Boundary Lines in Pleasant Places – Psalm 16

A text – Psalm 16

¹ Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
² I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;  I have no good apart from you.”

³ As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.

⁴ Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;
    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.

⁵ The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.

⁷ I bless the Lord, who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
⁸ I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.
¹⁰ For you do not give me up to Sheol or let your faithful one see the Pit.

¹¹ You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy;  in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

A reflection:

This psalm gives thanks both for things God has done and for the faithful in the land, the writer’s neighbors who delight him with their trustworthy worship of God. The psalmist is on the right track. He enjoys a discipline of life that helps him to stay focused on God and on what is helpful and right for the psalmist to do. He is on the right path.

Times I have felt this way are when I knew myself to be in a job that suited me particularly well, when I knew myself to be in relationships that were life-giving and helpful, and even when I knew myself to be behaving well with regard to donuts…yes, there have been times I have fallen off the healthful path. At those “on the right path” times in my life I could have read this psalm proudly in public. When you know you are learning good things, when the “boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places,” you feel you are on the right path.

We usually know when we are doing a wrong thing, doing something that is not going to contribute to a good life on the right path. Even little kids know, when they have pushed someone and made them cry – if you ask them, “Are you being naughty, they say ‘yes.’” If we want our hearts to be glad, our souls to rejoice, and our bodies to rest secure, we can take a little inventory and see which path we are on. If we need help to see it, we can ask God to point it out. The psalmist says, in the last verse, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. In your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This psalm is written in the present tense, even for us. Even today we can be sure God will show us the way.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for always being available to show us the path we are to walk. Help us to know that the benefits of being on the right path outweigh any delights we might be missing on other pathways. Remind us that your boundary lines will fall for us in pleasant places. Amen.