“The Lord is my
chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places: Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the
night also my heart instructs me. I have
set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be
shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and
my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or
let Your holy one see corruption.” –Psalm
16:5-10 (ESV).
The
explanatory note at the beginning of Psalm 16 says that it is “A Miktam of
David.” “Miktam” is probably a musical
liturgical term and also means that the psalm is dedicated to the saints of the
land who delight David with their faithfulness to the Lord. When the faithful, ‘the saints’ sing Psalm
16, they reinforce their faith and the faith of all those around them. They express great confidence in the Lord’s
guidance and care and the knowledge that they can take refuge in the Lord. At this crucial time in our country, it would
be well for us to read all of Psalm 16, take it to heart, and join with those
saints of old who did not waver even under great duress. They knew without a doubt that they had a goodly
inheritance of faith. “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from
you” (Psalm 16:2).
Scholars
believe that this Psalm by David may have been written shortly after the Lord
gave His gracious covenant to David and assured him of an enduring throne. We read about this in 2 Samuel 7, with David’s
confirmation of acceptance in 2 Samuel 7:29: “Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so
that it may continue forever before you.
For you, O Lord God, have spoken and with your blessing shall the house
of your servant be blessed forever.” When
the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would conceive and bear
a son, and name Him Jesus, for “He will
be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne
of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of
His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke
1: 32-33). What measure of God’s purpose
could have been understood by David, we know not. But he did recognize and was assured by the
fact that God had chosen him as king of Israel, and that his kingship would
have an influence on succeeding generations.
When
America was founded, the leaders who were at the forefront in establishing our
Constitution and the laws of our land were aware of their calling and purpose
as being God-directed. They were not
ashamed to own their faith in God or to admit their dependence on Him. Thomas Jefferson in his “Summary View of
Rights” stated: “God who gave us life gave us liberty.
And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed
their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these
liberties are the gift of God? That they
are not to be violated but with His wrath?
Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that
His justice cannot sleep forever.” (In Notes
on the State of Virginia. Query
XVIII, p. 237). David
reminded us in Psalm 16 that we need to turn again and again to God for counsel
and that we are to set the Lord always before us.
Prayer. Dear
Lord, Raise up stalwart and God-fearing leaders to govern our land, from local
and state offices to our nation’s highest government positions. May they seek Your counsel and lead with
justice and stability on sound principles that have been tried and proven in
the anvil of time. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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