Psalm 16 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 16 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
Verse 2I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."
Verse 3As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.
Verse 4Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.
Verse 5The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
Verse 6The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.
Verse 7I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
Verse 8I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Verse 9Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.
Verse 10For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit.
Verse 11You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Devotion
It’s only Tuesday and the psalmist is demanding that we take sides already!
“Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows … The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.”
Honestly, can’t this big “choosing” between God and gods happen another day? Full agendas and daily prioritized task lists are already chirping and chiming on our smartphones and we’re quite preoccupied! This God stuff could wait, couldn’t it?
“Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows… The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.”
No, no! God trumps your iPhone, your stomach, your caffeine headache, your mortgage, that Facebook posting and your cat. All of it. That is, if you are the psalmist.
Are you?
Prayer
Dear God, you must be made of at least as much patience as you are love! Have mercy on us when we stray into distraction and multiply our sorrows by not trusting you. Be, O God, our cup and teach us to drink deeply and hold on tightly! Amen.