God’s Word for You

Psalm 16:3-4 The glorious saints

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Thursday, April 2, 2026

3 As for the saints in the land, they are glorious.
  All my delight is in them.

The believer prays, “The saints in the land are glorious.” This is the true song of the believer, who gives glory to God for his work, and praises God for the blessings he gives to his people. The saints are not necessarily special people among God’s believers—men who have driven out demons or seen visions from God or who have accomplished good things by many selfless acts. Such men, if there are any today, will confess with the Apostles, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty” (Luke 17:10). To such people, extraordinary titles or praise are unnecessary; they have learned that crumbs are enough (Matthew 15:27). No, the true saints are all of God’s people, every single believer, whether alive or dead. “He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness” (1 Samuel 2:9). “Love the Lord, all his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full” (Psalm 31:23). And Jude writes: “I had to urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:3). Therefore the saints are glorious because God’s delight is in them; his blessing is upon them. And so the saints praise God (Psalm 145:10), the saints sing for joy (Psalm 132:9), and the saints love the Lord their God (Psalm 31:23).

Christ prays, “The saints in the land are glorious.” The “land” in this case stretches out far beyond Canaan, to all people who put their faith in Christ: Jews, Samaritans, Canaanites, Gentiles—all believers everywhere. These are truly the saints, the holy ones, the righteous believers, who are ba-arets, “in the earth,” meaning the whole of creation (Genesis 1:1). In what way are they glorious? On account of the work of Christ himself. Everyone who puts their faith in Christ has put on the whole garment of Christ; all of his atoning work becomes the blessing that covers sin. For his atoning work was for all mankind, the whole world (John 1:29), but those who reject Christ throw away his blessings and all of the benefits of Christ. But those who put their faith in him have all of those benefits through their faith. Therefore the “glorious” state of the saints is a reflection of Christ’s own glory, because all his delight is in them.

4 Those who chase after another god multiply their sorrows;
  I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood.
  I will not take their names on my lips.

In the third line, do the words “their names” refer to the false gods of the first line, or those who chase after those gods, also from the first line? It is not wrong to take this either way; that both are correct. The Lord says through Hosea, “I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked” (Hosea 2:17). And another prophet says, “I will banish the names of the idols from the land and they will be remembered no more” (Zechariah 13:2). But John also warns: “The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast” (Revelation 17:8). And David also says about the wicked: “May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous” (Psalm 69:28).

The believer prays, “Idolaters multiply their sorrows; I will not join them or even name them.” Sins against the First Commandment enrage and infuriate those on both sides of the act. Those who want to “chase after another god” fail completely to see the wickedness of what they do. They convince themselves that somehow what they are doing will either please God, or else God doesn’t really notice or care. This was the judgment and the accusation of the prophet: “You wear God out by saying, ‘All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them,’ or, ‘Where is God?’” (Malachi 2:17). When there are Christians with true faith in Christ that find themselves in a wayward church that teaches many good things, but also teaches that there are other ways to heaven apart from Christ, those good people have a heavy cross to bear. They should stand up and rebuke their leaders; they should call them to repentance by forcing them to prove their position through the Scriptures. The Catechism and the Lutheran Confessions can give them help and direction in this burdensome act. This action is serious, and must be proven by witnesses: “Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning” (1 Timothy 5:19-20). But if a leader or a leaders’ leader (that is, a bishop) refuses to repent, there will come a moment when those good Christians in the pews will need to rise up and either rescind the erring pastor’s call, or leave that church and that fellowship to join with those who proclaim the truth. In this way they say, “I will not pour out the drink offerings of the idolaters; I will not take their names on my lips.”

Christ prays, “Idolaters multiply their sorrows; I will not join them or even name them.” He refused to bow down to Satan in his temptation, saying, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (Matthew 4:9; Deuteronomy 6:13). He was surrounded by pagans and heathen men when he was on the cross, and he was mocked by the priests of Israel, even the chief priests, who should have known him and recognized him, “for the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge because he is a messenger of the Lord Almighty” (Malachi 2:7). From such men he received derision and spit, but not faith or trust. When he returns, no matter what they say or cry out, he will say, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23). It will be more horrible for them because they were instructed in all of the word of God, every doctrine, and still they did not put their faith in him. “What value is an idol, since a man has carved it” (Habakkuk 2:18). Even if that idol is only a thought in the mind such as pride or self-glorification, is it not still the manufacture of that person? Is it not still just as useless as a carved block of wood? Worship rather the one who died on the wood of the cross to remove even the sins of idolaters. For he is the God who does not stay angry forever, but delights to show mercy (Micah 7:18). Yet he will not leave the guilty unpunished (Nahum 1:3). So he calls all mankind to turn from sin, and to call one another to turn from sin. For his mercy endures forever.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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