Wednesday, April 9th | Psalm 16

About this Episode

Passage:
1 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.
(Psalm 16:1-6)

Reflection:

“Apart from you I have no good” (Psalm 16:2). It’s a short sentence, but it says more than entire volumes of theology. David’s words here are a confession, a re-centering of the heart around a simple truth: God himself is the source of everything good.

At one level, this is about gratitude. Every good thing—relationships, work, beauty, food, rest—is ultimately a gift from God. Even when life feels chaotic or uncertain, the blessings that remain are not accidents. They come from a good and generous hand. So this psalm invites us to say thank you—not just in a general sense, but directly to the one from whom every good and perfect gift comes.

But David’s words also go deeper. They’re not just about receiving good things from God, but about recognizing that God himself is the good thing we need most. He is our portion and our cup (Psalm 16:5). He is the inheritance that makes all the “lines” fall in pleasant places (16:6). To know him is better than any other joy or achievement life could offer. To walk apart from him is to forfeit true life, even if we appear to gain everything else.

So consider: Do you see God as the giver of every good thing—or do you live as if you must grab those things on your own? Is your joy rooted in God himself—or only in the gifts he gives?

Sometime today, pray that God would re-center your heart to delight in him above all else—and thank him for every good thing that flows from his hand.

Song:

Fullness of Joy (Psalm 16) by Caroline Cobb Smith
Lyrics:

O God You are my refuge
I know without You
I have no good thing
O God You are my portion
My chosen portion
You are what I need

No other god beside You
You hold my lot and fill my cup
Oh beautiful inheritance
You are enough

In your presence there is fullness
There is fullness of joy
At your right hand there is goodness
Boundless goodness
Forevermore
I choose you Lord

O God you go before me
You’re right beside me
In my darkest night
My God you hold my future
My hope it rests secure
In the finished work of Christ

My heart is glad
My soul rejoices
You hold me fast you won’t let go
Your ways are good and good for me
I’m yours and yours alone

Your holy one has risen up
He’s overcome the grave
The path of life is opened wide
For he has made a way

Prayer:
“O God, you are life, wisdom, truth, bounty, and blessedness,
the eternal, the only true good;
our God and our Lord, you are our hope and our heart’s joy—
we acknowledge with thanksgiving that you have made us in your image,
and that we may direct our thoughts to you.
Lord, make us know you aright,
that we may love, enjoy, and possess you more and more;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
— Anselm