Psalm 16
A footnote in the NIV says about the title miktam: "Probably a literary or musical term," thus avoiding taking position as to the meaning of the word. Strong's Concordance defines miktâm as "an engraving, i.e. … a poem."
Adam Clarke's Commentary says about the title: "The title of this Psalm in the Hebrew is Miktaam lª-Daawid; which the Chaldee translates, 'A straight sculpture of David.' The Septuagint, Stelographia to Dauid, 'The inscription on a pillar to David;' as if the Psalm had been inscribed on a pillar, to keep it in remembrance. As kaatham signifies to engrave or stamp, this has given rise to the above inscription. Miktaam also means pure or stamped gold; and hence, it has been supposed that this title was given to it on account of its excellence: a golden Psalm, or a Psalm worthy to be written in letters of gold, as some of the verses of Pythagoras were called the golden verses, because of their excellence. Gold being the most excellent and precious of all metals, it has been used to express metaphorically excellence and perfection of every kind. Thus a golden tongue or mouth, the most excellent eloquence; so Chrysostom means, this eminent man having had his name from his eloquence;-- a golden book, one of the choicest and most valuable of its kind, etc." Clarke concludes by saying: "But I have already sufficiently expressed my doubts concerning the meanings given to these titles." The Amplified Bible renders this title as: "A poem by David intended to record memorable thoughts." Evidently the word is difficult to translate, and, throughout the ages, a large variety of interpretations has been given in commentaries. A Dutch translation uses a word1 which can be translated as "a precious object, such as a diamond, pearl; body ornament; something precious; something of great value."
Running ahead of ourselves, we may say that the above translation of the title is, undoubtedly, fitting, since the psalm contains a prophecy regarding the resurrection of Christ. There are two places in the book of Acts where this psalm is quoted: One by Peter: ("David said about him: 'I saw 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 live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence,' ")2 and one by Paul: ("So it is stated elsewhere: 'You will not let your Holy One see decay' ").3
The opening verse contains a suggestion of a struggle between the realization of faith and the spiritual reality which is the object of this faith. If it is true that we take refuge by God, it is almost a foregone conclusion that God would keep us safe. The contradiction of the two parts of this phrase are indicative of the tension which is common to our faith. Only our Lord Jesus Christ had a faith that knew no doubt. Yet, it was the Holy Spirit who put these words in David's mouth.
The opening words of this psalm are the opposite of those of Psalm 12, which begins with: "Help, LORD, for the godly are no more." Here David concentrates upon the positive aspect of God's protection, which is the intimacy of fellowship with God as a person. This fellowship begins with taking refuge in God. As we have seen before, fleeing to God is a reaction of the soul upon the realization of the dangers that surround us in this hostile world. When we flee to God and take refuge in Him, we give up our right to protect and defend ourselves. Fleeing to God means surrender to Him.
According to the second verse, it also means a confession: "I said to the LORD, 'You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.' " In English the word Lord may be written in two different ways, but it sounds the same. The Hebrew says: "I said to Yahweh: 'you are my Adonai.' " In the use of these words David expresses God's right to rule the life of men. YHWH, that is the I AM WHO I AM, is the Lord, the Master. This confession is the foundation of the joy of fellowship, which is the theme of this psalm. This confession is not forced out of David, it is voluntary. God does not impose His will upon us; but if we give ourselves to God so that He can do with us what He wants, He will give Himself to us in return.
"You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing," is one of the most delightful statements in the Bible. It speaks, first of all of possession; "I have" expresses possession. The miracle is that a man, who gives all to God, discovers that he possesses all. This is satisfaction to the highest degree. Elsewhere in the psalms the poet says: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you."4
The book of Ecclesiastes tells us several times that it is only by God's grace that we enjoy things on earth. "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?"5 There is no real enjoyment for men on earth, if God is not the essence of his enjoyment.
The phrase: "apart from you I have no good thing," also speaks of a decision David made. This is what he wants. He has decided not to take pleasure in anything, or enjoy anything, unless God is at the center of it. This decision is at the basis of the psalm; it is the rock upon which he stands. This limits the number of things he can enjoy, but at the same time it opens up some wide perspectives; for he finds himself immediately among a large group of people with whom he can have a fellowship of faith. We would conclude this from the following statement: "As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight." It seems, however, that this section is rather unclear in Hebrew and very hard to translate. The KJV is especially vague at this point with its rendering: "O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight." According to a footnote in the RSV the translation is based upon Jerome. TLB says: "I want the company of the godly men and women in the land; they are the true nobility." The Word Biblical Commentary translates the phrase with: "(You have said) to the holy ones who are in the land: 'They are my mighty ones! All my pleasure is in them.' " The Commentary explains: "The psalmist recalls the words of an acquaintance (or a typical fellow citizen of his time), which in one sense represent temptation and in another sense represent something abhorrent to the psalmist. The acquaintance is a syncretist, wanting the best of two worlds: he vocalizes the appropriate words to God–'You are my master!'–but his faith has an elastic quality, so that he can also trip off his tongue the appropriate words to the foreign deities (the 'holy ones')–'they are the mighty ones!' The acquaintance represents temptation, for he appears to have double protection in a time of crisis; he represents something to be abhorred, for his words are clearly in contravention of the first commandment."
Sin brought about a separation between man and God, as well as between men and men. When fellowship with God is restored, brotherly love is also reactivated. This love will increase as love for God will become more intense. When the Holy Spirit came upon the Christians at Pentecost, the hearts of men were fused together in deep brotherly love. We see again that the love for God is closely linked to love for our fellowmen. If we have no good thing apart from the Lord, all our delight will also be in the saints who are in the land, that is in our brothers and sisters in Christ.
David does not only call the believers "saints" but he also sees them, with prophetic eyes, as people who possess divine glory. This indicates that David sees men as God sees them. This is not the usual way in which one man looks at another. C. S. Lewis once remarked in a sermon, that if we could see our neighbor as he would be one hundred years hence, we would either see them radiate with the glory of God, or we would draw back in horror before the image of God that disintegrated completely before our eyes. The key to the love of our neighbor is the recognition of the image of God in him and the forward projection of what that image will look like in glory.
Spurgeon bases a rather lengthy commentary upon vs. 2 and 3 in the KJV ("O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight") which, in my opinion, gives a wrong rendering of the text: he places the words in the mouth of Christ, and he says that His death and resurrection do, in no way, affect the being of God, and are only meant for the believers and their salvation. Besides the fact that the basis for this interpretation is not too solid, this application seems to be far-fetched. The NIV has a footnote on vs. 3 that says: "As for the pagan priests who are in the land, and the nobles in whom all delight, I said: ..." this is given as an alternate translation. Evidently, the Hebrew text we have available to us makes it hard for any commentator to come up with a sound rendering. I hold on to "the saints who are in the land....."
On the basis of vs. 4 some commentators believe that David was abroad, as when he fled from Saul and found safety in the land of the Philistines; and that from this position he condemned the idolatry that was being committed in his homeland. When we read vs. 5, however, we get the impression that David was in the promised land and that he expressed gratitude for the land God had given to his ancestors.
The difference between the worship of idols and the service of YHWH is in one's motives. A man worships God because of His love, salvation, and redemption. An idol is something to be feared and appeased. Idolatry is a form of self-defense. Paul even denies the reality of idols, as we know them. He says: "We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords'), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."6 Inasmuch as idols reveal themselves to men, they are demons in disguise. Serving an idol is a form of defense against fear of the devil. It is hard to appease Satan. He is a liar and murderer of men, and his bloodthirstiness knows no bounds. When David says: "I will not pour out their libations of blood," he probably speaks of human sacrifices that are brought to those idols. We do not know what kind of sacrifices were brought during the reign of Saul. David must have been aware, however, of the practices of the Canaanites and he pledges never to get involved with such practices. The Jews had imposed upon themselves the practice never to pronounce the Name of YHWH, for fear of trespassing against the Third Commandment: "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."7 David makes the same pledge as far as the names of other gods is concerned, with this difference that God's Name was too holy to be taken upon man's tongue, and the names of idols were too vile.
In vs. 5 David calls God: "The portion of my inheritance." TLB translates it with: "The Lord himself is my inheritance, my prize." The NIV says: "LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup." The Lord has not only given him his inheritance, He is David's inheritance. This is the same as what is said in vs. 2 "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." The portion of David's inheritance is the part of the promised land which was assigned to each Israelite. David expresses the truth that, although the Israelites were in the habit of speaking of God's blessing in terms of material prosperity, the two were not identical. The essence of every blessing is God Himself. The land of Canaan was an symbol, for the Jew also, of the real possession that awaited him in the future. It is said of Abraham in his wanderings: "He was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."8
The term "my cup" is found several times in the Old Testament. TLB paraphrases the verse with: "He is my food and drink, my highest joy!" The image is, of course, a cup of wine. "God is my glass of wine," would be an acceptable translation, but it would raise some eyebrows among Evangelical Christians. In a world of teetotalers, in which we move, the image has lost its meaning. If one has strong objections against the use of wine, the picture of a glass of wine that provides joy and gladness, as an expression of the joy of fellowship with God, cannot be used in certain circles. Yet the Bible speaks unabashedly about "wine that gladdens the heart of man."9 This constitutes, in my opinion, no plea for the use of alcohol, but it may indicate that the average Jew was able to control himself better than the twentieth century man. It is also true that the New Testament does not forbid the use of wine, but warns against drunkenness. Paul writes to the Ephesians: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."10 Real joy is in the Holy Spirit, all else is substitution, "ersatz." Jesus says the same thing to His disciples in His last words before His death: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."11 And David says, earlier in the psalms: "You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound."12
David, himself, had not been present at the dividing up of the land of Canaan; he was born five hundred years too late for that. He demonstrates a deep spiritual insight in that he understands the meaning of the history of his country so clearly. The fact that he was born and reared in the land God had promised to His ancestors had never become common to him. This, again, shows how intimate his fellowship with God was.
He also demonstrates the awareness that earthly possession is only an image of a heavenly reality. It is David who introduced the name Zion in the Bible as a picture of heaven itself. He looks around and lets his gaze linger over the hills, the trees, and the fields and he says to himself: "This is the way I will enjoy heaven, and I will be satisfied." As New Testament Christians we do well to look forward to our "inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for us."13 We lose something of the enjoyment of the good things in life, however, if we cannot see things around us as images of life in heaven.
In vs. 7 the psalm changes from a prayer to a testimony. Here, David no longer addresses God personally, but he speaks to others about God. In retrospect, this testimony turns out to be a prophecy about the Lord Jesus Christ and His resurrection. This is clear from some quotations of this psalm in the book of Acts. Peter says at the day of Pentecost: "David said about him: 'I saw 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 live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.' "14 And Paul, speaking in the synagogue of Antioch in Asia Minor, quotes the psalm as a proof of Christ's resurrection. He says: "So it is stated elsewhere: 'You will not let your Holy One see decay.' "15
David begins with praise; from there he moves on to fellowship, and via the resurrection from the dead, to everlasting glory. The praise is based on God's guidance in his life, not by outward circumstances, but by an inner voice. He says: "even at night my heart instructs me." The KJV gives the literal translation: "my reins also instruct me in the night seasons." The "reins" or kidneys were considered to be the seat of emotions by the Old Testament Jew. There is no point in arguing, of course, which of our bodily organs harbors our emotions. The brain is the most likely candidate, but Europeans speak affectionately about the heart and Asians about the liver. More important is the fact that God counsels David on a twenty-four hour basis. "Even at night my heart instructs me." Even when consciousness fades away, the Lord keeps on speaking and guiding.
It is generally understood that the main difference between believers of the Old Testament and the New lies in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, which was intermittent and temporal in the Old Testament and is permanent in the New. David speaks here prophetically over a New Testament condition in which the Holy Spirit takes control of man's life in a permanent way. In the same way as Peter, rather humorously, could say: "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day,"16 so can we say, without hesitation, that there were episodes in David's life during which he did not experience God's presence in a real way. David's words, here, go far beyond his personal experience. Like his prophecy about the resurrection of our Lord, so are his words here, first of all, applicable to our Lord Jesus Christ, and, consequently, to those who are in Christ Jesus.
The presence of the Holy Spirit in a person is both a conscious as well as an unconscious experience. There is this nocturnal activity of the Spirit over which we have no control; and there is the purposely "setting the Lord before us," which is focusing, and training our eyes upon Him in order to see Him more clearly. This fellowship between the Holy Spirit and the believer will protect us from being shaken.
In Peter's quotation of the psalm we read: "I saw the Lord always before me." Peter, probably, quotes from the Septuagint. The Hebrew puts more human activity into the experience by saying: "I have set the LORD always before me." It is true, of course, that God is always present, whether we see Him or not. The point David makes in this verse is not the omnipresence of God, but our realization of God's presence. David draws two conclusions from his awareness of God's presence: one for his spiritual well-being, and one for his physical health. The main stress, however, is upon the physical aspect. This corresponds to the testimony of Peter and Paul, who emphasize that these words apply to the resurrection of the body: Christ's body in the first place, and ours also.
David, then, is overcome by ecstatic joy; the joy of the Holy Spirit about the redemption of creation culminates in the resurrection of the body. We ought to take more time to rejoice in this prospect, our present daily joy of living would then increase also.
David cannot have known the full implication of his prophecy. Peter's words regarding the searching of the Old Testament prophets for the content of the truths they proclaimed, apply to David also: "Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow."17 From this quote it is clear that the essence of the grace David prophesied about is meant for the New Testament Christians. All the Old Testament prophets received was a foretaste of the joy to come. For us who know the fact of Christ's resurrection reality has come already. If David, with the little he knew, could say: "Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices," how much more can we experience this joy.
"My body also will rest secure," or, as the KJV renders it: "My flesh also shall rest in hope," pertains both to the future and the present. The Holy Spirit, who raised Jesus from the dead, will raise us also after we die. Paul says in his epistle to the Romans: "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."18 Nothing can go wrong with our bodies; and if something seems to go wrong with us physically, it is only temporal. We have been guaranteed a glorified body for all eternity.
Two different words are used for, what is translated by the NIV as "grave," and "decay." The RSV gives us the following translation: "For thou dost not give me up to Sheol, or let thy godly one see the Pit." TLB says: "For you will not leave me among the dead; you will not allow your beloved one to rot in the grave," and the KJV translates the verse with: "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." The Hebrew words are she,ôl, which is left untranslated in the English text, and shachath, which is derived from the word shûwach, meaning to sink, and which is defined by Strong's as "a pit, fig. destruction, corruption, etc." In Peter's quote of the verse, using the Septuagint, we read: "Because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay," which corresponds to the rendering of the NIV. The grave, or "Sheol," probably, contains a reference to the power of death over the human soul, and the "pit" about the decomposition of the body. Jesus uses the picture of "worm" and "fire" in His description of hell. He calls it the place "where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched."19 The fires of hell have the power to torture man, because his soul is corrupted by "their worm." When Jesus entered the kingdom of death, His soul was untainted by sin; there was no "worm" in Him, and, consequently, the fire did not touch Him. Jesus conquered death, because the devil had no foothold in His soul. Our body will rise in the end because the Holy Spirit indwells us.
If this prophecy was fulfilled for Jesus in a literal sense, it meant that no decomposition even started in His body during the approximately thirty-six hours in which He lay in the grave. That is a miracle in itself; but in the light of the miracle of the resurrection, this is only a small detail.
The phrase: "You have made known to me the path of life," says more than only that Jesus would rise from the dead and that a resurrection exists. The point is that the resurrection from the dead has consequences, not only for our body, but also our life. If death is not the end of life, but there is a resurrection, then this fact will influence also life before death. Death alone robs life of its meaning; resurrection imparts life with content and quality. That is "the path of life" which leads to resurrection and glory. "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day."20
God's presence and His right hand, which are mentioned in the last verse, are not only realities we will see when we arrive in heaven, but they are also the means by which God guides us through life while we are still on the way. When David says: "You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand," he indicates that the trade mark of our life on earth ought to be joy. In our fellowship with God on earth "fullness of joy" will not only be the music of the future but also of the present. God has an eternal balance of joy stored up for us in heaven and we are allowed to borrow from this as much as we need while still on earth; the balance will never diminish.
There is, of course, a difference between the more or less limited kind of fellowship we experience with God while we are here on earth, living in a mortal body, and the boundless fellowship we will have with Him in our resurrection body; but it is not a difference of principle. The God we will see then is the same one who reveals Himself to us now. We will change, but He changes not. There is, therefore, no reason that we would not get a good foretaste, while still on earth, of the joy and eternal pleasures of which we will drink with full draughts in eternity. The least we can do is rejoice in the hope; that is realistic.
The "eternal pleasures" are the pleasures of love, as part of a fellowship with God. The psalmist says: "How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!" The word lovely is related to love and so is pleasure. Love creates an atmosphere and it adds a glow to its surrounding. That is the atmosphere of the resurrection.