Psalms 16:8: “I have set the Lord always before me because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
David gives us a startling revelation about his relationship with God. He is telling us that he sets the Lord always before him. The word set is shavah which is used in a piel perfect form. The Semitic root for the word shavah is to express a similarity or a likeness. By using the piel form he is saying that he is making every attempt to assume the likeness of God. The word before is nagad which expresses an idea of comparison. Hence, it appears what David is trying to show is that he is continually picturing God and what He is and setting that as the example of what the way he will follow.
Some years ago there was a popular saying that started to circulate among Christians, What Would Jesus Do? It used the acronym WWJD which appeared on bumper stickers, jewelry, posters and anywhere else anyone could announce these letters. Actually this was not a new idea but was a phrase that was taken from a Christian novel written in 1897 by Charles M. Sheldon entitled In His Steps. In this novel a pastor challenges his congregation to ask the question: What would Jesus Do before they made any life’s decisions. The novel then followed how the lives of various individuals who took up this challenge was changed and the events that followed as a result of asking this simple little question.
I believe this is what David was really saying when he said: “I have set the Lord always before me.” He is asking the question, “What would God do?” Many of you who may have been challenged by this little expression when it was popular and have found it to have a profound effect on the decisions you made. David, however, is a little more precise when he says that he does this because God is at his right hand. The word right hand is yaman. The very spelling of the word Yod, Mem, Nun, suggest that the right hand represents the revealed and hidden knowledge of God. Yaman simply means the right hand, or turning to the right. However, in ancient times the right hand represented all that was good. It has been suggested by some historians that this came about because they did not have toilet paper in those days and their left hand became the substitute for… well you get the picture. Needless to say, I believe David’s point is that he asks that question: “What would God do?” because he knows that whatever God would do it would be good and right.
Not only would he be doing the good and right thing by following the example of God, he would never be shaken. It is interesting that he does not use the word lo for not or never but uses the word bal which really means nothing kjlike in a consumption or wasting away. The word shaken is “mavat” which is used to express weakness. So by following the example of God, David wouls not only be assured of doing the right thing but he would be assured that in all his endeavors he would not become weak or consumed.
There are many situations that arise in our lives where we are not sure what is right or wrong. Some things are just not spelled out in Scripture. Christians have argued for years over whether dancing, smoking, going to movies etc. is right or wrong. The Bible does not say: “Thou shalt not go to movies.” But David is saying that when he gets to a gray area he would simply ask the question as to what Jehovah would do or what would Jesus. Do? Colossians 3:15: “Let the peace of God rule your heart.” If you don’t have peace in your heart that Jesus would do what you are about to do, you can bet it is not right and will weaken or consume you spiritually.
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