Psalm 16:5-6 February 10, 2009

Ps 16:5-6 "LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." NIV

In this passage David is rejoicing in a blessed life. However, what makes this Psalm truly powerful is the paradox of its message. Evidently David’s circumstances warrant his cry in the first verse of this chapter, “Keep me safe, Oh God, for in you I take refuge.” In the first verse he is appealing for protection from apparent danger and/or fear and yet his focus in this passage is on the provision of God and the pleasant place in life that God has allowed him to enter in to. One of the foundational messages of this paradox has to be the reality that joyful contentment is not dependent upon ease
of circumstances.
David states “You have assigned me my portion and my cup.” This teaches us the first reality of a contented heart; acceptance. David has embraced his life and circumstances. Yes he is crying out for deliverance from evil, but even so he is doing it from a heart that is confident in God’s goodness and thankful for God’s provision. David is living in the knowledge that he is secure in God. The Psalmist reflects on this in Psalm 119:57 when he says of God, “You are my portion.” It is God himself that he has given to the saints as our anchor, our security, and our joy. The inheritance of the saints is God himself. The boundary lines that are in place for the saint are to live in the knowledge of God’s pleasure over us and the knowledge of his abundant supply for us. It is God who is our delightful inheritance.