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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 16:1

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 F9 אל "Deus fortis seu potens", Muis; "Deus omnipotens", Cocceius, Michaelis. here used is commonly rendered by interpreters; with whom, all things are possible, and who is able to save; see Hebrews 5:7 ; and this petition for preservation was suitable to him and his case, and was heard and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 16:1

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... 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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 16:1

Preserve me, O God; i.e. keep me, guard me—protect me both in body and soul. It does not appear that the writer is threatened by any special danger. He simply calls upon God to continue his protecting care. For in thee do I put my trust. In thee, and in thee only. Therefore to thee only do I look for protection and preservation. 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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 16:1-11

Life-long convictions. Happy the man who holds to his faith in God through all changes and chances of this mortal life! Religion to him is a reality. He speaks of what he knows. He commends what he has proved to be good. He can rejoice in the assurance that God, who has been with him hitherto, will keep him safely to the end, and that the portion which satisfied his soul in this life will satisfy his soul eternally. We may take the psalm as expressing certain life-long convictions. I.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 16:1

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 Psalms 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... read more

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