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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 16:1-7

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 (Ps. 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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 16:6

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ,.... The allusion is to the measuring of land by lines, and appropriating each part to the proper owners; and lines design the land that is measured out by them, and here the church and people of God, the chosen ones who are given to Christ, as his portion and inheritance; and the sense is, that Christ's portion lies among or in pleasant persons; such as were so to him, as he saw them in his Father's purposes and decrees; and as they are... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 16:7

I will bless the Lord ,.... As prayer, so thanksgiving belongs to Christ, as man and Mediator; see Matthew 11:25 ; and here he determines to praise the Lord, and give thanks to him for counsel and instruction: who hath given me counsel ; for though he himself is the Counsellor, with respect to his people, yet as man he received counsel from God, and the spirit of counsel rested on him, Isaiah 11:2 ; and fitted him for and directed him in the execution of his prophetic office; for the... read more

Adam Clarke

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

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:6

Verse 6 6.The lines (325) have fallen to me. The Psalmist confirms more fully what he had already said in the preceding verse with respect to his resting, with a composed and tranquil mind, in God alone; or rather, he so glories in God as nobly to despise all that the world imagines to be excellent and desirable without him. By magnifying God in such honorable and exalted strains, he gives us to understand that he does not desire any thing more as his portion and felicity. This doctrine may be... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:7

Verse 7 Last of all, David confesses that it was entirely owing to the pure grace of God that he had come to possess so great a good, and that he had been made a partaker of it by faith. It would be of no advantage to us for God to offer himself freely and graciously to us, if we did not receive him by faith, seeing he invites to himself both the reprobate and the elect in common; but the former, by their ingratitude, defraud themselves of this inestimable blessing. Let us, therefore, know that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 16:1-6

Grounds of the prayer for preservation. This psalm is golden in thought, feeling, and expression. The substance of it is comprised in the first verse: "May God preserve him who has no other refuge in which he can hide but him!" The subject up to the end of the sixth verse may be called — Grounds of the prayer for preservation. I. HE HAS TAKEN GOD FOR HIS SUPREME GOOD . ( Psalms 16:2 , "I said to Jehovah, Thou art my Lord; beside thee I have no good.") The "good"... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 16:1-11

Once thine, ever thine: the song of a saint, the vision of a seer. This psalm yields many texts for instructive discourse; but it is not on any of them that we propose now to dwell, but on the psalm as a whole. It is one of the most evangelical in all the five books of the Psalms. It opens with a prayer and a plea; but its main current is that of joy and praise. It is moreover repeatedly quoted in the New Testament, where, by the Apostles Peter and Paul, some of its words are declared to... read more

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