A Study of Psalm 16 (verses 5&6, Portion)

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.

 David has been making his confession of faith:

• His confession of dependence on Yahweh’s Lordship (v. 2)
• His confession of fellowship with the righteous (v. 3)
• His confession of orthodox worship (v. 4), and finally,
• His confession of deep satisfaction with Yahweh (vv. 5,6)

Israel was given the inheritance of the land of Canaan. To each tribe was allotted a portion of land that they were to hold sacrosanct, that they were to preserve as the boundary lines of their tribe. Levi was the only tribe that did not receive an allotment of land. Yahweh told them, “I am your portion and your inheritance” (Numbers 18:20). Yahweh was promising them that He would provide for them what the land would provide the other tribes. The tithe He proscribed went to the support of Levi.

David is not from the tribe of Levi. His tribe, Judah, had been allotted land. But that is not what he confesses is his provision. Yahweh is his provision. Yahweh is his “land” and his cup of provision. And that allotment is secure in Yahweh’s hands. He has given Himself to David, as He will to any believer.

For David, this allotment, this inheritance, this portion, is a pleasant place. It is beautiful. David is deeply satisfied with Yahweh as his inheritance. Much as Asaph said in Psalm 73:

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Or to put it in the terms of Psalm 142:

⁴ Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. ⁵ I cry to you, Yahweh; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

David finds all that he needs in Yahweh. He is not like “those of this world whose reward [potion] is in this life” (Psalm 17:14). So why should Yahweh preserve David? Because David trusts Yahweh to be his refuge. Because he leans on Yahweh’s Lordship. Because he fellowships with the righteous. Because he worships Yahweh alone and aright. Because he is deeply satisfied with Yahweh as his ultimate provision. Because David is a believer!