For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Psalm 16 – The Lord is my Refuge

1 Keep me safe, my God,
    for in you I take refuge.

2 I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;
    apart from you I have no good thing.’
3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,
    ‘They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.’
4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
    or take up their names on my lips.

5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

A. Find Out:

1. What is David’s plea and why? v.1
2. In whom is David blessed and why? v.2,3
3. How, in general, is he blessed? v.5,6
4. What does the Lord do for David? v.7
5. What are the fruits of the Lord’s closeness? v.8-10
6. Of what is he assured? v.11

B. Think:

1. What is at the heart of David’s blessedness?
2. What practical results does this have?
3. How are idol worshippers contrasted?

C. Comment:

     This is a psalm of comfort and assurance. David starts it by saying that he makes the Lord his refuge. Closeness to the Lord is key to everything in this psalm. David says he has nothing else that is good apart from the Lord Himself.

     He declares how blessed he is (v.5,6) by the life that the Lord has given him. He is aware of the Lord’s presence with him, even at night, and that brings him stability and security. He has a strong sense that the Lord will preserve his life and that brings him daily joy. He has a general sense of the Lord’s goodness and the blessedness of being close to that, and receiving of it. For him, life is good.

     Within this psalm are prophetic echoes. Peter quotes this psalm in his preaching on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:25-28) and Paul was to quote part of it (Acts 13:35), both when they were speaking about the death and resurrection of Jesus. David probably meant v.10 to mean that his own life would be preserved in the immediate future; the apostles took it to refer to Jesus.

     The psalm speaks of the intimacy of the believer with God which brings only blessing. The idol worshipper, by contrast, knows only increasing sorrow.

D. Application?

1. All blessings for the believer come from the presence of the Lord.
2. Those blessings include security, stability, life and joy eternal.