Psalm 16 Devotional

A Delightful Inheritance

“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 (BSB)

Contentment runs through every line of this psalm. David takes refuge in God and tells the LORD that apart from him he has nothing good (16:2). While others run after other gods and multiply their sorrows (16:4), David calls the LORD his portion and his cup, and says the boundaries of his inheritance enclose delightful ground (16:5-6). His inheritance is not first a piece of land. It is God himself.

That confidence reaches beyond this life. Because the LORD is at his right hand, he will not be shaken, and he trusts that God will not abandon him to the grave or let his Holy One see decay (16:8-10). At Pentecost, Peter pointed out that David died and was buried, and that these words spoke of the resurrection of the Christ (Acts 2:29-31). Jesus is the Holy One whose body did not decay. Because he rose, the joy in God's presence that closes this psalm (16:11) is not wishful thinking for those who belong to him. It is where the path of life leads.

To think about: What are you treating as the thing you cannot be happy without, and what would it mean to call the LORD your portion instead?