When I was a child, we used to sing the hymn “Count Your Blessings.” The first verse was, “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed; When you are discouraged thinking all is lost; Count your many blessings, name them one by one; And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” This is very practical advice. When we face discouragement, we need to step back and remember all the ways the Lord has been faithful.

In Psalm 16, David enumerates four gifts of God for which he is grateful. The first is God Himself. He confesses to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing” (v. 2). The fact that God has made a way to be in relationship with His people is a precious gift. In God alone is true joy to be found (v. 11). The second gift David reminds himself of is the gift of being in community with God’s people. He delights in worshiping with fellow believers (v. 3). We were not meant to live the life of faith alone.

The third gift is that of God’s Word. He proclaims, “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me” (v. 7). This recalls the blessed man of Psalm 1, who meditates upon the Law of the Lord “day and night” (Ps. 1:2). Instead of being overwhelmed by his circumstances, David resolves, “I keep my eyes always on the LORD” (Ps. 16:8).

The fourth gift is David’s hope that God’s faithfulness will extend beyond the grave. He tells the Lord, “You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay” (v. 10). David knows the grave is not the end. His hope is fulfilled in Christ who defeated death in resurrection. As the apostle Paul put it, “As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). David’s hope was not in vain.

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