Psalm Friday

Golden Nuggets of Truth

Psalm Friday

Psalm 16

* Pray. Ask God to give you an open heart and mind to learn new truths from His Word. Read Psalm 16 through three times. Record any thoughts or questions you have in your journal. If a verse stands out to you, write it on an index card and begin committing it to memory.


A Psalm of David often referred to by scholars as a “Golden Psalm”; a Psalm full of the richness of the treasures of God. Let’s jump right in to see what golden nuggets of truth God has awaiting us today.

1 Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to You for refuge.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from You.”
3 The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!
4 Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods.
5 Lord, You alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine.
6 The land You have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!
7 I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.
9 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety.
10 For You will not leave my soul among the dead or allow Your Holy One to rot in the grave.
11 You will show Me the way of life, granting Me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever.
Psalm 16:1-11, NLT

This psalm has something of David in it, but much more of Christ. David begins by expressing his devotion to God and ends with great confidence in a future resurrection which must be applied to Christ, to Him only, and not to David, himself. Both Peter (Acts 2:22-28) and Paul (Acts 13:36) attribute David’s writing to be speaking of the coming Christ. David, because he was but a man died, and was buried, and saw corruption (a decaying of the physical body). Jesus Christ, because He was God, died, and was buried, but saw no corruption; instead He was raised from the grave.

Let’s divide this Psalm into two sections.

Psalm 16:1-7
David speaks of himself as a one who belongs to God and who has placed his totally trust in Him. As a follower of God, David humbles himself under God’s authority and acknowledges that everything he has is a gift from the Lord (verse 2), he dearly loves the people of God (verse 3), he is devoted to the worship of the one and only true God (verse 4), and he is content with what God has chosen to bless him with (verses 5-7).

Psalm 16:8-11
The Lord here is speaking of His resurrection prophetically through David. David is speaking the language of Christ Himself. Scripture, Itself, gives us further evidence that the One spoken of in Psalm 16:8-11 is Christ.

25 King David said this about Him (Jesus): ‘I(Jesus) see that the Lord is always with Me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside Me. 26 No wonder My heart is glad, and My tongue shouts His praises! My body rests in hope. 27 For You will not leave My soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. 28 You have shown Me the way of life, and You will fill Me with the joy of your presence.’ Acts 2:25-28, NLT

Jesus Christ was called upon do something that my human mind can hardly fathom. God summoned Jesus to leave His throne in heaven, take on human flesh, walk among a sin-sick, hurting people, show love and kindness to a people who would rather spit on Him than look at Him, allow those He came to serve to beat Him beyond recognition, mock Him by placing on His head a crown of thorns, nail Him to a cross, and stab a spear in His side. Through all the pain that was inflicted on Him, His heart was glad; He rejoiced in the task that God had set before Him. Why? Because He knew that God would never leave His side. He knew that the pain He would suffer would only be temporary. Jesus knew His death would not be the end but only the beginning an abundant life. He knew that His death equaled life. Christ was rewarded for His obedience to God; He was granted the pleasure of being in the presence of God forever. Not only was He granted this reward, but because of His obedience we are also able to experience the joy of living in God’s presence for eternity.

Questions to Answer- Thoughts to Ponder
*Have you placed your total trust in God? Have you humbled yourself under His authority?
*Do you give Him all praise and glory for all that you have? Do you acknowledge that without Him you would be nothing and have nothing?
*Do you love ALL of God’s people? Do you encourage others along in their journeys with God?
*Are you worshipping God, corporately and personally, for who He is?
*Are you content with where God has you right now and what He has you doing?

God called Jesus to a huge task. Jesus never questioned God or complained. He totally, 100% obeyed. Even though the task He was called too was going to be extremely painful and require sacrifice, He walked down the road God set before Him because He knew His obedience would please His Father.
*What is God calling you to do? It may be as simple as setting aside more time in your day to spend with Him? Are you willing to sacrifice whatever needs to be given up in order to please your Father?
*Are you ready to live out the abundant life Jesus died for in order for you to have?

Oh Father, my desire is to walk the path that You have set before me with joy and gladness in my heart. I want to please You in all that I do. I know that there are going to be times when it will painful to obey and times when it will require me to give up my selfish wants. Give me the strength I need to be the woman You have called me to be. Help me to see that there is nothing more important than You and our time together. I love you and praise You today. Amen.