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Meditations on Psalm 16

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

I have spent a lot of time over the last couple of weeks working on memorizing this Psalm. I am finding memorization to be a great tool for meditation and wanted to share some thoughts from my time with this psalm.

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
One of my favorite quotes is this: Put all of your eggs in one basket and guard that basket. This is what David is doing with his salvation. Preserve me, God, because I have placed all of my hope in you and you alone. God, if you don't come through for me, I am utterly doomed. Praise God that He always comes through for us!

I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from You."
I thought about this verse a lot. God revealed a lot of areas in my life in which I don't acknowledge the last part of this verse. It is so easy for me to take credit for wisdom or strength or fitness or any number of other things. However, the reality is that I have no good apart from God. I don't think any good thoughts. I don't say any good things. I don't do any good deeds. It is only because of Christ that my Heavenly Father sees good in me.

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
Even David took encouragement from fellow believers. He praised God for their character and glorified God by calling them excellent because their excellence is from God.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; You hold my lot.
I really like this verse. I think of the Levites whose inheritance was the Lord. As Christians, we all get to say the same thing. We don't just get Heaven or freedom from sin or the end of suffering. We get Jesus. Not only is Jesus waiting for us, but He lives for us, in us, and through us. He has us in His hands. He is in control of our health, our finances, our bodies, our relationships, and everything else. He holds our lot. He is able to care for all of us and meet our needs because He is so great. He gives us each the measure of our faith and works in and through us all uniquely and amazingly. What love!

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
This verse continues the idea of our inheritance, our portion. David is saying that no matter what comes in this life, his inheritance is lovely and his lot is wonderful. He has embraced everything that will come his way as we all should strive to do.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
God gives us counsel. He gives us His Word which holds all of the answers we seek. He is alive in our hearts and speaks to us even when we are far from our Bible. Even in the middle of the night, God will still speak to our hearts because He loves us.

I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
How do we set the Lord always before us? It surely isn't by moving Him. This verse makes me think of a compass and Jesus being due North. No matter which direction we turn, North doesn't change. It is fixed just as Jesus is fixed. His standard is immovable and unshakable. We put the Lord ever before us by setting our course after Christ's and following Him in all things. Notice that as we do so, we find Jesus at our right hand walking with us and keeping us steady and confident.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

When I think of this verse, I think of Jesus. Jesus calls Himself the way, the truth, and the life. God has made known to us Jesus Christ. He took on flesh. He bore our sins on the Cross. He rose again and lives to make intercessions for us. He will come again to call all of God's children to eternity in Heaven. Jesus is the path of life. He is life itself.

In the presence of God exists joy in its purest, most abundant form. Jesus. Jesus came to earth so that our joy may be full. He came to give us live in abundance. He is the fulfillment of joy for all of us.

At the right hand of God, Jesus Christ sits on the throne. Jesus Christ is an immeasurable treasure. The pleasure of knowing Him is unquantifiable and inexhaustible. We will never finish finding joy and pleasure in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

I praise God for His Word. But, most importantly, I praise God for Jesus Christ and the privilege it is to know Him.

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