I have set the Lord always before me

Psalm 16:8 (NIV) I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

This is a place of intentional pursuit of God.

“I have set the Lord always before me.”
Psalm 141:8 (NIV) But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge..

Why did the Psalmist fixate his attention on the Lord?
David had developed a total reliance on God.
He came to understand God’s infinite greatness and mighty works.
The Psalmist has focused on the Lord.

Pay attention to the God’s varied mighty acts that David recalls throughout the Psalms.

Psalm 147:3-6 (NIV) He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.

With his eyes fixed on the Sovereign Lord, he says:
Psalm 147:1 (NIV) Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
You hear David making undeniable statements of unabated faith and trust in God, and then he tells of situations around him that cause him grief.

This frequently occurs throughout the Psalms.
David is usually on a high note of praise and adoration, then all of a sudden he says something like:
“God frustrates the ways of the wicked.”
"He casts the wicked to the ground.”
“Inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them.”
“Deliver me and rescue me from the hands of liars and the deceitful.”

These people were living in real time.
They faced real battles and difficult situations.
You can hear their real life struggle.

Do you see what is going on?

Peter says it this way: 1 Peter 1:13 (NLT) So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
This is our struggle.
Think clearly and exercise self-control.
Keep your mind from wondering into fear, doubts, and failures.
You can easily be snared in Satan’s attack.
Psalm 19:14 (NIV) May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

This takes us back to the words of this commitment.
Psalm 16:8 (NIV) I have set the LORD always before me.
Psalm 141:8 (NIV) But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge..

Throughout the Psalms David has focused on the Great God.
He is my support and strength.
He will answer you when you are in distress.
He will give you the desire of your heart.
He will make all your plans succeed.
He saves His anointed.
He grants your requests.

You can make an exhaustive list of the Mighty Acts of God in the Psalms.
God is highly exalted and lifted up.
This is why many Psalms start and end with the words:
Praise, the Lord!
The Hebrew word is halelû-yāh
The הָלַל (hā∙lǎl) is a cheerful, praise with a focus on the confidence one has in God.
The last part of the praise defines who the praise is going to.
Praise the Lord, Jehovah!
Here is the application.
If I get my eyes on the situations around me I begin to see the wicked and the corrupt.
If I focus on the Lord, my heart begins to soar with praise.
If I start looking around I see at all of the battles, difficulties, sickness, suffering, sorrow, and pain.

When I set the Lord always before me, and when my eyes are fixed on Him, everything takes a different perspective.
I see a table set in the presence of my enemies.
I see God’s mighty acts of power.
I see praises rising with music and dancing.
I see God in His sanctuary.
I see Christ walking in the midst of His church.
When I set the Lord always before me, I see God’s surpassing greatness.
I see reason to “praise the Lord.”
I see the Lord confounding the efforts of the enemy.
I see God rising up for as a defense and strong tower.
I see a shield and buckler.
When I set the Lord always before me, I see supply for His people.
I see His arm extended to save.
I see rivers of blessing and fountains of joy.