What is the meaning of Psalm 16:4? Sorrows will multiply “Many are the sorrows of the wicked” (Psalm 32:10), and here David specifies why: when people run after gods that are no gods, grief grows. Scripture means exactly what it says—idolatry never delivers what it promises. • In real life, idols of pleasure, power, or possessions seem appealing, yet Proverbs 13:15 warns that “the way of the treacherous is hard.” • Jeremiah 2:13 pictures the same truth: forsaking the fountain of living water leaves only broken cisterns that leak. God’s Word is clear and literal: multiply the false gods, and you multiply the pain. To those who chase other gods Chasing suggests energy, devotion, even passion—but aimed the wrong direction. • Exodus 20:3 lays down the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” • Jesus repeats the exclusivity in Matthew 4:10, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” Every step toward another deity is a step away from the only true God, and that distance always costs more than it pays. I will not pour out their libations of blood David refuses any partnership with idol worshipers, especially in their blood–soaked rituals. • Deuteronomy 12:23-25 forbids consuming blood because “the blood is the life.” • Paul makes the New Testament parallel in 1 Corinthians 10:20-21: believers cannot “drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too.” David’s stand is literal separation: no mixing, no compromise, no shared cup. Or speak their names with my lips Even pronouncing an idol’s name gives it an honor it does not deserve (Exodus 23:13). • Ephesians 5:11-12 calls us to expose the deeds of darkness, “for it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.” • Psalm 34:1 shows the alternative: “His praise will always be on my lips.” David fills his mouth with God’s name instead of the empty names of false gods. summary Psalm 16:4 states a simple, literal equation: pursue idols and pain multiplies; cling to the Lord and joy abounds. David models a clean break—no sharing in pagan rites, no mention of pagan names—because wholehearted devotion belongs to the one true God alone. |
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