Psalm 16

I concur with the proposed Sing Psalms text with “Leominster” (as edited by MCPC). I am not familiar with “Stirling” (a recent tune found in the BPW).

Text: Sing Psalms, 2003, alt. MCPC, 2013 (SMD)

1 Preserve me, O my God; you are my refuge true.
2 I say, “O LORD, you are my Lord: I have no good but you.
3 The godly in the land, for holiness renowned,
they are the finest ones, in whom all my delight is found.

4 The ones who chase false gods will multiply their pain,
I will not sacrifice to them; I will not speak their names.
5 O LORD, you are to me my cup and portion sure;
the share that is assigned to me you guard and keep secure.

6The land allotted me is in a pleasant site;
my beautiful inheritance is surely my delight.
7 I bless the LORD my God, whose counsel guides my choice;
and even in the night my heart recalls instruction’s voice.

8 Before me constantly I set the LORD alone.
Since he remains at my right hand, I won’t be overthrown.
9 And so my heart is glad; my tongue with joy will sing.
My body too will rest secure in hope unwavering.

10 For you will not forsake my soul unto the grave,
nor will you leave your Holy One to see the tomb’s decay.
11 The path of life you show; your presence is full joy;
at your right hand, O LORD my God, are pleasures evermore.

Tune: Leominster (George William Martin, 1826; arr. Arthur S. Sullivan, 1874)

Commentary

Psalm 16 is titled, “A Miktam of David.” We do not know what “miktam” means.

Psalms 14-16 belong together. Psalm 14 declares that “there is none who does good.” Psalm 15 declares in reply that some may still dwell in God’s presence. And Psalm 16 shows how.

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

The first point is that the only way to avoid Psalm 14–the fool who says there is no God, is through trusting in Yahweh. The only way to become the blameless man of Psalm 15, is through trusting in the Lord. All that is good, I owe to you.

And because I take refuge in you, I also delight in your people: “As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.” In other words, I do not delight in the counsel of the ungodly. I do not sit in the seat of the scornful. I delight to share in the communion of saints–the fellowship of God’s people. Psalm 15 had said that the man who may dwell in God’s tent is the man who despises a vile person, but who honors those who fear Yahweh. Now Psalm 16 fleshes this out: I delight in the saints, but I will not join with those who run after other gods. Therefore, taking refuge in the Lord also means delighting in the fellowship of his church. Worship and fellowship are intimately bound up together. They cannot exist in isolation.

As you meditate upon the death of Christ–in his suffering for us, and as you meditate upon his resurrection and glory at the right hand of the Father, you must see that his death and resurrection were the accomplishment of the last-days redemption promised through the prophets. And therefore, as you meditate upon the glory that will be ours in Christ Jesus, do not forget that the Holy Spirit is the downpayment of that inheritance. You already have a foretaste of heaven in the presence of Christ.

Structure:

The BPW opens its third stanza in the middle of verse 5, which does not lend itself to singing with understanding. The Sing Psalms text allows for greater clarity and understanding of the flow of the text.

Translation Notes:

My chief objection to the text that we have adopted is the replacement of “drink offerings of blood” (or “libations of blood”) with “sacrifices,” since it ruins the parallel in verse 5 with the LORD as my chosen portion and *cup.* But given the structural concerns outlined above, I would not wish to use the BPW text.

Many believe that Psalm 16 is not speaking of the afterlife, but simply that God will rescue him and save him from death. The key verses are v9-11.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being [lit., glory] rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption [lit., the pit].
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Plainly the Psalmist has a confidence that pertains both to body and his soul. God’s holy one will not see the pit. Does this just mean: “I won’t die yet”? If so, then the whole Psalm becomes rather pathetic: “I’ve got a good piece of real estate, and God will let me live a little longer. Sure, then I’ll die and return to nothingness — but hey, I get to have some fun for a while!!”

The word translated “forevermore” (or evermore in our version) is *netsach* — which means “eminence, enduring, everlasting, or perpetual.” It is used 18 times in the Psalms, ordinarily to refer to things that either are (or seem to be) going on forever. If Psalm 16 is simply saying that “perpetual pleasures” are at the right hand of God — but that human can only enjoy them temporarily and then descend into the grave forever, then Psalm 16 makes no sense.

Put simply, Peter got it right in Acts 2 — and Paul in Acts 13 — when they affirm that David was speaking of the resurrection of the Christ. How well David understood this is an open question (2 Peter 1:21 says that prophets did not always understand what they were saying), but we must affirm that Psalm 16 speaks of the resurrection of Christ.

Tune Notes:

“Leominster” is used in the Trinity Hymnal with Psalms 16 (692) and 45 (169), “Not What My Hands Have Done” (461), “A Few More Years Shall Roll” (540). It is also used for Psalm 16 in the Trinity Psalter, and for Psalms 25 and 108 in the Book of Psalms for Singing/Worship.

I am delighted that Tim Shafer (professor of musicology at Penn State) has permitted me to share his musical comments from our committee’s work. This is what he said regarding Leominster:

“Leominster is an extended six phrase tune comprising two bar forms (mm. 1-8 a a1 b; mm. 9-16 c c1 d). Throughout the unfolding of these six phrases, the tune presents a slow progression from sedate assuredness to stately confidence subtly tinged with victory.

The opening pair of phrases are marked by the repeated note and slowly rising melody, yet the sequence is down a second. The abgesang phrase (the b phrase) responds with a confident triadic rise, while yet containing the repeated note motive.

The progress of assertion continues with the short c phrases of the second bar structure. Here, dotted rhythms are introduced, subtly cueing strength. The sequence of these two phrases, unlike the first pair, now ascends, and by a third. The d phrase climaxes the tune by continuing the sequence, rising a fourth higher to the tonic in the dotted rhythm and a slow scalar descent to conclude.

Leominster contains significant musical referents that support the affect of Psalm 16 and would make a very good choice of a familiar tune for this text.”

Conclusion

I think that Psalm 16 *needs* to have a really good tune. Leominster definitely has the chops to last.

My sermon on Psalm 16 can be found here.

For a recording of Leominster with Psalm 16, listen here (using the Trinity Psalter’s Yoda-ish text).

– Peter J. Wallace