“Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight. Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16

“The 16th psalm is a prophecy of the suffering and resurrection of Christ, as the apostles themselves powerfully indicate (Acts 2:25 and 13:35). It clearly gives witness that Christ has discarded as idolatry the old Law with its sacrifices and worship, and has chosen other saints and another people to be His heirs. This psalm belongs to the First, Second, and Third Commandments, for it announces the new praise, work, Word, and worship that would come into the world in Christ, and the passing of the old worship. It is in the First and Second Petitions.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

The psalmist’s words “I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you” are words of pure trust and faith. They are words that show a true commitment to G-d. Any relationship that does not have real trust is a weak and shaky relationship. This is why we must be constantly be working and working on that relationship. The Psalmist says: “I keep the Lord always before me; because (the Lord) is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”

We have all heard the saying “He or she is my right-hand man (woman).” Perhaps this Psalm is the origin of this idiom. When we keep the Lord as our “Right Hand companion”, as our wing man, then perhaps we will understand how much more we should rejoice and be glad. We must approach every season of our lives with a sense of humility and gratification. All that we have is evidence of G-d’s goodness. Instead of entitlement, we should live every day rejoicing and praising G-d for all the blessings we have.

PRAYER

Thanks be unto You, Lord Jesus, for Your bitter sufferings, Your shameful death, and Your joyous resurrection. Enlighten our eyes to see in You the way unto life. Uphold us by Your truth, so we may not fall into idolatry and false worship, and preserve us in the true faith unto eternal life. Amen.

“O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors; in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even to their hurt; who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved.” Psalm 15

“The 15th psalm is a psalm of instruction that teaches the true understanding of the Law, the truly good life, and true good works. These are all fruits of the Spirit and of faith: to live blameless before God through true faith, to do right to the neighbor, and to turn away from the evil ways and from the hypocrisy of the ungodly, by which they serve God with fraudulent works and omit the true works. This psalm belongs to the Third Commandment, concerning the Sabbath, in which we are to hear and learn God’s Word, and it is in the Third Petition.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

“Who may abide in your tent, your holy hill?” The idea of pitching a tent in the presence of G-d is behind the idea of “dwelling with G-d” — “remaining with G-d”. We do not deal much with tents in our society — only if we are camping, or coming into the presence of a homeless camp. All of sudden, the idea of pitching a tent changes — for the tent is the least stable and enduring of all dwellings. But for the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for forty years, their whole existence was wrapped up in a tent. The Lord dwelled in a tent — the people lived in tents. In other words, there was an inward and inter-dependence between the tent dwellers — the people needed G-d — G-d loved the people and chose to dwell with them.

“Those who do these thing shall never be moved”, says the Lord. Those who do these things will live the blameless life: through (1) personal character — doing what is right, speaking the truth, keeping one’s word; (2) loving others – not speaking poorly of others, not doing evil against friends, no discrediting of neighbors; (3) an attitude of humility — rejecting the wicked and honoring those who fear G-d; and (4) generosity — not allowing money to cloud one’s judgment.

We may never be completely blameless, but trying to follow these four intents will put us on the right path.

PRAYER

O Lord, our gracious and merciful Father, grant us steadfastly to believe in Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior; to fearlessly confess Him before men to the reproving of the unbelieving and the wicked. Strengthen us by Your Spirit to walk honestly as in the light of day, both privately and in public. Amen.