Is This All There Is? Series

Psalm 16 is a Miktam. We don’t know what that Hebrew word means, but it could suggest music in a “plaintive” style or a contemplative poem. This psalm is about God’s protection, praise, and provision. It is about how to live life in the here and now, and how to be assured of the quality of life in heaven.

1 – 2

Shaw-mar (protect) means “to hedge about with thorns.” In an episode of Survivor the contestants were in Africa and at one point they heard lions roaming around outside of their camp at night. To protect themselves they built an acacia thorn hedge or fence around their shelter. For believers, we know our real enemy, Satan, “prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). But the Lord surrounds us with a thorny hedge so that he cannot get to us. We have made Him our refuge.

David declares that the only good thing in his life is his God and that God is his lord, his master, his king. This is a very good truth for us to always keep close. Is God your Lord and do you indeed know that He is the only really truly good thing in your life? All good comes from that relationship.

3 – 4

In verses 3 through 5 David is basically saying that he identifies with those who similarly have placed their trust in the Lord and refuses to go along with those who worship other gods. This too is very important thing for us today. Our culture demands that we bow to other gods like money, beauty, physical ability, promiscuity, or intellectualism. None of these are wrong on their face, but if we worship them, they become our god. We have something else to hold on to.

5 – 6

Jesus said: (Matthew 6:19-21) "Don't collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don't break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Is your heart seeking to get satisfaction with the things this culture has to offer, or are you looking for an eternal inheritance from God? What is that inheritance, by the way? It is a relationship with God. David calls this inheritance “beautiful.”

I love too how David says that “you hold my future.” Do you trust God with your future or are you trying to manipulate your own?

7 – 8

Essentially here David is saying that at night, when he meditates on God’s Word, the Lord speaks to him and guides him through his conscience. And following God’s wisdom is always the way of security!

9 – 11

David finishes the psalm that not only is he secure now in his relationship with God on this earth but that he can trust God to take care of Him during and after death. Verse 10 is a Messianic prophecy used to support the idea of resurrection. But it also gives us hope that if we love God He will never abandon us but gives us a “path of life.” That path we know now is through Jesus Christ, and what a path it is.

Look at the end of verse 11. What awaits us when we die: abundant joy and eternal pleasures. In this age our culture tries to get us to satisfy needs through ways that are not only contrary to God’s character but also temporary. If we entrust ourselves totally into God’s hands then we have a promise that for all of eternity we will be in God’s presence, in the fullness of joy and pleasure!

We are faced with a choice often times in this age. The culture values youth, beauty, wealth, and power. It’s like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus in Matthew 19 wanting to be justified. Jesus told him that he needed to let go of his god – his power (through his wealth). Later, Jesus’ disciples said to the Lord “we’ve left everything, so what is there for us?” Jesus said: (Matthew 19:29-30) And everyone who has left houses, brothers or sisters, father or mother, children, or fields because of My name will receive 100 times more and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

We will suffer grief and loss here on this planet as we choose to follow Jesus instead of the pattern of this age. But in this promise, Jesus tells us that any loss here is infinitely worth it based on what we get with a relationship with the Lord of the universe!