Introduction
We continue in Chapter 16, at the point where David Hamelech highlights the immense contrast between himself and the idolaters and those who chase vanity. After declaring, "I will not pour their libations of blood," he turns to describe his own portion - both in spiritual happiness and in material success. From here onward, the chapter ascends higher and higher: from gratitude for the Torah's guidance and for one's conscience, through "I have set Hashem before me always," and reaching the eternal life of the soul.
Portions Have Fallen to Me in Pleasant Places - Spiritual Happiness
חֲבָלִים נָפְלוּ־לִי בַּנְּעִמִים אַף־נַחֲלָת שָׁפְרָה עָלָי׃ (ו) - Portions have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is pleasing to me.
The Malbim explains: Because this is so, the difference between them and me is vast, both regarding spiritual happiness and physical success. "Pleasant places" (ne'imim) refers to spiritual delights, as stated at the end of the chapter: "pleasures at Your right hand forever" (ne'imot biminecha netzach). And what is the meaning of chavalim? It denotes a portion and an allotment, as in "and ten portions (chavlei) fell to Menashe," or like a region of land (chevel eretz). In other words: my lot and my portion in spiritual refinement, in the purity and radiance of the soul, have fallen to me in pleasantness - I merit boundless spiritual eternity. The aspect of chavalim corresponds to pleasantness, to the World to Come, and to the refinement of the soul.
By contrast, those who worship the heavenly hosts and various idolaters have neither inner spiritual happiness nor eternal existence. For true spiritual happiness can only be attained through spirituality. All other forms of "happiness" are crude and earthly - which is not genuine happiness at all, but merely the chasing of desires. True inner fulfillment and satisfaction can only be found in the spiritual realm.
Indeed, My Heritage is Pleasing to Me - Who is Rich? He Who Rejoices in His Portion
And what about bodily pleasures? These are termed nachalah ("heritage" or "inheritance"), because an inheritance is what a person bequeaths to his children, the physical estate, as the verse says: "House and wealth are the inheritance of fathers." David Hamelech says: Do not think that in this area I fall short of them; rather, "indeed, my heritage is pleasing to me." Notice the precise wording: he does not say he possesses more than they do. His fellow may well have more than he does - yet David is still wealthier than him. How so? Because who is rich? He who rejoices in his portion. His peer may own many estates, but it is never enough for him; he has a heritage, but it is not "pleasing to him," it does not seem fine in his eyes. He is always seeking more, always feeling starved, always yearning for further material acquisitions. But with me - my heritage is pleasing to me, and therefore even in material terms my state is better than his, because what I have is good for me.
This is what is said about the disciples of Bilaam the Wicked: even in this world, they are never satisfied. The soul cannot be sated; when one attempts to fill it with physical things, it craves and strives for more and more, never knowing fulfillment. But David Hamelech says: With me, it is not so. Even if my heritage does not equal theirs, it is pleasing to me; I am joyous, content, and happy with it. And that is the entire essence: that a person should rejoice in what he has.
A Story: Who is Wealthier?
Rabbi Eliezer Ben David related that during the era of the Shah, when it was still possible to travel to Iran - and return - he would go there to fundraise among extremely wealthy multimillionaires. Once, arriving there as a young kollel student, he told them: "I am wealthier than you." They stared at him as if ready to devour him: Wealthier than us? Either the man is delusional, or he is a covert tycoon with an inheritance we know nothing about.
He said to them: "I want you to understand what poor (ani) and destitute (evyon) really mean. An evyon is measured by how much he yearns. The more a person desires, the greater an evyon he is; the less he desires, the smaller an evyon he is. One who lacks a great deal desires more, while one who lacks little needs only a little to fill his deficit." He continued: "If someone offers me a deal worth two thousand shekels, I will sit with him gladly, since I stand to earn two thousand shekels. But if someone offers you a deal worth less than a million dollars, would you even schedule a meeting? You would immediately say: 'Do not waste my time, talk to me in real figures.' If so, understand: you are an evyon of a million dollars; you are in need of a million dollars - realize how desperately poor you are! Whereas I am lacking a mere two thousand shekels. I lack little, while you lack a tremendous amount."
And this is the truth: the true measure is how much a person feels he lacks. What are you striving for, how much more do you need? One who lives with such a great sense of lack suffers an immense deficiency and endless cravings. And indeed, over time one's appetite grows - first three thousand, then ten thousand; even that wealthy person was usually not born rich, but his appetite grew over the years: "He who has one hundred wants two hundred." Yet at this stage, this is what I lack. David says: "Indeed, my heritage is pleasing to me" - the portion Hashem gave me is beautiful in my eyes; I sense no deficiency in it, nor do I feel that I need anything more.
613 Pieces of Advice, Not 613 Problems
אֲבָרֵךְ אֶת־יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר יְעָצָנִי אַף־לֵילוֹת יִסְּרוּנִי כִלְיוֹתָי׃ (ז) - I will bless Hashem Who has counseled me; even at night my conscience admonishes me. (7)
The Malbim explains: Although according to the Torah man is free in his actions - meaning he has free choice, and it is in his power at every moment to decide whether to do good or not - nevertheless, the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not abandon me to the yetzer hara (the evil inclination) to do with me as it pleases. Indeed, the yetzer possesses great strength, and were it not for the Holy One, Blessed be He, assisting him, man could not withstand it. That is to say, if I manage nonetheless to overcome my inclination, it is only because Hashem helps me. Therefore, I thank Hashem for standing beside me as a counselor, as a guardian, as One Who comes to help me so that I am not drawn after the yetzer.
And with what did He counsel me? With the Torah. Hashem gave us the Torah, and the Torah guides us along the right path, draws us toward holiness, and teaches us how to guard ourselves from illicit desire and the other snares of the yetzer. This is the meaning of "Who has counseled me." The holy Zohar calls the 613 mitzvos "taryag eitin" - 613 pieces of advice. The Torah tells you: Here are 613 counsels on how to live properly, 613 counsels on how to attain true inner happiness.
Notice what a profound perspective on the Torah this is. There are people who look at the mitzvos as 613 problems. A story is told of a man who was a chazzan in a shul and transitioned to the grand opera houses. When asked why he did so, he replied that at the end of every vocal piece, he missed the applause; when he finished a passage during the Musaf of Rosh Hashanah, he missed the clapping, the requests for an encore. When he arrived at the opera, people asked him: "There are women performing there, which is hardly fitting for someone wearing a yarmulke." What did he reply? "You're right, I have a problem with that." See what this leads to: a person walks through the world with 613 problems - here he has a problem, and there he has a problem. The holy Zohar says: These are not problems; I have given you 613 pieces of good advice! Woe to the person for whom the Torah is a problem. Hashem says: Here I gave you good advice, and there I gave you good advice; look at each of My mitzvos as sound guidance on how to acquire eternal life. This is "I will bless Hashem Who has counseled me" - how grateful I am to Hashem for giving me such wonderful advice on how to guard against the yetzer and cling to holiness.
"Even at Night My Conscience Admonishes Me" - The Power of Conscience
The Holy One, Blessed be He, planted within me a moral sense, so that even at night my inner conscience disciplines me against walking along the evil path. This is one's conscience - matzpun in Hebrew, related to matzpen, a compass, which is meant to show a person the proper direction: are you acting correctly or not? After King David cut off the corner of Saul's robe, the verse states, "And David's heart struck him" - these were pangs of conscience. His heart smote him: Why did you do such a thing? You should not have done so. Our Sages teach that he was held accountable for this, and ultimately, at the end of his days, "they covered him with clothes, but he could not get warm," with the commentators noting that he had torn the corner of Saul's garment, leaving him without tzitzis. Either way, we see that there is such a thing as internal morality, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, planted it within man. Therefore, I also thank Hashem for endowing me with the moral strength that aligns me with the path of truth.
However, one must realize: it is very dangerous when a person possesses a moral drive without the Torah. For then he adopts all sorts of moral systems and feels compassion - but not for the right people. He pities the Palestinians and stray dogs, yet toward fellow Jews, toward observant Jews, toward settlers, he does not have an ounce of mercy; and not only that, but he harbors terrible cruelty toward them. There was already a leftist who argued that the Palestinians should aim their missiles at Gush Katif: "Why fire here? You are turning Israeli public opinion against the Palestinian cause; shoot at them instead." Another referred to them as "Judeo-Nazis," a third suggested hanging chareidim from lampposts, and a fourth proposed entering Meah Shearim with an M-16 and spraying gunfire. Anyone interested can read about this in the booklet "Words Capable of Murder," published by the Manoaf department of the Arachim organization. One sees that a person can take the highest values of compassion and mercy and direct them toward entirely the wrong places.
It is told of one of the ten hanged at the Nuremberg trials that he had a dog, and do you know what he named it? "Mensch" - a human being. Meanwhile, Jews were gassed and were like roaches to him; but the dog was a "mensch," whom he loved and pampered. This is what happens when one applies compassion and mercy in the wrong places. Man truly possesses an inner sense of morality, but woe to him if he fails to channel it, if there is no Torah to guide it.
Rashi cites the homiletic teaching of Chazal on "even at night my conscience admonishes me," which they expounded as referring to Avraham Avinu: Avraham studied Torah before it was given. From where did he learn it? His two kidneys were like bubbling springs, and from them he derived Torah knowledge. In other words, there is an aspect here of divine inspiration flowing from On High.
"I Have Set Hashem Before Me Always"
שִׁוִּיתִי יְהֹוָה לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד כִּי מִימִינִי בַּל־אֶמּוֹט׃ (ח) - I have set Hashem before me always; because He is at my right hand, I shall not falter. (8)
Through the counsel of the Torah in the previous verse, and through the moral sensibility that is the upright conscience - that inner sense of whether one has acted morally or not - through the power of all this, "I have set Hashem before me always." The Malbim explains: Even though bodily desires demand that we abandon the path of Hashem and chase after pleasures, I place Hashem opposite me. And what stands against those desires? Hashem's mitzvos; they are what counter them.
And why does it say shivisi rather than samti? After all, shivah is an expression of placing, meaning "I have placed Hashem before me." The Malbim explains: The expression shivisi always carries the connotation of comparison as well, weighing one against the other. That is, I placed Him before me and also drew a comparison: when I compare the mitzvos of Hashem with physical desires, without any doubt Hashem's mitzvos prevail. This is "I have set Hashem before me" - when I weigh Hashem against my lusts and desires, Hashem unquestionably prevails, His mitzvos prevail, and I walk in the path of Hashem.
Two Forces in the Human Soul
The Malbim explains that there are two paths within the human soul. One is the body and its faculties, which constantly counsel man toward base pursuits and incline him toward self-love. The body pulls toward physical indulgence, with no illusions: the body is material, the body is desire. We have yet to see a body that naturally runs to fulfill mitzvos; reality is just the opposite - a person's body is inherently drawn toward physical desires.
Certainly, there is a reality where the body itself is drawn toward spirituality, as was the case with Avraham Avinu. Regarding Avraham, we find that he seemingly left the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, to welcome guests - saying, "Please do not pass away from Your servant," for I have guests - from which our Sages learned that hospitality toward guests is greater than receiving the Divine Presence. And it has already been asked: How did Avraham Avinu know to leave the Holy One, blessed be He, for a few nomadic Arabs who bow to the dust on their feet? Rather, in Avraham Avinu's case, his entire body had become holy of holies; if his body was now drawn toward hospitality, it was a sign that this was precisely what needed to be done. With us, by contrast, our attraction is the opposite indicator: if you feel yourself drawn toward one thing, know that you ought to do the other. But for Avraham Avinu, whatever he was drawn to was the will of Hashem; he lived at a level where his evil inclination had already made peace with him, as Chazal say.
However, let us speak of those fashioned from clay like us. The Malbim explains that the body and its faculties incline a person toward self-love, ease, tranquil rest, desires, and pleasures. It reaches such an extent that even when performing a mitzvah, even when fulfilling something spiritual, personal interest invariably creeps in: What will I get out of this? What do I stand to gain? Will I receive honor for it? Are people watching me perform this mitzvah? Should I publicize it? As noted, ever since the sin of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil - with da'as (knowledge) implying connection - good and evil became intertwined, and it is almost impossible in this world for a person to do good without some trace of evil mixing in. That is why the Rambam says that if a person performs even a single mitzvah purely for the sake of Heaven, he has thereby merited life in the World to Come - just one single mitzvah! This illustrates just how rare and difficult that is. As the Gemara recounts regarding Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon and Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma: "Did any deed come to your hand?" and he replied, "Tzedakah money got mixed up for me [and I gave of my own]." Out of his entire lifetime, that was the one deed he could testify was done purely for the sake of Heaven.
Thus, the body and its forces intrude even upon the mitzvos we perform. Even in matters of sanctity, personal calculation, matters of pleasure, and physical considerations constantly intermingle - even the reward of the World to Come is a personal calculation: one does not serve Hashem solely because He commanded it, but because it pays off. The loftiest level is, "Do not be like servants who serve the master in order to receive a reward." If only we were to truly serve in order to receive a reward - there is no need to be alarmed by that; yet the highest level is to serve Hashem simply because He commanded it, even if there were no reward, and even if there were punishment for the obedient and reward for the rebel. A person is bound to the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, even if he were told that one is punished for every mitzvah. We are not on that level, but "from performing it not for its own sake, one comes to perform it for its own sake": one begins observing in order to receive reward, and from that foundation hopes to reach the level of acting purely for the sake of Heaven.
On the other hand, the Malbim explains, man possesses an additional power: practical intellect, the rational faculty within man, which is a portion of God from above, from the wisdom of the Almighty - for "one who breathes, breathes from within himself," having breathed into us a spiritual essence. This part pulls us toward spirituality. The soul derives no pleasure here from ice cream or steak; for it to experience pleasure, it requires prayer, it requires Torah, it requires a bond with spirituality. David Hamelech therefore says: Hashem counsels me against the body and against physical materialism, and whoever heeds Hashem's counsel "sets Hashem before me," examining his lusts and desires against the service of Hashem, weighing one against the other.
Because He Is at My Right Hand, I Shall Not Falter
And what does he choose? "Because He is at my right hand, I shall not falter." The Malbim explains: These two paths are referred to in the Holy Scriptures as right and left, and the right-hand path is the path of serving Hashem and clinging to Him, as it says, "A wise man's heart is at his right, but a fool's heart is at his left." Once I have set Hashem before me and nullified my will before His will, I am constantly oriented toward the right - in holiness, in purity, on the path leading to attachment to God - and through this, "I shall not falter"; I do not collapse. This path leads to perfection, rather than to a fall, to ruin, to pain, and to destruction.
Rashi explains "at my right hand, I shall not falter" to mean that King David had a Sefer Torah accompanying him constantly, as is the practice of kings; the Torah is bound to my right, I engage in it continuously, and through this I will not collapse. And the Radak cites the Rambam's explanation in Moreh Nevuchim that "at my right hand" means that Hashem is to me, as it were, like my right hand, as in "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [its skill]." A person never forgets his right hand; the ease of its movement ensures that a person is always mindful of it. In this way, a person always remembers the Holy One, blessed be He, and through this will not fall.
Three Virtues: The Heart, the Soul, and the Body
לָכֵן שָׂמַח לִבִּי וַיָּגֶל כְּבוֹדִי אַף־בְּשָׂרִי יִשְׁכֹּן לָבֶטַח׃ (ט) - Therefore my heart rejoiced and my glory was glad; my flesh, too, shall rest securely. (9)
The Malbim explains that David enumerates three virtues here. The first is "my heart rejoiced." The Malbim has already explained on several occasions that the heart represents the soul's faculty of governance; the heart rules over the limbs of the body. When a person does not follow the governing heart, but rather the heart sways him toward lusts, he has no joy and no pleasure in his deeds. Our Sages say: "The wicked are full of regrets." We have noted more than once that physical pleasures do not fulfill a person; they drain him and arouse further desires. A heart subjugated to lust is constantly locked in an inner battle: on one hand, it desires and craves, and on the other, it knows it will regret it afterward and say, "Why did I do that? What did it give me?" - for nothing remains of it. Afterward, he feels worthless: "Could I not overcome it? Could I not master myself?" In effect, he lost his governance, for governance lies in the heart. King David says: "My heart rejoiced" - my heart rejoices because it governs properly and is not drawn after lusts.
The second reason stems from the divine soul: "and my glory was glad." The Malbim notes that throughout the Holy Scriptures, "glory" is an expression for the soul, as in "my glory, too, shall abide forever." As we have explained, the soul finds no pleasure in the body; on the contrary, it shrinks and suffers. When the body is drawn after cravings, the soul aches and is distressed, which is why a person falls into depression and melancholy, into states of listlessness and apathy - because the soul within him is withering. But in my case, David says, on the contrary, I satisfy the longings of my soul with spirituality, and therefore it rejoices: "and my glory was glad."
The third aspect pertains to the body itself. As long as the body pursues physical desires, as the Rambam writes, lusts destroy the body as well, in the sense of "destroying both soul and flesh." The Rambam writes that one who is drawn after immorality dims his eyesight, his body becomes gaunt, and his flesh withers, offering a detailed description of what happens to people who chase after desires. In reality, the localities with the highest life expectancy in Israel are Bnei Brak and Modi'in Illit, which are also the two places with the lowest rates of cancer. Do the people there eat health food? Not exactly - cholent, gefilte fish, and kugel are not tofu, chia seeds, or health foods. Rather, the Torah teaches that there is longevity in Torah: "So that your days may be prolonged," "so that it may go well with you." The Torah provides us with the path to longevity here in this world and how to avoid illness. This is "my flesh, too, shall rest securely" - even my material, physical aspect will not destroy itself in lust and materialism, and it, too, will attain endurance.
Simchah Versus Gilah
The Malbim notes a precision: What is the difference between *samach* (rejoiced) and *yagel* (was glad)? We have discussed this several times: *simchah* is a steady, continuous joy, whereas *gilah* is always a sudden, bursting joy over a new discovery. Therefore, concerning the heart, it says *samach* - a constant joy, for it continually overcomes its inclination and the heart remains in control. Were the heart to rule only occasionally, then each time it succeeded, *gilah* would be awakened: "I managed to overcome it!" But David says: "My heart rejoiced" - my heart continually triumphs, which is an ongoing joy rather than a one-time occurrence. Whereas "my glory," which is the spiritual soul, *yagel* (shall exult) - because each time it discovers another spiritual level, each time reaching a new attainment, giving rise to *gilah*, a renewed joy.
For You Will Not Abandon My Soul to Sheol
כִּי לֹא־תַעֲזֹב נַפְשִׁי לִשְׁאוֹל לֹא־תִתֵּן חֲסִידְךָ לִרְאוֹת שָׁחַת׃ (י) - For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; You will not allow Your devout one to see the pit. (10)
Corresponding to "and my glory was glad," referring to the spiritual soul that is in a state of *gilah*, he now says, "For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol." Although the body will ultimately die, which is the fate of all mankind - regardless of whether one serves God or not, and the cemetery is called "the house appointed for all the living," for all living beings will ultimately gather there - nevertheless, though the body descends into the grave, my soul will not descend there; rather, it will live forever. "The soul of the wicked descends downward to the earth": when a person is steeped in materialism, his soul remains here, tethered to this world. But You, Hashem, will not abandon my soul to Sheol; my body will descend to the grave, but my soul will not, and it will delight in eternal pleasantness.
Corresponding to "my flesh, too, shall rest securely," he says, "You will not allow Your devout one to see the pit" - as for the body that conducted itself with piety, do not allow it to see the pit, which is the grave. Will it not die? The Malbim explains: You will not allow it to see the pit before its time. The time will come when every person departs from this world, but do not bring it to the pit prematurely, for I walk in the path of Hashem and cling to His mitzvot.
The Malbim further notes: What is the difference between "You will not abandon" (*lo ta'azov*) and "You will not allow" (*lo titen*)? "You will not abandon" implies that the person is under Hashem's domain, cleaved and attached to Him, with Hashem watching over him continually. Whereas "You will not allow" means do not surrender, do not release - that Hashem should rescue me from the pit. This applies to the body, which is not as intimately cleaved to Hashem. The soul is a spiritual entity, held as it were by Hashem; therefore I plead: Do not abandon me, do not abandon my soul to Sheol, keep it close to You, held as it were in Your hand. But concerning the physical aspect, which Hashem does not hold in the same manner, I plead: Master of the Universe, do not surrender me to the pit; do not let me fall into the grave.
“Make Known to Me the Path of Life” - What Is Real Life?
תּוֹדִיעֵנִי אֹרַח חַיִּים שֹׂבַע שְׂמָחוֹת אֶת־פָּנֶיךָ נְעִמוֹת בִּימִינְךָ נֶצַח׃ (יא) - You will make known to me the path of life, fullness of joys in Your presence, pleasures at Your right hand forever. (11)
The Malbim explains: Temporary life is nothing more than an illusory life. What a person lives here is fleeting. Ask someone in their final years, and they will tell you just how earthly, temporary, and fleeting life here truly is. A young person is still confident that their whole life lies ahead of them, but when one reaches the end, one realizes how temporary this reality is. And what is real life? The life of the soul, the spiritual life.
This was discussed at length in the weekly Torah portions: Pharaoh asks Yaakov, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” and Yaakov responds with a lengthy answer - “The days of the years of my sojournings... have not attained the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.” Seemingly, such a long reply is puzzling. Based on the Malbim, it is explained that Yaakov was delivering a lesson in mussar: You ask, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” and you apparently do not grasp the true concept of life. If you are speaking of spiritual life - I have not attained the level of spirituality that my fathers achieved; they attained lofty realms, they achieved closeness to God, whereas from me Ruach HaKodesh departed for many long years in Yosef’s absence, and I still feel far: “I am unworthy of all the kindnesses and all the truth.” And if your intention is sojourning, simply how many years I have dwelled here in this world - that is not called “life” at all.
What, then, is real life? Not what one lives here in the physical body, but the eternal life - when the soul strips off its corporeal garments and returns to the bond of life. That is why a cemetery is called Beit HaChayim, “the house of the living,” for that is where true life resides. And the Malbim explains: as long as a person is inside a body, he is continually advancing toward the lands of life. From the moment he is born the clock begins to tick - the day of death set from the day of birth - and from there he begins walking on the path leading to the lands of life. Yet all this applies only if he walks on the proper path; if he wanders along winding tracks and crooked roads, he will not reach the realm of life. He will arrive at many places, at broken cisterns, but not at the realm of life.
Therefore King David pleads: Please, Hashem, make known to me the path that leads to life. Teach me what path will lead me to the place of eternal life, what way leads to spirituality - for this path I cannot know on my own, and only Hashem can teach me. Without Torah, how could a person possibly know the right path that will lead him to the lands of life?
Two Differences Between Real Life and Illusory Life
And King David explains here two differences between the genuine life of the soul and the illusory life, the material existence of this world. The first: the joy a person attains in temporary life is not genuine joy, because it never satisfies him. A person always desires more: I have achieved something - now I want more. You bought a car and were pleased, but you were not truly satisfied, for later you drove along and saw that a new model had come out; that fellow already has an eight-digit license plate while you are stuck with seven, and his car’s body is shinier. A person is constantly in pursuit, in perpetual hunger, never satisfied. King David says: In spiritual life, as You teach me, there is “fullness of joys in Your presence” - spiritual joy satisfies and fills, whereas material pleasure leaves one empty.
The second difference: physical pleasure ceases. There is no material pleasure that lasts endlessly, and even the greatest physical desires quickly come to an end. A person eats, fills up, gorges - and that is it, it is over. “Come eat something more” - “I have no appetite;” the desire has ended and he has no further urge. And so it is with all physical desires: they are temporary, and they abandon the person. But “pleasures at Your right hand forever” - that aspect of the “right hand” we saw earlier in “Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved,” the realm of serving Hashem and closeness to God, these are eternal pleasures, boundless pleasantness, something everlasting.
And what is the difference between netzach (forever) and le’olam (for the world / always)? The Malbim explains: when referring to something that will endure here continuously, the term used is le’olam - meaning, as long as the world exists, it will remain here. But when speaking of something spiritual that will endure in the spiritual reality, the term used is lanetzach - eternal existence, for all eternity. Even if “the heavens vanish like smoke, and the earth wears out like a garment,” this remains eternal; and what is eternal is spiritual, enduring constantly and forever.
To conclude the chapter, Rashi interprets “You will make known to me the path of life” in the future tense rather than as a prayer: You, Hashem, will make known to me the path of life. The Radak, on the other hand, explains that it is indeed phrased as a prayer: Please, Hashem, make known to me the path of life; I ask of You, Master of the Universe, that You make known to me the proper path by which I may cling to You.
In summary:
In this part of the chapter, Dovid HaMelech contrasts himself with those who pursue vanity: his portion lies in spiritual delights, and even his material inheritance is pleasing to him, for who is rich - one who rejoices in his lot. He blesses Hashem for two gifts: the 613 counsels of the Torah, and the moral conscience planted within him, provided that morality is channeled through the Torah. By their strength he sets Hashem before his desires, chooses the path of the right, and does not falter. From this arise three virtues: a heart rejoicing with constant joy over its mastery over the yetzer, a soul exulting in ever-renewed spiritual achievements, and flesh dwelling securely. And ultimately - the soul will not be abandoned to Sheol and the body will not see the pit before its time, culminating in the great prayer: 'Make known to me the path of life,' for only therein is fullness of joy and eternal pleasantness, something absent from any physical pleasure, which neither satisfies nor endures.