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Psalms 16

Psalms 16 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Psalm 16 is a calm prayer of trust and delight. David asks God for protection, rejects idols, and speaks of the Lord as his chosen portion. The chapter moves from daily guidance to deep confidence, ending with joy in God's presence and hope that reaches beyond death.

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What happens in Psalms 16?

David begins by asking God to preserve him and declares that apart from the Lord he has no true good. He values the faithful people of God and refuses the worship of false gods. The Lord is described as his portion, his secure inheritance, and his counselor even in the night. Because God is always before him, David is steady and glad. The psalm closes with strong confidence that God will not abandon him to the grave, but will show him the path of life and fill him with joy forever.

Psalm 16 is a Davidic psalm and a heartfelt statement of trust in the Lord's care. In the flow of the Psalms, it sits among prayers that move from danger and uncertainty toward confidence in God's presence. Its closing hope gives the chapter a forward-looking tone that later readers have often connected with God's victory over death.

Themes to notice

  • Trust in GodDavid asks for preservation and confesses that the Lord alone is his true good and security.
  • Rejecting IdolsThe psalm contrasts God's faithful care with the emptiness and sorrow tied to false worship.
  • Joy and HopeThe chapter ends with confidence in God's guidance, gladness in his presence, and hope that death will not have the final word.

Questions for Psalms 16

  • What does David mean when he says the Lord is his portion and cup?
  • How does Psalm 16 describe the difference between trusting God and following other gods?
  • What verses in this chapter show both present peace and future hope?

Read the full text of Psalms 16 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Psalms 16

The Presence of the LORD

A Miktam of David.

1Preserve me, O God,

for in You I take refuge.

2I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;

apart from You I have no good thing.”

3As for the saints in the land,

they are the excellence

in whom all my delight resides.

4Sorrows will multiply

to those who chase other gods.

I will not pour out their libations of blood,

or speak their names with my lips.

5The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;

You have made my lot secure.

6The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places;

surely my inheritance is delightful.

7I will bless the LORD who counsels me;

even at night my conscience instructs me.

8I have set the LORD always before me.

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will dwell securely.

10For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

11You have made known to me the path of life;

You will fill me with joy in Your presence,

with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

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