448_Pleasures at His right hand

Psalm 16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.

11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Many years ago, the famous missionary Jim Elliot wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” And he did. At the age of 28, Jim Elliot was killed by the very tribe he sought to reach with the gospel. But his story didn’t end in a jungle clearing in Ecuador. It lives on in the testimony of a man who found joy in doing the will of God. It lives on in the testimony of scores of people from that tribe who came to know and love the Lord that Jim Elliot obeyed. He looked forward, not to the highest offerings of this world, but to the pleasures of being in God’s presence forever.

Psalm 16 is not the cry of a desperate man clinging to survival, but a joyful hymn of undiluted praise, from one who has tasted something better than life itself. David may have written this psalm in a time of difficulty—he opens with a plea, “Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge”—but his tone makes this a song of delight. For he knew, as Jim Elliot knew, that fullness of joy is in doing the will of God.

David begins by saying, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” The NKJV puts it even more strikingly: “My goodness is nothing apart from You.” David, a king, a warrior, a poet, traces all that is good in his life and in his heart to the Divine presence. The Spirit’s fruit is goodness, originating not in our sinful decisions but in the fear of the Lord. Goodness is fruited as we turn away from loving our own will to delighting in His.

This fact creates a deep bond between God’s people. “As for the saints in the land,” he says, “they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.” Where we often admire the powerful, the popular, or the successful, David, the servant of God, delights in the saints. His delight in God spills over into delight for his fellow servants, those who bear His name. This is the mark of the one who has the mind of Christ.

But this is not David’s only joy. “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.” As one chosen by the Lord, he knew the joy and certainty of his heavenly inheritance. His portion was God Himself.

What an amazing reversal of values. The world measures inheritance in terms of wealth and possessions and position. But David says, “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” He saw what the world could not see. God Himself is the portion that satisfies.

We find echoes of this truth throughout Scripture. Peter speaks of an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us. Asaph writes in Psalm 73, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” The Levites had no territory of their own in Israel, because, as Deuteronomy 10:9 says, “The Lord is their inheritance.” And the Lord spoke of a man who sold all he had to buy a field containing a hidden treasure, and of a merchant who sold all he had to buy a single pearl of great price (Matthew 13). He was offering each one of us the chance to gain the one thing worth having – the knowledge of Christ, the image of the invisible God, the author and finisher of our faith. If we have truly seen this, we will joyfully and unhesitatingly let go of all else to have Him.

And David, living with God as his portion, says. “I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.” The godly one is guided in heart day and night. As he abides and hides himself in the Lord, so also the Lord abides in him. The living Word treasured in his heart comforts, instructs, and warns him in time of need and in hours of quietness.

He adds, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” David didn’t stumble upon this joy accidentally. He set the Lord before him—deliberately, constantly, purposefully. He consciously ascribed to God all authority and lived always in that presence. It’s not a feeling; it’s a choice. Joseph refused to sin with Potiphar’s wife, saying, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” David, too, was deeply aware of God’s eyes on him, in love and watchfulness.

God may be with us in love and faithfulness, and yet we may not walk with him. God was with Ishmael, and with Solomon. Yet they did not walk with him, did not set him on their right hand. This led to their eventual downfall.

David describes the consequences of his choice, saying, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.” There is no fear of exposure. No dread of judgment. Nothing hidden. When the Lord is your treasure and your constant companion, your heart and flesh rest in security.

And beyond the grave, David fairly shouts with praise: “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” The prophet speaks here, in words taken up by Peter at Pentecost and applied to Christ. For David’s body did see corruption—he died, was buried, and decayed. But Jesus Christ did not stay in the grave. He rose from the dead. And because He lives, we have a sure and living hope. The resurrection is not a metaphor. It is the guarantee that the joy we taste now will be made full forever.

David concludes joyfully: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This is life with God—not rules, not rituals, not even theology, but righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit. This is real joy, that the world cannot give and cannot take away.

This joy doesn’t come from shallow entertainment or temporary success. It comes from knowing and obeying God. It is the life we were made for. When the Lord is your portion, your inheritance, your treasure—then you begin to walk the path of life. And you find that the path leads straight into His presence, where there is fullness of joy.

The treasure that we live for, think about, and protect at all costs requires time and dedication. If it is anything less than God, you will find that it cannot satisfy you—and you cannot keep it.

Our identity is not in our achievements but in His approval. We find pleasures not in what we consume, but in the one we have communion with. We live in hope because God is our future. And when this life ends, we shall awake fully satisfied in His presence.

There is nothing greater than this. For those who treasure him alone, we find fullness of joy in his smile, and pleasures forevermore in his presence.