Psalm 16: Pleasant

The Psalms are far more prophetic than we recognize. David was found, often, writing not only of his experience, from his own heart, but of the heart of the Messiah that would come from his lineage and sit upon his throne eternally. Psalm 16 is such a vital piece of prophetic Scripture that the Holy Spirit emboldened Peter to quote it, in reference to Jesus, in the first sermon preached as witnesses to Jesus. The struggle we sometimes have with prophetic Scripture is simply what to do with it, how do we read it, and can we apply it? I believe Psalm 16 is a great example of how prophetic Scripture can and should be handled. First, we must understand that David was writing from his heart, to God, about his own situations. The Psalms first applied to David’s generation and were sung, with conviction by his peers, in Israel’s tabernacle. They were contemporary to the writers and the readers. But, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they were also prophetic, applying to a future that was still far off. David spoke for himself, but without personal knowledge, he also spoke for the Messiah. David was convinced that God would not abandon his soul to Sheol, but God was also making a promise, through David, that He would not abandon the soul of His Son, the Messiah. The Psalms were contemporary, they were prophetic, but they are also applicable, meaning they continue to have meaning, purpose and an applied value to our current lives. Paul told Timothy, “Every Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness”. Notice that Paul doesn’t say “or”, he writes pointedly, “and”, meaning Scripture is never either or, it’s not historical or prophetic, prophetic or applicable, it is all those things all the time and each must be considered for the Scripture to be read, understood and obeyed in context.

Psalm 16 contains one of my favorite lines in all the Scripture. David wrote it of himself, prophesied it of Jesus the Messiah and I believe offers it for us to believe for ourselves, “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” The Hebrew word we translate as “lines” refers to the cords that were used to measure land for surveys. David was referring to his life in terms of land, he was looking out over the years, the past, present and hoped for future. This raises the question for us of, what do we choose to see when we look over our lives? Psalm 16 is still squarely in the midst of David’s Psalms of lament. He began it by asking God to “preserve” him, to keep him safe, to protect him from enemies, betraying friends and disappointing circumstances. It still doesn’t appear that anything in David’s life had changed. He still felt, at times, forgotten. He was still dealing with the sting of betrayal. He still feared the possibility of death. But in that moment, he chose to look beyond the large patch of dead grass in front of him and take in a view of the entire landscape.

And what did David see when he took in his entire life rather than just the difficult season he was in? His lines had fallen in “pleasant places”. David didn’t overlook the difficult season, he didn’t pretend it didn’t exist or refuse to “confess” the reality of his trouble, but instead he chose to see more than what he was in and look over where he had been and what he knew was still yet to be. David was practicing what Jesus perfected. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us to “look unto” Jesus, which means to learn from and follow His example, “who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame . . .” Jesus endured the horror of the cross by focusing His heart on the fullness of the joy that was on its way. To use David’s words, Jesus looked at where the lines had fallen. He lamented in the garden, He pleaded with the Father to take the cup from Him, but when He faced the cross, He looked at more than the torment and death it would cost, He saw the joy before Him, and I believe He saw the perfect care that had come behind Him.

I won’t be too general and say that all of us have this experience, but for most of us, our lines have fallen in pleasant places. The Lord has been gracious, kind, merciful and above all else, loving. He has loved us with an everlasting love, and He has promised to finish everything that He has ever started. He created us to redeem us, He redeemed us to live in intimacy with us. He calls us to Himself and then, when we wander away, He goes out to find us and bring us home again. He gives us our inheritance, meaning, that which belongs to Him, and then when we squander it, He doesn’t demand restitution, He brings out a ring and a robe and in the most amazing act of love, reveals that He has been preparing for our return, by having a fattened calf waiting for this occasion. Our lines have fallen in pleasant places because God has eternally desired and pursued us. Our most joyful seasons have been filled with God’s presence and our most painful years have been equally filled with His presence, even if we weren’t able to lift our heads to see it. When all we’ve had was ashes, He’s taken them and offered us beauty. When all we’ve had was rejection, He’s met us at our own well and offered us acceptance. When all we’ve had was disappointment, He’s wept with us at the tomb and then called for resurrection. I want to encourage us today, don’t get stuck surveying the same parcel of barren land, let’s choose to lift our eyes a bit and look over the entire property. Don’t get stuck in the seasons of famine, never stop remembering the years of plenty and then keep believing the promises of restoration. Today’s lot may be painful, but our lines have fallen in pleasant places, and the inheritance, the promise, the finished work that combines the past, the present and the future, has been designed to be beautiful.