Psalm 16
Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”
As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Me:
Good morning Father!
ABBA:
Good morning Jon!
Me:
“Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.” That phrase is key to the very existence of this Psalm isn’t it?
ABBA:
Look it up in the Hebrew concordance. “Mind”, does not capture the fullness of it.
Me:
O.K.
ABBA:
ḵil·yō·ṯay – the innermost part, deep enough to actually control what you do (hence “my reins”). This is “mind” only if operating in the Spirit by the power of the counsel given by Me. A purely intellectual approach to the scriptures – that is, apart from Me – will come up short. Toward the other extreme, it is unwise to try to rely on inner promptings except by also testing them against the scripture. You need need My whole counsel (Acts 20:27) and comfort (John 14:16).
Me:
I am grateful that You are willing to give all these helps to true communion with You. Left to what I can attain with only mental processes, I am prone to talk myself into an endless loop, able to make many sides of an examination seem plausible (Proverbs 18:17).
ABBA:
That is why I give them. I do not want you to be unaware of My love or of My provision for you. Neither do I want you to be deceived. I Am the Truth, I want you to walk in the truth.
Consider also, that this Psalm was penned by David, as in the night, he heard Jesus nighttime prayers in the garden, “…You will not suffer Your Holy One to suffer decay…”, twenty-eight generations forward. Do you think David would have been able to accurately see all these revelations of the Messiah, except by My Spirit, who is unfettered by time? I made them known to him and gave him a heart to record what he saw in the watches of the night, that when these things came to pass, there would be no doubt that that there is salvation in Jesus and that your redemption was planned from the outset.
Me:
Truly, I cannot read these words without recognizing they are a perfect fit for what is revealed of the heart of Jesus, expressing His confidence in You while staring a gruesome death in the face. I cannot forget that the death He suffered was not due Him. The suffering He endured was earned by me. I see in these words his faith being expressed that You would show Him the path of life. Not that You had already made it known, but that You would.
ABBA:
To you also, it has been revealed that He is the path of life (John 11:25). In faith, also, you rely on this promise.
Me:
Yes I do! And, I am more grateful for that fact than I can adequately express! Thank You! I love You!
ABBA:
You’re welcome! I love you!
Me:
Obviously!
Missionary Sojourn 