Psalm 16:2
I say to the Lord,
“You are my Lord;
Apart from You I have no good thing.” Psalm 16:2 (NIV)
Master – owner of a slave or servant; king or ruler over another. This title is given to someone who has absolute authority over another.
In this passage, the word Lord is used twice.
The first time it is translated from Yahweh, which is God’s proper name.
The second time it is translated from Adonai, which means Master.
By using these two different words, David is telling God that he recognizes that He (Yahweh) is his Master (Adonai).
He is declaring loyalty to God and recognizing God as ruler over him.
David knew serving God and allowing God to rule over him and his life is what would bring him true happiness.
He knew that allowing God to be his Master meant he could trust God to show him what to do and how to live his life in a way that was not only best for him in the long run, but was also honoring and pleasing to God.
The phrase, “Apart from You I have no good thing.” can be taken two ways.
The first is to recognize that all good things come from God.
James 1:17 tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (NIV)
Every good thing we have comes from God.
Every one of them.
Without Him to give us good things we would not have them.
The other way to look at it, and the more likely meaning in this passage, is that David is telling God that he knows He is the only good thing he has.
When David wrote this he was hiding from persecution and those who wanted to kill him.
He was likely living in a cave.
David says the only good thing he has is God.
While it’s true David didn’t have a home or a lot of material things so he didn’t really have much of anything, it’s also true David realized God was the only good thing he had for other reasons.
Having God in our lives is so important that everything else pales in comparison.
Life is not about a big house or fancy job.
It’s not about being popular or trendy.
It’s about making God first in every area of our lives no matter what.
It’s about honoring Him above anything else we do, say, or have.
It’s about knowing there is nowhere else we can turn.
David knew this.
He was in a very tough spot.
What was really important was very clear to David.
He could plainly see what really mattered.
David wasn’t concerned about material things.
He was concerned about honoring God in all things.
He knew that God is the most important thing in our lives and the only thing that really matters.
David knew God is our Master.
He’s the only good thing we have.
We should praise Him for His goodness in our lives.
I wonder if we realize that God is God over all things.
I wonder if we realize God is the only good thing we have.
I wonder if we realize, when God is all we have, we have all we need.
Prayer – Father, thank you I can devote myself to you. Will you please help me to understand and accept that You are my Adonai – my Master – and help me to live a life that shows this? Will you please help me to see and understand that the only thing that really matters is my relationship with You and that all other things are secondary? Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for being my God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. Psalm 73:25 (NIV)
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ Philippians 3:7-8 (NIV)
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.“ Mark 10:17-18 (NIV)
To see all the posts I’ve shared in this series, please visit my Psalm 16 page.
To learn more about what a Psalm is, please visit my post, What is the Book of Psalms?