Category: Psalm 16

I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken (Psalm 16:8).

Remember those “God is my co-pilot” bumper stickers?

It’s like that, only

God is your copilot

and

God is your pilot

and

God is your navigator

and

God is your flight attendant

and

God is your air marshall

and

God is your air traffic controller

and

God is the plane

And

God is the engine

and

God is the air

and

God is your destination.

And what are we? We are the little kids that get wings pinned on our t-shirts and think we can fly the plane–while everyone around us grins knowingly.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Enjoy the flight.

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. (Psalm 16:7).

Reason #4,398 to be glad I’m not God: I take naps.

And when I’m napping, I am not thinking about you.

Not trying to hurt your feelings here, but it is what it is.

So, if you need my advice, such as it is, and I happen to be napping, you’re out of luck my friend.

If it’s night, and I’m actually sleeping—forget about it.

God doesn’t nap, you know.  He is there for you, his Beloved, every day and all the time.  So at 3am, when your heart finally quiets down enough to hear him, he’s there.

Speaking softly.

Listening intently.

Loving completely.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance(Psalm 16:5-6).

You know, there’s this thing about an inheritance—you don’t earn it.

Oh, maybe you’re thinking about all the holidays over the years when you’ve driven 100 miles just to eat petrified turkey with your freakshow of a family and you’re saying to yourself, “Oh, I’m earning it, Baby.  Every nickel!”

But you aren’t, really.

An inheritance is a gift that comes to you but was earned by another.  If you earned it yourself, it would be wages.

When it comes to dealing with God, you don’t want your wages, trust me.

You want the gift.

The Psalmist understood this, and he was totally cool with it.  He didn’t stake his claim; he didn’t demand his rights.  He rested in the provision of God and trusted in the One who knew him best and loved him most.

So how about it, Beloved?  Are you content with the boundary lines that God has laid down for you?  Do you trust him enough to let enough be enough?

Surely you have a delightful inheritance.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips (Psalm 16:4b).

I’m going to assume that you’re not conducting pagan worship ceremonies in which you call out to demonic forces while pouring the blood of innocents upon the altar.

If you are…stop it.

I mean, that’s really beyond the scope of what I’m prepared to deal with on a Monday.

But what will you rely on today, Beloved? Who? When Monday gets ugly, will you trust in the God who loves you and rely on his goodness and mercy and strength and wisdom, or will you be like the pagans who let pride or wealth or reputation or self-preservation guide their choices?

Because those can be idols, too.

You serve a mighty God, Beloved. Stand firm today.

Happy Monday

The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods (Psalm 16:4a).

It’s fun to mess with my dog’s head.

Easy, too

I pick up one of her toys–any toy will do–and hold it out to her.  She immediately sees this item as the most important thing in her puppyverse and goes after it with all her strength.

A tug of war ensues.

Then, I hold up a different toy.

Without hesitation, the pup will drop the first toy, this toy that was her entire world, and dive after the second, to which she will hold with equal ferocity until I show her a third.

And so on.

The whole thing is tremendously entertaining, when we’re talking about dogs.

Less so when we’re talking about people.

You see, at some point I will end the game, the pup will ultimately be satisfied with one of the toys, and there will be puppy-level contentment. 

Perhaps that’s because golden retrievers don’t need redemption.

For you and me, Beloved, the squeaky balls and stuffed ducks of the world will never be enough. Chasing them will only highlight the emptiness.

So don’t.

Happy Friday, Beloved

As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight (Psalm 16:3).

There are so very many people who are so very much better at the whole God thing than I am.

These are the people I need to look to, to emulate, to spend time with and delight in.

There are also folks out there who are new to the Kingdom, still squinting in the light as they try to make sense of their surroundings.

These are the ones who need a hand…perhaps my hand.

They are all saints, and they are all glorious.

My prayer for this morning is that God would point these folks out to me, and that he would keep my pride from interfering with what I can learn, and what I can share.

Care to join me in that prayer?

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”(Psalm 16:2)

Every once in a while I have one of those days where I find myself home alone.  It’s just me and the dog. And things are…different. It’s not so much that I’m doing different things—I still eat, sleep, write, wash the occasional dish.  It’s that, without my family here, it all seems rather…blah. The people for whom I do the things I do aren’t here, so my actions feel a little meaningless, a little empty.

It’s kinda like that in this verse.  Apart from God, I would still have things.  I would still do things.  I would still be things.  But those things would be devoid of meaning.

They would be robbed of their goodness.

With God at the center, all things work together for good (Romans 8:28, if you’re wondering).  Without him at the center, why bother? Whatever I do, or think, or feel…it’s not going to be good.  Because he is what makes it good. In him I live and move and have my being.

So, without him, bupkis.  With him…Woohooo!

Whadday say?  Shall we make today a Woohoo kinda day?

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

I’m  feeling Psalmy–how about you? 

Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge (Psalm 16:1).

Did you know that this psalm is a miktam?

Says so, right here in my study Bible.

Do you know what a miktam is?

Neither do I.

Nor do the editors of my study Bible.

The best they can do–and trust me, it’s better than I could have done–is to point out that the term shows up in the title of psalms occasioned by great danger. So, when David is really stressed, really afraid, he sits down and knocks out a miktam.

Here’s another interesting bit, courtesy of the editors: In this moment of fear, when David cries out to God, he spends exactly five words pouring out the problem and his stress.

Keep me safe, O God

The remaining 197 words of the psalm–yes, I counted–are devoted to the reasons David trusts God to deliver him. That’s 2.4% of the psalm spent on petition, and 97.6% spent on praise.

Now, there’s a pattern for a solid life.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Psalm 16:11).

You know where you’re going.

You know who awaits you.

What more do you need?

Isn’t it good to be beloved, Beloved?

Happy Tuesday

…nor will you let your Holy One see decay (Psalm 16:10b).

So, is David talking about himself here, or is he talking about Jesus?

Yes

Does that help?

As the anointed king, David was certainly the Holy One, set apart for God.

And, you know, good for him.

But ultimately this verse is speaking of the Christ, the One who would bust Death in the chops and stride out of the tomb under his own power.

I wonder how much David knew. I wonder how much God shared with him about the One who would come to fulfill the reign David had begun.

Maybe we’ll get to ask him one day.

Probably not today though.

For today, walk in the knowledge that he who destroyed Death has chosen you to be his Beloved. Death cannot have you,

ever,

because you are already His. Whatever today may bring–and it is Monday, after all–it’s nothing that can separate you from the love of God.

Happy Monday, Beloved