^{(Today’s post is part of a series on Psalm 16. You can find all the posts on my Psalm 16 page.)}

As for the saints who are in the land,

They are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight;

⁴The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.

I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.  Psalm 16:3-4 (NIV)

Saints – holy ones; those who follow after God

Glorious – good, noble, honorable, excellent

Delight – desired, valuable thing, acceptable

Sorrows – pain, wounds, hardships, struggles

Libations – offerings, like an offering to a god

Take Up – accept, bear (the weight of), deal with, tolerate

Names – name, by implication honor, authority, character

In these two verses David is contrasting the two types of people.

Those who are holy and follow after God and those who don’t.

He says he delights in those who are holy and follow God but he wants nothing to do with those who chase after other gods.

David tells us the ones who follow after God are noble and honorable.

They are someone to value and accept.

David warns that those who run after other gods will see their sorrows increase because they aren’t following God.

Because God is not their God He won’t protect them from bad things that might happen nor from their own poor choices.

They are on their own.

This is a natural consequence of not trusting God.

David goes on to say he wants nothing to do with those who chase other gods.

In David’s time it was common for the pagans to pour out a glass of blood as a symbol of worship to their god or as a sign of respect for others.

By saying he will not pour out their libations, he is saying he will do nothing to honor them or their gods.

He is also saying he wants nothing to do with their worship of other gods or idols.

He doesn’t want anything to do with them either, to the point he will not even say their name because he wants no part of them in any way.

He does not want to do anything that could be considered honor towards these people or their gods.

David is separating himself from them and having nothing to do with them for his own good – to keep himself clean and set aside for God.

These two verses are an example and a lesson to us.

Ephesians 5:10-12 clearly says we are to have nothing to do with sinful things.

It says: Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. (NIV)

We are not supposed to even talk about the sinful things people do.

This verse is from the New Testament but it clearly spells out what David was saying –

Don’t have anything to do with their bad choices and sins – don’t even talk about them.

Instead, we should live our lives so that we are one of those mentioned in Romans 16:19:

Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. (NIV)

We need to be wise enough to do what is good and pleasing to the Lord and innocent of doing anything evil.

When we follow after God we are honorable and noble.

When we don’t, we are opening ourselves up to sorrow after sorrow.

Which are you? Are you living your life as a saint, one of the glorious ones?

Or, are there things in your life that make you look like one of the ungoldy – someone who shouldn’t be mentioned and whose deeds should be avoided?

If you are living an ungodly life or have ungodly habits, it is not too late to change.

Ask God to help you with those things today so you can confidently rest in the knowledge you are one of the saints.

He will walk with you and show you the way to walk with and honor Him as you learn to turn your back on other gods.

Then you will truly be a saint in whom is much delight.

Prayer – Father, thank you for showing me the difference between the glorious ones and those who should repent of their actions. Will you please help me to live a life worthy of you? Please show me any areas in my life where I am looking toward other gods. Show me how to turn from back toward You and help me to do so.  Thank you for all you do for me and for helping me to be a person you can be proud of. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Surely it is You who love the people; all the holy ones are in Your hand. At Your feet they all bow down and from You receive instruction, Deuteronomy 33:3 (NIV)

 “Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.” Exodus 23:13 (NIV)

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. Ephesians 5:11-12 (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?