm 16:11: God makes known the path of life, fullness of joy in his presence, and enduring pleasures at his right hand; this is communion with God, not a prosperity formula or promise of constant pleasant emotion. Let this verse deepen refuge and loyalty to God without turning poetic confidence into a guarantee of comfort, superiority, or immunity from suffering.

Questions readers ask

What does “Miktam” mean in the title of Psalm 16? Its precise meaning is uncertain. It is best retained as a traditional superscription term rather than given a confident definition that the text itself does not establish. Does Psalm 16:10 refer to David or to Jesus? Within the psalm it belongs to the speaker’s confidence that God will not abandon him to Sheol or corruption. In the New Testament, Peter and Paul explicitly use the verse in Acts 2 and Acts 13 as a witness to Jesus’ resurrection, giving it a distinct Christian canonical fulfillment. Does “I shall not be moved” mean believers will always be safe and successful? No. The phrase expresses stability grounded in God’s presence. It does not promise immunity from suffering, displacement, illness, failure, or death.