Psalms 16:7 (NASBStr)
I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
Psalms 16:7 (NIV1984)
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
If you are going to bless God and praise God what would be the subject of your praise? Would it be for possessions? Would it be for wealth He has allowed you to accumulate? Would it be for the family He has given you? In this Psalm David has just written about how God has drawn out for him pleasent lines (boundaries) for an inheritance (Psalms 16:6). He could continue to praise God for these possessions God has given in the form of the land. But, in the above passages he talks about how God has blessed him by giving him counsel as God speaks to him at night in his heart/mind. The word for heart/mind is the seat of emotion and will for the individual. David is praising God that at the end of the day and in the solace and solitary moments of night, God continues to speak to David. It should be noted that God does not speak to us in our heart/minds contrary to His established Word. He won't tell us to love and forgive in the Scripture and hate and seek revenge in our senses. What David is saying is that God's Word (His principles and promises) continue to seep into his life through his heart and mind, while he is at rest. God's Word is not limited to our efforts of reading and study. God will continue to work in our life, even when we are at rest. David praises God for that. To the unbeliever that might be an awful thought. To the believer who is running from God (think Jonah) the fact that God's Word continues to speak to him/her in their heart might be unsettling. But, to David it is a blessed thought. God's Word continues to instruct us. God speaks to our hearts/minds even when we might be trying to escape the world under the covers. That is frightful to some, but comforting and praise worthy to the one who seeks God and seeks to hear Him. Samuel, as a young boy, heard God's word in his sleep call to him for service. He responded. Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar heard God's Word in a dream and it scared them. How does God's Word in the night settle with you?
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