Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 16:9

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 16:9. Therefore my heart is glad — Unutterably happy in God; always full of the Divine presence; because whatsoever I do pleaseth him. The man Christ Jesus must be constantly in communion with God, because he was without spot and blemish.

My glory rejoiceth — My tongue, so called by the Hebrews, (see Psalms 57:8; Psalms 30:12,) because it was bestowed on us to glorify God, and because it is our glory, being the instrument of expressing our thoughts by words. See Dodd. But soul bids as fair to be the meaning. Acts 2:25, c.

My flesh also shall rest in hope. — There is no sense in which these and the following words can be spoken of David. Jesus, even on the cross, and breathing out his soul with his life, saw that his rest in the grave would be very short: just a sufficiency of time to prove the reality of his death, but not long enough to produce corruption and this is well argued by St. Peter, Acts 2:31.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 14-17 Godly people in ungodly society

Continuing the theme of Psalms 10-13 (concerning the godly person who is downtrodden), the psalmist notes what happens when people refuse to acknowledge God and live as if he does not care about their actions. The result is a corrupt society (14:1-3). Because they have rejected God they have rejected the true standard by which to judge good and evil. They live solely for themselves, with no consideration for others and no thought for God (4). But in the end victory will go to the poor and downtrodden, because God is on their side (5-7).

In Psalms 15:0 David considers the requirements necessary to enter the presence of God (15:1). These all have to do with character and behaviour, not with religious beliefs and observances. People must be honest in their actions, truthful in their speech, and disciplined in their avoidance of slander and gossip (2-3). They must know how to make right judgments between things that are good and things that are not. In addition they must be reliable and trustworthy, keeping their word even when it hurts. They must be generous and helpful, and never take advantage of the poor or defenceless (4-5a). Such people will dwell in the presence of God and enjoy the lasting security that only God can give (5b).

Psalms 16:0 is David’s thanksgiving for one of the many occasions when God rescued him from what seemed to be certain death. He finds pleasure in the fellowship of God and his people, and rejects all other gods and those who worship them (16:1-4). Possessions may satisfy people and property may enrich them, but David considers that because he has God, he has all the satisfaction and wealth he desires (5-6). God is David’s instructor, friend and protector, the source of his stability and security (7-8). God delivers him from death and leads him through life, giving him the constant joy of his presence (9-11).

(The feelings that David expressed in Psalms 16:0 may have represented ideals that he himself never fully experienced. They find their full meaning in Jesus Christ; see Acts 2:25-28; Acts 13:35-37.)

In another prayer that probably belongs to the time of David’s flight from the murderous Saul, David emphasizes his innocence in the strongest terms (17:1-5). He asks God to protect him from his enemies (6-9), after which he describes their wickedness (10-12) and pronounces their certain destruction. Their hunger for wickedness is only building up a heavier weight of judgment, which will not only fall on them but will also affect their offspring (13-14). The wicked are never satisfied, but the psalmist finds full satisfaction in his experience of God (15).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: My flesh also shall dwell in safety. For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; In thy right hand are pleasures forever more."

"Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption." What a pity it is that some scholars see nothing here except the written notion of David the king that, "Maybe God will let him live to a good old age,"Anthony L. Ash, Psalms (Austin: Sweet Publishing Company, 1980), p. 75. or "Probably the poet is thinking merely of a long life, the reward of the pious."W. E. Addis, Peake's Commentary on the Bible (Edinburgh: T. C. and E. C. Jack, Ltd., 1924), p. 376. All such interpretations are founded upon the proposition that David is God's Holy One, as stated here; but David could never have spoken of himself in such language. David was a murderer, an adulterer, and despite many good qualities could never in a million years have been entitled to such a designation as "God's Holy One." No one except the Messiah appears in this line.

The margin of most versions gives an alternate reading in this verse as "holy ones" instead of "Thy Holy One," but the very best authorities have retained the singular, leaving the passage applicable to the Messiah only.

Barnes pointed out that "Holy One" is a title applied especially to Christ in "Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; Acts 3:14, etc."Albert Barnes, op. cit., p. 131. He also added that:

"As this passage is expressly applied to Jesus Christ in Acts 2:27, there can be no doubt that it was intended by the Holy Spirit to designate him here."Ibid. "The full value of this passage as both Paul and Peter insisted (Acts 2:29 ff; Acts 13:34-37), indicate that this language is too strong even for David's hope of his own resurrection. "Only He whom God raised up saw no corruption."Derek Kidner, op. cit., p. 86.

With reference to the device of accepting the alternative reading of "thy holy ones," instead of Thy Holy One, which is always the last resort of interpreters who would actually do anything to get rid of the obvious prophecy of the Christ, is effectively forbidden by the fact that:

"The great majority of ancient manuscripts, and all the ancient versions, including even the Hebrew manuscripts, have the expression in the SINGULAR, not in the plural."G. Rawlinson, op. cit., p. 97.

David would have had to be a conceited fool indeed to have referred to himself as "The Holy One of God." We simply cannot believe that he did so in this passage.

Peter effectively pointed out in the very first sermon of the Gospel Age that David's body saw corruption, adding that the tomb was still in Jerusalem. Here are his words:

"For David saith concerning him (Christ), I beheld the Lord always before my face; For he is on my right hand that I should not be moved; Therefore was my heart glad, and my tongue rejoiced; Moreover my flesh also shall dwell in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades, Neither wilt thou give Thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou madest known unto me the ways of life; Thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance" (Acts 2:25-28).

"The apostle Paul likewise commented upon this passage thus:

"David saith: Thou wilt not give thy Holy One to see corruption; for David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: but he whom God raised up saw no corruption" (Acts 13:35-37).

We shall refrain from commenting upon the attitude of certain alleged scholars who have dared to suppose that they have any better conception of what this passage means than do the inspired writers of the New Testament. There cannot possibly be any value in setting aside the judgment of men like Peter and Paul in favor of some speculative guess by a recent graduate of some university.

Another device which we simply cannot accept is that of supposing that David was here speaking of himself; but that, much later, the apostles discovered a deeper meaning in the words, applying them to Jesus Christ. No. As the words stand in the Bible, they refer to Jesus Christ the Messiah and to no one else. To us the admission that, "It is only in the resurrection of Jesus Christ that the hope of God's people is centered,"Arnold B. Rhodes, The Layman's Bible Commentary, Vol. 9 (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1960), p. 43. while true enough as an independent assertion, does not touch the meaning of this passage anywhere.

"Thou wilt show me the path of life." "Raised from the dead, he shall die no more; death can have no further dominion over him."Robert Jamieson, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary (Zondervan Publishing House), p. 351. Jamieson was undoubtedly correct in ascribing this eleventh verse to the existence of the Messiah after his resurrection.

"In thy presence is fulness of joy." This indicates that the Holy One raised up from the grave would find fulness of joy in the "presence" of God, and it is therefore a prophecy of the Ascension. Nowhere except in heaven could the presence of God be enjoyed continually by any one.

"In thy right hand." This is additional proof that the Ascension to God's Right Hand is the prophetic import of this passage. Hebrews 1:3 reveals that Christ, "Sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High." Also, "We have such a High Priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (Hebrews 8:1).

"There are pleasures forever more." The eternal nature of Christ's reign is indicated here. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the same, "Yesterday, to-day, yea and forever." He is with his Church "always," even unto the end of the world. Amen! (Matthew 28:18-20).

This magnificent prophecy of the Christ is more complex than a mere prophecy of his resurrection. It also includes prophecies (1) of his absolute righteousness (Psalms 16:2); (2) that his portion would not be that of a land holder, but that God would be his portion (Psalms 16:5); (3) that he would speak the words of Jehovah (Psalms 16:7); (4) that his body would not suffer corruption (Psalms 16:10); (5) that he would be raised from the dead (Psalms 16:11); (6) that he would be in the presence of God in heaven (Psalms 16:11), i.e., that he would ascend to God; and (7) that he would sit forever at God's right hand (Psalms 16:11).

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Therefore my heart is glad - In view of this fact, that my confidence is in God alone, and my belief that he is my Protector and Friend. See the notes at Acts 2:26.

And my glory rejoiceth - The Septuagint translate this, “my tongue,” and this translation is followed by Peter in his quotation of the passage in Acts 2:26. See the notes at that passage. The meaning here is, that whatever there was in him that was honorable, dignified, or glorious - all the faculties of his soul, as well as his heart - had occasion to rejoice in God. His whole nature - his undying soul - his exalted powers as he was made by God - all - all, found cause of exultation in the favor and friendship of God. The heart - the uuderstanding - the imagination - the whole immortal soul, found occasion for joy in God.

My flesh also - My body. Or, it may mean, his whole person, he himself, though the direct allusion is to the body considered as lying in the grave, Psalms 16:10. The language is such as one would use of himself when he reflected on his own death, and it is equivalent to saying, “I myself, when I am dead, shall rest in hope; my soul will not be left to abide in the gloomy place of the dead; nor will my body remain permanently in the grave under the power of corruption. In reference to my soul and my body - my whole nature - I shall descend to the grave in the hope of a future life.”

Shall rest - Margin, “dwell confidently.” The Hebrew is literally “shall dwell in confidence” or hope. The word here rendered “shall rest” means properly to let oneself down; to lie down, Numbers 9:17; Exodus 24:16; then, to lay oneself down, to lie down, as, for example, a lion lying down, Deuteronomy 33:20; or a people in tents, Numbers 24:2; and hence, to rest, to take rest, Judges 5:17; and then to abide, to dwell. Gesenius, Lexicon. Perhaps the sense here is that of “lying down,” considered as lying in the grave, and the expression is equivalent to saying, “When I die I shall lie down in the grave in hope or confidence, not in despair. I shall expect to rise and live again.”

In hope - The word used here means “trust, confidence, security.” It is the opposite of despair. As used here, it would refer to a state of mind in which there was an expectation of living again, as distinguished from that state of mind in which it was felt that the grave was the end of man. What is particularly to be remarked here is, that this trust or confidence extended to the “flesh” as well as to the “soul;” and the language is such as would be naturally used by one who believed in the resurrection of the body. Language of this kind occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament, showing that the doctrine of the resurrection of the body was one to which the sacred writers were not strangers, and that although the doctrine was not as explicitly and formally stated in the Old Testament as in the New, yet that it was a doctrine which had been at some time communicated to man. See Isaiah 26:19, note; Daniel 12:2, note. As applicable to David, the language used here is expressive of his belief that “he” would rise again, or would not perish in the grave when his body died; as applicable to the Messiah, as applied by Peter Acts 2:26, it means that when “he” should die it would be with the hope and expectation of being raised again without seeing corruption. The language is such as to be applicable to both cases; and, in regard to the interpretation of the “language,” it makes no difference whether it was supposed that the resurrection would occur before the body should moulder back to dust, or whether it would occur at a much more remote period, and long after it had gone to decay. In either case it would be true that it was laid in the grave “in hope.”

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

9.Therefore my heart is glad. In this verse the Psalmist commends the inestimable fruit of faith, of which Scripture every where makes mention, in that, by placing us under the protection of God, it makes us not only to live in the enjoyment of mental tranquillity, but, what is more, to live joyful and cheerful. The principal, the essential part of a happy life, as we know, is to possess tranquillity of conscience and of mind; as, on the contrary, there is no greater infelicity than to be tossed amidst a multiplicity of cares and fears.

But the ungodly, however much intoxicated with the spirit of thoughtlessness or stupidity, never experience true joy or serene mental peace; they rather feel terrible agitations within, which often come upon them and trouble them, so much as to constrain them to awake from their lethargy. In short, calmly to rejoice is the lot of no man but of him who has learned to place his confidence in God alone, and to commit his life and safety to his protection. When, therefore, encompassed with innumerable troubles on all sides, let us be persuaded, that the only remedy is to direct our eyes towards God; and if we do this, faith will not only tranquillise our minds, but also replenish them with fullness of joy. David, however, not only affirms that he is glad inwardly; he also makes his tongue, yea, even hisflesh, sharers of this joy. And not without cause, for true believers not only have this spiritual joy in the secret affection of their heart, but also manifest it by the tongue, inasmuch as they glory in God as He who protects them and secures their salvation. The word כבוד, kabod, properly signifies glory and excellence. I have, however, no doubt of its being here taken for the tongue, ⁽³³¹⁾ as it is in Genesis 49:6; for otherwise the division which is obviously made in this verse of the person into three parts is not so distinct and evident. Farther, although the body is not free from inconveniences and troubles, yet as God defends and maintains not only our souls, but also our bodies, David does not speak groundlessly when he represents the blessing of dwelling in safety as extending to his flesh in common with his soul.

(331) The reading of the Septuagint is, “γλωσσα μου ” “my tongue.” This is unquestionably the meaning. David uses the word glory for the organ by which God is glorified or praised. The Apostle Peter, in quoting this passage, (Acts 2:26,) reads, “my tongue.” See also Psalms 36:12

Smith's Bible Commentary

Let's turn now to Psalms 16:1-11 . The sixteenth psalm is called a Michtam of David. A Michtam is actually a meditation or a prayer. And there are about five or six psalms that are designated as Michtam, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, with the sixteenth. David's prayer unto the Lord is,

Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust ( Psalms 16:1 ).

The prayer for preservation. Now David, I guess, all through his life he had those that were out after him. Sometimes without cause. Saul sought to destroy David. Later Absalom his own son rebelled against him. David was a popular king, but it seems that you have, you know, a person has a capacity of gaining friends, but there are some people who just become your enemy because you have so many friends. There was a lot of jealousy. David was a very handsome young man. He was a very athletic person. He was a very dynamic person. And so it did inspire jealousy, and so David was constantly, it seems, being harassed by those that were jealous of him, seeking to get rid of him. And so the prayer, "Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust."

O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord ( Psalms 16:2 ):

Actually, again, if we read it more literally to the Hebrew, "Thou has said unto Jehovah, Thou art my Lord." The two different lords again. The first one the name of God; the second one the title by which it expresses my relationship to Him. "Thou art my Lord," my Adonai, my Master. The translation:

my goodness extendeth not to thee ( Psalms 16:2 );

Is actually a poor translation. That would much better be translated, because that doesn't really make much sense, "My goodness extendeth not to Thee." Literally it is, "I have no goodness but Thee," and that is a much better translation. "Lord, I have no goodness but Thee." If there is anything that is good in me, it is from the Lord. I have no goodness outside of Him.

Paul tells us that, "What do you have but what you have received? And if you have received it, then why do you boast as though you didn't receive it?" ( 1 Corinthians 4:7 ) If there is any goodness in my life, it is because of God's work in my life. I can't go around and boast or brag about my work for God or my righteousness or anything else, because my righteousness is that gift of God to me, through my faith in Jesus Christ. "I have no goodness but Thee, Lord," and so it is surely something that we all agree in that truth.

Now, David speaks concerning those that would worship other gods.

Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names unto my lips ( Psalms 16:4 ).

I will not utter the names of the other gods, nor will I take up their drink offerings of blood.

Now this is exactly what God had prohibited in the law when He said, "Thou shalt not drink or eat blood." God was referring to the pagan sacrifices, where they would sacrifice an animal to their gods, and as they would take the blood of the animal, they would drink it as a libation unto their gods. The drinking of blood, it was definitely prohibited in the law, not to drink the blood of animals. But it is tragic that the ignorant leaders of the Jehovah Witnesses have translated that commandment to mean that you are not the have any blood transfusions. And as a result of this mistranslation due to the ignorance of the leaders, they are killing more people every year than Jim Jones killed down in Ghana. Hundreds, thousands of people are dying every year because they refuse to take a blood transfusion, because the ignorant leaders of the Watch Tower Society have declared to them that they are damning their souls if they take a blood transfusion because the Bible says that you are not to drink blood.

But God is referring to the pagan practices that were extent in those days where they would sacrifice an animal to their god and take the blood of the animal and drink it. And David is saying, "I will not drink their drink offerings of blood." Referring to the very same practice. It is tragic that the blind are leading the blind into the ditch. My heart goes out to the people that are going around door to door, because they have been deceived by those leaders into believing everything that comes out from Brooklyn is gospel truth. That these men are the true spokesmen for God. Every church is trying to deceive them. They are the only ones who are really preaching the truth of God; all of the churches are really mixed up in the Babylonian system of religion, and thus, all of the churches are to perish and they only have the truth. And these poor people have been deceived, and they are going around door to door to spread that deception. But death is the fruit of that deception.

The LORD is the portion of my inheritance, and of my cup ( Psalms 16:5 ):

I am not going to drink the cup of their drink offerings of blood to their gods, but the Lord is my inheritance and of my cup.

thou maintainest my position. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my mind also will instruct me in the night seasons ( Psalms 16:5-7 ).

Oftentimes I have found that God speaks to me in the night seasons. It used to be when I was younger that I could never remember when I laid down at night. Just slept straight through until the alarm in the morning. But as I am getting older, somehow I just don't sleep through like I used to. Now noises in the night can wake me up. Used to be that you could shake and rattle. In fact, I used to counsel young kids up at the summer camps and I would say to them, "Now, kids, if you are smart you will just wait until I go to sleep and you can carry the camp off and I will never know it. But let me get to sleep." And so they wised up and they would let me get to sleep and then they would terrorize the camp. I'd never know it. I slept so soundly. Nothing would disturb my sleep. But things have changed, and now there are things that do disturb my sleep at night. And it used to be if something would disturb me, I could just roll right back over and go right back to sleep. But, you know, the phone rings at three in the morning and then I have difficulty going back to sleep after that. And I just lie there and I just sort of toss because I have been awakened out of a deep sleep, and now I am in the tossing stage. And I used to get upset at tossing, but no more. I find this is just glorious time to commune with the Lord. He instructs me in the night seasons just to open my heart to God, and it is amazing the things that God pours into my heart in the night hours. So I just now take it as an opportunity, rather than cursing the sleeplessness of night. I just take it as a neat opportunity to be instructed of the Lord in the night seasons.

I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved ( Psalms 16:8 ).

And now we are actually getting into a prophecy. Peter quotes this on the day of Pentecost when they have been challenged because of the phenomenon that has taken place, the sound like a mighty rushing wind. The Galilean disciples speaking in many different dialects, and the accusation, "These men are filled with new wine. They are drunk with new wine." And Peter said, "No, these are not drunk as you suppose. It is only nine o'clock in the morning. It is too early to be drunk, but this is that which is spoken of by the prophet Joel," and then he quotes the prophet Joel.

And then he, having given them a scriptural basis for the phenomenon that they were observing, he then began to preach to them. The message was of Jesus. There were seven points to the message. He began by the identification of the person he was going to talk about, "Jesus of Nazareth." There were a lot of little Jewish boys named Jesus. It was a popular name, because Joshua was one of the national heroes. After all, he was the one that led them into the Promise Land. "Jehovah is salvation." So there were many Jewish mothers that were hoping that their child would be the savior also of Israel, and so they named their little boys Joshua, which in Greek is Jesus. And so to identify Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." There was probably a Jesus of Jerusalem, and of Bethany, and of Bethel, and of Samaria, so to identify Him, "Jesus of Nazareth. A man who was proved to be of God by the miracles and wonders that He did in your midst. Whom you, according to the predetermined counsel and foreknowledge of God, with your wicked hands have crucified and slain. But God has raised Him from the dead." The center truth of the message of Peter. The central truth is the resurrection of Jesus.

That is the central message of the New Testament, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the hope and the basis of the hope for our whole Christian experience. If Christ be not raised from the dead, then our faith is in vain; we are hopeless. So the central truth, the message of the New Testament, the resurrection. So Peter gets it in the center of the truth that he is proclaiming, "Whom God hath raised from the dead, for it was not possible that He could be held by it. For David," he said, "by the mouth of the Holy Spirit spake of Him saying, 'Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither will You allow the Holy One to see corruption." In fact, he quoted the whole.

Therefore my heart shall be glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou allow the Holy One to see corruption ( Psalms 16:9-10 ).

Peter saw this as God's direct promise to His Son. And no doubt Jesus made reference to this, and that is why Peter made the association. That this was God's promise to Jesus, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, and neither will You allow your Holy One to see corruption."

Now concerning David, "Let me tell you, he was a prophet and he spake not of himself, but of Him who was to come. And we do testify that God did not leave His soul in hell, and neither did He allow His Holy One to see corruption. But this same Jesus hath God raised from the dead and is exalted Him to the right hand of the throne on high, and has given to Him this which He has shed forth upon us which you now see. That is, the gift of the Holy Spirit." For He said, "I will pray the Father. He'll send you another comforter, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive."

So this what you see is the result of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it is His promise to send the Holy Spirit upon us. But He went into hell with the promise of God that His soul would not be left in hell. So that when Jesus died, and this hell is the Hebrew Sheol, which is also translated grave. "Thou wilt not leave my soul in Sheol, the grave, or hell." Now, prior to the death of Jesus Christ, Sheol of the Hebrew, or Hades of the Greek, was an area in the center of the earth that was divided into two compartments.

And Jesus tells us about it in the sixteenth chapter of the gospel of Luke, where He tells about a certain rich man who faired sumptuously every day and a poor man that was brought daily and laid at his gate full of sores, and the dogs came and licked his sores. And how that the poor man died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And also the rich man died, and in Hades, hell, lifted up his eyes being in torment. And seeing Abraham afar off and Lazarus there, the man he recognized, being comforted in Abraham's bosom, cried and said, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to me that he may take his finger, dip it in water, touch my tongue. I am tormented in this heat." Abraham said, "Well, son, you remember in your lifetime you had the good things, Lazarus evil. Now he is comforted while you are tormented. Besides that, between us there is a gulf that is fixed. It is impossible for those that are here to go over there or those that are there to come over here." "Then I pray thee, if he cannot come over here, send him back, send him back to the earth that he might warn my brothers, lest they come to this awesome place." Abraham said, "They have the law and the prophets. If they will not believe them, neither will they believe should one come back again from the dead."

So Jesus gives us a description of hell in the center of the earth. For one day they were asking Jesus for a sign and He said, "A wicked and an adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" ( Matthew 12:39-40 ). So it is located for us by Jesus.

Now Peter is telling us that this was God's promise to His Son, "Thou will not leave my soul in hell, neither will You allow the Holy One to see corruption." Paul tells us, in the fourth chapter of Ephesians that He who ascended is the same one who first of all descended into the lower parts of the earth. And when He ascended, He led the captives from their captivity. So when Jesus ascended from the grave, those that were there with Abraham, being comforted, awaiting the promise of God, were delivered from the grave also. He set free those captives.

You remember the prophecy of Isaiah, in the sixty-first chapter where it said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, to mend up those that are broken. To set at liberty those that are bound and to open the prison doors to those that are captive." He is talking about the prison doors of death, of Hades, to those that were captive. In the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, when we are told of all of these great saints of the Old Testament, who by faith, wrought all of these wonderful things, the chapter concludes, "Now these all died in faith, not having received the promise." That is, of resurrection and of eternal life, "but seeing it afar off, they embraced it, they held on to it, and they claimed that they were just strangers and pilgrims here." They were looking for a city which hath foundation, whose maker and builder is God. And then in the end of the chapter, again it says, "These all died in faith not having received the promise, God having reserved some better thing for us, that they without us could not come into the perfect or completed state."

Until Jesus made the provision on the cross to put away sins, they could not come into the completed state in heaven. The Old Testament sacrifices served to cover their sins, but it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats could put away sin. All they could do was to testify of a better offering that was to come, the offering of Jesus Christ Himself for our sins, by which He made the way into heaven for all men. So those in the Old Testament who were by faith believing the promise of God and trusting God through faith to fulfill His promise, they were in one side of hell being comforted by Abraham, and they were released from that captivity at the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Peter, the epistle of Peter, we read where Jesus went down and preached to those souls that were in prison. And so for three days and three nights Jesus was preaching the glorious Good News to those who had been waiting with faithful Abraham for God's promises to be fulfilled. What a time of rejoicing that must have been. And then when He ascended, He broke the bars of the grave. He ascended. He led the captives from their captivity, and gave gifts unto men. So Peter is quoting this in the New Testament, he said, "David, being a prophet, spoke not of himself; his sepulcher is with us till this day. But he was speaking of Jesus, and we bear witness, God did not leave His soul in hell, neither did He allow the Holy One to see corruption."

For thou wilt show to me the path of life: and in thy presence is fullness of joy; and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore ( Psalms 16:11 ).

This now is the exalted place of Jesus Christ, at the right hand of the Father. He said, "Henceforth You'll not see Me until you see Me sitting there at the right hand of My Father in glory." At thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore, in thy presence there is fullness of joy God has shown to me, not death. "Thou will not leave my soul in the grave, but You have shown to me the path of life." And so the glorious promise to the Son. "And who for the joy that was set before Him by the Father endured the cross though He despised the shame" ( Hebrews 12:2 ).

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 16

This psalm voices the joy David experienced in his life, because of his trust in God and fellowship with God, even though he faced distressing physical dangers. David appears in this psalm as the type of person that he described in the previous psalm. Chisholm classified this psalm as indirectly Messianic (cf. Acts 2:22-31; Acts 13:35-37), [Note: Chisholm, pp. 293-95.] and Merrill called it a psalm of confidence. [Note: Merrill, "Psalms," p. 414.]

The meaning of "mikhtam" (NASB) in the title is not clear. All the suggested explanations that I have read (engraved in gold, to cover, secret treasure, pithy saying, etc.) seem unconvincing. Fortunately we do not need to know the sure meaning of this term to understand and appreciate the psalm. Ironside believed there is some correspondence between Psalms 16 and the meal offering in Israel’s worship (Leviticus 2). He also saw these connections: Psalms 40 and the burnt offering, Psalms 85 and the peace offering, Psalms 22 and the sin offering, and Psalms 69 and the trespass offering. [Note: Ironside, p. 77.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Evidently David had received a special revelation from the Lord that he would not die then, but would escape from whatever distress he was enduring (cf. Psalms 16:7 a). The phrase "my glory rejoices" (NASB) means David rejoiced that his glory as a living person blessed by God would continue to be a source of joy for him. God would spare his life. Of course, David did not mean he would live forever, by bypassing death. He only meant that he would not die then. David was God’s "holy one" (Psalms 16:10) in that God had set him apart for a special purpose and because his life was indeed God’s, as he described earlier in this psalm. [Note: See Gregory V. Trull, "An Exegesis of Psalms 16:10," Bibliotheca Sacra 161:643 (July-September 2004):304-21, for three interpretive options.]

The Apostle Paul referred to Psalms 16:10 as a messianic prophecy of Jesus Christ’s resurrection (Acts 13:35). This is one of the few clear references to resurrection in the Old Testament (cf. Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2). [Note: Merrill, "Psalms," p. 414.]

"The 16^th Psalm is a prediction of the resurrection of the King. As a prophet, David declared that, not at His first advent but at some time subsequent to His death and resurrection, the Messiah would assume the Davidic throne. Cp. Acts 2:25-31 with Luke 1:32-33 and Acts 15:13-17." [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 606.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Confidence in future deliverance 16:9-11

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Therefore my heart is glad,.... Because he had the Lord always in view; he was at his right hand, for his support and assistance, as well as because of what is expressed in the next verses: this is the same with rejoicing in spirit, Luke 10:21; it denotes an inward joy, and fulness of it, because of the Lord's presence with him; see Acts 2:28;

and my glory rejoiceth; meaning either his soul, which is the most glorious and noble part of man, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech interpret it; or rather his tongue, as in Acts 2:26; the faculty of speaking in man being what gives him a superior glory and excellency to other creatures, and is that whereby he glorifies God; and so the word is often used in this book; see Psalms 30:12; and here the phrase designs Christ's glorifying God, and singing his praise with joyful lips, among his disciples, a little before his sufferings and death;

my flesh also shall rest in hope; in the grave, which, as it is a resting place to the members of Christ, from all their sorrow, toil, and labour here; so it was to Christ their head, who rested in it on the Jewish sabbath, that day of rest, and that berth "in safety" t, as the word used may signify, and in of his resurrection from the dead, as follows.

t לבטח "in tuto", Tigurine version; "secure", Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius "in confidence", Ainsworth.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.   9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.   10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.   11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

      All these verses are quoted by St. Peter in his first sermon, after the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of pentecost (Acts 2:25-28); and he tells us expressly that David in them speaks concerning Christ and particularly of his resurrection. Something we may allow here of the workings of David's own pious and devout affections towards God, depending upon his grace to perfect every thing that concerned him, and looking for the blessed hope, and happy state on the other side death, in the enjoyment of God; but in these holy elevations towards God and heaven he was carried by the spirit of prophecy quite beyond the consideration of himself and his own case, to foretel the glory of the Messiah, in such expressions as were peculiar to that, and could not be understood of himself. The New Testament furnishes us with a key to let us into the mystery of these lines.

      I. These verses must certainly be applied to Christ; of him speaks the prophet this, as did many of the Old-Testament prophets, who testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow (1 Peter 1:11), and that is the subject of this prophecy here. It is foretold (as he himself showed concerning this, no doubt, among other prophecies in this psalm, Luke 24:44; Luke 24:46) that Christ should suffer, and rise from the dead,1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 Corinthians 15:4.

      1. That he should suffer and die. This is implied here when he says (Psalms 16:8; Psalms 16:8), I shall not be moved; he supposed that he should be struck at, and have a dreadful shock given him, as he had in his agony, when his soul was exceedingly sorrowful, and he prayed that the cup might pass from him. When he says, "My flesh shall rest," it is implied that he must put off the body, and therefore must go through the pains of death. It is likewise plainly intimated that his soul must go into a state of separation from the body, and that his body, so deserted, would be in imminent danger of seeing corruption--that he should not only die, but be buried, and abide for some time under the power of death.

      2. That he should be wonderfully borne up by the divine power in suffering and dying. (1.) That he should not be moved, should not be driven off from his undertaking nor sink under the weight of it, that he should not fail nor be discouraged (Isaiah 42:4), but should proceed and persevere in it, till he could say, It is finished. Though the service was hard and the encounter hot, and he trod the winepress alone, yet he was not moved, did not give up the cause, but set his face as a flint, Isaiah 50:7-9. Here am I, let these go their way. Nay, (2.) That his heart should rejoice and his glory be glad, that he should go on with his undertaking, not only resolutely, but cheerfully, and with unspeakable pleasure and satisfaction, witness that saying (John 17:11), Now I am no more in the world, but I come to thee, and that (John 18:11), The cup that my Father has given me, shall I not drink it? and many the like. By his glory is meant his tongue, as appears, Acts 2:26. For our tongue is our glory, and never more so than when it is employed in glorifying God. Now there were three things which bore him up and carried him on thus cheerfully:-- [1.] The respect he had to his Father's will and glory in what he did: I have set the Lord always before me. He still had an eye to his Father's commandment (John 10:18; John 14:31), the will of him that sent him. He aimed at his Father's honour and the restoring of the interests of his kingdom among men, and this kept him from being moved by the difficulties he met with; for he always did those things that pleased his Father. [2.] The assurance he had of his Father's presence with him in his sufferings: He is at my right hand, a present help to me, nigh at hand in the time of need. He is near that justifieth me (Isaiah 50:8); he is at my right hand, to direct and strengthen it, and hold it up, Psalms 89:21. When he was in his agony an angel was sent from heaven to strengthen him, Luke 22:43. To this the victories and triumphs of the cross were all owing; it was the Lord at his right hand that struck through kings,Psalms 110:5; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 42:2. [3.] The prospect he had of a glorious issue of his sufferings. It was for the joy set before him that he endured the cross,Hebrews 12:2. He rested in hope, and that made his rest glorious, Isaiah 11:10. He knew he should be justified in the Spirit by his resurrection, and straightway glorified. See John 13:31; John 13:32.

      3. That he should be brought through his sufferings, and brought from under the power of death by a glorious resurrection. (1.) That his soul should not be left in hell, that is, his human spirit should not be long left, as other men's spirits are, in a state of separation from the body, but should, in a little time, return and be re-united to it, never to part again. (2.) That being God's holy One in a peculiar manner, sanctified to the work of redemption and perfectly free from sin, he should not see corruption nor feel it. This implies that he should not only be raised from the grave, but raised so soon that his dead body should not so much as being to corrupt, which, in the course of nature, it would have done if it had not been raised the third day. We, who have so much corruption in our souls, must expect that our bodies also will corrupt (Job 24:19); but that holy One of God who knew no sin saw no corruption. Under the law it was strictly ordered that those parts of the sacrifices which were not burnt upon the altar should by no means be kept till the third day, lest they should putrefy (Leviticus 7:15; Leviticus 7:18), which perhaps pointed at Christ's rising the third day, that he might not see corruption--neither was a bone of him broken.

      4. That he should be abundantly recompensed for his sufferings, with the joy set before him, Psalms 16:11; Psalms 16:11. He was well assured, (1.) That he should not miss of his glory: "Thou wilt show me the path of life, and lead me to that life through this darksome valley." In confidence of this, when he gave up the ghost, he said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit; and, a little before, Father, glorify me with thy own self. (2.) That he should be received into the presence of God, to sit at his right hand. His being admitted into God's presence would be the acceptance of his service and his being set at his right hand the recompence of it. (3.) Thus, as a reward for the sorrows he underwent for our redemption, he should have a fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore; not only the glory he had with God, as God, before all worlds, but the joy and pleasure of a Mediator, in seeing his seed, and the success and prosperity of his undertaking, Isaiah 53:10; Isaiah 53:11.

      II. Christ being the Head of the body, the church, these verses may, for the most part, be applied to all good Christians, who are guided and animated by the Spirit of Christ; and, in singing them, when we have first given glory to Christ, in whom, to our everlasting comfort, they have had their accomplishment, we may then encourage and edify ourselves and one another with them, and may hence learn, 1. That it is our wisdom and duty to set the Lord always before us, and to see him continually at our right hand, wherever we are, to eye him as our chief good and highest end, our owner, ruler, and judge, our gracious benefactor, our sure guide and strict observer; and, while we do thus, we shall not be moved either from our duty or from our comfort. Blessed Paul set the Lord before him, when, though bonds and afflictions did await him, he could bravely say, None of these things move me,Acts 20:24. 2. That, if our eyes be ever towards God, our hearts and tongues may ever rejoice in him; it is our own fault if they do not. If the heart rejoice in God, out of the abundance of that let the mouth speak, to his glory, and the edification of others. 3. That dying Christians, as well as a dying Christ, may cheerfully put off the body, in a believing expectation of a joyful resurrection: My flesh also shall rest in hope. Our bodies have little rest in this world, but in the grave they shall rest as in their beds, Isaiah 57:2. We have little to hope for from this life, but we shall rest in hope of a better life; we may put off the body in that hope. Death destroys the hope of man (Job 14:19), but not the hope of a good Christian, Proverbs 14:32. He has hope in his death, living hopes in dying moments, hopes that the body shall not be left for ever in the grave, but, though it see corruption for a time, it shall, at the end of the time, be raised to immortality; Christ's resurrection is an earnest of ours if we be his. 4. That those who live piously with God in their eye may die comfortably with heaven in their eye. In this world sorrow is our lot, but in heaven there is joy. All our joys here are empty and defective, but in heaven there is a fulness of joy. Our pleasures here are transient and momentary, and such is the nature of them that it is not fit they should last long; but those at God's right hand are pleasures for evermore; for they are the pleasures of immortal souls in the immediate vision and fruition of an eternal God.