BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
Psalms 16 — The Lord is My Portion and My Keeper
David declares the LORD as his sole refuge, inheritance, and guide, trusting that God will not abandon his soul to Sheol but show the path of life.
Scripture
1Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God; For in thee do I take refuge.
2O my soul, thou hast said unto Jehovah, Thou art my Lord: I have no good beyond thee.
3As for the saints that are in the earth, They are the excellent in whom is all my delight.
4Their sorrows shall be multiplied that give gifts for another god: Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, Nor take their names upon my lips.
5Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot.
6The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; Yea, I have a goodly heritage.
7I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel; Yea, my heart instructeth me in the night seasons.
8I have set Jehovah always before me: Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; My flesh also shall dwell in safety.
10For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption.
11Thou wilt show me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
What this passage means
Psalm 16 opens with a plea for divine protection and an affirmation that the psalmist's refuge is in God alone. The opening declaration, You are my Lord, I have no good beyond you, frames the rest of the psalm: every blessing flows from covenant relationship with the LORD, not from any other source.
Verses 3-6 widen the lens from the individual to the community of faith. The saints in the land are the noble ones in whom the psalmist delights, while those who pursue other gods multiply their sorrows. In contrast, the LORD himself is the portion of his inheritance and cup — language drawn from the Levites, who received no land but had God as their share. The measuring lines falling in pleasant places thanks to God's keeping shows that a life centered on him is itself a beautiful heritage.
Verses 7-11 move from instruction to joy to eschatological hope. Setting the LORD always before him yields an unshakable heart, gladness, and safe dwelling. The climax — God will not abandon his soul to Sheol nor let his Holy One see corruption — looks beyond David's own life toward the promised path of life and the fullness of joy at God's right hand.
Context
The chapter carries the superscription 'Michtam of David,' a term whose meaning is debated among scholars — some link it to engraving or a golden writing, and it appears in only a few psalms. The chapter belongs to the collection of psalms tied to David and forms part of the first book of Psalms.
Verse 10 is the most quoted portion of this psalm in the New Testament. Acts 2:25-31 records Peter applying 'you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption' directly to the risen Christ, identifying David's 'Holy One' as Jesus and reading the psalm as a prophecy of resurrection.
Key words in the original
- H4387 Miktam (מִכְתָּם) is the psalm's superscription label. Its exact meaning is uncertain; it is generally rendered as a technical term for a type of poem or inscription, and it appears in only a handful of psalms (e.g., Psalms 56, 57, 59, 60).
- H2620 The verb chasah (חָסָה), 'take refuge,' expresses confident trust by picturing the psalmist fleeing to God as a shelter. It frames the psalm's posture of dependence on divine protection.
- H6918 Qadosh (קָדוֹשׁ), rendered here as 'saints,' literally means 'set apart' or 'holy.' In verse 3 the term designates God's consecrated people in the land, the community in whom the psalmist finds his delight.
Related verses
- Acts 2:27 Peter quotes Psalm 16:10 almost verbatim, applying 'you will not leave my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption' to Jesus' resurrection rather than to David's own experience.
- Acts 2:28 Peter follows with Psalm 16:11, presenting 'the paths of life' and 'fullness of joy in your presence' as fulfilled in Christ's resurrection and the promised life with God.
- Acts 2:31 Luke records that David spoke these words 'foreseeing' the resurrection of the Christ, explicitly reading Psalm 16 as prophetic of Jesus rather than as a statement only about David's own future.
Common questions
What does 'Michtam of David' mean?
The exact meaning of Miktam (מִכְתָּם) is uncertain. It appears as a superscription for only a few psalms and is usually treated as a technical label for a particular type of poem or inscription, possibly linked to engraving.
Why does Psalm 16:10 matter in the New Testament?
Acts 2:25-31 quotes it as a prophecy of Christ's resurrection. Peter argues that David could not be speaking only of himself, so 'you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption' must point forward to Jesus rising from the dead.
What does it mean that the LORD is the 'portion of my inheritance and my cup'?
The language echoes the Levites, who received no tribal land because God himself was their inheritance. Here the psalmist declares that having the LORD as his share and cup is more valuable than any earthly portion, and God's keeping makes even the measured lines pleasant.