David, the great king of Israel, wanted God to “preserve him” in various areas of his life. One of the reasons why David wanted God to preserve him was because of the devotion David had to “my Lord” (Psalm 16:2). He gives several reasons why God is his Lord.

David loved being around the people of God. He knew the Lord was taking care of them and that He was the only true God. For this reason, David would not offer sacrifices to other gods but signifying his rejection of other gods, he would not even speak their names.

David believed God had “counseled” him even to the point that during the night his “mind [would] instruct” him. He used this quite time of the day to be meditating upon what God had spoken in His word.

David had “sat” his God in front of him and because he knew his God was with him he took great comfort and strength. He was not going to be shaken in his beliefs about his god.

David even had the assurance that in death, God would not “abandon” him. He knew that there would be a resurrection one day and that his body would not “undergo decay.” David knew his physical body would “return to the dust from which it came” but his point in this portion of his psalm is that he will not cease to exist just because he has died.

David has the assurance that God will provide for him the “paths of life.” David believes the way God has said for a person to live is the best way; it will bring the “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forever.” David fully understood that the god he served was the true and living God and all others were the imaginations of man’s thoughts.

In our day and time, what reasons would we give for why God is our Lord? If we are imitating this great servant of God, then we will be putting our trust in the ways of God. We will be studying God’s message, understanding it and thinking about how we can be putting it into practice in our lives. We will want to be around God’s people because they are living godly lives. We will want to be having God always around us so that we can have the assurance and strength to meet the challenges of everyday life.

Mankind, for all generations, has been seeking security in life, the pleasures of life and the best way to live life. Studying and meditating upon God’s word will give us the resources we need to be fully living God’s way.

Carlton G. McPeak is an evangelist working in the Florida Gateway region. All Scriptural quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Holman Bible Publishers, unless otherwise stated. He may be contacted at carlton_mc@msn.com.