Boundary Lines

Psalm 16: 1 – 11

Boundary Lines

1 Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust. 2 O my soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You.” 3 As for the saints who are on the earth, “They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.” 4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take up their names on my lips. 5 O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. 6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. 7 I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. 8 I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. 10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Composing today’s teaching I zeroed in on verse 6 of Psalm 16 “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

So, the statement ‘The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places’ is a pleasant saying verse but what does it mean?

Do you own a home or maybe even a farm? You would then have a good idea what this verse is talking about. It refers to property lines.

I love open spaces. My first house was in Levittown, Pennsylvania. The ugly fence village. Everyone wanted to keep their space to themselves and made sure by throwing up various types of fences. Some are wooden, and some are aluminum or steel. All of them after time are in disrepair and are a sore blight to the area.

By the Lords Great Grace, He allowed us to purchase land and build a brand-new home in a new housing development. Looking over all the plots I joyfully selected one that has a county park begin at the back of my property. In the summer the temperature in a good ten degrees cooler because of the forest behind us. I was looking forward to sitting out back and just reflect in God’s Goodness and His Creativity.

However, one day as I sat out back I noticed contractor’s surveying the property next door. I realized that they were measuring the property to install a fence. Was this a joke or what? The guy next door was pulling a Levittown and was going to have a fence put up to claim his property to himself. Why would you pick a house hooked on to a park and then throw up a fence? This evil neighbor was not allowing my line to fall on pleasant places.

There is a truth here for me and you. This verse is not just talking about property boundaries. It is talking about how we represent our King Lord Jesus. Our Holy Maker wants us to be molded into His image and He Is Good and Long Suffering.

What would it mean if you really lived out this truth? Imagine this in terms of property lines between neighbors. When God created you and me, He created an original. He gave each of us a unique ‘property.’

When we become jealous of someone else’s gifting, talent or anything else for that matter and then covet it for our own, is it any different than wandering across our property line and trespassing on our neighbor’s land? In real life, trespassing is a crime. In the same way, I believe it is an insult to our Maker when we cross the boundary lines He has created for us, as if what He gave us is not good enough.

Rest in who God has made you to be. Psalm 139:13 tells us that God knit you together in your mother’s womb. You are not supposed to be a combination of the people you look up to; you are to be 100 percent of who God created you to be. You have a unique contribution to this world and to the Kingdom of God.

Reflect and ask the Lord if you are living outside your boundary lines? He promises that you have a “delightful inheritance” inside those lines. Are you trespassing through anger, jealousy, coveting or saying “yes” to the wrong things?

Let His mind be in you and rest securely in who God has made your to be and with what He has called you to do. That is the pleasant place where it is good to live.