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Psalms 16
1Preserve me, God, for I take refuge in you.
2My soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.”
3As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.
4Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips.
5The LORD assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure.
6The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance.
7I will bless the LORD, who has given me counsel. Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.
8I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety.
10For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
11You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.
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Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Who wrote the Bible?
The Bible was written by many human authors over a long period, and Scripture presents itself as God-breathed rather than as human opinion. Some books name their writer, some do not, and honest study says which is which. Paul calls every Scripture God-breathed, and Peter says no prophecy came by the will of man but that people spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, which is the Bible's own account of how both authors are involved at once.
Can the Bible be trusted?
Scripture claims to be true and invites examination rather than avoiding it. It says God's word is truth and that it stands when everything else fades, and the New Testament writers appeal to eyewitnesses, named places and public events rather than to private experience. Trust in Scripture is finally trust in the God who speaks in it, and the clearest reason a Christian gives for that trust is that Jesus treated these writings as God's own word.
How should I pray?
When the disciples asked this, Jesus answered with a pattern rather than a technique. Pray to your Father, in private, without performance and without needing many words, because he already knows what you need. The prayer he gave begins with God's name, kingdom and will, then asks for bread, forgiveness and protection. Scripture adds that we may bring everything, that the Spirit helps our weakness, and that we can ask with confidence when we ask according to God's will.