Psalm 16

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:6

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places - Here is an allusion to the ancient division of the land by lot among the Israelites, the breadth and length being ascertained by lines which were used in measuring. I have got a rich inheritance of immortal spirits; and I myself, as man, shall have a name above every name, and be raised to thy throne, on which I shall sit, and be admired in my saints to all eternity. I have a goodly heritage - A Church, an innumerable multitude of saints,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:7

Who hath given me counsel - Jesus, as man, received all his knowledge and wisdom from God; Luke 2:40-52 . And in him were hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. My reins also instruct me - כליותי kilyothai , reins or kidneys, which from their retired situation in the body, says Parkhurst, and being hidden in fat, are often used in Scripture for the most secret workings and affections of the heart. The kidneys and their fat were always to be burnt in sacrifice, to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:8

I have set the Lord always before me - This verse, and all to the end of Psalm 16:11 , are applied by St. Peter to the death and resurreetion of Christ. Acts 2:25 , etc. In all that our Lord did, said, or suffered, he kept the glory of the Father and the accomplishment of his purpose constantly in view. He tells us that he did not come down from heaven to do his own will, but the will of the Father who had sent him. See John 17:4 . He is at my right hand - That is, I have his... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:9

Therefore my heart is glad - Unutterably happy in God; always full of the Divine presence; because whatsoever I do pleaseth him. The man Christ Jesus must be constantly in communion with God, because he was without spot and blemish. My glory rejoiceth - My tongue, so called by the Hebrews, (see Psalm 57:8 ; Psalm 30:12 ;), because it was bestowed on us to glorify God, and because it is our glory, being the instrument of expressing our thoughts by words. See Dodd. But soul bids as... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:10

Thine Holy One - This is in the plural number, חסידיך chasideycha , thy Holy Ones; but none of the versions translate it in the plural; and as it is in the singular number, חסידך chasidecha , in several ancient editions, among which is the Complutensian Polyglot, and no less than two hundred and sixty-four of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and in the quotation by St. Peter, in Acts 2:27 ; Acts 13:35 , we may take it for granted that the present reading is a corruption; or that ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:11

Thou wilt show me the path of life - I first shall find the way out of the regions of death, to die no more. Thus Christ was the first fruits of them that slept. Several had before risen from the dead, but they died again. Jesus rose from the dead, and is alive for evermore. Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead was the first entrance out of the grave to eternal life or lives, חיים chaiyim , for the word is in the plural, and with great propriety too, as this resurrection implies the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:1

Verse 1 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... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:2

Verse 2 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... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:3

Verse 3 3.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... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:4

Verse 4 The Psalmist now describes the true way of maintaining brotherly concord with the saints, by declaring that he will have nothing to do with unbelievers and the superstitious. We cannot be united into the one body of the Church under God, if we do not break off all the bonds of impiety, separate ourselves from idolaters, and keep ourselves pure and at a distance from all the pollutions which corrupt and vitiate the holy service of God. This is certainly the general drift of David’s... read more

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