The Favor of God

Series on the Psalms

Text: Psalm 16

Title: The Favor of God

Introduction

This Psalm is quoted prominently in the New Testament with a fuller than usual explanation of its intent. Peter applies the end of this Psalm to the resurrection of Christ in his sermon on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. He not only leaves no question that this is a messianic Psalm in the fullest sense, but he explains David’s faith in writing it. After reading Peter’s commentary one may wonder if this Psalm had any purpose other than predicting the resurrection of Christ. Our view of inspiration is organic and we maintain that all of the messianic Psalms are not only predictive, but also play an important role in the lives of those who wrote them and their contemporaries. Let us understand then that the main point of this Psalm is the favor of the Lord. It is God’s electing love for all his people that is the focus. That electing love is anchored ultimately in Christ so that it is appropriate that the Psalm draws our attention to Him. But we shall see as we examine this Psalm, how the trust in the favor of God and the fulfillment of that hope in Christ are tied together here. We consider the favor of God’s blessing, the fervor of God’s blessing and the fullness of God’s blessing.

I. The Favor of God’s Blessing

David identifies God as his refuge because of his confidence in God’s electing love in verses 1-3, Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. The Translators of the New International Version have, in this instance, caught the exact meaning of the original Hebrew in verses 2 and 3. The original is very obscure and capable of many different interpretations. I will not confuse you with all the options except to point out that in the latter half of verse 2 all that the Hebrew says is “my goodness not to thee,” or better, not besides thee. The meaning must be gleaned from the context of the Psalm. If we look down at verses 5 and 6 we see what is on David’s mind, LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. He is using the metaphor of inheritance. This is described in terms of the land which God has given his people, but ultimately the Lord himself is their inheritance and they are his inheritance. Thus in verse 2 he is saying that God’s covenant blessing is the source of all his happiness. In verse 3 he identifies the whole people of God, not in the earth as some translate, but in the land of Canaan as his delight. They are God’s inheritance. The fact that they are called holy ones and glorious ones follows from the truth that they are chosen of God and enjoy his favor. In fact the only reason for their being blessed is the favor of the Lord. I am weary of the repeated and incessant statements of evangelical Christian faith that say, “Everyone who repents of his sin and believes in Jesus is born again.” No one repents of his sin or believes in Jesus until he is born again, that is until he is an heir of grace. God makes his people heirs by his electing love. The prodigal son was an heir. He grew up an heir, he was an heir in the far country and when he returned home to the welcoming arms of his Father he was an heir. In fact the reason he returned was that he was an heir, although now he knew he didn’t deserve anything. That is the attitude of David in this Psalm. Apart from you I have no good thing.

II. The Fervor of God’s Blessing

David’s response to this love is twofold. He will not give allegiance to false Gods in verse 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. Secondly, he will focus on the Lord at all times according to verses 7 and 8, I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. There is, first of all, a steadfast vow to avoid the disappointment of idolatry, but the corollary of this is a constant attention to the Lord. Even at night, the Lord, and always the Lord, at my right hand, the Lord. Here is an undistracted devotion. This is a commitment to never forget the Lord.

III. The Fullness of God’s Blessing

Verses 9-11 disclose how full and wonderful God’s blessing is, Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 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. This is the portion which Peter applies to Christ’s resurrection. His commentary is especially interesting since he argues that this passage cannot apply to David since David is dead, buried, and decayed. Peter also adds that David was a prophet who saw what was ahead and spoke of the resurrection of Christ because he knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. This is all in Acts 2:29-31. Our task is to understand what this meant to David in the light of Peter’s inspired commentary. The ultimate truth here is that God’s favor is never removed from his people. His promise is sure. As The Lord is at the right hand of his people now so they will be at his right hand forever. The joy of those who trust in God will be an eternal joy and the pleasures everlasting. If David was not speaking of his own resurrection, but of Christ’s resurrection, how is this relevant to him and how does it comfort him? We need to look more carefully at the promise God had made to David and at his response to it. This is found in II Samuel 7. Remember that God is the God of all nations and that he had revealed this at the outset to Abraham. It was part of David’s theology to realize that the God of Israel was the universal sovereign. Note verses 11 through 16, The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever. The expectation is universal. This is supported by David’s response in verses 22-26, How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel; the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God. And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, “The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!” And the house of your servant David will be established before you. As J.A. Alexander says, this was not only a personal and national assurance but a universal one concerning the whole human race. The promise to David is part and parcel of the earlier promises of salvation which include all people. It is not unreasonable to conclude that David as a prophet could have seen this future development of his kingship as having universal implications and that he could readily speak of a person in the future who rule upon his throne forever. Thus while lacking any specific knowledge of Christ himself, David would be greatly encouraged by the fact that God’s promise would ultimately be accomplished and the victory would be an eternal one necessitating the conquering of death itself and its attendant corruption. We who have seen the fulfillment of these words in Jesus Christ gain great assurance regarding God’s promises and our future which is identified with our Savior. Dare we suggest that the real meaning of this Psalm is expressed by Paul in Romans 8 when he says, For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son; and those he predestined he also called, and those he called he also justified, and those he justified he also glorified.

Summary of Psalm 16

In Psalm 16 David takes courage from the fact that God has graciously made us His heirs. Our final inheritance is God Himself, and we are also His inheritance. David resolves to flee from melancholy idolatry and constantly practice the joyful presence of God. Joy in the presence of God is the eternal portion of God’s people as guaranteed by the defeat of the last enemy, death. God’s electing love which established Israel will be the security of all who trust in the Lord. According to Peter in Acts 2 this is fulfilled by the resurrection of David’s descendant, Jesus Christ, who will sit on his throne forever.