Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust.
Faith in the presence of God
This term suggests that the Psalm is one of strongly marked, incisive thought. It is a Psalm doubly notable--
1. Because it contains one of the brightest and most unhesitating expressions of faith in the presence of God, as extending through and beyond death, and preserving the life both of soul and body. It therefore stands in marked contrast with the desponding doubts of such passages as Psalms 88:1-18 --basing itself on the conviction, which our Lord declared to underlie the whole covenant, that “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
2. Because it is quoted most explicitly in the New Testament as a Messianic prophecy, an inspired utterance, which was no doubt in some degree applied by the Psalmist to himself as having unity with God, and therefore defying death, but which could be in its full meaning spoken of the Messiah alone (Acts 2:25-31; Acts 13:35). For in Him alone was the, unity with God to be perfect--so that He should be at once “the son of David,” and yet “God with us”--therefore in Him alone was it impossible that humanity could be “holden of death,” either in the “prison” of Hades (1 Peter 3:19) or the “corruption” of the grave. (Alfred Barry, D. D.)
Jehovah, the believer’s chief good
This poem naturally falls into three strophes.
1. The writer’s utterances to God, and God’s people of his supreme delight in Jehovah (Psalms 16:1-4).
2. The direct statement of the blessedness of such a lot (Psalms 16:5-8).
3. The assurance that it would prevail over death and the grave (Psalms 16:9-11). Cheyne says, the Psalmist assumes successively the tone of profession, of description, and of prophecy.
I. The profession. In view of the fluctuations and uncertainties of the world, the writer invokes God’s preserving care, for the reason that this is his habitual resort. He neither has nor wishes any other. But this absolute dependence on the Most High is very far from being servile or constrained. It is spontaneous and joyous. He knows no fountain of true happiness save Jehovah. The love of saints and the abhorrence of idolatrous apostates go together.
II. The description (Psalms 16:5-8). Here is an emphatic statement of the fact that nothing earthly, visible, material is what satisfies the Psalmist, but only Jehovah Himself. It is the Giver, not His gifts, that meets his wants. The happiness of such a condition is insisted on. In David’s eyes God is no abstraction, but a person real, living, walking by his side. Hence his abiding confidence. The whole utterance is one of strong triumphant faith.
III. The prophecy (Psalms 16:9-11). Here the description of the present passes into a forecast of the future. Some of the terms are peculiar. “Glory” probably means “tongue.” “Sheol” is the place of departed spirits. “Corruption” may mean “the pit.” The poet is taking a calm outlook upon death and the grave as they lie before every man in the natural course of events. Shall this be the end of his career? Nay, heart and flesh alike are safe. David will not be abandoned to the dismal shades, nor will his bodily frame perish irrecoverably. The Psalm as a whole is a remarkable exhibition of Old Testament piety. (Talbot W. Chambers, D. D.)
A good hope
The heading of this Psalm, and of Psalms 56:1-13; Psalms 57:1-11; Psalms 58:1-11; Psalms 59:1-17; Psalms 60:1-12, Michtam, may mean “Golden Psalm,” or “Sculpture Psalm,” this latter term indicating a Psalm of strong incisive thought. The Psalm seems, “by its tone of fresh, joyous confidence, to belong to the early part of David’s career.” It may have been written when David was in the wilderness of Ziph (1 Samuel 26:19). The Psalm may be used to illustrate the following points:
1. Only out of an experience of God’s gracious dealings can a full trust in God be gained. David had known God from his early shepherd life.
2. The uncertainty of all things on which men rely; men change or fail; riches take wings; of many possessions we tire, but trust in God never disappoints. He is the one satisfying good.
3. Those who have God at all must have Him for all in all. No idols must draw us away. Self-seeking and world-seeking pleasures may be our idols.
4. Keeping close to God is security for this world, and for the world to come. Really right is right with God, and whoever is really right is right forever. The joy we have in God, neither time, nor change, nor death can end. The following subjects are treated: Soul joy in God. Soul joy in the godly. Soul fear of the ungodly. Soul confidence in the present. Soul purpose to maintain the godly life. Soul assurance that God will maintain loving relations with the godly forever. (Robert Tuck, B. A.)
The good man’s plea
The Psalmist entreats Divine protection, rejoices in his religious privileges, and expresses unbounded confidence in God.
I. A good man’s cry for divine protection. Whether his peril arose from the idolatrous heathen or from domestic enemies, we cannot say; but it was sufficiently urgent to drive him to God for shelter. Is not this one of the chief uses of earthly trials?
II. A good man’s arguments for a divine response.
1. He pleads his faith in God.
2. He pleads his own moral value (Psalms 16:4-6). A holy exultation now thrills the Psalmist’s heart.
There are two sources of his joy.
1. The sight of the misery of idolaters.
2. The contemplation of his own blessedness. The figurative language of Psalms 16:6 is derived from the division of the land of Canaan amidst the tribes of Israel. Precious truths underlie it.
(1) The nature of his inheritance.
(2) The certainty of his inheritance.
(3) The pleasantness of his inheritance. (Robert Rollocks.)
The Divine preservation
The Psalmist will be “preserved”; he will not only be created. There is a cold deism which says, “Having been created, that is enough; the rest belongs to myself; I must attend to the details of life; creation may have been a Divine act, but all education, culture, “progress, preservation must fall under my own personal care.” The Psalmist begins in another tone. He opens his Psalm with the great word “preserve”--equal to, Attend to all my cares and wants; pity my feebleness; take hold of my right hand, and of my left hand, and be round about me, and never leave me for one moment to myself. That is true worship. Only a sense of the Divine nearness of that kind can adequately sustain a noble and growing religion. We need a daily prayer; we die for want of daily food; every morning must be a revelation in light, every night must be a revelation in rest. This is not a selfish preservation, a preservation from evil, or danger, or suffering only, but the kind of preservation that is necessary to growth. Who has not seen the guards round the trees, especially the little trees, the young growths, so that they may have a chance of taking hold of the earth, and lifting themselves up to the sun, and bringing out of themselves all the secret of the Divine purpose in their creation? A selfish preservation would be an impious desire, but the preservation being asked for as an opportunity of growth is a preservation for which the noblest souls may daily pray. It is, then, not enough to have been created; even that Divine act becomes deteriorated and spoiled, impoverished, utterly depleted of all ennobling purpose and inspiration, unless it be followed by continual husbandry or shepherdliness, nursing or culture--for the figure admits of every variety of change; the end being growth, strength, fruitfulness. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
The portrait of a God-trusting soul
Such soul is represented in two aspects.
I. His experience under the influence of the present. He has--
1. A profound consciousness of his dependence for safety and for good. “My goodness extendeth not to Thee.” That is, my happiness is not independent of Thee.
2. A delight in the fellowship of the good. “The saints, the excellent, in whom is all my delight.”
3. An abhorrence of the practices of the wicked. “Their drink offering of blood will I not offer.”
4. An exultation in the Lord as his portion.
5. A high satisfaction with providential arrangements. “The lines have fallen to me,” etc.
II. In reference to the future. He is--
1. Thankful. “I will bless the Lord.”
2. Thoughtful. “My reins also,” etc.
3. Calm. “I shall not be moved.”
4. Happy. “My heart is glad.”
5. Trustful. “My flesh also shall rest in hope”--
(i) Of restoration to life. “Thou wilt not leave,” etc.
(ii) Of happiness. “The path of life.”
(iii) Of fulness of joy in God’s presence. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The plea of our trustfulness
The first thing David does is to commend himself to the protection of God, as the God in whom he had placed his confidence. This is what all of us will do who are living under the influence of vital and experimental religion. If we be among the number of His people, we may confide in Him with our whole heart, for every communication of His grace, and for every exercise of His power, which our varied circumstances may require. This trust we will constantly repose in God, because He is constantly deserving of it, and because it is constantly demanded for our personal comfort and stability. It will be especially active and vigorous when we are exposed to those peculiar difficulties and dangers by which every Christian is beset in the course of his pilgrimage. We may not rest satisfied with a mere consciousness of unlimited reliance on God; we may give it free expression in the language of devout and fervent supplication. We have found in God an all-sufficient refuge. This Psalm intimates that he had taken the Lord to be his Lord; and it is impossible for any of us, who are acquainted with our duty and our interest, to make a better or a different choice. He is entitled to the supremacy over us in every respect in which that supremacy can be either exercised by Him or acknowledged by us. It is not only our duty, it is also our interest, to take the Lord for our Lord. In this dedication of ourselves to God it is necessary that the heart be really and chiefly concerned. It is the soul that must say to Him, “Thou art my Lord” Aware of our aptness to forget what we have resolved and promised in reference to God, we must frequently remind our souls, as it were, of the ties by which they are voluntarily and solemnly bound to Him, and of the consequent obligations which they have to fulfil. We are not our own, but His. We cannot be too careful to prevent this impression from being impaired Another evil is to be guarded against the Pharisaical idea is apt to steal upon us, that we have something to boast of, that our labours may be beneficial to Him to whom they are rendered, and that on account of these we are entitled to His favour and protection. There cannot be a greater or more pernicious mistake. While our goodness extendeth not to God, so as that it can be useful to Him or meritorious in His sight, the Psalmist says, “It extendeth to the saints that are in the earth.” There are saints in the earth. But their holiness has much imperfection mixed with it, and comes far short of what the Divine law requires of them. It exists in their principles, in their desires, in their endeavours, and in their actual acquirements. Being thus “saints,” they are “excellent.” God is the standard of excellence, and they are like God. The Psalmist not only asserts the excellence of the saints, but declares that in them was “all his delight.” And such will be the case with us if our minds are actuated and governed by right sentiments. We shall delight in God as the centre of all perfection, and as the fountain of all good. We shall delight in such of His creatures as are entitled to our complacency from the resemblance which they bear to Him. It is to the saints, who are thus excellent, and in whom we take delight, that our goodness extends; we do them good according to our ability. Between them and us there is a spiritual and intimate relationship. And we are especially careful to let our goodness extend to them when they are suffering persecution on account of their marked separation from the world, and their faithful adherence to the cause of truth and duty. (A. Thomson, D. D.)