PSALMS 16

READING CYCLE THREE(see “Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT
PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary which means
that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of
us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are
priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3).
Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above.
Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original
author’s intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has
one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Third paragraph

4. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 16:1-4
 ¹Preserve
me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
 ²I
said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
 I
have no good besides You.”
  ³As
for the saints who are in the earth,
 They
are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
 ⁴The sorrows of those who
have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
 I shall not pour out their drink
offerings of blood,
 Nor
will I take their names upon my lips.

16:1 “Preserve me, O God” This is
the only imperative (BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal
imperative) in Psalm 16. It is an urgent
prayer request. From Ps. 16:10-11 it becomes obvious that the psalmist is
facing death. He requests life but knows that even death will not separate
him from God (cf. Rom. 8:31-39).

In this Psalm Deity is called by

1. El, Ps. 16:1 (general title of God in the ANE)

2. YHWH, Ps. 16:2,5,7,8

3. Adon, Ps. 16:2

See SPECIAL
TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY.

▣ “for I take refuge in You”
This is the theme of many Psalms! For “refuge” see notes at Ps.
5:11.

Humans are made in the image and likeness of God Himself (cf. Gen.
1:26-27). We were created for fellowship (cf. Gen. 3:8). We can find
peace, rest, joy, purpose, and safety only in Him!

16:2 This is the psalmist’s profession of
faith. Psalm 16:2 seems to summarize a previous prayer or confession.

NASB“I have no good beside You”
NKJV“My goodness is nothing apart from You”
NRSV“I have no good apart from You”
TEV“all the good things I have come from You”
REB“from You alone comes the good I enjoy”
NET Bible“my only source of well-being”
JPSOA
footnote“I
have no good but in You”

One is tempted to read into this phrase the NT doctrine of justification,
but in the OT a better parallel is Ps. 73:25-28. YHWH is the psalmist’s
only “good.” The idols of the nations are false. The gracious, merciful, covenant God honors those who trust Him
and live according to His covenant requirements (i.e., OT — Mosaic
covenant; NT — the gospel, cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:25-27). The
result is a life and an afterlife of fellowship with God.

16:3-4 There are many questions about how to
understand this verse. The Jewish Study Bible says of them (p. 1297) that
“These are among the most obscure verses in the Psalter.”

1. Who are “the saints” (BDB 872) — Some (NEB, NJB)
scholars take the last words of Ps. 16:2 and bring the negative into Ps.
16:3, which makes “saints” refer to “the sacred spirits of
the earth” (i.e., the idols of Ps. 16:4). See note below.

2. Who are “the majestic ones” (BDB 12) — Because of
parallelism they are either positive (i.e., godly ones, cf. TEV) or
negative (i.e., Canaanite idols, NJB).

It is possible to take these two titles as referring to the covenant
people in Ps. 16:3 who become idolaters in Ps. 16:4. Many translations
separate verses 3 and 4 into separate strophes. The question is, “Do
Ps. 16:3-4 form a contrast or an extended description?”

16:3 “saints” This is the Hebrew
term Kadosh (BDB 872), which is used for

1. the faithful followers of YHWH — Deut. 33:3; Ps. 34:9; Dan.
8:24

2. spiritual beings (i.e., angels) — Job 5:1; 15:15; Ps.
89:5,7; Dan. 8:13 (twice); Zech. 14:5

SPECIAL
TOPIC: HOLY

16:4

NASB, NKJV,
NRSV“sorrows”
TEV“troubles”
NJB“teeming
idols”
LXX“infirmities”
REB“endless trouble”

The word “troubles” (עצבות, BDB
781) is very similar to “idols” (עצבים,
BDB 781, NJB). The context is obviously about idolatry. Exactly who is
referred to in Ps. 16:3 is uncertain.

It is possible to see the term “another” (אחר,
BDB 29 I, Ps. 16:4) as “other gods” (אחרים,
cf. Isa. 42:8; NET Bible, p. 866, #29).

For an extensive discussion see NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 860-862 or UBS
Handbook, pp. 141-142.

▣ The psalmist who takes refuge in
YHWH refuses to

1. pour out a drink offering of blood (of animal sacrifices or a
metaphor for wine)

2. take their names on his lips (cf. Exod. 20:3-5)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 16:5-6
 ⁵The
Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my
cup;
 You support my lot.
 ⁶The lines have fallen to
me in pleasant places;
 Indeed,
my heritage is beautiful to me.

16:5-6 Possibly the drink offering mentioned
in verse 4 reminded the psalmist of the idiom of “cup,” which
denoted one’s destiny (cf. Ps. 11:6; 23:5; 75:8; 116:13). Usually it has a
negative connotation but not here.

The “lot” alludes to the dividing of the land of Canaan into
tribal allocations by Joshua, by lot (cf. Joshua 13-19), which is the
prophetic fulfillment of YHWH’s promise to Abraham (cf. Gen. 12:1-3). The
Levites and Priests inherited only 48 cities (cf. Joshua 20-24). They were
said to have the Lord Himself as their inheritance (cf. Num. 18:20; Deut.
18:1). However, in the Psalms this designation is expanded to all faithful
followers (cf. Ps. 73:26; 119:57; 142:5; also Lam. 3:24).

Psalm 16:6 continues this imagery by “lines have fallen to me.” The
psalmist asserts that his inheritance is beautiful (i.e., Jer. 3:19).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 16:7-11
 ⁷I
will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
 Indeed, my mind instructs me in the
night.
 ⁸I have
set the Lord continually before me;
 Because He is at my right hand, I
will not be shaken.
 ⁹Therefore
my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
 My
flesh also will dwell securely.
 ¹⁰For
You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
 Nor
will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
 ¹¹You will make known to
me the path of life;
 In
Your presence is fullness of joy;
 In
Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

16:7-11 The psalmist asserts his faith in
YHWH’s

1. counsel, Ps. 16:7a (cf. Ps. 32:8)

2. instructions, Ps. 16:7b

3. powerful presence, Ps. 16:8,11

4. victory, Ps. 16:8b

The result is that he rejoices in his security in YHWH (cf. Ps. 16:9),
even in death (Ps. 16:10-11).

1. He will not abandon the psalmist in Sheol, Ps. 16:10 (cf.
Job 14:14-15; 19:25-27)

2. He will make known to him the path of life (cf. Ps. 139:24; Pro.
15:24; i.e., an idiom for daily faithful living; for a similar phrase see
Ps. 101:2,6)

3. He will be with him personally, even in Sheol (cf. Ps.
139:7-8)

4. He provides in abundance all the psalmist needs

Even in times of distress the faithful follower can know that YHWH is with
him/her, for him/her, and will never leave him/her! This faith in YHWH’s
faithfulness is our hope, joy, peace, rest, and victory!

16:8b “at my right hand” YHWH’s
right hand (see SPECIAL
TOPIC: GOD DESCRIBED AS HUMAN (ANTHROPOMORPHISM)). The right hand is proverbial for power and strength. The
Messiah is described as seated on God’s right hand which denotes the place
of power, preeminence, and authority.

The combination of several elements in this Psalm made it Messianic for
the Apostles, Peter and Paul

1. right hand imagery, Ps. 16:8,11

2. life beyond the physical existence

3. title “Holy One”

See fuller note at Ps. 16:10.

16:9

NASB, NKJV“my glory”
NRSV, NJB“my soul”
LXX“my
tongue”
JPSOA“my whole being”
REB“my spirit”

The Hebrew word “glory” (כבודי,
BDB 458 II) may be a scribal error for “liver” (כדבכ,
BDB 458, cf. Gen. 49:6; Ps. 30:12), which, like the heart, denoted the
whole person (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 587-588; NET Bible, p. 866, #11).
Notice that “heart,” “liver/glory,” and “flesh”
all are parallel and denote the psalmist himself.

16:10

NASB, NKJV“Your Holy One”
NRSV, JPSOA“your faithful one”
NJB, REB“your faithful servant”
LXX“your devout”
NET
Bible“your faithful follower”

The Hebrew has “your godly one” (חסיד,
BDB 339). This word is used often to describe those covenant people who
loved, served, and obeyed YHWH (cf. Ps. 4:3; 12:1; 32:6; 86:2; Micah 7:2).
When used of YHWH it is translated “kind” (cf. Ps. 18:25;
145:17) or “gracious” (cf. Jer. 3:12).

Because this verse is quoted by both Peter (cf. Acts 2:27,31) and Paul
(cf. Acts 13:35) to refer to Jesus’ resurrection, in this Psalm the term
is translated “Holy One” (NASB, NKJV). I am not sure how to view
this verse in Psalm 16. In context it obviously refers to a godly,
faithful Israelite (note the parallelism of Ps. 16:10). It could then have
been understood by an Apostle as

1. prophetic

2. typological

3. multiple fulfillment

The Apostles looked back into the OT and saw many signs and foreshadowing,
as well as specific predictions, of the life, work, death, resurrection,
and coming again of Jesus Christ! I trust their inspiration.

NASB, REB“the pit”
NKJV, LXX“corruption”
NRSV, JPSOA“the Pit”
NJB“the
abyss”

The MT has “Pit” (BDB 1001) and it is parallel to Sheol
(cf. Job 33:18; Isa. 38:17-18). For Sheol see SPECIAL
TOPIC: Where Are the Dead? and the notes at Ps. 6:5; 9:13.
Both were ways of referring to death.

The LXX is quoted by both Peter and Paul in Acts to confirm the
resurrection of Jesus. There are several places in the OT which assert, or
at least hint at, a resurrection (cf. Job 14:14-15; 19:25-27; Ps. 17:15;
49:15; 56:13; 73:24,25; 86:13; Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2). Ezekiel 37 seems to
refer to a restoration of the nation, not individual resurrection.

Thank God for the full revelation of the NT.

1. Jesus’ empty tomb and post-resurrection appearances

2. Paul’s discussion of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15

The afterlife is a progressive revelation!

The life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus changed the
Apostles’ worldview. Their OT perspective was modified. They began to
search the OT for prophecies, typologies, and hints of this new reality.
Jesus Himself may have started this by revelatory interpretations about
Himself from the OT to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who passed
them on to the group in the upper room (cf. Luke 24:25-27).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary, which means
that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of
us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are
priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the
major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be
thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Define the word “saints.”

2. Are the “saints” the same as “the majestic ones”?

3. How is Ps. 16:4 related to idolatry?

4. Define the OT use of the term “portion.”

Is it parallel to “lot”?

5. What organ of the human body was believed to be the origin of
thought and feelings?

6. Is this a Messianic Psalm because Ps. 16:10 is quoted in Acts
13:35?

7. Why is biblical faith described as a “path”?

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