Psalm 16

Psalm 16: 1-11

1 Keep me safe, O God,
     for in You I take refuge.
2 I said to the LORD, “You are my LORD;
     apart from You I have no good thing.”
3 As for the saints who are in the land,
     they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those will increase
     who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
     or take up their names on my lips.

5 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;
     indeed, I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
     even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me.
     Because He is at my right hand,
     I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
     my body also will rest secure,
10 because You will not abandon me to the grave,
     nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
11 You will make known to me the path of life;
     In Your presence is fullness of joy;
     In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

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Oh LORD, You are my LORD, my everything.  You are my refuge – my Shelter, Haven, Hope.  I run to You.  I have no good besides You.  You are so good - always good and always faithful - even when I can’t see it.  

LORD, You have assigned me my portion and my cup – You’ve given me all I have and You’ve brought me to where I am right now.  You have assigned me my cup of life right now.  Let me say: “my cup overflows” even when my cup of life looks empty and broken at times.

The boundary lines You have set for me have indeed fallen in pleasant and beautiful places.  You have given me boundary lines, and they are good ones.  I have a good Shepherd.  You know what I need in my pasture.  I often long to leave behind this pasture of trials and run down to the green, grassy meadows of the valley.  But right now You have set for me a pasture with boundary lines in the high mountain passes where the rocks are sharp and craggy, and where I must look harder to find the grass.  But You are my good and faithful Shepherd; I am but a fearful little lamb and I need to trust that YOU know what is best for me right now.  

And yes, my Savior, I do have a beautiful, delightful inheritance.  Heaven is my inheritance.  You are my inheritance.  You have such good things in store for me.  

Because You are at my right hand, I cannot be shaken.  Oh Comforter of my soul, I will set You continually and always before me and fix my eyes on You alone.  I put the world behind me, the cross before me, and I cannot be shaken through any trial. 

You make known to me the path of life.  You will fill me with Your joy when I trust in Your sweet love, when I am in Your presence here.  For YOU ARE JOY.  You fill me with joy in Your presence, and at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  I am not alone.  I am never alone.  All the way my Savior leads me.