“The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage” (Psalm 16:6).
Psalm 16 is a Messianic psalm, climaxing in the great prophecy of Christ’s resurrection (v.10). It quite possibly reflects the prayer of the Lord in Gethsemane just before His betrayal and arrest. Yet, as He anticipated the awful “cup” He must drink (v.5), He could still look beyond the cross to the great inheritance He would one day receive from His Father. “The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance,” He could say (v.5), and then, “I have a goodly heritage.”
His Father has promised: “I shall give thee the (nations) for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (2:8). As the Son of man, He becomes the heir of all the promises made to the first man, Adam, and therefore must “have dominion . . . over all the earth” (Genesis 1:26). Accordingly we read, “And the LORD shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and His name one” (Zechariah 14:9).
Therefore, God “hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2). As Son of God, He had created all things, and as Son of man, He will inherit all things.
Then, by His amazing grace, He has promised that we will share in His great inheritance! “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:7). “The Spirit (Himself) beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16,17), “begotten . . . again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (I Peter 1:3,4). We do indeed, with our Savior, have a goodly heritage. HMM
