Psalms 16:8 - Meaning and Application

All these verses are quoted by Peter in his first sermon after the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost (Acts 2:25-28). He clearly says that David is speaking about Christ there, especially about Christ’s resurrection. We may also allow that David was expressing his own sincere trust in God, depending on God’s grace to finish everything that concerned him and looking ahead to the blessed hope and joyful life beyond death, in God’s presence. But in these holy thoughts, the Spirit of prophecy carried David beyond himself and his own situation, so that he foretold the Messiah’s glory in words that fit Christ alone.

The New Testament gives us the key to unlock these lines. These verses must be applied to Christ. The prophet here speaks of him, as many Old Testament prophets did, when they testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow (1 Peter 1:11). That is the subject of this prophecy. It was foretold, as Christ himself showed from this passage and others in the Psalms (Luke 24:44, Luke 24:46), that he would suffer, die, and rise from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3, 1 Corinthians 15:4).

It is implied first that Christ would suffer and die. When he says, “I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16:8), he is speaking as one who would be struck hard and feel a terrible shock, as he did in his agony when his soul was deeply troubled and he prayed that the cup might pass from him. When he says, “My flesh shall rest,” it implies that he would lay aside his body, and so pass through the pains of death. It also clearly means that his soul would be separated from his body, and that his body, left behind, would face the danger of corruption, so that he would not only die, but be buried and remain for a time under death’s power.

Second, he would be wonderfully upheld by God’s power in suffering and dying. He would not be moved, meaning he would not be driven away from his work or crushed by its burden. He would not fail or lose heart (Isaiah 42:4), but would go on and keep going until he could say, “It is finished.” Though the work was hard and the battle fierce, and he trod the winepress alone, he was not moved. He did not give up the cause, but set his face like flint (Isaiah 50:7-9). He could say, “Here I am, let these go their way.”

More than that, his heart would rejoice and his glory would be glad. He would go forward not only firmly, but gladly, with deep satisfaction. We see this in words like, “Now I am no longer in the world, but I come to you” (John 17:11), and, “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:11). By “my glory” is meant his tongue, as Acts 2:26 shows. Our tongue is our glory, and it is most truly glorious when it is used to praise God.

Three things sustained him and carried him forward so joyfully. First, he kept his Father’s will and glory always before him: “I have set the Lord always before me.” He kept his eye on his Father’s command (John 10:18, John 14:31), the will of the one who sent him. He aimed at his Father’s honor and at restoring God’s kingdom among people, and that kept him from being moved by the troubles he faced, because he always did what pleased his Father.

Second, he had the assurance of his Father’s presence with him in suffering: “He is at my right hand.” God was a present help, near in the time of need. He is near to justify me, that is, to show that I am in the right (Isaiah 50:8). He is at my right hand to guide and strengthen me, and to hold me up (Psalm 89:21). When Christ was in agony, an angel was sent from heaven to strengthen him (Luke 22:43). The victories and triumphs of the cross all depended on this. It was the Lord at his right hand who struck through kings (Psalm 110:5; Isaiah 42:1, Isaiah 42:2).

Third, he looked ahead to the glorious outcome 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 would be proved right by the Spirit through his resurrection and would then be glorified at once. See John 13:31, John 13:32.

Third, he would be brought through his sufferings and rescued from death by a glorious resurrection. “You will not leave my soul in hell” means that his human spirit would not be left, like other people’s spirits, in separation from the body for long. In a little while it would return and be joined to the body again, never to be separated again. “Nor will you let your holy one see corruption” means that, because he was God’s holy one in a special way, set apart for the work of redemption and completely free from sin, his body would not decay. This means more than that he would rise from the grave. It means he would rise so soon that his body would not even begin to rot, which it naturally would have done if he had not risen on the third day.

We, who have so much corruption in our souls, must expect that our bodies also will decay (Job 24:19). But that holy one of God, who knew no sin, saw no corruption. Under the law, it was strictly ordered that the parts of sacrifices not burned on the altar should not be kept until the third day, lest they spoil (Leviticus 7:15, Leviticus 7:18). This may have pointed to Christ rising on the third day so that he would not see corruption. Not a bone of him was broken.

Fourth, he would be richly rewarded for his sufferings, with the joy set before him (Psalm 16:11). He was fully sure of three things. First, he would not miss his glory: “You will show me the path of life, and lead me into life through this dark valley.” In confidence of this, when he gave up his spirit, he said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit,” and just before that, “Father, glorify me with your own self.”

Second, he would be received into God’s presence, seated at his right hand. Being admitted into God’s presence would show that his service was accepted, and being set at God’s right hand would be the reward for it. Third, as the reward for the sorrows he endured to redeem us, he would have fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, not only the glory he had with God as God before the world began, but the joy and delight of a Mediator, that is, one who stands between God and people, in seeing his seed and the success of his work (Isaiah 53:10, Isaiah 53:11).

Because Christ is the head of the body, the church, these verses may also be applied, for the most part, to all true Christians who are guided and strengthened by the Spirit of Christ. In singing them, after we have first given glory to Christ, in whom they have been completely fulfilled for our lasting comfort, we may then use them to encourage and build up ourselves and one another. From them we may learn:

It is our wisdom and duty to keep the Lord always before us and to see him at our right hand wherever we are. We should look to him as our highest good and final goal, our owner, ruler, and judge, as well as our gracious provider, sure guide, and careful observer. When we do this, we will not be shaken out of our duty or robbed of our comfort. The apostle Paul set the Lord before him when, though chains and troubles were waiting for him, he could boldly say, “None of these things move me” (Acts 20:24).

If our eyes are always turned toward God, our hearts and tongues should be full of joy in him. If they are not, the fault is ours. When the heart rejoices in God, the mouth should speak from that fullness, for God’s glory and for the good of others.

Dying believers, like Christ in his death, may lay aside the body with confidence, expecting a joyful resurrection. “My flesh also shall rest in hope.” Our bodies get little rest in this world, but in the grave they will rest like people asleep in their beds (Isaiah 57:2). We have little to hope for from this life, but we can rest in hope of a better life, and we may give up the body with that hope. Death destroys human hope (Job 14:19), but it does not destroy the hope of a true Christian (Proverbs 14:32). He has hope even in death, living hope in dying moments, a hope that the body will not stay in the grave forever. Though it will see decay for a time, it will one day be raised to immortality. Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of ours, if we belong to him.

Those who live faithfully with God always in view can also die peacefully, with heaven in view. In this world, sorrow is our lot, but in heaven there is joy. All our joys here are incomplete and short-lived. In heaven there is fullness of joy. The pleasures of this life pass quickly, and it would not be fitting for them to last long. But the pleasures at God’s right hand last forever, because they are the pleasures of immortal souls in the direct sight and enjoyment of the eternal God.