Pslam 16 a Michtam of David

What in the world is a Michtam?

Here in Psalm 16 we see the first use of the word Michtam but David uses it a total of 6 times (Ps. 16, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60). Here David is writing a prayer Psalm to ask for help from God because of a great danger and the word David uses as a theme or subject is Michtam.

According to several theologians a Michtam is either a verb or a noun and while nobody knows for certain it most likely meant to cover, or a secret or inscribed. It may have some sort of musical inference but that too is murky and nobody knows exactly what that musical meaning would be. Now all that might be true but other theologians call these Michtam Psalms “Golden Psalms” because they are worthy of being written in Gold. They translate the word Michtam as meaning to engrave or sculptured writing and that it has the idea of being engraved in Gold. This definition also works well as David who started the Psalm fearful ends the Psalm in triumph giving reader something to join in with David in his victory.

Either way these Psalms are beautiful and while we no longer know the tune the words can still inspire and spur us on to growth.

Structure

As we look at the structure of this Psalm we see David go through a progression. These are the 4 stanza’s of this Psalm and they are broken down like this: (1st stanza vs. 1-2) Looking toward and praising God. (2nd stanza vs. 3-4) looking out at the faithful and the faithless around Him. (3rd stanza vs. 5-7) Looking introspectively at his own faithfulness. (4th stanza vs. 8-11) Lastly, looking beyond to a future with God where David will dwell securely with God.

1st stanza vs. 1-2

In verses 1 and 2 we get to hear David cry out to God because he is in need of God’s help. His first word is “Preserve” and in the Hebrew this word is associated with protection, watch-care, and guarding. It is the word that God used for Adam and Eve to watch over and care for the Garden of Eden, and it also is used often as Shepherds guard or watch their sheep. David isn’t wanting a baby-sitter who might care if they are inconvenienced he is in need of being preserved from the danger. David doesn’t want someone to check in on him on occasion he wants to be constantly watched and cared for. If you match this verse up with verse 11 you see that David wants this preservation and he finds it in the presence of God in whom David knows that he will receive direction (path of life), Joy and a bright future (Pleasures forevermore).

What we need to realize is that David didn’t expect to find these things outside of his relationship with God. David knew that if he wanted to be preserved by God then He had to put his trust in God. Here is where we should find our focus and purpose. It is far to easy for us to look to almost anything else other than God to find our purpose. I watched a video this past week where a lady tried to convince herself and others that she could be absolutely happy and fulfilled without being mother and a wife. While I believe you can be happy and fulfilled without marriage and children, her words weren’t convincing. For one she had to repeat how great it was to be single at 29 and to have no one and nothing to hold her down from doing what she wanted. If she wanted to just spend the day doing nothing then she could do just that. But there was pain in her voice because as she recognized multiple times she was feeling down on herself or because she didn’t have these significant relationships in her life. It was almost like she was trying to convince herself that she was OK without these relationships. Now, again, I am not saying that the only way you can be fulfilled in life is to be married with children but we were not created to be individuals without significant relationships. Instead we were created to be in fellowship with one another and we were created to be in fellowship with God Himself.

David recognized his need to be in relationship with God, which is why he cried out to God in order to preserve him. He cried out to God to protect him to give David purpose, to help him in times of trouble. I love this story told by Pastor and Theologian Rod Mattoon in his commentary on the Psalms.

“Beloved, our Lord is watching over us, even in those times when we can’t see a solution to our problems or don’t know what decision to make. The early American Indians had a unique practice of training young braves. On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then, he had never been away from the security of the family and the tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick forest and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was his father. He had been there all night long. Our Lord is watching over us too.” Rod Mattoon, Treasures from Treasured Psalms, vol. 1, Treasures from Scripture Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2005), 110–111.

We are being watched over and we are loved, even when we don’t realize it. God is there to make sure that our lives are preserved and that His will is accomplished through us. Sometimes, like David we need to declare our need for that preservation and our desire to find refuge in God alone.

However, David didn’t just ask for help he also declared the relationship publically. “You are my God” he said. David was not just a casual follower of God, he believed that God not only could preserve his life but that God was also the bringer of everything Good, “My goodness is nothing apart from You.” This is contrasted by verse 4 where David declares that the name of the false god’s which are followed by so many will never be spoken of by Him. David only wants to worship and find joy in “his God” the Lord of all creation. Everything else is just fake and holds no help and gives no refuge.

Do we see our relationship with God in the same way? Do you declare your need for preservation from the Lord and the Lord only? Do you publically and privately declare God as yours? Do you recognize that everything that is good in your life is a direct result of God’s love and care for you? This is what David believed and I think it gives us an example of how to better worship and love our Heavenly father.

2nd stanza vs. 3-4

Now in the second stanza we see David contrast two different groups. The God followers or Saints and the those who hasten after other gods. David wants nothing to do with this second group of unbelievers because their ways continually bring the people down to sorrow. He has seen this time and time again as sin brings with it consequences and discipline. The methods of worshiping these false gods was heinous at best with their temple prostitution, cutting themselves, giving the children over as sacrifices. It is horrible and for what? Were the gods they served ever satisfied, did they provide them with goodness, protection and hope? No. They were fake gods, they don’t exist. Their only power was that which was given to them by the people who followed them. But that is the draw to false gods. They can only take what you are willing to give and they can only force you to do the things that you are willing to do. If your desire is to live your life the way that you want to and you don’t want anyone to tell you otherwise then why not make up a religion which allows you to do just that.

David on the other hand wanted to only associate with those who are “the excellent ones” those who continually follow God. The word translated at Saint is a word often used to refer to God being inherently holy, sacred and set apart, but here it is given to those believers who have put their trust in God alone. Do we number ourselves among these “excellent ones?” Have you taken to calling yourself Saint? It seems a bit pompous or maybe misplaced on such a man as I but our sainthood has nothing to do with us and everything to do with the Spirit who lives in us. I am not holy or sacred or set apart because of anything that I have done but solely because of what Christ has done and continues to do in me through the word of the Holy Spirit. We can number ourselves amongst this excellent group of men and women; saints because Christ Died for our sins and we get to live everyday in light of that beautiful truth.

3rd stanza vs. 5-7

In this third stanza David compares his relationship with God to that of an inheritance. This is a cultural idea that while it still maintains an understanding for us it is not as useful to our understanding then it once was. Growing up in farming community this made a bit more sense as I saw my friends prepare as they grew up to take over the family farm. They worked hard not just to earn a wage but to be found ready and fit to take over the farm. For David the life that he had been given by God was a portion of that inheritance or more correctly it was the promise of the inheritance. David knew that the inheritance would be his one day but that day was not quite there yet. As we look at verse 6 though we see that David recognized that not only was there to be an inheritance for him but that it was greatly to be anticipated. The use of saying that “the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;” is to say that the land that David was to inherit was choice, it was to be the best of the best land and it was his to call home and to be proud of. But I love how verse 5 ends because it does David no good to have the promise of a choice, beautiful lot if it will not be maintained. If the father is not going to make sure that the land is taken care of then it matter not how great the land is today because by the time you get inherit it will be ruined. But David recognized that God not only will give him the best of the land but that it will be maintained and ready for him to inherit when the time comes.

The lesson we learn in these verses is that not only do we have an inheritance but that it is an inheritance that is worth waiting for. When I think about the promises that God has made for me I remember things like a mansion built for me in a city with Golden streets, I think about a land without pain and without sin. The joy is knowing that none of those things will disappoint, every second of my future spent with God will be just as amazing as second it proceeded and it will be just as amazing as the seconds to come. And God not only promises these things but He is faithful and loving to make sure that they will come to fruition.

David also recognized that God not only promised a great future with Him but that God was also giving David counsel today. God is our counselor if we will listen. There are truths that the scripture gives but truth is only as good as the obedience that one is willing to put forth. Truth ignored is not helpful. But David recognized that the counsel that God gave him was not just helpful some of the time but that it was even there in the middle of the night. When we are at our lowest and we are feeling like no one cares or even listens to us this is another promise that God is listening and providing us with a way to live righteously if only we will listen. By reading, and applying the Word of God’s Truth to our lives we are guaranteed to find purpose and direction because it isn’t our wisdom that we are following but the wisdom of God.

4th stanza vs. 8-11

This last stanza is incredibly important because not only do we associate it with David but of even more importance we associate it with Christ. Peter quotes these 4 verses in Act 2:25-28 on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2:25-33. Read from 22.

With these Words of David being used to compare it with Christ we can read the entire Psalm in light of Christ. But let’s just look at 8 through 11. Jesus the messiah placed the preeminence of God as foremost in His life and therefore His father was always before Him. The second part of Vs. 8 really only makes sense in light of it being Christ for David could not declare to be at God’s right hand only the Messiah could claim that position. And because of the confidence found in being in God’s protection Jesus could face the horrors of the Crucifixion and defeat death. As we continue into verse 9 again we see a correlation to the cross and the fear that death brings with it. Because Jesus had perfect faith in God His Father and Jesus gloried in the relationship that He had with His Father, He knew that even though he would lose his flesh, the earthly vessel, he would be held secure in God’s capable hands. Jesus would die yes but His future was secure with God.

Jesus would not die nor would God abandon Him forever. Sheol is a word we don’t use but if you know the definition of the word we usually think of Hell. However, according to Theologian William MacDonald in his commentary “Believers Bible Commentary” “It is the word used in the OT for the grave, for the “netherworld,” and to describe the disembodied state. It is equivalent to the NT Greek word “Hades.” Sheol did not so much indicate a geographical location as the condition of the dead—the separation of the personality from the body” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 567. In other words Jesus will never be separated from His physical body and yet He will also never undergo any amount of decay or aging. He will forever be our priest king.

Lastly in verse 11 The Messiah will trust that God will direct His path, God will bring him Joy, and God will bring him the pleasures of life with God forever.

Applications

David had no idea that the words that he was praying were meant not only for him but also for Christ to come but the truths that he brought out not only show us a glimpse of the Messiah Jesus but also give us a reference to know how we too can live a life devoted to God.

Therefore we should read these Psalms in light of Davids Devotion and then model our own spiritual lives after it. What in these verses can lead you to living a more consecrated life?

Pray this Pslam.