"Apart from the Lord, I have no good thing."

[Psalm 16]

What do you think it means to live a life of faith?
As the years go by, I believe more and more that a life of faith is about confessing the words from Psalm 73:25 and the first part of verse 28:
“Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You... But as for me, it is good to be near God.”

The Lord, who is the source of all blessings—drawing near to Him in faith is nothing less than a truly blessed life.
All blessings flow from Him: the blessing of being forgiven of sin, the blessing of joy, and even the restoration of all things—these blessings all flow from Jesus (Acts 3:17–26).

The Lord, the source of all blessing—when one, with wisdom, recognizes and enjoys His blessings, the confession that flows from the believer’s heart and lips is found in today’s main passage, Psalm 16:2:
“… Apart from You, I have no good thing.”

Today, I would like us to reflect on five blessings that David, the psalmist, enjoyed as described in today’s text.

The first blessing is the Lord’s protection.

Look at Psalm 16:1:
“Keep me safe, my God, for in You I take refuge.”
David, the psalmist, faced danger and sought refuge in the Lord.
This danger can be considered in two ways:
first, the danger of death (v.10),
and second, the danger of syncretistic faith (v.4) (according to Park Yoon-sun).

One was related to his physical life, and the other to his spiritual faith.
Like David, we also may face these two types of danger: physical and spiritual.
However, David took these dangers as opportunities to draw nearer to the Lord.
Why? Because he knew that drawing near to God is a blessing (Psalm 73:28).

The expression in Psalm 16:1 that David “took refuge” in the Lord reflects an attitude of faith—trusting and feeling secure in God (Park Yoon-sun).
He completely relied on God in the midst of both physical and spiritual danger.
As a result, he received the Lord’s protection.

The second blessing is the Lord’s preservation of our inheritance.

Look at the second part of Psalm 16:5:
“… You maintain my lot.”
God is not only our inheritance, but He is also the one who guards and preserves it.
Even if a believer possesses an inheritance, it is not easy to keep it safe.
But since the Lord watches over it, there is nothing to worry about (Park Yoon-sun).

God is truly the Lord who gives us a beautiful inheritance.
Just as David had a “portion measured out with lines” (v.6),
this refers to the measurement of land when receiving it as an inheritance—it means God gave David his portion.

Furthermore, God not only gives the inheritance but also protects it.
Just as He measured out the beautiful land of Canaan for Abraham,
God gives us the promised land, and by preserving the inheritance He gives,
He enables us to live a blessed life.

The third blessing is the Lord’s instruction.

Look at the first part of Psalm 16:7:
“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me…”
A truly blessed heart is one that receives God’s revelation and lives according to it.
A good example of this is the apostle Peter.
He confessed to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,”
and this confession was something that God had revealed to Peter (Matthew 16:16–17).
Therefore, the Lord said to Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah” (v.17).

In today’s passage, David blesses the Lord because he was guided by God's revelation and received a beautiful inheritance (v.7).
He also confessed, “Even at night my heart instructs me” (v.7).
In the quiet of the night, David delighted in receiving the Lord’s instruction (Park Yoon-sun).
A heart that is instructed by the Word of truth written on it—even during the night—is truly a blessed heart.

The fourth blessing is that the Lord is at my right hand.

Look at the middle part of Psalm 16:8:
“… because he is at my right hand…”
That the Lord is at David’s right hand means that God is helping him with the greatest strength (Park Yoon-sun).
David, who had taken refuge in the Lord in times of danger and received His protection, also experienced God’s empowering strength.
Even when he was powerless, discouraged, and completely worn out,
the Lord drew near and strengthened him powerfully through His promised Word during times of weakness.

For those who experience the presence of the Lord, this confession naturally arises from their hearts and lips:
“I love you, O Lord, my strength” (Psalm 18:1).

The fifth blessing is that the Lord shows the path of life.

Look at the first part of Psalm 16:11:
“You make known to me the path of life…”
This is David speaking as he looks forward to the blessing of entering eternal life in the afterlife (Park Yoon-sun).

Verse 10 of today’s passage is a prophecy of Jesus’ resurrection, which is quoted in Acts 2:27–28.
In other words, by believing in the resurrection of the Messiah,
David also believed in and hoped for his own resurrection.

The Lord who revealed that eternal path of life to David was “my good,”
and for us as well, there is no other confession to make but this:
“Apart from the Lord, I have no good thing” (Psalm 16:2).

Then how should those who receive these blessings from the Lord—who is our very blessing—respond?
We must reflect on this.
We can consider four aspects of living a life that welcomes and honors the Lord, who is our blessing.

First, the believer rejoices.

Look at Psalm 16:3:
“As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.”

How can one believer rejoice in another believer?
The reason is that they are drawn to their “glory” (Park Yoon-sun).
Here, “glory” refers to honor or majesty—specifically, the glory of the inheritance believers will receive as children of God in the life to come (Park Yoon-sun).
That radiance of glory is manifested as believers live holy lives according to God’s will in this world.

When we see such a believer, we are moved to admiration, thinking,
“Ah, truly a child of God.”
“He is someone destined to receive the glory of being a son of God” (Park Yoon-sun).
Therefore, believers ought to rejoice.

Second, there is hatred toward idols.

Look at the first part of Psalm 16:4:
“The sorrows of those who run after other gods will multiply…”

David resolved not to pour out blood offerings to idols,
nor even to speak their names with his lips.
He also determined to have no association with those who worship idols.

How can a believer who lives with the Lord—the true source of all blessing—also serve idols that offer false blessings and live a double life?
The one who lives with the Lord, who is our blessing,
must have hatred toward idols and detest those who oppose God.

Third, the believer keeps the Lord always before them.

Look at the first part of Psalm 16:8:
“I have set the Lord always before me…”

This is a grace that belongs to the one who believes God’s Word,
prays diligently, repents, and obeys (Park Yoon-sun).
We must walk with God and not be shaken (v.8).
Drawing near to the Lord is a blessing,
and the blessed heart that lives with the Blessed One
lives with the Lord always before them.

Fourth, we rejoice and are glad.

Look at the first part of Psalm 16:9:
“Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices…”

David confesses that because God is with him, his heart is glad, his soul rejoices, and his body rests secure.
Especially in verse 11, as he looks toward the Lord who will be with him forever in heaven,
we can see that David, through the Holy Spirit, had already partially experienced the fullness of joy and eternal pleasures of heaven.

We too must rejoice and be glad like David.
Because the Lord, who is the source of all blessing, gave us the hope of an eternal kingdom through His death and resurrection,
we have every reason to be joyful and glad.
This is the life of one who is truly blessed.

While meditating on today’s passage, I looked back on my own life.
I asked myself: “Am I truly confessing from the depths of my heart, ‘Apart from the Lord, I have no good thing’?” (v.2)

Especially as I reflected on the five blessings given by the Lord—who is my blessing—as revealed in today’s passage,
I couldn’t help but confess that I have indeed received these five blessings in my own life.

In particular, one Wednesday morning on my way to early morning prayer,
my car tire went completely flat and tore apart, and I had to change it—
in that moment, I tangibly felt the Lord’s protection and couldn’t help but give thanks to God.

Just the week before, I had noticed another tire that was so old the outer layer had started to peel,
but a friend caught it in time and I was thankful for that.
Then this new tire I had just installed lost air again and could have put me in danger on the highway,
but God protected me, and I am deeply grateful that there was no serious accident.

The Lord who protects me—He is my blessing.
I do not want to seek any blessing apart from the Lord.
I want to seek the highest blessing.
When I do that, all other blessings will become secondary.

Therefore, like David, I sincerely want to make this confession:
“Apart from the Lord, I have no good thing.”

With a heart that longs to confess that there is no blessing for me outside of the Lord,

Shared by Pastor James Kim, who has been blessed
(in the midst of receiving strength from the blessed Word).