Psalm 16:1-11 Preserve me, O God: for in you do I put my trust.… This poem naturally falls into three strophes. 1. The writer's utterances to God, and God's people of his supreme delight in Jehovah (vers. 1-4). 2. The direct statement of the blessedness of such a lot (vers. 5-8). 3. The assurance that it would prevail over death and the grave (vers. 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 (vers. 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 (vers. 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.) Parallel Verses KJV: {Michtam of David.} Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. |
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