What comes to mind when you hear the term pleasant places? I think of a comfortable swing on a shady porch in the summer, iced tea in hand.

The psalmist wrote glowingly of the Lord’s goodness. Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

The passage reads from a settled place. The author (maybe David?) writes of prosperity and peace. False gods pushed aside, the psalmist keeps his eyes always on the Lord.

The psalm reminds me of the Lord’s goodness on two levels. One, the Lord grants me kindness in the things he gives me and places he puts me. I enjoy a pleasant home and a life of peace. I write from a place of security, not a given in this world.

Then further in exists an infinitely better gift—the Lord himself—the Giver behind all gifts. To fall within his boundary lines makes for the ultimate inheritance. The Lord becomes our delight, magnifying for eternity the pleasant places within his boundaries.

I love the promise revealed in the psalmist’s closing words: You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Lord, may this be true of us.

Psalm 16 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Annie Spratt