Reading: Psalm 16:9-11

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
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. (NIV)

 Reflection
In my previous post on Psalm 16, I wrote that in seed form all of the great truths of the New Testament are rooted in the Psalms. Already in this psalm we have seen that all our goodness and sufficiency come from God. David declares, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”  

Furthermore, David states, “LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup.” For David the term portion means that the LORD is his personal allotment of food and drink. The LORD is not just David’s provider; He is his provision—his food and drink. With these words David is painting a picture that leads directly to the cross and the elements of communion. The LORD gives Himself to His people. Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me” (John 6: 56-57). In addition, Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). He truly is our portion and our cup.

David concludes Psalm 16 with the passage above. If the preceding verses are subtly prophetic, then the words recorded here are profoundly prophetic—stunningly so. This is the great resurrection prophecy of the Old Testament. In his turning-point sermon delivered on the Day of Pentecost, Peter quotes these verses verbatim to prove from the scriptures that Jesus was raised from the dead. See Acts 2:25-28.

In becoming our portion and our cup, Jesus gave himself fully. He held nothing back. He poured himself out even to the point of death—death on the cross. But God the Father did not abandon His Son in the grave. David writes, “My body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.”

In his address in Acts 2, Peter points out that David’s body did see decay; however, David was speaking prophetically of the coming Messiah. Jesus, the Christ, was raised on the third day and lives and reigns forever. In Him, through Him and by Him along with David we can say, “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.”

The truth of the resurrection is rooted in Psalm 16.

Response: Lord Jesus, you are my resurrection and my life. As I walk this path of life, I put my trust in you. You continually fill me with joy in your presence. Amen.

Your Turn: Is your life rooted in the resurrected Christ? How does Christ’s life flow into you?

Related articles

• Eating and Drinking in God (davidkitz.wordpress.com)