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A Prayer of Confidence

   Psalm 16

   Good News Translation (GNT)

   "Hebrew Title:

   A psalm by David.

  1  Protect me, O God; I trust in you for safety.
  2  I say to the Lord,
   "You are my Lord; all the good things I have
    come from you."
  3  How excellent are the Lord's faithful people!
   My greatest pleasure is to be with them.
  4  Those who rush to other gods bring many
   troubles on themselves. [b] I will not take part
   in their sacrifices; I will not worship their gods.
  5  You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all
   I need; my future is in your hands.
  6  How wonderful are your gifts to me; how good
   they are!
  7  I praise the Lord, because he guides me, and
   in the night my conscience warns me.
  8  I am always aware of the Lord's presence; he
   is near, and nothing can shake me.
  9  And so I am thankful and glad, and I feel
   completely secure,
10  because you protect me from the power of
   death. I have served you faithfully, and you will
   not abandon me to the world of the dead.
11  You will show me the path that leads to life;
   your presence fills me with joy and brings me
   pleasure forever.

   Footnotes
   Psalm 16:4 Probable text
   Those ... themselves; Hebrew unclear.

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   Commentary taken from from the
   'word-on-the-web' supplied by the
   Scripture Union'

'A Prayer of Confidence'

    Psalm 16

This psalm is a miktam or Golden Psalm -
a precious one.

A miktam only occurs six times in the Scriptures and each time it's a psalm of David.
In Psalm 16, David refers to tough times as he runs to his only place of refuge

Depression is an illness that hangs over society, including many in church. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is a strategy that helps to manage depression partly by focusing on the good things in life.
Psalm 16 is a CBT psalm.

It's full of pleasure, security, joy and hope for the future. 'The boundary lines [of life] have fallen for me in pleasant places' (v 6a).

The psalm assures us that there's a time and a place to be contented rather than worried. We have no need to feel guilty about it. We have no need to hide it. We simply should give God his due.

How can we arrive in such a place of contentment? The psalm says it comes totally from reliance on God (v 2).
Other potential sources (money, sex and power come to mind for a start) are not worth the effort (v 4).

Even the company we keep can contribute to our pleasure, if it is also God-driven. And it's not just for now. Since our future is secure (vs 9,10) we can rest, relax and enjoy life.

Today is God's day, (Sunday) traditionally set aside by Christians for worship, family and relaxation. Psalm 16 paints a picture of how it can feel. If it doesn't, then maybe we need to look at how we're spending our time.

Do we sometimes need to set our boundary lines a little more clearly?
Can work, worries and the expectations of others, not remain beyond the boundary for today?
It's not always an easy task, as most of society sees Sunday as little different to any other day.

However, with God in control there's enough time for these things tomorrow, when our physical, spiritual and emotional batteries are fully recharged and we're in a positive frame of mind.

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