312 – Psalm 16 – my glory?

Psalm 16:9-10 (LEB)

     9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. 

     Yes, my body will dwell in safety, 

     10 for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol; 

     you will not give your faithful one to see the grave. 

I’ve elected to consider Psalm 16:9 & 10 together because the first part of verse 9 is a sentence, but the following sentence spans both verses. The first word signals something essential to the Bible student. Anytime we encounter the word, “therefore” we know it is an explanation, or maybe even a summary, of something said previously. To keep these two verses in context we would want to read the first eight verses, which I’ll let you do on your own.

Moving on. I thought, “This should be a pretty easy read”, but then I hit the phrase, “my glory rejoices”. What does that mean? The Hebrew word, Kabod, translated as “glory” has quite a few glosses for us to consider. As a quick aside, do you remember Ichabod, the glory has departed? Words like “heaviness, burden; riches; reputation, importance; glory, splendor; distinction, honor, riches; the heart, the soul; the liver” and more.

The words heart, soul, and liver, mentioned above refer to the innermost being. If you think of the “glory of a man” as his innermost being the translation, though a bit clumsy, seems to make sense. It also seems to fit the context pretty well to think in terms of the “innermost being” because the word “soul” is included in the text.

I see something else in the text worth mentioning. Notice in the two verses David is proclaiming that he is confident Yahweh will preserve both his body and his soul. The king trusted Yahweh for both his bodily protection and the protection of his soul. I think this is a great reminder for the modern-day believer. I think we too easily compartmentalize the different aspects of our lives. We want to run our physical lives and expect God to only guard and save our souls.

Psalm 107:2 (LEB)

     2 Let the redeemed of Yahweh declare it, 

     those whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy 

     3 and gathered from the lands, 

     from east and from west, from north and from south. 

     4 They wandered in the wilderness, in a desert. 

The NKJV says, “Let the redeemed of [Yahweh] say so…” The word “redeemed” means the “bought back ones”. If we have been purchased back by Yahweh, doesn’t it make sense that He owns us?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (LEB)

19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 

20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God with your body. 

I could go on and on, scripture after scripture demonstrating that Yahweh owns us. That certainly is not a popular concept in today’s world. Our flesh cries out, “NOBODY OWNS ME! I AM MY OWN MAN! I’LL DO WHAT I WANT TO DO!” Oh, what joy we forfeit by not submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We should be obeying Him, and serving Him. Because He truly is worthy of all Praise, Worship, Adoration, and service.