Apart from you I have no good thing
Psalms 16:2 - The takeaway from David’s miḵtām is this — we should give thanks to the Lord our God constantly, for He is the source of all good things.
King David confesses his faith to God, his protector and provider. Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.
“I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.””
Psalms 16:2 NIV
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Psalms chapter 16 is titled “A מִכְתָּם (miḵtām) of David”. The meaning of miḵtām is lost to antiquity, but some translators believe it means “poem,” some think it means “cover”, while others assign the meaning “a golden or most precious poem.” David Guzik, writing in Enduring Word, said:
Since the psalms with this title (16, 56-60) are written from times of peril, some think the idea is of covering the lips in the sense of secrecy, as if this were a secret or silent psalm given in a time of crisis. This is a wonderful song relating how David found the secret of contentment and great gladness even in pressing times; it also powerfully predicts Jesus and His work for us.
How do we know that David was “in a time of crisis”? In the first verse, he asks God to “Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge” (Psalm 16:1). Like David, we often ask God for His protection from both spiritual and physical evil when our enemies are threatening. In other psalms, David refers to those situations where he is under attack. Psalm 16 is different in that he isn’t pleading for God’s help or deliverance from a specific situation, making it more of an explanation of who God is as David considers the source of his confidence.
David begins this verse with an emphatic statement: “I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord”. It sounds redundant, but as past Bible study has taught us, redundancy in Scripture provides emphasis to a truth that David knows deep in his soul. How do we remember things that are true (and sometimes untrue)? We repeat them over and over to ourselves. Confessing our faith often — at least once a day — helps us maintain our relationship with God.
The Bible Says included this wonderful comparison of today’s psalm with the words of Peter and Jesus in Matthew 16:13-20.
We are reminded of the confession of Peter (Matthew 16:13-20). In response to the question that Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” When Peter says “You are the Christ,” he is confessing that Jesus is the anointed one, the Messiah, the one in whom they will put all of their hope. This confession of Peter carries the same gravity of that of David when he says, You are my Lord. Jesus confirms this when He answers, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” What is this “rock” that Jesus will build His church upon? It is the confession that He, Jesus, is the “the Christ, the Son of the living God.“
David, and later the apostle Peter, both made their verbal confessions of their faith. For these two pillars of our faith, the verbal confession was more than simply words; they chose to live out that confession in lives that fulfilled God’s purpose. Ephesians 2:10 clarifies this mission:
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
David ends this verse by proclaiming “apart from you I have no good thing.” Once again quoting from The Bible Says:
Our first thought is perhaps that this is hyperbole. Sometimes, particularly in a worship setting, we may be tempted to say, think, or pray things that later, in the ordinary movements of life, do not seem to be rooted in reality. What could David possibly mean in this proclamation, that there is no good other than God? In our present age, particularly those of us who live in the USA, we struggle to make sense of this because we have access to so many “good” things.
Elsewhere in Scripture we find enlightenment on what David meant. In Psalm 73:25, the Psalmist repeats the tone of today’s verse:
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
The apostle Paul, in his epistle to the church at Philippi, echoed the meaning of David’s words:
“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”
Jesus provides the Truth that everything that is good comes from God. In John 15:5, we hear His words (emphasis is mine):
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
And again from The Bible Says:
And all that is good is of God. Just as Jesus is the creator and sustainer of all things, all that is good is from and through God (Colossians 1:16-17). Therefore, this is not hyperbole; God is the source and substance of all that is good.
The takeaway from David’s miḵtām is this — we should give thanks to the Lord our God constantly, for He is the source of all good things.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord in Heaven, I know in my soul that You are my Lord, and that apart from You, I have no good thing. You are the source of all that is good, and in You I lack nothing. Even when Your plans seem confusing to me, help me to trust You completely and seek Your will in all things. Thank You for Your faithfulness, Your provision, and Your protection. AMEN.