Psalms 16

Michtam of David.

The “preserve me, O God,” (Psalms 16:1,) David’s usual prayer in distress, must not be so construed here, as to prevent its accord with the tone and spirit of the psalm, nor the grateful recognitions of his present prosperity. Psalms 16:5-6. An air of profound meditation, and of high satisfaction at the providence which had shaped his lot, with a triumphant faith in the final blessed result of life, characterize this most evangelical lyric. According to Psalms 16:8, and the spirit of thanksgiving which pervades the whole, it could not have been written after his grievous fall; nor, from the high Messianic character of Psalms 16:9-11, before his accession to the entire kingdom and peaceful settlement upon the throne. It seems best suited to the time soon after the delivery of the promise by Nathan, (2 Samuel 7:0,) when the kingdom was at peace, though the recent subjugation of his enemies left apprehensions of revolt, while the more distant peoples of Arabia and Syria might already have given symptoms of hostility. A few years later war was actually renewed, (2 Samuel 8:1-14,) the foreshadowing of which probably occasioned the anxious cry of Psalms 16:1. TITLE:

Michtam A word upon which ancient and modern interpreters are much divided; but it seems safe to follow the rabbinical sense, as does our English version, and to derive it from כתם , ( kethem,) gold, or something as excellent as gold, so that Michtam of David, would be a golden (that is, a precious) psalm of David. It occurs only in five other places, the titles of Psalms lvi-lx.