“The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance” (Ps. 16:6 NKJ).
How many truly contented people do you know? How many of your friends or acquaintances seem to be satisfied with their lot in life? Listen to the man David as he begins to write the sixteenth Psalm:
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places…. This statement has all the indications of an expression of great contentment. It evokes an image of surveying boundary lines and measuring off a person’s inheritance. David seems to be saying that his allotted territory is a source of satisfaction to him.
This poem is called a michtam psalm, a title given to six of the psalms of David. In Hebrew the word michtam has to do with etching, engraving, and inscribing. Having a familiarity with gold and etching, Bible scholars saw this as a “golden text.” The King James Version labels it “a michtam of David.” James Moffatt describes it as “a golden ode of David.” This could mean that this psalm needs to be etched in the mind and recorded there as a message worth remembering.
…Yes, I have a good inheritance. “Life has been good to me,” David seems to be saying. “My father left me this property and I am quite contented with it. The view is good. The brooks are clean and cool, and the meadows are green and lush. The land is well situated. My heritage is truly pleasing, indeed!”
Can you say this about your heritage – your home, job, neighborhood, church, town, station in life? David could! So can we, when our heart is at peace with God.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers