I have set the Lord always before me; (Psalm 16:8)
Psalm 16 is a prophetic psalm, speaking of Jesus’ future death and resurrection. Here in verse 8, this phrase caught my attention. What does it mean to “set the Lord always before” you? What did David mean? How did Christ fulfill this? What does it mean for me?
Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
Jesus set the Father before him, and Hebrews tells us that joy was set before him. So it seems that to set God before you, results in joy. Joy of such magnitude that the cross was endurable.
So what does it mean to set God before you? I think it means to have God as your focus, to turn your eyes away from the pleasures of the world, and toward the Creator of the world. When God is seen rightly, he is magnificent and eclipses all other pleasures, HE becomes your joy.
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” (Mark 12:30)
When the eyes of your heart are turned and tuned to behold God, and you begin to see by faith, then he becomes your focus, your all consuming passion, your overwhelming joy, your complete satisfaction. That is what it means to set the Lord always before you!
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