176340122 psalm-16-commentary

PEASE
A miktam[a] of David.
I

, "Michtam, or, by the change of one letter, Michtab - a “writing,”
such as a poem or song (compare Isa_38:9). Such a change of the letter m for b was
not unusual. The position of this word in connection with the author’s name, being
that usually occupied by some term, such as Psalm or song, denoting the style or
matter of the composition, favors this view of its meaning, though we know not why
this and Psalms 56-60 should be specially, called “a writing.” “A golden (Psalm),” or
“a memorial” are explanations proposed by some - neither of which, however
applicable here, appears adapted to the other Psalms where the term occurs.
According to Peter (Act_2:25) and Paul (Act_13:35), this Psalm relates to Christ and
expresses the feelings of His human nature, in view of His sufferings and victory
over death and the grave, including His subsequent exaltation at the right hand of
God. Such was the exposition of the best earlier Christian interpreters. Some
moderns have held that the Psalm relates exclusively to David; but this view is
expressly contradicted by the apostles; others hold that the language of the Psalm is
applicable to David as a type of Christ, capable of the higher sense assigned it in the

ew Testament. But then the language of Psa_16:10 cannot be used of David in any
sense, for “he saw corruption.” Others again propose to refer the first part to David,
and the last to Christ; but it is evident that no change in the subject of the Psalm is
indicated. Indeed, the person who appeals to God for help is evidently the same who
rejoices in having found it. In referring the whole Psalm to Christ, it is, however, by
no means denied that much of its language is expressive of the feelings of His people,
so far as in their humble measure they have the feelings of trust in God expressed by
Him, their head and representative. Such use of His language, as recorded in His
last prayer (Joh_17:1-26), and even that which He used in Gethsemane, under
similar modifications, is equally proper. The propriety of this reference of the Psalm
to Christ will appear in the scope and interpretation. In view of the sufferings
before Him, the Savior, with that instinctive dread of death manifested in
Gethsemane, calls on God to “preserve” Him; He avows His delight in holiness and
abhorrence of the wicked and their wickedness; and for “the joy that was set before
Him, despising the shame” [Heb_12:2], encourages Himself; contemplating the
glories of the heritage appointed Him. Thus even death and the grave lose their
terrors in the assurance of the victory to be attained and “the glory that should
follow” [1Pe_1:11].
2. SPURGEO

AL, "I Believe that we have in this verse a prayer of

the Lord Jesus Christ. Some portions of this Psalm cannot apply to anyone but the
Savior; and we have the examples of Peter and Paul to warrant us in saying that, in
this Psalm, David spoke of Jesus Christ. There is no apparent division in the Psalm,
so that, as one part of it refers most distinctly the Christ, we are justified in
concluding that the whole of it referee to him, and belongs to him! But we knew that
whatever belongs to Christ belongs also to all his people because of their vital union
with him, so we shall treat the text, first, as our Savior’s own prayer; and then,
secondly, we shall regard it also so the prayer of the followers of the Lamb."
3. SPURGEO

TREASURY OF DAVID, "TITLE. MICHTAM OF DAVID. This is
usually understood to mean THE GOLDE

PSALM, and such a title is most
appropriate, for the matter is as the most fine gold. Ainsworth calls it "David's
jewel, or notable song." Dr. Hawker, who is always alive to passages full of savour,
devoutly cries, "Some have rendered it precious, others golden, and others, precious
jewel; and as the Holy Ghost, by the apostles Peter and Paul, hath shown us that it is
all about the Lord Jesus Christ, what is here said of him is precious, is golden, is a
jewel indeed!" We have not met with the term Michtam before, but if spared to
write upon Psalms 56:1-13; Psalms 57:1-11; Psalms 58:1-11; Psalms 59:1-17; Psalms
60:1-12, we shall see it again, and shall observe that like the present these psalms,
although they begin with prayer, and imply trouble, abound in holy confidence and
close with songs of assurance as to ultimate safety and joy. Dr. Alexander, whose
notes are peculiarly valuable, thinks that the word is most probably a simple
derivative of a word signifying to hide, and signifies a secret or mystery, and
indicates the depth of doctrinal and spiritual import in these sacred compositions. If
this be the true interpretation it well accords with the other, and when the two are
put together, they make up a name which every reader will remember, and which
will bring the precious subject at once to mind. THE PSALM OF THE PRECIOUS
SECRET.
SUBJECT. We are not left to human interpreters for the key to this golden mystery,
for, speaking by the Holy Ghost, Peter tells us, "David speaketh concerning HIM."
(Acts 2:25) Further on in his memorable sermon he said, "Men and brethren, let me
freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and
his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that
God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the
flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before spake of the
resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see
corruption." (Acts 2:29-31)

or is this our only guide, for the apostle Paul, led by
the same infallible inspiration, quotes from this psalm, and testifies that David
wrote of the man through whom is preached unto us the forgiveness of sins. (Acts
13:35-38) It has been the usual plan of commentators to apply the psalm both to
David, to the saints, and to the Lord Jesus, but we will venture to believe that in it
"Christ is all; "since in the ninth and tenth verses, like the apostles on the mount,
we can see "no man but Jesus only."
DIVISIO

. The whole is so compact that it is difficult to draw sharp lines of
division. It may suffice to note our Lord's prayer of faith, Psalms 16:1, avowal of
faith in Jehovah alone, Psalms 16:2-5, the contentment of his faith in the present,

Psalms 16:6-7, and the joyous confidence of his faith for the future (Psalms 16:8;
Psalms 16:11).
Title. There is a diversity of opinion as to the meaning of the title of this Psalm. It is
called "Michtam of David, "but Michtam is the Hebrew word untranslated—the
Hebrew word in English letters—and its signification is involved in obscurity.
According to some, it is derived from a verb which means to hide, and denotes a
mystery or secret. Those who adopt this view, regard the title as indicating a depth
of doctrinal and spiritual import in the Psalm, which neither the writer nor any of
his contemporaries had fathomed. According to others, it is derived from a verb
which means to cut, to grave, to write, and denotes simply a writing of David. With
this view agree the Chaldee and Septuagint versions, the former translating it, "a
straight sculpture of David:" and the latter, "an inscription upon a pillar to David."
Others again, look upon "Michtam, "as being derived from a noun which means
gold, and they understand it as denoting a golden Psalm—a Psalm of surpassing
excellence, and worthy of being written in letters of gold. This was the opinion of
our translators, and hence they have rendered it on the margin—A golden Psalm of
David. The works of the most excellent Arabian poets were called golden, because
they were written in letters of gold; and this golden song may have been written and
hung up in some conspicuous part of the Temple. Many other interpretations have
been given of this term, but at this distance of time, we can only regard it as
representing some unassignable peculiarity of the composition. James Frame, 1858.
Title. Such are the riches of this Psalm, that some have been led to think the obscure
title, "Michtam, "has been prefixed to it on account of its golden stores. For (Mtk) is
used of the "gold of Ophir" (e.g., Psalms 45:9), and (Mtkm) might be a derivative
from that root. But as there is a group of five other Psalms (namely, Psalms 56:1-13;
Psalms 57:1-11; Psalms 58:1-11; Psalms 59:1-17; Psalms 60:1-12), that bear this
title, whose subject matter is various, but which all end in a tone of triumph, it has
been suggested that the Septuagint may be nearly right in their Sphlografia, as if "A
Psalm to be hung up or inscribed on a pillar to commemorate victory." It is,
however, more likely still that the term "Michtam" (like "Maschil"), is a musical
term, whose real meaning and use we have lost, and may recover only when the
ransomed house of Israel return home with songs. Meanwhile, the subject matter of
this Psalm itself is very clearly this—the righteous one's satisfaction with his lot.
Andrew A. Bonar.
Whole Psalm. Allow that in verse ten it is clear that our Lord is in this Psalm, yet
the application of every verse to Jesus in Gethsemane appears to be farfetched, and
inaccurate. How verse nine could suit the agony and bloody sweat, it is hard to
conceive, and equally so it is with regard to verse six. The "cup" of verse five is so
direct a contrast to that cup concerning which Jesus prayed in anguish of spirit, that
it cannot be a reference to it. Yet we think it right to add, that Mr. James Frame has
written a very valuable work on this Psalm, entitled "Christ in Gethsemane, "and
he has supported his theory by the opinion of many of the ancients. He says, "All the
distinguished interpreters of ancient days, such as Eusebius, Jerome, and Augustine,
explain the Psalm as referring to the Messiah, in his passion and his victory over
death and the grave, including his subsequent exaltation to the right hand of God;

"and, in a foot note he gives the following quotations: Jerome. —"The Psalm
pertains to Christ, who speaks in it... It is the voice of our King, which he utters in
the human nature that he had assumed, but without detracting from his divine
nature... The Psalm pertains to his passion." Augustine. —"Our King speaks in this
Psalm in the person of the human nature that he assumed, at the time of his passion,
the royal title inscribed will show itself conspicuous." C. H. S.
Whole Psalm. The present Psalm is connected in thought and language with the
foregoing, and linked on to the following Psalm by catchwords. It is entitled in the
Syriac and Arabic versions, a Psalm on the Election of the Church, and on the
"Resurrection of Christ." Christopher Wordsworth, D.D., 1868.
4. CALVI

, "In the beginning David commends himself to the protection of God.
He then meditates upon the benefits which he received from God, and thereby stirs
himself up to thanksgiving. By his service, it is true, he could in no respect be
profitable to God, but he, notwithstanding, surrenders and devotes himself entirely
to him, protesting that he will have nothing to do with superstitions. He also states
the reason of this to be, that full and substantial happiness consists in resting in God
alone, who never suffers his own people to want any good thing.
Mictam of David.
As to the meaning of the word mictam, the Jewish expositors are not of one mind.
Some derive it from כתם , catham, 302 as if it were a golden crest or jewel. Others
think it is the beginning of a song, which at that time was very common. To others it
seems rather to be some kind of tune, and this opinion I am inclined to adopt.
1 Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.
1. Barnes, “Preserve me, O God - Keep me; guard me; save me. This language
implies that there was imminent danger of some kind - perhaps, as the subsequent
part of the psalm would seem to indicate, danger of death. See Psa_16:8-10. The
idea here is, that God was able to preserve him from the impending danger, and that
he might hope he would do it.
For in thee do I put my trust - That is, my hope is in thee. He had no other
reliance than God; but he had confidence in him - he felt assured that there was
safety there.
2. Clarke, “Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust - On the mode of
interpretation which I have hinted at above, I consider this a prayer of the man
Christ Jesus on his entering on his great atoning work, particularly his passion in

the garden of Gethsemane. In that passion, Jesus Christ most evidently speaks as
man; and with the strictest propriety, as it was the manhood, not the Godhead, that
was engaged in the suffering.
שמרני shomreni, keep me - preserve, sustain, this feeble humanity, now about to
bear the load of that punishment due to the whole of the human race. For in thee,
חסיתי chasithi, have I hoped.

o human fortitude, or animal courage, can avail in
my circumstances. These are no common sufferings; they are not of a natural kind;
they are not proportioned to the strength of a human body, or the energy of a
human spirit; and my immaculate humanity, which is subjected to these sufferings,
must be dissolved by them, if not upheld by thee, the strong God. It is worthy of
remark, that our Lord here uses the term, אל El, which signifies the strong God, an
expression remarkably suited to the frailty of that human nature, which was now
entering upon its vicarious sufferings. It will be seen with what admirable propriety
the Messiah varies the appellations of the Divine Being in this address; a
circumstance which no translation without paraphrase can express.
3. Gill, “Preserve me, O God,.... Prayer is proper to Christ as man; he offered up
many prayers and supplications to Cost, even his Father, and his God, and as the
strong and mighty God, as the word (i) here used is commonly rendered by
interpreters; with whom, all things are possible, and who is able to save; see Heb_
5:7; and this petition for preservation was suitable to him and his case, and was
heard and answered by God; he was very remarkably preserved in his infancy from
the rage and fury of Herod; and very wonderfully was his body preserved and
supported in the wilderness under a fast of forty days and forty nights together, and
from being torn to pieces by the wild beasts among which he was, and from the
temptations of Satan, with which he was there assaulted; and throughout the whole
of his ministry he was preserved from being hindered in the execution of his office,
either by the flatteries, or menaces, or false charges of his enemies; and though his
life was often attempted they could not take it away before his time: and whereas
Christ is in this psalm represented as in the view of death and the grave, this
petition may be of the same kind with those in Joh_12:27; and put up with the same
submission to the will of God; and at least may intend divine help and support in his
sufferings and death, preservation from corruption in the grave, and the
resurrection of him from the dead; and it may also include his concern for the
preservation of his church, his other self, and the members of it, his apostles,
disciples, and all that did or should believe in his name, for whom he prayed after
this manner a little before his death; see Luk_22:31;
for in thee do I put my trust: or "have hoped" (k); the graces of faith and hope were
implanted in the heart of Christ, as man, who had the gifts and graces of the Spirit
without measure bestowed on him, and these very early appeared in him, and
showed themselves in a very lively exercise, Psa_22:7; and were in a very eminent
manner exercised by him a little before his death, in the view of it, and when he was
under his sufferings, and hung upon the cross, Isa_1:6, Mat_27:46; and this his trust
and confidence in God alone, and not in any other, is used as a reason or argument

for his preservation and safety.
4. Henry, “This psalm is entitled Michtam, which some translate a golden psalm, a
very precious one, more to be valued by us than gold, yea, than much fine gold,
because it speaks so plainly of Christ and his resurrection, who is the true treasure
hidden in the field of the Old Testament.
I. David here flies to God's protection with a cheerful believing confidence in it
(Psa_16:1): “Preserve me, O God! from the deaths, and especially from the sins, to
which I am continually exposed; for in thee, and in thee only, do I put my trust.”
Those that by faith commit themselves to the divine care, and submit themselves to
the divine guidance, have reason to hope for the benefit of both. This is applicable to
Christ, who prayed, Father, save me from this hour, and trusted in God that he
would deliver him.
5. Jamison, “Preserve me, etc. — keep or watch over my interests.
in thee ... I ... trust — as one seeking shelter from pressing danger.
6. K&D, “The Psalm begins with a prayer that is based upon faith, the special
meaning of which becomes clear from Psa_16:10 : May God preserve him (which He
is able to do as being אֵל , the Almighty, able to do all things), who has no other
refuge in which he has hidden and will hide but Him. This short introit is excepted
from the parallelism; so far therefore it is monostichic, - a sigh expressing
everything in few words.
7. SPURGEO

TREASURY OF DAVID, "Ver. 1. Preserve me, keep, or save me, or
as Horsley thinks, "guard me, "even as bodyguards surround their monarch, or as
shepherds protect their flocks. Tempted in all points like as we are, the manhood of
Jesus needed to be preserved from the power of evil; and though in itself pure, the
Lord Jesus did not confide in that purity of nature, but as an example to his
followers, looked to the Lord, his God, for preservation. One of the great names of
God is "the Preserver of men, "(Job 7:20,)and this gracious office the Father
exercised towards our Mediator and Representative. It had been promised to the
Lord Jesus in express words, that he should be preserved, Isaiah 49:7-8. "Thus saith
the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to
him whom the nation abhorreth, I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of
the people." This promise was to the letter fulfilled, both by providential
deliverance and sustaining power, in the case of our Lord. Being preserved himself,
he is able to restore the preserved of Israel, for we are "preserved in Christ Jesus
and called." As one with him, the elect were preserved in his preservation, and we
may view this mediatorial supplication as the petition of the Great High Priest for
all those who are in him. The intercession recorded in John 17:1-26 is but an
amplification of this cry, "Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom
thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are." When he says, "preserve me,
"he means his members, his mystical body, himself, and all in him. But while we
rejoice in the fact that the Lord Jesus used this prayer for his members, we must not
forget that he employed it most surely for himself; he had so emptied himself, and so

truly taken upon him the form of a servant, that as man he needed divine keeping
even as we do, and often cried unto the strong for strength. Frequently on the
mountaintop he breathed forth this desire, and on one occasion in almost the same
words, he publicly prayed, "Father, save me from this hour." (John 12:27.) If Jesus
looked out of himself for protection, how much more must we, his erring followers,
do so!
O God. The word for God here used is EL (la), by which name the Lord Jesus, when
under a sense of great weakness, as for instance when upon the cross, was wont to
address the Mighty God, the Omnipotent Helper of his people. We, too, may turn to
El, the Omnipotent One, in all hours of peril, with the confidence that he who heard
the strong crying and tears of our faithful High Priest, is both able and willing to
bless us in him. It is well to study the name and character of God, so that in our
straits we may know how and by what title to address our Father who is in heaven.
For in thee do I put my trust, or, I have taken shelter in thee. As chickens run
beneath the hen, so do I betake myself to thee. Thou art my great overshadowing
Protector, and I have taken refuge beneath thy strength. This is a potent argument
in pleading, and our Lord knew not only how to use it with God, but how to yield to
its power when wielded by others upon himself. "According to thy faith be it done
unto thee, "is a great rule of heaven in dispensing favour, and when we can
sincerely declare that we exercise faith in the Mighty God with regard to the mercy
which we seek, we may rest assured that our plea will prevail. Faith, like the sword
of Saul, never returns empty; it overcomes heaven when held in the hand of prayer.
As the Saviour prayed, so let us pray, and as he became more than a conqueror, so
shall we also through him; let us when buffeted by storms right bravely cry to the
Lord as he did, "in thee do I put my trust."
Ver. 1. Preserve me, O God. Here David desireth not deliverance from any special
trouble, but generally prayeth to be fenced and defended continually by the
providence of God, wishing that the Lord would continue his mercy towards him
unto the end; whereby he foresaw it was as needful for him to be safeguarded by
God, his protection in the end, as at the time present; as also how he made no less
account of it in his prosperity than in adversity. So that the man of God still feared
his infirmity, and therefore acknowledgeth himself ever to stand in need of God his
help. And here is a sure and undoubted mark of the child of God, when a man shall
have as great a care to continue and grow in well doing, as to begin; and this
praying for the gift of final perseverance is a special note of the child of God. This
holy jealousy of the man of God made him so desire to be preserved at all times, in
all estates, both in soul and body. Richard Greenham, 1531-1591.
Ver. 1. For in thee do I put my trust. Here the prophet setteth down the cause why
he prayeth to God; whereby he declareth, that none can truly call upon God unless
they believe. Romans 10:14. "How shall they call on him in whom they have not
believed?" In regard whereof as he prayeth to God to be his Saviour, so he is fully
assured that God will be his Saviour. If, then, without faith we cannot truly call
upon God, the men of this world rather prate like parrots than pray like Christians,
at what time they utter these words; for that they trust not in God they declare both
by neglecting the lawful means, and also in using unlawful means. Some we see trust
in friends; some shoulder out, as they think, the cross with their goods; some fence

themselves with authority; others bathe and baste themselves in pleasure to put the
evil day far from them; others make flesh their arm; and others make the wedge of
gold their confidence; and these men when they seek for help at the Lord, mean in
their hearts to find it in their friends, good authority and pleasure, howsoever for
fear, they dare not say this outwardly. Again, here we are to observe under what
shelter we may harbour ourselves in the showers of adversity, even under the
protection of the Almighty. And why? "Whoso dwelleth in the secret of the Most
High, shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty." And here in effect is showed, that
whosoever putteth his trust in God shall be preserved; otherwise the prophet's
reason here had not been good. Besides, we see he pleads not by merit, but sues by
faith, teaching us that if we come with like faith, we may obtain the like deliverance.
Richard Greenham.
8. SPURGEO

, “In considering these words as Christ’s prayer, does it
not immediately strike you as a very singular thing that Christ should pray at all? It
is most certain that he was “very God of very God,” that “Word” who was in the
beginning with God, and who was himself God, the great Creator “without whom
was not anything made that was made.” But, without in any degree taking away his
glory and dignity as God, we must, never forget that he was just as truly man, one of
the great family of mankind, and “as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same.” Though he remained sinless, he “was
in all points tempted like as we are.” Being, therefore, man, and intending to make
himself not only the atoning sacrifice far his people, but also a perfect example that
they might imitate, it became needful that he should pray. What would a Christian
be without prayer, and how could a Christ who never prayed be an example to a
Christian? Yet notwithstanding the fact that it was necessary, it was marvelously
condescending on our Savior’s part. The Son of God, with strong crying and tears
making known, his requests unto his Father, is one of the greatest marvels in all the
ages. What a wondrous stoop it was that Jesus, the unsinning Son of God, the thrice-holy
One, the Anointed, the Christ, for whom prayer is to be made continually,
should himself have prayed to his Father!
Yet, while there is much condescension in this fact, there is also much comfort in it.
When I kneel in prayer, it is a great consolation to me to know that where I bow
before the Lord, there is the print of my Savior’s knees. When my cry goes up to
heaven, it goes along the road which Chris’s cry once traveled. He cleared away all
impediments so that now my prayer may follow in the track of his. Be comforted,
Christian, if you have; to pray in dark and stormy nights, with the thought that
your Master did the same.
“Cold mountains and the midnight air
Witness’d the fervor of his prayer;
The decent his temptation knew,
His conflict and his victory too.”
If you have to pray in sore agony of spirit fearing that God has forsaken you,

remember that Christ has gone further even than that into the depths of anguish in
prayer, for he cried in Gethsemane, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
In addition to being condescending and comforting, this fact of our Savior praying
shows the intimable communion there is between Christ and all the members of his
mystical body. It is not only we who have to pray, but he who is our Head bowed in
august majesty before the throne of grace. Throughout the narratives of the four
evangelists, one is struck with the many times that mention is made of Christ’s
prayers. At his baptism, it was while he was praying that “the heaven was opened,
and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape, like a dove upon him, and a voice
come from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”
On another occasion, we read that, “as he was praying in a certain place, when he
ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught
his disciples.” On the mount of transfiguration, “as he prayed, the fashion of his
countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.” Jesus was
emphatically “a man of prayer.” After a long day of teaching the people and healing
the sick, instead of seeking repose, he would spend the whole night in prayer to
God; or, at another time, rising up a great while before day, he would depart into a
solitary place, and there pray for the needed strength for the new day’s duties.
Having thus noticed the fact of Christ’s praying, I want now to call your attention to
the particular prayer in our text, and I ask you first to observe that it is addressed to
God in a peculiar aspect. You do not see this in our translation, but in, the Hebrew
it is, “ Preserve me, O El.” That is one of the names of God, and the same name that
the Savior used when he cried, “Eloi, Eloi, lame sabachthani?” “My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me?” Many Christians seem to have only one name for God,
but the Hebrew saints had many titles for the one living and true God. Worldlings
generally talk of “The Almighty” as though his only characteristic was the
omnipotent might which is displayed in great storms on the sea or terrible calamities
on the land. But our Savior, whose knowledge of God was perfect, here selects a
name of God peculiarly suitable to the condition in which he was when he offered
this prayer; for, according to most commentators, the word “El” means “The strong
One.” So it is weakness crying to the Strong for strength: “Preserve me, O thou who
art so strong, so mighty, that thou upholdest all things by the word of thy power!”
Others say that “El” means “The Ever-present One.” This is a delightful name for
God, and one that is most appropriate for a believer to was when he is in peril on
land or sea, in the den of lions or in the burning fiery furnace: “ O thou ever-present
One preserve me!” Jehovah is indeed “a very present help in trouble.” I wish we
could acquire a more intimate knowledge of the divine character so, that, in calling
upon him in prayer, we could seek the aid of that special attribute which we need to
have exercised on our behalf. What a blessed title is that of Shaddai which Bunyan
uses in his Holy War,-El Shaddai, God-all sufficient or, as some render it, “The
many-breasted God,” the God with a great abundance of heart, full of mercy and
grace, and supplying the needs of all his children out of his own fullness! Then take
the other names or titles of God, Jehovah-

issi, Jehovah-Shammah, Jehovah-
Shalom, Jehovah-Tsidkenu, and any others that you can find, and think how much
better we could pray if, instead of always saying, “O Lord!” or “O God!” we

appealed to Him under some title which indicates the attribute which we desired to
be exerted on our behalf.

ext notice that this is a prayer produced by an evident sense of weakness. The
suppliant feels that he cannot preserve himself. We believe that the human nature of
Christ was altogether free from any tendency to sin, and that it never did sin in any
sense whatsoever; yet, still, the Savior here appears not to rely upon the natural
purity of his nature but he turns away from that which might seem to us for be a
good subject for reliance in order to show that he would have nothing to do with
self-righteousness, just as he wishes to have nothing to do with it. The perfect Savior
prays, “Preserve me, O God;” so, beloved, let us also pray this prayer for ourselves.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was without any tendency to sin, put himself
under the shadow of the almighty wings; then shall I wickedly and presumptuously
dare to go into danger trusting to my own integrity, and relying upon my own
strength of will? God forbid that you or I should ever act thus. Jesus was only weak
because he had assumed our nature, yet in his weakness there was no tendency to
sin; but our weakness is linked with a continual liability to evil; so, if Jesus prayed,
“Preserve me, O God,” with what earnestness should each one of us cry unto the
Lord, “ Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.”
I remark, next, that this prayer in the lips of Christ, appeals for a promised blessing.
“What!” says someone, “is there anywhere in God’s Word a promise that Christ
shall be preserved?” Oh, yes! Turn to the prophecy of Isaiah, the forty-ninth
chapter, and the seventh and following verses, and there read, “Thus saith the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him,
whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes
also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel,
and he shall choose thee. Thus saith the lord, in an acceptable time have I heard
thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give
thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the
desolate heritages.” When the Savior prayed this prayer, he could remind his Father
of the promise given through Isaiah, and say to him, “Thou hast said, ’I will
preserve thee’ do as thou hast said, O my Father!”
Beloved brethren and sisters in Christ, let us learn, from our Savior’s example, to
plead the promises of God when we go to him in prayer. Praying without a promise
is like going to war without a weapon. God is, so gracious that he may yield to our
entreaties even when he has not given a definite promise concerning what we are
asking at his hands; but going to him with one, of his own promises is like going to a
bank with a cheque, he must honor his own promise. We speak reverently, yet very
confidently upon this point. To be consistent with, his own character, he must fulfill
his own word which he hath spoken; so, when you approach the throne of grace,
search out the promise, that applies to your case, and plead it with your heavenly
Father, and then expect that he will do as he has said.
Observe, next, that this prayer of Christ obtained an abundant answer. You
recollect the many preservations which he experienced, how he was preserved, while

yet a child, from the envy and malice of Herod, and how again and again he was
delivered from those who sought his life. He was also preserved many times from
falling into the snares set for him by scribes and Pharisees and others who sought to
entrap him in his talk. How wisely he answered the lawyer who came to him
tempting him, and those who sought to catch him over the matter of paying tribute
to Caesar! He was never taken as a bird ensnared by the fowler; he was always
preserved in every emergency. He was like a physician in a hospital full of lepers,
yet he was always preserved from the contagion.
Then, to close this part of the subject, notice that this prayer most deeply concerns
the whole company of believers in Christ, for it strikes me that, when our Savior
prayed to his Father, “ Preserve me,” he was thinking of the whole of his mystical
body, and pleading for all who were vitally united to him. You remember how, in
his great intercessory supplication, he pleaded for his disciples, “Holy Father, keep
through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as
we are.” This is the same prayer as “Preserve me” if we understand the “me” to
include all who are one with Christ. We also are included in that supplication, for he
further said, “

either pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe
on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I
in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast
sent me.” Yes, dear friend, though you may seem to yours if to be the meanest of the
Lord’s people, even though you are in your own apprehension but as his feet that
glow in the furnace of affliction, even you are among those whom Christ entreated
his Father to keep, and you may rest assured that he will certainly do so. Christ will
never lose one of the members of his mystical body; if he could do so, his body
would be imperfect and incomplete, but that it never can be. Paul tells us that
Christ’s Church “is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all;” so that, if he
were left without his fullness, he would have suffered an irreparable loss. That can
never be the case, so this prayer will be answered concerning the whole body of
believers in Jesus, who shall be presented “faultless before the presence of his glory
with exceeding joy,” blessed be his holy name!
Let us now turn to the plea which Christ urged in support of his prayer: “Preserve
me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.” Did Christ put his trust in his Father? We
surely need to ask the question, and we know at once what the answer must be. In
the matter of faith, as in everything else, he is a perfect example to his people, and
we cannot imagine a Christian without faith. Faith is the very life of a true believer
in Jesus; indeed, without faith he is not a believer, so Christ was his model in this
respect as well as in every other.
The words “in thee do I put not trust” may be translated “in thee do I shelter”
There is in them an allusion to running under something for shelter; in fact, the best
figure I can use to give you the meaning of this sentence is that, of the chicken
running under the wings of the hen for shelter. Just so do we hide ourselves under
the overshadowing wings of the Eternal. As a man, Christ used this plea with God,
that he was sheltering from all evil under the divine wings of power, and wisdom,
and goodness, and truth. This is an accurate interpretation of the passage, and there
are many instances recorded in Scripture in which Christ really did this. Take, for

instance that remarkable declaration in Psalm 22:9: “Thou didst make me hope
when I was upon my mother’s breasts,” as though very early in life, probably far
earlier than any of us were brought to know the Lord, Jesus Christ was exercising
hope in the Most High. Then again, in the fiftieth chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah,
we have these words, which must refer to the Lord Jesus Christ, “I gave my back to
the smilers, and my cheeks to them, that plucked oh the hair: I hid not my face from
shame and spitting.” “That verse is immediately followed by this one; “For the Lord
God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face
like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” These words were peculiarly
appropriate from the lips of Christ, yet each one, of his followers may also say, “The
Lord God will help me.”
Even in his last agonies Christ uttered words which plainly prove that he had put
his trust in God, “ Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” There is more faith
in that, final commendation of his soul to his Father than some of you might
imagine, for it takes great faith to be able to speak thus in the circumstance in which
Christ was then placed.

ot only was he suffering the terrible pangs that were
inseparable from death by crucifixion, but he had to bear the still greater grief that
was his portion when his Father’s face was withdrawn from, him because he was in
the place of sinners and therefore had to endure the separation from God which was
their due. Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him;” and this was what
Jesus actually did. What wondrous faith it was that trusted in God even when he
said, “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow,
saith the Lord of hosts!” Yet even then Jesus turned to his Father, and said, “Father
into thy hands I commend my spirit; I commit myself into the hand that wields the
sword of infallible justice, into the hand that has crushed me, and broken me in
pieces.” Talk of faith, did you ever hear of such sublime confidence as that having
been displayed by anyone, else? When, a martyr had to lay down his life for the
truth, his faith is sustained by the comforting presence of God; he believes in the
God who is smiling upon him even while he is in the midst of the fire. But Christ, on
the cross trusted in the God who had forsaken him. O beloved, imitate this faith so
far as it is possible in your case! What a glorious height of confidence Jesus reached;
oh, that we may have grace to follow where he has so blessedly led the way!
I want you carefully to notice, the argument, that is contained in Christ’s plea:
“Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.” Christ, as God, had felt the
power of that plea, so he know that his Father would also feel the power of it. You
remember that Jesus said be the woman of Canaan, “ O woman, great is thy faith:
be it unto thee even as thou wills.” Her faith prevailed with him, and he felt that his
faith would prevail with his Father; so that, when he said, “ In thee do I put my
trust,” he knew that he would obtain the preservation for which he pleaded. Jesus
never forgot that the rule of the kingdom is “According to your faith be it done unto
you.” He knew that we must “ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is
like a wave: of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let, not that man think that
he shall receive anything of the Lord.” So Jesus came to his Father with this plea, “I
do trust in thee, I have, absolute confidence in thee, therefore, I pray thee to
preserve me.” My dear bother or sister in Christ, can you say the same? Can you

look up to God, and say, “In thee do I put my trust”? If so, you may use it as Christ
used it in pleading with his Father. Perhaps you have gazed upon a weapon that has
been wielded by some great warrior. If you had that weapon in your hand, and were
going forth to fight, you would feel, “I must not be a coward while I am grasping a
brave man’s sword, but I must play the man with it as he did.” Well, you have in
your grasp the very weapon which Christ used when he gained the victory. You can
go before God with the very same argument that Christ used with his Father, and
he, will hear your plea even as he heard Christ’s: “Preserve me, O God: for in thee
do I put my trust.”
—————
II. I had intended, in the second place, to speak of my text as The Prayer Of Christ’s
Followers; but, instead of preaching upon it as I would have done had time
permitted, I will merely give, you a few notes upon it, and then you can preach the
second sermon yourselves by practicing it as you go your several ways to your
homes.
First, what does this prayer mean to a believer? It means that you put yourself and
all belonging to you under divine protection. Before you close your eyes, pray this
prayer: “’Preserve me, O God!’ Preserve my body, my family, my house, from fire,
from famine, from hurt or harm of every kind.” Specially present the prayer in a
spiritual sense. Preserve me from the world; let me not be carried away with its
excitements; suffer me not to be before its blandishments, nor to fear its frowns.
Preserve me, from the devil; let him not tempt me above what I am able to bear.
Preserve me from myself; keep me from growing envious, selfish, high-minded,
proud, slothful. Preserve me from those evils into which I see others run, and
preserve me, from those evils into which I am myself most apt to run; keep me, from
evils, known and from evils unknown. ’Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep
back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over
me.’“
This is a prayer which is more comprehensive in the original than it is in our
version. It may be translated, “ Save me,” and this is a prayer that is suitable for
many here. Those of you who have never prayed before can begin with this prayer,
“Save me, O strong One! It will indeed need a strong One to save me, for I am so far
gone that nothing but omnipotence can save me.” It may also be rendered, “Keep
me,” or “Guard me.” It is the word which we should use in speaking of the body-guard
of a king or of shepherds protecting their flocks. It is a prayer which you may
keep on using from the time you begin to know the Lord until you get to heaven and
then you will only need to alter Jude’s Doxology very slightly, and to say, “Unto him
who has kept us from falling, and presented us faultless before the presence of his
glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty,
dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”

ext, when is this prayer suitable? Well, it is suitable at this moment; you do not
know what dangers you will meet with before you go to your bed tonight. Take,

special care when you come to what you consider the safe parts of the road, for you
will probably be most in danger when you think you are in no danger at all. It is
often a greater peril not to be tempted than to be tempted. This prayer is suitable to
some of you who are going into new situation, where you will have new
responsibilities, new duties, and probably new trials and difficulties. In the old days
of superstition, people were foolish enough to wear charms of various kinds to
guard them from, evil; but such a prayer as this is better than all their charms. If
your pathway should lie, through the enchanted fields or even through the valley of
death-shade, you need not be afraid, but may march boldly on with this prayer on
your lips, “ Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.”
Then, in what spirit ought this prayer to be offered? It should be offered in a spirit
of deep humility. Do not pray, “Preserve me, O God,” as though you felt that you
were a very precious person; it is true that God regards you as one of his jewels if
you are a believer in Jesus, but you are not to regard yourself as a jewel. Think of
yourself as a brand plucked from the burning, and then you will pray with due
humility. Pray as a poor feeble creature who must be destroyed unless God shall
preserve you. Pray as if you were a sheep that had been shorn, and that needed to
have the wind tempered to it. Pray as a drowning man might pray, “Preserve me, O
God.” Pray as sinking Peter prayed, “Lord, save me,” for so you shall be preserved
even as he was.
With what motive ought you to pray this prayer? Pray it specially out of hatred to
sin. Whenever you think of sin, the best thing you can do is to pray, “Preserve me, O
God.” Whenever you hear or read of others doing wrong, do not begin to plume
yourself upon your own excellence, but cry at once, “Preserve me, O God, or it may
be that I shall sin even as those others have done” If this night you are a Christian,
the praise for this is not to be given to yourself, but to the Lord who has made you to
differ from others. You are only what his grace has made you, so straw how highly
you value that grace by asking for more and more of it.
This must suffice concerning the prayer off the text, for I must, in closing, remind
you of the plea, and ask if each one here is able to use it: “Preserve me, O God: for
in thee do I put my trust.” Can you, my friend, urge this plea with God to-night?
Perhaps you say that you could do so years ago, then why not put your trust in the
Lord now? It is present faith that you need in your present perils, and you, cannot
pray acceptably without faith “for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder off them that diligently seek him.” You know what it is to
trust a friend, and perhaps to be deceived, but do you know what it is to trust in
God, and not be, deceived? Are you trusting for salvation only to Christ? Do you
sing,-
“Thou, O Christ, art all I want,
More than all in thee I find,”?
Is this your plea continually; are you always trusting in God, in the dark as well as
in the light? Many a man thinks he is strong until he begins to put forth his

strength, and then he finds that it is utter weakness. There are many who fancy they
are full of faith until they try to exercise it, and then they realize how little they
have. They are fine soldiers when there is no fighting, and splendid sailors as long as
they are on dry land; but such faith as that is of little service when some great
emergency arises. The faith we used is that firm confidence which sings,-
“His love in time past forbids me to think
He’ll leave me at last in trouble to sink;
Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review
Confirms his good pleasure to help me quite through.”
If that is the kind of faith you have, you need not fear to pray, “Preserve me, O
God,” for he will be as a wall of fire round about you to guard you from all evil; and
though you are now in the midst of those who would drag you down to their level if
they could, or turn you aside from, the paths of righteousness, the Lord, in whom
you have put your trust, will never leave you, nor forsake you, but will bring you in
his own good time to that blessed place of which he has told you in his Word, and
there,-
“Far from a world of grief and sin,
With God eternally shut in,”-
you shall be preserved from all evil for ever, and faith shall be blessedly exchanged
for sight. God grant that every one of us may be able to pray the prayer of our text,
and to use the plea, “Preserve me, O God: for in thee have I put my trust,” for
Jesus; sake! Amen.
9. CALVI

, "This is a prayer in which David commits himself to the protection of
God. He does not, however, here implore the aid of God, in some particular
emergency, as he often does in other psalms, but he beseeches him to show himself
his protector during the whole course of his life, and indeed our safety both in life
and in death depends entirely upon our being under the protection of God. What
follows concerning trust, signifies much the same thing as if the Holy Spirit assured
us by the mouth of David, that God is ready to succor all of us, provided we rely
upon him with a sure and steadfast faith; and that he takes under his protection
none but those who commit themselves to him with their whole heart. At the same
time, we must be reminded that David, supported by this trust, continued firm and
unmoved amidst all the storms of adversity with which he was buffeted.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing.”
1. Barnes, “O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord - The words “O my soul” are
not in the original. A literal rendering of the passage would be, “Thou hast said unto
the Lord,” etc., leaving something to be supplied. De Wette renders it: “To Yahweh
I call; thou art my Lord.” Luther: “I have said to the Lord.” The Latin Vulgate:
“Thou, my soul, hast said to the Lord.” The Septuagint: “I have said unto the
Lord.” Dr. Horsley: “I have said unto Jehovah.” The speaker evidently is the
psalmist; he is describing his feelings toward the Lord, and the idea is equivalent to
the expression “I have said unto the Lord.” Some word must necessarily be
understood, and our translators have probably expressed the true sense by inserting
the words, “O my soul.” the state of mind indicated is that in which one is carefully
looking at himself, his own perils, his own ground of hope, and when he finds in
himself a ground of just confidence that he has put his trust in God, and in God
alone. We have such a form of appeal in Psa_42:5, Psa_42:11; Psa_43:5, “Why art
thou cast down, O my soul?”
Thou art my Lord - Thou hast a right to rule over me; or, I acknowledge thee as
my Lord, my sovereign. The word here is not Yahweh, but Adonai - a word of more
general signification than Yahweh. The sense is, I have acknowledged Yahweh to be
my Lord and my God. I receive him and rest upon him as such.
My goodness extendeth not to thee - This passage has been very variously
rendered. Prof. Alexander translates it: “My good (is) not besides thee (or, beyond
thee);” meaning, as he supposes: “My happiness is not beside thee, independent of,
or separable from thee?” So DeWette: “There is no success (or good fortune) to me
out of thee.” Others render it: “My goodness is not such as to entitle me to thy
regard.” And others, “My happiness is not obligatory or incumbent on thee; thou
art not bound to provide for it.” The Latin Vulgate renders it: “My good is not
given unless by thee.” Dr. Horsley: “Thou art my good - not besides thee.” I think
the meaning is: “My good is nowhere except in thee; I have no source of good of any
kind - happiness, hope, life, safety, salvation - but in thee. My good is not without
thee.” This accords with the idea in the other member of the sentence, where he
acknowledges Yahweh as his Lord; in other words, he found in Yahweh all that is
implied in the idea of an object of worship - all that is properly expressed by the
notion of a God. He renounced all other gods, and found his happiness - his all - in
Yahweh.
2. Clarke, “Thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord - Thou hast said
ליהוה layhovah to Jehovah, the supreme, self-existing, and eternal Being; Thou art
my Lord, אדני אתה adonai attah, Thou art my prop, stay, or support. As the
Messiah, or Son of God, Jesus derived his being and support from Jehovah; and the
man Christ was supported by the eternal Divinity that dwelt within him, without
which he could not have sustained the sufferings which he passed through, nor have

made an atonement for the sin of the world; it is the suffering Messiah, or the
Messiah in prospect of his sufferings, who here speaks.
My goodness extendeth not to thee - There are almost endless explanations of this
clause; no man can read them without being confounded by them. The Septuagint
read ὁτι των αγαθων μου ου χρειαν εχεις; Because thou dost not need my goods. The
Vulgate follows the Septuagint. The Chaldee: My good is given only by thyself.
So the Syriac: My good is from thee. The Arabic: Thou dost not need my good
works. And in this sense, with shades of difference, it has been understood by most
commentators and critics.
Bishop Horsley translates, Thou art my good - not besides thee. Dr. Kennicott, My
goodness is not without thee.
I think the words should be understood of what the Messiah was doing for men.
My goodness, טובתי tobathi, “my bounty,” is not to thee. What I am doing can add
nothing to thy divinity; thou art not providing this astonishing sacrifice because
thou canst derive any excellence from it: but this bounty extends to the saints - to all
the spirits of just men made perfect, whose bodies are still in the earth; and to the
excellent, אדירי addirey, “the noble or supereminent ones,” those who through faith
and patience inherit the promises. The saints and illustrious ones not only taste of
my goodness, but enjoy my salvation. Perhaps angels themselves may be intended;
they are not uninterested in the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of our
Lord. They desire to look into these things; and the victories of the cross in the
conversion of sinners cause joy among the angels of God.
The קדושים kedoshim, “saints,” or consecrated persons, may refer to the first
planters of Christianity, evangelists, apostles, etc., who were separated from all
others, and consecrated to the great important work of preaching among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. With these was all the desire, חפץ
chephets, the good will and delight of Christ. In all their ministrations he was both
with them and in them.
The passage, taken as referring to David, intimates that he abhorred the company
of the profane and worthless, and delighted to associate with them that excelled in
virtue.
On these two verses the translation and paraphrase of my old Psalter must not be
forgotten: -
Psa_16:1 Conserva me, Domine, etc.
Trans. Kepe me Lord, for I hoped in the; I said til Lord, my God thou ert; for, of my
gudes thu has na nede.
Par - The voice of Crist in his manhede; prayand til the fader, and sayand: Lord,
fader, kepe me imang peplis, for I hoped in the, noght in me. I said til the, my God,
thu ert in that, that I am man; for thu has no nede of my godes; bot I haf of the, al
that I haf; here is the wil pride of men confounded; that evenes that thai haf ought
of tham self bot syn.
Psa_16:2 Sanctis qui sunt in terra, etc.
Trans. Til halowes the qwilk er his land, he selcouthed all my willes in tham.
Par -

oght til wiked, bot til halows clene in saule, and depertid fra erdly bysynes,

the qwilk er in his land: that es, that haf fested thair hope in the land of heven; and
rotyd in luf: the qwilk hope es als anker in stremys of this werld. He selcouthed al
my willes, that of wonderful, he made my willes, of dying and rysing, sett and
fulfilled in tham: that es, in thair profete, qware in that feled qwat it profeted tham
my mekenes that wild dye, and my myght to rise.
3. Gill, “ O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord,.... Some take these to be the words
of David speaking to the church, who had owned the Lord to be her Lord, and had
declared what follows; others think they are the words of God the Father to his Son,
suggesting to him what he had said; but they are rather an apostrophe, or an
address of Christ to his own soul; and the phrase, "O my soul", though not in the
original text, is rightly supplied by our translators, and which is confirmed by the
Targum, and by the Jewish commentators, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi;
thou art my Lord; Christ, as man, is a creature made by God; his human nature is
the true tabernacle which God pitched and not man, and on this consideration he is
his Lord, being his Creator; and as Mediator Christ is his servant, and was made
under the law to him, obeyed him, and submitted to his will in all things; so that he
not only in words said he was his Lord, but by deeds declared him to be so;
my goodness extendeth not to thee; such who suppose that David here speaks in his
own person, or in the person of other believers, or that the church here speaks,
differently interpret these words: some render them, "my goodness is not above
thee" (l); it is far inferior to thine, it is not to be mentioned with it, it is nothing in
comparison of it; all my goodness, happiness, and felicity lies, in thee, Psa_73:25;
others, "I have no goodness without thee": the sense is the same as if it was "I have
said", as read the Greek, Vulgate Latin, and Oriental versions, and so Apollinarius;
I have none but what comes from thee; what I have is given me by thee, which is the
sense of the Targum; see Jam_1:17; others, "my goodness is not upon thee" (m);
does not lie upon thee, or thou art not obliged to bestow the blessings of goodness on
me; they are not due to me, they spring from thy free grace and favour; to this sense
incline Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi; see Luk_17:10; others, "thou hast no need
of my goodness"; nor wilt it profit thee, so R. Joseph Kimchi; see Job_22:2; or the
words may be rendered, "O my goodness", or "thou art my good, nothing is above
thee" (n); no goodness in any superior to God. But they are the words of Christ, and
to be understood of his goodness; not of his essential goodness as God, nor of his
providential goodness, the same with his Father's; but of his special goodness, and
the effect of it to his church and people; and denotes his love, grace, and good will
towards them, shown in his incarnation, sufferings, and death; and the blessings of
goodness which come thereby; such as a justifying righteousness, forgiveness of sin,
peace, and reconciliation, redemption, salvation, and eternal life.

ow though God
is glorified by Christ in his incarnation, sufferings, and death, and in the work of
man's redemption, yet he stood in no need of the obedience and sufferings of his
Son; he could have glorified his justice another way, as he did in not sparing the
angels that sinned, in drowning the old world, and in burning Sodom and

Gomorrah, and in other instances of his vengeance; though there is glory to God in
the highest in the affair of salvation by Christ, yet the good will is to men; though
the debt of obedience and sufferings was paid to the justice of God, whereby that is
satisfied and glorified, yet the kindness in paying the debt was not to God but to
men, described in Psa_16:8.
4. Henry, “He recognizes his solemn dedication of himself to God as his God (Psa_
16:2): “O my soul! thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord, and therefore
thou mayest venture to trust him.”

ote, 1. It is the duty and interest of every one of
us to acknowledge the Lord for our Lord, to subject ourselves to him, and then to
stay ourselves upon him. Adonai signifies My stayer, the strength of my heart. 2. This
must be done with our souls: “O my soul! thou hast said it.” Covenanting with God
must be heart-work; all that is within us must be employed therein and engaged
thereby. 3. Those who have avouched the Lord for their Lord should be often
putting themselves in mind of what they have done. “Hast thou said unto the Lord,
Thou art my Lord? Say it again then, stand to it, abide by it, and never unsay it. Hast
thou said it? Take the comfort of it, and live up to it. He is thy Lord, and worship
thou him, and let thy eye be ever towards him.”
5. Jamison, “my soul — must be supplied; expressed in similar cases (Psa_42:5,
Psa_42:11).
my goodness ... thee — This obscure passage is variously expounded. Either one of
two expositions falls in with the context. “My goodness” or merit is not on account
of Thee - that is, is not for Thy benefit. Then follows the contrast of Psa_16:3 (but
is), in respect, or for the saints, etc. — that is, it enures to them. Or, my goodness - or
happiness is not besides Thee - that is, without Thee I have no other source of
happiness. Then, “to the saints,” etc., means that the same privilege of deriving
happiness from God only is theirs. The first is the most consonant with the
Messianic character of the Psalm, though the latter is not inconsistent with it.
6. K&D, “First of all David gives expression to his confession of Jahve, to whom
he submits himself unconditionally, and whom he sets above everything else without
exception. Since the suffix of אֲדנָֹי (properly domini mei = domine mi, Gen_18:3, cf.
Psa_19:2), which has become mostly lost sight of in the usage of the language, now
and then retains its original meaning, as it does indisputably in Psa_35:23, it is
certainly to be rendered also here: “Thou art my Lord” and not “Thou art the
Lord.” The emphasis lies expressly on the “my.” It is the unreserved and joyous
feeling of dependence (more that of the little child, than of the servant), which is
expressed in this first confession. For, as the second clause of the confession says:
Jahve, who is his Lord, is also his benefactor, yea even his highest good. The
preposition עַל frequently introduces that which extends beyond something else,
Gen_48:22 (cf. Psa_89:8; Psa_95:3), and to this passage may be added Gen_31:50;
Gen_32:12; Exo_35:22;

um_31:8; Deu_19:9; Deu_22:6, the one thing being above,
or co-ordinate with, the other. So also here: “my good, i.e., whatever makes me truly
happy, is not above Thee,” i.e., in addition to Thee, beside Thee; according to the

sense it is equivalent to out of Thee or without Thee (as the Targ., Symm., and
Jerome render it), Thou alone, without exception, art my good. In connection with
this rendering of the עַל , the בַּל (poetic, and contracted from בְּלִי ), which is unknown
to the literature before David's time, presents no difficulty. As in Pro_23:7 it is short
for בַּל־תִּֽהְיֶה . Hengstenberg remarks, “Just as Thou art the Lord! is the response of
the soul to the words I am the Lord thy God (Exo_20:2), so Thou only art my
salvation! is the response to Thou shalt have no other gods beside Me ( עַל־פָּנַי ).” The
psalmist knows no fountain of true happiness but Jahve, in Him he possesses all, his
treasure is in Heaven.
Such is his confession to Jahve. But he also has those on earth to whom he makes
confession. Transposing the w we read:
7. SPURGEO

TREASURY OF DAVID, “Ver. 2. O my soul, thou hast said unto
the Lord, Thou art my Lord. In his inmost heart the Lord Jesus bowed himself to do
service to his Heavenly Father, and before the throne of Jehovah his soul vowed
allegiance to the Lord for our sakes. We are like him when our soul, truly and
constantly in the presence of the heart searching God, declares her full consent to
the rule and government of the Infinite Jehovah, saying, "Thou art my Lord." To
avow this with the lip is little, but for the soul to say it, especially in times of trial, is
a gracious evidence of spiritual health; to profess it before men is a small matter,
but to declare it before Jehovah himself is of far more consequence. This sentence
may also be viewed as the utterance of appropriating faith, laying hold upon the
Lord by personal covenant and enjoyment; in this sense may it be our daily song in
the house of our pilgrimage.
My goodness extendeth not to thee. The work of our Lord Jesus was not needful on
account of any necessity in the Divine Being. Jehovah would have been
inconceivably glorious had the human race perished, and had no atonement been
offered. Although the life work and death agony of the Son did reflect unparalleled
lustre upon every attribute of God, yet the Most Blessed and Infinitely Happy God
stood in no need of the obedience and death of his Son; it was for our sakes that the
work of redemption was undertaken, and not because of any lack or want on the
part of the Most High. How modestly does the Saviour here estimate his own
goodness! What overwhelming reasons have we for imitating his humility! "If thou
be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?" (Job 35:7)
EXPLA

GS
Ver. 2. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord. I wish I could
have heard what you said to yourself when these words were first mentioned. I
believe I could guess the language of some of you. When you heard me repeat these
words, "O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord, "you thought,
"I have never said anything to the Lord, unless when I cried out, Depart from me,
for I desire not the knowledge of thy ways." Has not something like this passed in
your minds? I will try again. When I first mentioned the text, "Let me consider,
"you secretly said, "I believe that I did once say to the Lord, Thou art my Lord; but
it was so long ago, that I had almost forgotten it; but I suppose that it must have
been at such a time when I was in trouble. I had met with disappointments in the
world; and then, perhaps, I cried, Thou art my portion, O Lord. Or, perhaps, when

I was under serious impressions, in the hurry of my spirits, I might look up to God
and say, Thou art my Lord. But, whatever I could or did formerly say, I am certain
that I cannot say it at present." Have none of you thought in this manner? I will
hazard one conjecture more; and I doubt not but in this case I shall guess rightly.
When I repeated these words, "O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art
my Lord; ""So have I, "thought one; "So have I, " thought another; I have said it
often, but I said it with peculiar solemnity and pleasure, when, in an act of humble
devotion, I lately threw my ransomed, rescued, grateful soul at his feet and cried,
"O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant; thou hast loosed my bonds." The
very recollection of it is pleasant; and I shall now have an opportunity of renewing
my vows, and hope to recover something of the divine serenity and joy which I at
that time experienced. Samuel Lavington's Sermons, 1810.
Ver. 2. Thou art my Lord. He acknowledgeth the Lord Jehovah; but he seeth him
not as it were then afar off, but drawing near unto him, he sweetly embraces him;
which thing is proper unto faith, and to that particular applying which we say to be
in faith. Robert Rollock, 1600.
Ver. 2. My goodness extendeth not to thee. I think the words should be understood
of what the Messiah was doing for men. My goodness, (Heb.) tobhathi, "my bounty"
is not to thee. What I am doing can add nothing to thy divinity; thou art not
providing this astonishing sacrifice because thou canst derive any excellence from it;
but this bounty extends to the saints —to all the spirits of just men made perfect,
whose bodies are still in the earth; and to the excellent, (Heb.) addirey, "the noble or
supereminent ones, "those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. The
saints and illustrious ones not only taste of my goodness, but enjoy my salvation.
Perhaps angels themselves may be intended; they are not uninterested in the
incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord. They desire to look into
these things; and the victories of the cross in the conversion of sinners cause joy
among the angels of God. Adam Clarke.
Ver. 2. My goodness extendeth not to thee; "My well doing extendeth not to thee."
Oh, what shall I render unto thee, my God, for all thy benefits towards me? what
shall I repay? Alas! I can do thee no good, for mine imperfect goodness cannot
pleasure thee who art most perfect and goodness itself; my well doing can do thee no
good, my wickedness can do thee no harm. I receive all good from thee, but no good
can I return to thee; wherefore I acknowledge thee to be most rich, and myself to be
most beggardly; so far off is it that thou standest in any need of me. Wherefore I
will join myself to thy people, that whatsoever I have they may profit by it; and
whatsoever they have I may profit by it, seeing the things that I have received must
be put out to loan, to gain some comfort to others. Whatsoever others have, they
have not for their own private use, but that by them, as by pipes and conduits, they
liberally should be conveyed unto me also. Wherefore in this strain we are taught,
that if we be the children of God, we must join ourselves in a holy league to his
people, and by mutual participation of the gifts of God, we must testify each to
other, that we be of the number and communion of saints; and this is an undoubted
badge and cognizance of him that loveth God, if he also loveth them that are
begotten of God. Wherefore, if we so profess ourselves to be of God and to worship
him, then we must join ourselves to the church of God which with us doth worship
God. And this must we do of necessity, for it is a branch of our belief that there is a

communion of saints in the church; and if we believe that there is a God, we must
also believe that there is a remnant of people, unto whom God revealeth himself,
and communicates his mercies, in whom we must have all our delight, to whom we
must communicate according to the measure of grace given unto every one of us.
Richard Greenham.
Ver. 2. My goodness extendeth not to thee. Oh, how great is God's goodness to you!
He calls upon others for the same things, and conscience stands as Pharaoh's
taskmasters, requiring the tale of bricks but not allowing straw; it impels and
presseth, but gives no enlargement of heart, and buffets and wounds them for
neglect: as the hard creditor that, taking the poor debtor by the throat, saith, "Pay
me that thou owest me, "but yields him no power to do it; thus God might deal with
you also, for he oweth not assistance to us; but we owe obedience to him. Remember,
we had power, and it is just to demand what we cannot do, because the weakness
that is in us is of ourselves: we have impoverished ourselves. Therefore, when in
much mercy he puts forth his hand into the work with thee, be very thankful. If the
work be not done, he is no loser; if done, and well done, he is no gainer. Job 22:2
35:6-8. But the gain is all to thee; all the good that comes by it is to thyself. Joseph
Symonds, 1639.
Ver. 2. (last clause). It is a greater glory to us that we are allowed to serve God, than
it is to him that we offer him that service. He is not rendered happy by us; but we
are made happy by him. He can do without such earthly servants; but we cannot do
without such a heavenly Master. William Secker.
Ver. 2. (last clause). There is nothing added to God; he is so perfect, that no sin can
hurt him; and so righteous, that no righteousness can benefit him. O Lord, my
righteousness extendeth not to thee! thou hast no need of my righteousness. Acts
17:24-25. God hath no need of anything. Richard Stock, 1641.
Ver. 2. As Christ is the head of man, so is God the head of Christ (1 Corinthians
11:3); and as man is subject unto Christ, so is Christ subject to God; not in regard
of the divine nature, wherein there is an equality, and consequently no dominion or
jurisdiction; nor only in his human nature, but in the economy of a Redeemer,
considered as one designed, and consenting to be incarnate, and take our flesh; so
that after this agreement, God had a sovereign right to dispose of him according to
the articles consented to. In regard of his undertaking and the advantage he was to
bring to the elect of God upon earth, he calls God by the solemn title of "his Lord."
"O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness
extendeth not to thee; but to the saints that are in the earth." It seems to be the
speech of Christ in heaven, mentioning the saints on earth as at a distance from him.
I can add nothing to the glory of thy majesty, but the whole fruit of my mediation
and suffering will redound to the saints on earth. Stephen Charnock.
Ver. 2-3. My goodness extendeth not to thee; but to the saints. God's goodness to us
should make us merciful to others. It were strange indeed a soul should come out of
his tender bosom with a hard uncharitable heart. Some children do not indeed take
after their earthly parents, as Cicero's son, who had nothing of his father but his
name; but God's children all partake of their heavenly Father's nature. Philosophy
tells us, that there is no reaction from the earth to the heavens; they indeed shed
their influences upon the lower world, which quicken and fructify it, but the earth
returns none back to make the sun shine the better. David knew that his goodness

extended not unto God, but this made him reach it forth to his brethren. Indeed,
God hath left his poor saints to receive the rents we owe unto him for his mercies.
An ingenuous guest, though his friend will take nothing for his entertainment, yet,
to show his thankfulness, will give something to his servants. William Gurnall.
8. CALVI

, "2. Thou shalt say unto Jehovah. David begins by stating that he can
bestow nothing upon God, not only because God stands in no need of any thing, but
also because mortal man cannot merit the favor of God by any service which he can
perform to him. At the same time, however, he takes courage, and, as God accepts
our devotion, and the service which we yield to him, David protests that he will be
one of his servants. To encourage himself the more effectually to this duty he speaks
to his own soul; for the Hebrew word which is rendered Thou shalt say, is of the
feminine gender, which can refer only to the soul. 305 Some may prefer reading the
word in the past tense, Thou hast said, which I think is unobjectionable, for the
Psalmist is speaking of an affliction which had a continued abode in his soul. The
import of his language is, I am, indeed, fully convinced in my heart, and know
assuredly, that God can derive no profit or advantage from me; but notwithstanding
this, I will join myself in fellowship with the saints, that with one accord we may
worship him by the sacrifices of praise. Two things are distinctly laid down in this
verse. The first is, that God has a right to require of us whatever he pleases, seeing
we are wholly bound to Him as our rightful proprietor and Lord. David, by
ascribing to him the power and the dominion of Lord, declares that both himself
and all he possessed are the property of God. The other particular contained in this
verse is, the acknowledgement which the Psalmist makes of his own indigence. My
well-doing extendeth not unto thee. Interpreters expound this last clause in two
ways. As עליך , aleyka, may be rendered upon thee, some draw from it this sense, that
God is not brought under obligation, or in the least degree indebted to us, by any
good deeds which we may perform to him; and they understand the term goodness
in a passive sense, as if David affirmed that whatever goodness he received from
God did not proceed from any obligation he had laid God under, or from any merit
which he possessed. But I think the sentence has a more extensive meaning, namely,
that let men strive ever so much to lay themselves out for God, yet they can bring no
advantage to him. Our goodness extendeth not to him, not only because, having in
himself alone an all-sufficiency, he stands in need of nothing, 306 but also because
we are empty and destitute of all good things, and have nothing with which to show
ourselves liberal towards him. From this doctrine, however, the other point which I
have before touched upon will follow, namely, that it is impossible for men, by any
merits of their own, to bring God under obligation to them, so as to make him their
debtor. The sum of the discourse is, that when we come before God, we must lay
aside all presumption. When we imagine that there is any good thing in us, we need
not wonder if he reject us, as we thus take away from him a principal part of the
honor which is his due. But, on the contrary, if we acknowledge that all the services
which we can yield him are in themselves things of nought, and undeserving of any
recompense, this humility is as a perfume of a sweet odour, which will procure for
them acceptance with God.

3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my
delight.”
1. Barnes, “But to the saints that are in the earth - This verse also has been very
variously rendered. Our translators seem to have understood it, in connection with
the previous verse, as meaning that his “goodness,” or piety, was not of so pure and
elevated a character that it could in any way extend to God so as to benefit him, but
that it “might” be of service to the saints on earth, and that so, by benefiting them,
he might show his attachment to God himself. But if the interpretation of the
previous verse above proposed be the correct one, then this interpretation cannot be
admitted here. This verse is probably to be regarded as a further statement of the
evidence of the attachment of the psalmist to God. In the previous verse, according
to the interpretation proposed, he states that his happiness - his all was centered in
God. He had no hope of anything except in him; none beyond him; none besides
him.
In this verse he states, as a further proof of his attachment to him, that he
regarded with deep affection the saints of God; that he found his happiness, not in
the society of the wicked, but in the friendship of the excellent of the earth. The
verse may be thus rendered: “As to the saints in the earth (or in respect to the saints
in the earth), and to the excellent, all my delight is in them.” In the former verse he
had stated that, as to God, or in respect to God, he had no source of blessing, no
hope, no joy, beyond him, or independent of him; in this verse he says that in
respect to the saints - the excellent of the earth - all his delight was in them. Thus he
was conscious of true attachment to God and to his people. Thus he had what must
ever be essentially the evidence of true piety - a feeling that God is all in all, and real
love for those who are his; a feeling that there is nothing beyond God, or without
God, that can meet the wants of the soul, and a sincere affection for all who are his
friends on earth. DeWette has well expressed the sense of the passage, “The holy,
who are in the land, and the noble - I have all my pleasure in them.”
In the earth - In the land; or, perhaps, more generally, “on earth.” God was in
heaven, and all his hopes there were in him. In respect to those who dwelt on the
earth, his delight was with the saints alone.
And to the excellent - The word used here means properly “large, great,” mighty;
then it is applied to “nobles, princes, chiefs;” and then to those who excel in moral
qualities, in piety, and virtue. This is the idea here, and thus it corresponds with the
word “saints” in the former member of the verse. The idea is that he found his

pleasure, not in the rich and the great, not in princes and nobles, but in those who
were distinguished for virtue and piety. In heaven he had none but God; on earth he
found his happiness only in those who were the friends of God.
In whom is all my delight - I find all my happiness in their society and friendship.
The true state of my heart is indicated by my love for them. Everywhere, and at all
times, love for those who love God, and a disposition to find our happiness in their
friendship, will be a characteristic of true piety.
2. CALVI

, “Unto the saints who are on the earth. Almost all are agreed in
understanding this place, as if David, after the sentence which we have just now
been considering, had added, The only way of serving God aright is to endeavor to
do good to his holy servants. And the truth is, that God, as our good deeds cannot
extend to him, substitutes the saints in his place, towards whom we are to exercise
our charity. When men, therefore, mutually exert themselves in doing good to one
another, this is to yield to God right and acceptable service. We ought, doubtless, to
extend our charity even to those who are unworthy of it, as our heavenly Father
“maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,” (Matthew 5:45;)
but David justly prefers the saints to others, and places them in a higher rank. This,
then, as I have said in the commencement, is the common opinion of almost all
interpreters. 307 But although I do not deny that this doctrine is comprehended
under the words of David, I think he goes somewhat farther, and intimates that he
will unite himself with the devout worshippers of God, and be their associate or
companion; even as all the children of God ought to be joined together by the bond
of fraternal unity, that they may all serve and call upon their common Father with
the same affection and zeal. 308 We thus see that David, after having confessed that
he can find nothing in himself to bring to God, seeing he is indebted to him for every
thing which he has, sets his affections upon the saints, because it is the will of God
that, in this world, he should be magnified and exalted in the assembly of the just,
whom he has adopted into his family for this end, that they may live together with
one accord under his authority, and under the guidance of his Holy Spirit. This
passage, therefore, teaches us that there is no sacrifice more acceptable to God than
when we sincerely and heartily connect ourselves with the society of the righteous,
and being knit together by the sacred bond of godliness, cultivate and maintain with
them brotherly good-will. In this consists the communion of saints which separates
them from the degrading pollutions of the world, that they may be the holy and
peculiar people of God. He expressly speaks of the saints who are on the earth,
because it is the will of God that, even in this world, there should be conspicuous
marks, and as it were visible escutcheons, 309 of his glory, which may serve to
conduct us to himself. The faithful, therefore, bear his image, that, by their example,
we may be stirred up to meditation upon the heavenly life. For the same reason, the
Psalmist calls them excellent, or honorable, because there is nothing which ought to
be more precious to us than righteousness and holiness, in which the brightness of
God’s Spirit shines forth; just as we are commanded in the preceding psalm to prize
and honor those who fear God. We ought, therefore, highly to value and esteem the
true and devoted servants of God, and to regard nothing as of greater importance

than to connect ourselves with their society; and this we will actually do if we wisely
reflect in what true excellence and dignity consist, and do not allow the vain
splendor of the world and its deceitful pomps to dazzle our eyes.
3. Gill, “But to the saints that are in the earth,.... Who are sanctified or set apart by
God the Father in election; whose sins are expiated by the blood of Christ in
redemption, and who are sanctified or made holy by the Spirit of God in the
effectual calling; and who live a holy life and conversation: these are said to be "in
the earth", not to distinguish them from the saints in heaven, to whom the goodness
of Christ extends as to them, unless it be to distinguish them from the angels in
heaven, who are called saints, Deu_33:2; as Aben Ezra observes; but to point out the
place of their abode, scattered up and down in the earth; and to show that love,
grace, goodness, and kindness of Christ reaches to them in the present state of
things, notwithstanding all their meanness and imperfection in themselves, and their
despicableness in the eyes of others; see Joh_13:1;
and to the excellent; the same with the saints, who though reckoned by men the faith
of the world, and the offscouring of all things, are in high esteem with Christ; they
are "nobles" (o) in his account, as the word is rendered in Jer_30:21; they are
princes in all the earth, and these princes are kings; they are made kings and priests
unto God by Christ; they wear and live like kings, and have the attendance, power,
riches, and glory of kings; they are guarded by angels, they have power with God,
they are rich in faith, and heirs of a kingdom;
in whom is all my delight; Christ's delights were with these sons of men before the
world was, and have always continued with them; they are his "Hepbzibah" and
"Beulah", as in Isa_62:4; hence he became incarnate, and suffered and died for
them, and makes application of all the blessings of his grace and goodness to them.
4. Henry, “He devotes himself to the honour of God in the service of the saints
(Psa_16:2, Psa_16:3): My goodness extends not to thee, but to the saints. Observe, 1.
Those that have taken the lord for their Lord must, like him, be good and do good;
we do not expect happiness without goodness. 2. Whatever good there is in us, or is
done by us, we must humbly acknowledge that it extends not to God; so that we
cannot pretend to merit any thing by it. God has no need of our services; he is not
benefited by them, nor can they add any thing to his infinite perfection and
blessedness. The wisest, and best, and most useful, men in the world cannot be
profitable to God, Job_22:2; Job_35:7. God is infinitely above us, and happy
without us, and whatever good we do it is all from him; so that we are indebted to
him, not he to us: David owns it (1Ch_29:14), Of thy own have we given thee. 3. If
God be ours, we must, for his sake, extend our goodness to those that are his, to the
saints in the earth; for what is done to them he is pleased to take as done to himself,
having constituted them his receivers.

ote, (1.) There are saints in the earth; and
saints on earth we must all be, or we shall never be saints in heaven. Those that are
renewed by the grace of God, and devoted to the glory of God, are saints on earth.
(2.) The saints in the earth are excellent ones, great, mighty, magnificent ones, and

yet some of them so poor in the world that they need to have David's goodness
extended to them. God makes them excellent by the grace he gives them. The
righteous is more excellent than his neighbour, and then he accounts them excellent.
They are precious in his sight and honourable; they are his jewels, his peculiar
treasure. Their God is their glory, and a diadem of beauty to them. (3.) All that have
taken the Lord for their God delight in his saints as excellent ones, because they
bear his image, and because he loves them. David, though a king, was a companion
of all that feared God (Psa_119:63), even the meanest, which was a sign that his
delight was in them. (4.) It is not enough for us to delight in the saints, but, as there
is occasion, our goodness must extend to them; we must be ready to show them the
kindness they need, distribute to their necessities, and abound in the labour of love
to them. This is applicable to Christ. The salvation he wrought out for us was no
gain to God, for our ruin would have been no loss to him; but the goodness and
benefit of it extend to us men, in whom he delighteth, Pro_8:31. For their sakes, says
he, I sanctify myself, Joh_17:19. Christ delights even in the saints on earth,
notwithstanding their weaknesses and manifold informities, which is a good reason
why we should.
5. Jamison, “saints — or, persons consecrated to God, set apart from others to His
service.
in the earth — that is, land of Palestine, the residence of God’s chosen people -
figuratively for the Church.
excellent — or, “nobles,” distinguished for moral excellence.
6. K&D, “The thought thus obtained, is the thought one expected (love to God and
love to His saints), and the one which one is also obliged to wring from the text as we
have it, either by translating with De Welte, Maurer, Dietrich and others: “the
saints who are in the land, they are the excellent in whom I have all my delight,” - a
Waw apodoseos, with which one could only be satisfied if it were וְהֵמָּה (cf. 2Sa_15:34)
- or: “the saints who are in the land and the glorious-all my delight is in them.” By
both these interpretations, ל would be the exponent of the nom. absol. which is
elsewhere detached and placed at the beginning of a sentence, and this l of reference
(Ew. §310, a) is really common to every style (

um_18:8; Isa_32:1; Ecc_9:4);
whereas the ל understood of the fellowship in which he stands when thus making
confession to Jahve: associating myself with the saints (Hengst.), with (von
Lengerke), among the saints (Hupf., Thenius), would be a preposition most liable to
be misapprehended, and makes Psa_16:3 a cumbersome appendage of Psa_16:2.
But if l be taken as the Lamed of reference then the elliptical construct וְאַדִּירֵי , to
which הארץ ought to be supplied, remains a stumbling-block not to be easily set
aside. For such an isolation of the connecting form from its genitive cannot be
shown to be syntactically possible in Hebrew (vid., on 2Ki_9:17, Thenius, and Keil);
nor are we compelled to suppose in this instance what cannot be proved elsewhere,
since כל־חפצי־בם is, without any harshness, subordinate to ואדירי as a genitival notion
(Ges. §116, 3). And still in connection with the reading ואדירי , both the formation of
the sentence which, beginning with ל, leads one to expect an apodosis, and the

relation of Psa_16:3 to Psa_16:2, according to which the central point of the
declaration must lie just within כל־חפצי־בם , are opposed to this rendering of the
words .ואדירי כל־חפצי־כם
Thus, therefore, we come back to the above easy improvement of the text. קְושִׁים
are those in whom the will of Jahve concerning Israel, that it should be a holy nation
(Exo_19:6; Deu_7:6), has been fulfilled, viz., the living members of the ecclesia
sanctorum in this world (for there is also one in the other world, Psa_89:6). Glory,
δόξα, is the outward manifestation of holiness. It is ordained of God for the
sanctified (cf. Rom_8:30), whose moral nobility is now for the present veiled under
the menial form of the עָנִי ; and in the eyes of David they already possess it. His
spiritual vision pierces through the outward form of the servant. His verdict is like
the verdict of God, who is his all in all. The saints, and they only, are the excellent to
him. His whole delight is centred in them, all his respect and affection is given to
them. The congregation of the saints is his Chephzibah, Isa_62:4 (cf. 2Ki_21:1).
7. SPURGEO

TREASURY OF DAVID, “Ver. 3. But to the saints that are in the
earth. These sanctified ones, although still upon the earth, partake of the results of
Jesus' mediatorial work, and by his goodness are made what they are. The peculiar
people, zealous for good works, and hallowed to sacred service, are arrayed in the
Saviour's righteousness and washed in his blood, and so receive of the goodness
treasured up in him; these are the persons who are profited by the work of the man
Christ Jesus; but that work added nothing to the nature, virtue, or happiness of
God, who is blessed for evermore. How much more forcibly is this true of us, poor
unworthy servants not fit to be mentioned in comparison with the faithful Son of
God! Our hope must ever be that haply some poor child of God may be served by
us, for the Great Father can never need our aid. Well may we sing the verses of Dr.
Watts:
"Oft have my heart and tongue confessed How empty and how poor I am;
My praise can never make thee blest,

or add new glories to thy name. Yet, Lord,
thy saints on earth may reap Some profit by the good we do; These are the company
I keep, These are the choicest friends I know."
Poor believers are God's receivers, and have a warrant from the Crown to receive
the revenue of our offerings in the King's name. Saints departed we cannot bless;
even prayer for them is of no service; but while they are here we should practically
prove our love to them, even as our Master did, for they are
the excellent of the earth. Despite their infirmities, their Lord thinks highly of them,
and reckons them to be as nobles among men. The title of "His Excellency" more
properly belongs to the meanest saint than to the greatest governor. The true
aristocracy are believers in Jesus. They are the only Right Honourables. Stars and
garters are poor distinctions compared with the graces of the Spirit. He who knows
them best says of them,
in whom is all my delight. They are his Hephzibah and his land Beulah, and before
all worlds his delights were with these chosen sons of men. Their own opinion of
themselves is far other than their Beloved's opinion of them; they count themselves
to be less than nothing, yet he makes much of them, and sets his heart towards them.
What wonders the eyes of Divine Love can see where the Hands of Infinite Power

have been graciously at work. It was this quick sighted affection which led Jesus to
see in us a recompense for all his agony, and sustained him under all his sufferings
by the joy of redeeming us from going down into the pit.
EXPLA

GS
Ver. 2-3. My goodness extendeth not to thee; but to the saints. See Psalms on
"Psalms 16:2" for further information.
Ver. 3. But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my
delight. My brethren, look upon saintship as the greatest excellency to love it. So did
Christ. His eye was "upon the excellent ones in the earth; "that is, upon the saints,
who were excellent to him; yea, also even when not saints, because God loved them.
Isaiah 43:4. It is strange to hear how men by their speeches will undervalue a saint
as such, if without some other outward excellency. For whilst they acknowledge a
man a saint, yet in other respects, they will contemn him; "He is a holy man, "they
will say, "but he is weak, "etc. But is he a saint? And can there be any such other
imperfection or weakness found as shall lay him low in thy thoughts in comparison
of other carnal men more excellent? Hath not Christ loved him, bought him,
redeemed him? Thomas Goodwin.
Ver. 3. But to the saints. I understand that a man then evinces affection towards
God, and towards those who love God, when his soul yearns after them—when he
obliges himself to love them by practically serving and benefiting them—acting
towards them as he would act towards God himself were he to see him in need of his
service, as David says he did. Juan de Valdes, 1550.
Ver. 3. The saints. The Papists could abide no saints but those which are in heaven;
which argues that they live in a kingdom of darkness, and err, not knowing the
Scriptures, nor the power of God; for if they were but meanly conversant in the
Scriptures, in the holy epistles, they should find almost in every epistle mention
made of the saints who are thereunto called in Jesus Christ, through whom they are
sanctified by the Holy Ghost. And mark, he calleth them excellent. Some think rich
men to be excellent, some think learned men to be excellent, some count men in
authority so to be, but here we are taught that those men are excellent who are
sanctified by God's graces. Richard Greenham.
Ver. 3. By David's language, there were many singular saints in his day: To the
saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Was it so
then, and should it not be so now? We know the

ew Testament outshines the Old
as much as the sun outshines the moon. If we then live in a more glorious
dispensation, should we not maintain a more glorious conversation?... "The
excellent." Were the sun to give no more delight than a star, you could not believe
he was the regent of the day; were he to transmit no more heat than a glow worm,
you would question his being the source of elementary heat. Were God to do no
more than a creature, where would his Godhead be? Were a man to do no more
than a brute, where would his manhood be? Were not a saint to excel a sinner,
where would his sanctity be? William Secker.
Ver. 3. Ingo, an ancient king of the Draves, who making a stately feast, appointed
his nobles, at that time Pagans, to sit in the hall below, and commanded certain poor
Christians to be brought up into his presence chamber, to sit with him at his table,
to eat and drink of his kingly cheer, at which many wondering, he said, he
accounted Christians, though never so poor, a greater ornament to his table, and

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