Psalm 16 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 16 Short Summary:

Psalm 16 is an expression of David’s confidence and satisfaction in the Lord. He expresses his confidence that God will take care of him in his earthly life and after his death. At the end of Psalm 16, David prophesies about Jesus, God’s Holy One, and His future victorious resurrection. Peter quotes from Psalm 16 in Acts 2:25-28.

Psalm 16 Summary

AUTHOR:

• Psalm 16 is a psalm of King David (Psalm 16:1; Acts 2:25).

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• Acts 2:25-28; Acts 13:35

THEMES:

• Joy and satisfaction are found in the Lord and in His law.

• Living a godless life promises pleasure but will ultimately result in multiplied troubles.

• Future resurrection and power over death.

DEFINTIONS:

• Cup – A physical cup is a container for drinking liquid, but the Bible sometimes uses the word “cup” in a metaphorical way. Sometimes the word cup is used as a synonym for “fate,” what will happen to a person in the future. In Psalm 16, David talks about how he entrusts his “cup” to the Lord. Probably the most famous occurrence of this usage in the Bible is in Matthew 26:39, when Jesus prays “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”

• Lot – Casting lots was a way of making a random selection, similar to how we might roll dice or draw straws. Nobody knows exactly how the process worked, or the instruments used, but we do know God often affected the outcome. When Joshua and the Israelites conquered the Promised Land, the land was divided up between the 12 tribes by casting lots.

• Sheol – The blackness of death and the grave.

OUTLINE:

• DAVID ENTRUSTS HIS WELFARE IN LIFE AND IN DEATH TO THE LORD (16:1-11):

  • David had observed the world and found no good in it apart from God.

  • David’s delight was in the citizens of his country who loved the Lord. They would be preserved by God (as God’s law to Moses clearly stated).

  • In contrast, those who abandoned the true God for false gods (idols) would find nothing but multiplied troubles.

  • David wouldn’t participate in their idol worship, he wouldn’t participate in their offerings of blood, or let his mouth speak the names of their gods (16:4).

  • “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot” (16:5).

  • David gave his destiny over to God and entrusted his “lot” to God.

  • As the Israelite tribes had received their inheritance, their land, by lot, David confirms in verse 6 that God had given him a “beautiful inheritance” full of “pleasant places.”

  • In giving David a beautiful inheritance, God showed that David’s trust was not misplaced.

  • David goes on to express his satisfaction and confidence in God.

  • God was always on his mind, and he figuratively put God at his right hand. To be at the right hand of another man was to be his most trusted ally and protector.

  • He writes, “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption” (16:10).

  • David had confidence that God would bless him in earthly life and would take care of him in death. God wasn’t going to leave him in the dirt to decay. He knew that death wasn’t the end of the story.

  • He concludes the psalm with the words, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (16:11).
    

APPLICATION:

• As we mentioned about a previous psalm, this psalm also has a dual prophetic meaning.

• Psalm 16:8-10 are quoted by the Apostle Peter in Acts 2 during his speech to the Jews who had gathered for the Feast of Pentecost.

• Peter, speaking with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, applied the words of Psalm 16:8-10 to Jesus.

• Even more than David, Jesus set God before His face and trusted in God as His ally.

• Even more than David, Jesus trusted God in His life and in His death.

• And even more than David, Jesus trusted that after His death, His body would not be left in the blackness of the grave.

• Jesus resurrected 3 days after death, His body never saw decay and His spirit wasn’t trapped in Sheol.

• It wasn’t possible for death to hold Jesus down; it wasn’t powerful enough.

• David’s prophecy and Jesus’ resurrection are what give us confidence that our life won’t end in the blackness of death.

• Romans 6:4-5 - We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.