A Study of Psalm 16 (verse 7, Counsel)

¹ Preserve me, God, because I take refuge in you.

² I say to Yahweh, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have nothing good.” ³ I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” ⁴ The sorrows of those who hurry after other gods will multiply. I will not pour out their bloody libations, nor take their names on my lips. ⁵ Yahweh is my assigned portion and my cup. You safeguard my allotment. ⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

⁷ I will praise Yahweh, who gives me counsel. Even at night my heart instructs me.

Yahweh has a council with which He counsels,[1] though indeed no one counsels Him. To be given access to His council and receive counsel from Him is a huge honor, normally reserved for prophets only.[2] But here, David, after his confession of faith, confesses to having received counsel from Yahweh, during his waking hours, we may assume, and even in his sleep.

God speaks to him through his “heart.” We could say Yahweh communicates through David’s own mind what He wants David to know. He instructs David, effectively making David a prophet, something the rest of Scripture affirms. Peter, doing an exegesis of Psalm 16, and no doubt referencing this verse, says,

But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. (Acts 2:20)

This is the midpoint and turning point of this psalm. David has requested preservation from Yahweh, making a confession of faith in Yahweh as a reason for Yahweh to grant his request. God has communicated to David in response to his faith in Him, that He will, indeed, preserve David, will, in fact, answer his prayer. We know this because immediately after this, in verses 8-11, David expresses his confidence in Yahweh preserving him from death.

I remember a time when I was facing a situation in which my provision was in danger. I had to make a decision whether to keep or lose my job. And I went before the Lord to ask Him what I should do, and He told me that I should resign. But I feared for my provision. He told me, “I will take care of you.” This is what David has experienced, an assurance from Yahweh that He will indeed preserve David from the danger he is facing.

[1] https://thimblefulloftheology.com/the-divine-council-of-god/

[2] Jeremiah 23:18, ^“But which of them [the false prophets] has stood in the council of Yahweh to see or to hear his word?” But see Psalm 25:14, “The counsel of Yahweh is with those who fear Him.”