Devotional: Psalms 16

A Secret Treasure of David. Watch over me, O God; for in You do I put my trust. Oh my soul, you have said to Jehovah, You are my Lord; I have no goodness apart from You. As for the saints in the earth, they are the excellent, in whom is all my delight. But their sorrows shall be multiplied who run after another god. I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood; and I will not take their names on my lips. Jehovah is the portion of my inheritance, and of my cup; He shall uphold my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, I have a beautiful inheritance. I will bless Jehovah, who has given me wisdom; my heart also instructs me in the nights.

I have set Jehovah always before Me; because He is at My right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoices; My flesh also shall rest in hope; For You will not leave My soul in hell; You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will make Me know the way of life; in Your presence is fullness of joys. At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:1-11

This special Psalm of David begins as a short simple prayer, then moves into David reminding himself of the goodness and faithfulness of God and ends with his confident declaration of his Hope in the Lord. What an amazing Psalm, and what a wonderful example of directing our petitions to the Lord. The Lord knows our needs before we ask. But He desires our communication so we must ask, and we must remind ourselves of His Goodness, as David does for much of this psalm. Once your soul embraces the Goodness of God, the declaration flows as a natural result of the expectancy that God will be faithful and that there is indeed no greater expectancy or desire than to live eternally in His presence.

David is not just speaking of heaven's glory, when his flesh will be glorified and he will abide in God's presence. His declaration is that of experiencing these things now AND forever. Our souls, our intellect and emotions, need constant reminders that the reality we live in here on earth is not what is real and permanent. God's presence in our lives ought to be our focus--then all the things of earth grow "strangely dim". If we all wrote down the hundred of times that God has been faithful to us we would begin to live in the expectancy of seeing God's goodness in the land of the living. David lived this, as he wrote psalm after psalm, meditating and rehearsing what God had done again and again in his life.

In the book of Revelation, it says that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony--not loving our lives unto death. Your testimony is valuable, not just the testimony of your conversion--but your testimony everyday of God's presence, and goodness in your life. Complaints and focusing on our problems and trials is like the offerings of the wicked--their is no glory, no life, in them. But God works all things for our good and for His Glory. Though we don't understand his workings, the trials and sufferings--His goodness prevails, our inheritance is in Him and He will give us His Wisdom and Grace. Hallelujah!

Copyright © 2007 by Ruth Mayfield All rights reserved. These articles may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, by including this notice.

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