Psalm 16:9-10
(Today’s post is part of a series on Psalm 16. You can find all the posts on my Psalm 16 page.)
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
My body also will rest secure,
10Because You will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will You let Your Holy One see decay. Psalm 16:9-10 (NIV)
Heart – feelings, intent, will
Glad – cheered up, grateful, joyful
Tongue – language, speech
Rejoices – shows joy, feels joyful
Body – flesh, actual physical body
Rest – live, dwell, continue, settle down
Secure – safe, refuge, feel trust
Abandon – leave, forsake, leave behind, neglect
Grave – pit, place of no return
Holy One – pious, godly, good one (person)
Decay – destruction, decomposition, pit, grave
The verses Psalm 16:9-10 are connected to and follow up verse 8.
That verse says:
I have set the Lord always before me.
Because He is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken. – Psalm 16:8 (NIV)
In this verse, David is declaring he has put the Lord first in his life.
He is also declaring that God is walking with him.
Because of this he won’t be shaken – meaning he won’t be scared, unsteady, or uncertain.
He knows he can count on the Lord.
In verse 9, David continues with this thought, explaining his response to God walking with him.
He tells us his heart is glad over the fact that God is there for him.
This gladness in his heart is expressed as he speaks words of joy and happiness, rejoicing at God’s presence in his life.
David rests secure in his body, because he knows he is safe with God.
In verse 10, he continues the thought, saying he knows because God is with him, he won’t abandon him in the grave.
What he is telling us is that he knows that after he dies, God is there.
He knows he won’t just cease to exist and that be the end of it.
He knows that while his body may die and decay, he himself will live on.
God will not just forget about him once he dies.
David knows there is an afterlife and his relationship with God will continue in it.
God will be waiting for him on the other side.
David ends this verse with a prophecy about Jesus.
He declares God will not let His Holy One – the Messiah – decay in the grave.
This was a direct mention of what was to come immediately after Jesus was crucified.
David had no way of knowing who the Messiah would be or when He was coming.
He didn’t know what or how things would happen.
But, he knew God would not allow His Holy One to see the decay death brings.
The fact that the Holy One in this verse is Jesus is confirmed twice in the book of Acts.
The first time is in chapter 2.
At Pentecost Peter is speaking to a group of Jews and others who live in Jerusalem.
He clearly states in verses 29-32 that David is a prophet who died but that the prophecy he made in Psalm 16 was not only true, it spoke directly of Jesus.
In Acts chapter 13, Paul is in the synagogue in Antioch.
When he is invited to speak, he reminds them of several chapters of history, ending with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. .
He immediately follows that with telling them that Jesus and His execution was the fulfillment of prophecy.
Paul tells them the fact God raised Jesus from the dead without decaying (decomposing) is mentioned in old writings and quotes Psalm 16::10.
He follows it up with how David fell asleep (died), was buried and his body decayed.
But the one whom God raised from the dead (Jesus) did not see decay.
Paul was declaring verse 10 to be a true and fulfilled prophecy.
Someday we will die but God won’t forget us.
He won’t abandon us in our grave.
Instead, those who have trusted Jesus for salvation will have a relationship with Him after we’ve passed from this world.
Those who don’t have a relationship with God through trusting Jesus for salvation will be eternally separated from Him and cast into eternal punishment.
That’s why it is so important to make sure we have trusted Jesus for salvation while we are alive.
Once we die it will be too late.
How gracious of God to tell mankind about the coming of the Holy One a thousand years before it happened so people would know what to watch for.
How blessed we are to know that the Holy One David told about has come.
Living on this side of Jesus’ arrival we can see the fulfilled prophecies and know Jesus was resurrected for us so that we could be saved from our sins.
Since we know Jesus is the Holy One and that God raised Him from the dead specifically to rescue us, let us be grateful and speak about our joy!
Prayer – Father, thank You I can be glad and rejoice in the fact You love me and sent Your Son to rescue me. Thank You our relationship will continue even after my death. I appreciate that You told us of a coming Holy One and brought Him to us to rescue us. Will you please help me to live a life filled with joy and gladness as I seek to follow You? Please help me to share my joy and gladness with others. Thank You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
To read the passage in Acts 2, please click here –> Acts 2:20-33 (NIV)
To read the passage in Acts 13, please click here –> Acts 13:32-39 (NIV)
To see all the posts I’ve shared in this series, please visit my Psalm 16 page.
To learn more about what a Psalm is, please visit my post ,What is the Book of Psalms?