#694 Preservatives

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

or take their names on my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

you hold my lot.

6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

8 I have set the Lord always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

or let your holy one see corruption.

11 You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16 ESV

Preserve me - This sounds like something one would say heading into battle, probably in view of one or some of the many trials that David's life saw. How am I going to deal with this? How am I going to carry myself in this? I am going to trust God, declare Him as Lord over my life, this situation, and I want to respond out of love to all those around me. I don't want speak from a heart full of anxious notions, from superiority, show or a need to be liked, but apart from You there is nothing but that. 

In whom is all my delight - David loved God's people. This is the hardest island for me to come off of, and I can give a thousand excuses, but if I love God, then I love His people, as broken as we are. The Bible has to give it as a command, "forsake not the assembly", or else I would rest ignorantly and content in the high places. I would call my church the water, but if iron sharpens iron then all I would do is rust. 

The sorrows - David is loyal to the One true God and Creator of all things. He recognizes the folly of chasing that which isn't God, and as one who deals with many different rulers, he does not consider compromise as wise politics. David refuses to follow any customs concerning other gods or to even say their names. He has no back up plan, it is only God, there is none else.

Chosen portion - However the trial may look, my faith is in the Lord. He has assigned to me what is mine, there is no good in chasing stature by means contrary to His way. He looks forward to a beautiful inheritance, and remember there are candles just now being lit, that let us see further into the dark of the future. There is this hope by faith in some unseen country, a place beyond this time. 

9By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised.… Hebrews 11: 9-11

My heart instructs me - "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against Thee." There are so many that consider themselves Sages in this world, "the answer is inside you." Well, guess what, if

God's Word is inside you then His counsel is with you. Meditate on it for the stirring up of your faith, for the piety that comes from within, that if the eyes of all others are fixed upon you, it doesn't matter, all you care to know is what God says, and what His eyes see. "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

Let Your holy one see corruption - David looks forward to the preservation of his soul, a glimmer of hope at a life after death, yet his body will see decay. There is a type here that will grow stronger, and by Psalm 22 become quite unmistakable. I use to think that Jesus and his followers pointed to passages in the old testament in order to promote their religion, but the sacrificial nature of God humbling Himself to take on humanity, is the law, the sacrifices and the consistent story of old. The more candles that are lit, the more difficult the task of diminishing their prophetic significance becomes. 

34In fact, God raised Him from the dead never to see decay. As He has said: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings I promised to David.’ 35So also, He says in another Psalm: ‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’ 36For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.… Acts 13: 34-36

At Your right hand - This is the place of honor, for all who are in Christ. Eternal joy, there is nothing about this life that compares to it, but there is a joy unmistakable here, that the Psalmist finds not in earthly alliances, but in the presence of God. We do not find the path of life, but God makes it known to us.  

1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands— this is the Word of life. 2And this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.… 1 John 1: 1-2