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 (i) here

Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. Title. - Michtam of David. Some derive Miktaam (H4387) from kaatam (H3799), gold-the golden (i:e., excellent) psalm, as Pythagoras' verses were called golden verses.

Psalms 16 Divers render this word Michtam, a golden Psalm, because of the preciousness and excellency of the matter of it; for it treats of Christ’ s death and resurrection. But because this title is prefixed to 57:1 58:1 59:1 60:1, wherein there is no such peculiar excellency, it may seem rather to be a title belonging to the music or the song, which, with the rest, is now lost and unknown. It is a great question among expositors, in whose name and person he speaketh this Psalm, whether his own or Christ’ s. It seems hard to exclude David’ s person, to whom almost the whole Psalm properly and literally belongs, and to whom some parts of it do more conveniently belong than to Christ. And some parts of it do peculiarly belong to Christ, of whom it is expounded by the two great apostles, Peter and Paul, 13:35. And yet it seems probable by the contexture of the Psalm, and the coherence of the several verses together, that the whole Psalm speaks of one and the same person. But because David was a mixed person, being both a member and an eminent type of Christ, he may without any inconvenience be thought to speak of himself sometimes in the one and sometimes in the other capacity, to pass from the one to the other. And therefore having spoken of himself as a believer or member of Christ in the former part of the Psalm, he proceeds to consider himself as a type of Christ; and having Christ in his eye, and being inspired by the Holy Ghost with the knowledge and contemplation of Christ’ s passion and resurrection, towards the close of the Psalm he speaks such things, as though they might be accommodated to himself in a very imperfect, obscure, and improper sense, yet could not truly, literally, and properly, fully and completely, belong to any but to Christ, to whom therefore they are justly appropriated in the New Testament. David, disttusting his own merit, and hating idolatry, fleeth to God for preservation, . He showeth the hope in life and death, , of the resurrection and everlasting life ,11. Preserve me from all mine enemies. In thee do I put my trust; therefore thou art in honour and by promise obliged not to deceive my trust.

Psalms 16:1 « Michtam of David. » Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.Michtam of David] i.e. David’ s precious jewel, or psalm of gold, propter mirificam eius excellentiam, better worth than its weight in gold, both for the matter thereof, and the metre, Insignis Ode Davidis Trem εποςχρυσουν, prae corona aestimatur hic Psalmus (R. Solomon). Aureum flumen orationis, said Cicero, concerning Aristotle’ s Politics; there is in that book a golden flood of discourse; and Liber iste auro contra non carus, said another, concerning the lives of the philosophers written by Diogenes Laertius, No gold is comparable to that gallant piece. How much more may the same be said of this notable psalm! as that which, beside many other remarkable matters, lively setteth forth the mystery of Christ’ s passion and resurrection, with the fruit of both; this he doth more like an evangelist than a prophet, and may, therefore, be called (as likewise Isaiah is) the evangelical prophet. And whereas, saith learned Beza, he calleth the Messiah Chasid, Psalms 16:10 (that is, as I interpret it, that man upon whom the Father hath most plentifully poured out all his grace and bounty, which also we all draw from him alone by faith), David seemeth in this one word to have summed up the whole doctrine of the gospel. Ver. 1. Preserve me, O God] Keep me safe unto the kingdom, both temporal and eternal, which thou hast promised me; and now that I am fleeing to the Philistines for shelter, 1 Samuel 27:1 (for that is held to be the time when he composed this golden psalm), guard me, guide me, keep me by thy power through faith unto salvation. This prayer of his David was well assured should be granted; and, therefore, he giveth thanks, Psalms 16:7. For in thee do I put my trust] This was a most powerful plea, for to trust God is the highest honour we can do him, it is to set the crown upon his head. See Judges 9:15. And if such shall be forsaken God will be a great loser in his glory, whereof he is very tender.

(1) For in thee.—Better, for I have found refuge in thee (as in Psalms 7:1; Psalms 11:1). The verb is in the preterite.

PSALM XVI The contents of this Psalm are usually given in the following manner: David, sojourning among idolaters, and being obliged to leave his own country through Saul's persecution, cries to God for help; expresses his abhorrence of idolatry, and his desire to be again united to God's people, 1-4; and declares his strong confidence in God, who had dealt bountifully with him, 5-7. Then follows a remarkable prophecy of the resurrection of Christ, 8-11. NOTES ON PSALM XVI The title of this Psalm in the Hebrew is מכתם לדוד michtam ledavid, which the Chaldee translates, "A straight sculpture of David." The Septuagint, ΣτηλογραφιατῳΔαυιδ, "The inscription on a pillar to David;" as if the Psalm had been inscribed on a pillar, to keep it in remembrance. As כתם catham signifies to engrave or stamp, this has given rise to the above inscription. מכתם michtam also means pure or stamped gold; and hence it has been supposed that this title was given to it on account of its excellence: a golden Psalm, or a Psalm worthy to be written in letters of gold; as some of the verses of Pythagoras were called the golden verses, because of their excellence. Gold being the most excellent and precious of all metals, it has been used to express metaphorically excellence and perfection of every kind. Thus a golden tongue or mouth, the most excellent eloquence; so Chrysostom means, this eminent man having had his name from his eloquence; - a golden book, one of the choicest and most valuable of its kind, c. But I have already sufficiently expressed my doubts concerning the meanings given to these titles. See the note on the title of Psalm lx. Psalms 60:1 That David was the author there can be no doubt. It is most pointedly attributed to him by St. Peter, Acts 2:25-31. That its principal parts might have some relation to his circumstances is also probable but that Jesus Christ is its main scope, not only appears from quotations made by the apostle as above, but from the circumstance that some parts of it never did and never could apply to David. From the most serious and attentive consideration of the whole Psalm, I am convinced that every verse of it belongs to Jesus Christ, and none other: and this, on reference, I find to be the view taken of it by my ancient Psalter. But as he is referred to here as the Redeemer of the world, consequently, as God manifested in the flesh, there are several portions of the Psalm, as well as in the New Testament, where the Divine and human natures are spoken of separately: and if this distinction be properly regarded, we shall find, not only no inconsistency, but a beautiful harmony through the whole. Verse 1.

1, 2. The Psalmist’s prayer and profession of faith.

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.

1. Preserve me—See introductory note.