| Psalm 16 |
IMPLICIT TRUST – This psalm is an exemplary song of trust. The psalmist describes God as Ultimate Source—who is our refuge, the Giver of all good things, the Worthy One before whom all lesser gods aren’t even worth an honorable mention, the Source of human life and the Mentor of our souls, the One who walks beside us, and who even the grave cannot entrap. Thus delight, confidence, and joy emerges from this upbeat psalm that is especially fitting for the season of Easter.
BRIMMING WITH DEPENDENCE ON GOD – What does this psalm teach us about the character of such a person as this who embraces God as Ultimate Source? Such a person, the psalmist imagines, brims with constant reliance on God as Source rather than resource. Those who entrust their lives to such a God as this can experience a depth of stability (v. 8: I will not be shaken) and joyfulness (No wonder my heart is filled with joy . . . in your presence is fullness of joy, v. 9a) that not even death can undermine.
NO FEAR – In the contemporary world, where the fear of death often
motivates frantic attempts to achieve our own security and joy, frequently
through material abundance, Psalm 16 points us in an entirely different
direction. Abundant life will not be something we achieve but something we
receive. We begin to experience this gift when we say with the psalmist, “You
are my Lord” (verse 2). [1]
I will not even speak
the names of their gods (v. 4). The psalmist weighs the significance of
the gods over against The God of Goodness and Mercy and discovers that the
gods all totaled are so insignificant, they’re not worth mentioning by name.
That’s not easy—to evaluate our self-reliance in resources vis-à-vis Ultimate
Source.
What resources or other gods have tried to claim your allegiance by seeming
to be the all important Source. What makes claims on you for your allegiance?
We’re thinking
resurrection and Jesus’ conquest over the powers of evil this week. Psalm 16
underscores an important part of the Easter story that also entwines our
stories: the assurance that God is with us even in death – and that even
death cannot thwart God’s intentional love toward us in Christ Jesus.
Begin in the psalm –share some of your discoveries with the listeners.
Move to the allusion that many Christians have discerned throughout the centuries to Jesus’ resurrection.
Move to our lives and the great Christian truth of immortality—that Christ’s death once and for all makes death and dying not the final act, but the changing of the sets into new life.
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