Psalm 16:8

8 I have set ^[a] the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 16:8 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 16:8

I have set the Lord always before me,
Not his fear only, or the book of the law, as Jarchi interprets it, but the Lord himself; or, "I foresaw the Lord always before my face", ( Acts 2:26 ) ; as Christ is set before men in the Gospel, to look unto as the object of faith and hope, to trust in and depend upon for life and salvation; so Jehovah the Father is the object which Christ set before him, and looked unto in the whole course of his life here on earth; he had always an eye to his glory, as the ultimate end of all his actions; and to his will, his orders, and commands, as the rule of them; and to his purposes, and counsel, and covenant, to accomplish them; and to his power, truth, and faithfulness, to assist, support, and encourage him in all his difficulties and most distressed circumstances;

because [he is] at my right hand:
to counsel and instruct, to help, protect, and defend: the phrase is expressive of the nearness of God to Christ, his presence with him, and readiness to assist and stand by him against all his enemies; see ( Psalms 109:31 ) ( 110:5 ) ( 121:5 ) ; so the Targum paraphrases it, "because his Shechinah rests upon me";

I shall not be moved:
as he was not from his place and nation, from the duty of his office, and the execution of it, by all the threats and menaces of men; nor from the fear, worship, and service of God, by all the temptations of Satan; nor from the cause of his people he had espoused, by all the terrors of death, the flaming sword of justice, and the wrath of God; but, in the midst and view of all, stood unshaken and unmoved; see ( Isaiah 42:4 ) ( 50:5-9 ) .

Psalm 16:8 In-Context

6 The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places; surely my inheritance is delightful.

7 I will bless the LORD who counsels me; even at night my conscience instructs me.

8 I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell securely.

10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

Footnotes

• [a] LXX I foresaw