Psalms 16 - Introduction

This psalm expresses a confident expectation of eternal life and happiness, founded on the evidence of true attachment to God. It expresses the deep conviction that one who loves God will not be left in the grave, and will not be suffered to see permanent “corruption,” or to perish in the grave, forever.

The contents of the psalm are the following:

(1) An earnest prayer of the author for preservation on the ground that he had put his trust in God, Psalms 16:1.

(2) A statement of his attachment to God, Psalms 16:2, founded partly on his consciousness of such attachment Psalms 16:2, and partly on the fact that he truly loved the friends of God, Psalms 16:3.

(3) A statement of the fact that he had no sympathy with those who rejected the true God; that he did not, and would not, participate in their worship. The Lord was his portion, and his inheritance, Psalms 16:4.

(4) Thankfulness that the lines had fallen unto him in such pleasant places; that he had had his birth and lot where the true God was adored, and not in a land of idolaters, Psalms 16:6.

(5) A confident expectation, on the ground of his attachment to God, that he would be happy forever; that he would not be left to perish in the grave; that he would obtain eternal life at the right hand of God, Psalms 16:8. This expectation implies the following particulars:

(a) That he would never be moved; that is, that he would not be disappointed and cast off, Psalms 16:8.

(b) That, though he was to die, his flesh would rest in hope, Psalms 16:9.

(c) That he would not be left in the regions of the dead, nor suffered to lie forever in the grave, Psalms 16:10.

(d) That God would show him the path of life, and give him a place at his right hand, Psalms 16:11.

Nothing can be determined with certainty in regard to the occasion on which the psalm was composed. It is such a psalm as might be composed at any time in view of solemn reflections on life, death, the grave, and the world beyond; on the question whether the grave is the end of man, or whether there will be a future. It is made up of happy reflections on the lot and the hopes of the pious; expressing the belief that, although they were to die, there was a brighter world beyond - although they were to be laid in the grave, they would not always remain there; that they would be released from the tomb, and be raised up to the right hand of God. It expresses more clearly than can be found almost anywhere else in the Old Testament a belief in the doctrine of the resurrection - an assurance that those who love God, and keep his commandments, will not always remain in the grave.

The psalm is appealed to by Peter Acts 2:25, and by Paul Acts 13:35, as referring to the resurrection of Christ, and is adduced by them in such a manner as to show they regarded it as proving that He would be raised from the dead. It is not necessary to suppose, in order to a correct understanding of the psalm, that it had an exclusive reference to the Messiah, but only that it referred to him in the highest sense, or that it had its complete fulfillment in him. Compare Introduction to Isaiah, Section 7, iii: It undoubtedly expressed the feelings of David in reference to himself - his own hopes in view of death; while it is true that he was directed to use language in describing his own feelings and hopes which could have a complete fulfillment only in the Messiah. In a more full and complete sense, it was true that he would not be left in the grave, and that he would not be allowed “to see corruption.”

It was actually true in the sense in which David used the term as applicable to himself that he would not be “left” permanently and ultimately in the grave, under the dominion of corruption; it was literally true of the Messiah, as Peter and Paul argued, that he did not “see corruption;” that he was raised from the grave without undergoing that change in the tomb through which all others must pass. As David used the language (as applicable to himself), the hope suggested in the psalm will be fulfilled in the future resurrection of the righteous; as the words are to be literally understood, they could be fulfilled only in Christ, who rose from the dead without seeing corruption. The argument of Peter and Paul is, that this prophetic language was found in the Old Testament, and that it could have a complete fulfillment only in the resurrection of Christ. David, though he would rise as he anticipated, did, in fact, return to corruption. Of the Messiah it was literally true that his body did not undergo any change in the grave. The reference to the Messiah is, that it had its highest and most complete fulfillment in him. Compare the notes at Acts 2:25.

The title of the psalm is, “Michtam of David.” The word “Michtam” occurs only in the following places, in all of which it is used as the title of a psalm: Psalms 16:1; Psalms 56:1; Psalms 57:1; Psalms 58:1; Psalms 59; Psalms 60:1. Gesenius supposes that it means a “writing,” especially a poem, psalm, or song; and that its sense is the same as the title to the psalm of Hezekiah Isaiah 38:9, where the word used is rendered “writing.” According to Gesenius the word used here - מכתם miktâm - is the same as the word employed in Isaiah - מכתב miktâb - the last letter ב (b), having been gradually changed to ם (m). Others, unaptly, Gesenius says, have derived the word from כתם kethem, gold,” meaning a “golden” psalm; that is, precious, or pre-eminent. DeWette renders it: “Schrift,”” writing. It is, perhaps, impossible now to determine why some of the psalms of David should have been merely termed “writings,” while others are mentioned under more specific titles.