Псалом 16

According to the inscription in Hebrew. and in the Slavic Bibles, this psalm belongs to David and in its content represents a prayer to God for deliverance from the disasters he is experiencing. The psalm was written during the persecution of Saul, which is indicated by both David’s confession of his innocence before God (Ps. 16:1–4, 7), and an indication of wickedness (Ps. 16:9, 13) and the rage of enemies who sought to take his life (Ps. 16:11, 12) and by their persecution of David, those who opposed the Divine determination about him (Ps. 16:4, 13). Hear, Lord, my prayer for help and save me, righteous both in thoughts and deeds (1-4). Save me like the apple of my eye from numerous, cunning and powerful enemies (5–9). They are everywhere and seek to take my life (10–12). Arise, O Lord, and cast them down, and I will sing praises to You (13-15). Ps.16:1. Hear, O Lord, [my] truth, listen to my cry, accept the prayer from the lips of the undeceitful. “My righteousness” - my justice, my innocence before You and people in the disasters they are experiencing. My prayer “from undeceitful lips” is sincere, there are no lies or exaggerations in it. Ps.16:2. May judgment come to me from Your face; let Thy eyes look upon righteousness. “Court” – definition, decision. Pronounce, O Lord, Your judgment over me and my enemies, and, since I suffer undeservedly, then with your verdict, the condemnation of my enemies, give the opportunity for truth to triumph (“let Thy eyes look upon righteousness”). Ps.16:3. You tested my heart, visited me at night, tempted me and found nothing; My lips do not depart from my thoughts. “Visited me at night”, night is a symbol of disasters; Despite the calamities he experienced, David remained faithful to “truth,” his passion and devotion to God, and did not deviate from His commandments. His words were a true expression of his thoughts, there was no hypocrisy in him. Ps.16:4. In human affairs, according to the word of Your mouth, I have guarded myself from the ways of the oppressor. "In human affairs". By human affairs, as usual in the Bible, we mean a person’s attachment to earthly things, to what only in the eyes of people has special value, for example, wealth, the protection of the powerful, etc. - “By the word of Your mouth” - in accordance with Your commandments, “I guarded myself from the ways of the oppressor” - David in (his) ordinary, everyday relationships with people vigilantly watched himself so as not to end up in anything oppressor of his neighbor. This attitude towards one's neighbor was exceptional, since in the East violence was an ordinary course of life. By “words of the mouth” one can also understand David’s divine appointment to the kingdom, which served as the main reason for the persecution of him by Saul. In this case, the said verse can be rendered as follows: as a result of Your anointing and appointment of me to the throne, I could form parties and gather supporters around me for the violent overthrow of Saul, but I avoided being a boss, an oppressor. Ps.16:5. Establish my steps in Your ways, so that my feet do not falter. David prays to God that in the future the Lord will not leave him with His protection, thereby giving him the opportunity to strengthen himself in devotion to Him (“establish my steps in Your ways” - commandments), so that he will unswervingly, without hesitation, follow Him, and not “the works of men.” Ps.16:7. Show Thy wondrous mercy, O Savior of those who trust [in You] from those who resist Thy right hand. “Show wondrous mercy” is equivalent to miraculously deliver, which indicates the difficult and hopeless situation of David during these persecutions. By “the right hand of God” we mean God’s definition regarding David, according to which he received the anointing of the kingdom and should be the king of the Jewish people. Those who opposed this right hand were Saul and his entourage, who saw in David not God’s anointed to the kingdom, but an illegitimate contender for the throne. Ps.16:10. they are shut up in their fat, they speak arrogantly with their lips. The enemies attacking David, i.e. those who caused him suffering are making an attempt on his life; “they shut themselves up in fat”, they covered up their fat; "they say arrogantly". These words characterize the enemies of David, who enjoyed complete contentment, from which they gave nothing to the poor (“they were imprisoned in fat”). Due to the concentration of contentment and power in their hands, they became proud and arrogant. Ps.16:11. At every step we now surround us; they fixed their eyes to cast me down to the ground; “They fixed their eyes to throw me down to the ground” - they strain their eyes, looking for ways to throw David to the ground, overthrow him, destroy him. Saul's various attempts to capture and kill David are known. Ps.16:12. they are like a lion thirsting for prey, like a skinn sitting in hidden places. These attempts, in addition to open persecution, also include hidden, secret tracking and waylaying of David, equating David’s enemies to predatory animals stalking their prey. Ps.16:13. Arise, Lord, warn them, bring them down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by Your sword, “Rise up, ... warn and overthrow” - arise, Lord, in my defense, prevent the attacks of enemies and thereby prevent their success over me. Ps.16:14. from people - by Your hand, O Lord, from the people of the world, whose lot is in this life, whose belly You fill from Your treasuries; their sons are satisfied and will leave the remainder to their children. Lord, save “from the people of the world, whose destiny is in this life,” that is, David’s enemies pursue him not from higher motives, but from earthly and worldly interests, they are all attached and strive for temporary and personal benefits, their destiny is the earth, even when You “fill their belly” with Your treasures, when they are already full of wealth and contentment. They have so many of these benefits that they both use them themselves and leave behind a large amount of them to their descendants. Thus, the entire content of the verse represents David's prayer to God that He would save him and his followers from their enemies, even if the latter were numerous and had power and wealth, which David lacks at the present time. Ps.16:15. And I will look upon Your face in righteousness; Having awakened, I will be saturated with Your image. The persecution of Saul and the forced flight of David deprive the latter of the opportunity to fearlessly and openly visit the tabernacle (“behold thy face”). The inability for David to attend worship was a great and difficult deprivation for him, as a pious man; in salvation from enemies, he will have the opportunity to satisfy his religious needs to be “saturated with the image” of God, to be and pray at the tabernacle. You might be interested in: