The 16th Psalm is a psalm by David. But this psalm is about someone greater than David. This could already have been clear to an Israelite who read this psalm at the time of the Old Testament. This is because remarkable words are put into the mouth of the “pious one” in Psalm 16 which David could not say:
– This devout man of God rejoices in God while he is alive, and his flesh rests in safety when death has come. This means that his body will not fall prey to decay, but will be safe. The pious will die, but will rise again in a very short time.
– His soul will not be consigned to the realm of the dead, but will be united with the resurrection body a few days after his death in order to live in the fullness of joy before the face of God.
This does not apply to David, because:
– David’s body did not dwell in safety – it became a victim of decay.
– David’s soul is still in Sheol; David has not yet risen from the dead.
Psalm 16 is about the Lord Jesus, the Son of David. The prophet David spoke of him by the Spirit of God.
This is how the apostle Peter presents it to his Jewish listeners. He proves with this psalm that the Messiah had to rise from the dead immediately after his death: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know – Him, being delivered by the determinate purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope, for you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of joy in your presence.’ Men and brethren, let it me speak freely to you of patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:22-32).
The apostle Paul also quoted Psalm 16 to convince his listeners in the synagogue of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus on the basis of the Scriptures: “And that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David. Therefore he also says in another psalm: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up saw no corruption” (Acts 13:34-37).
The statement that God’s Holy One should not see corruption is a prophetic announcement of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, which took place shortly after his death.
It is therefore not surprising that both Peter and Paul quote Psalm 16 to prove the resurrection of the Messiah on the basis of the Old Testament.
The prophets repeatedly testified to Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. These facts belong to the gospel that we are allowed to proclaim. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast to the word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures; and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve” (1 Cor 15:1-5).
Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for us, did not see decay. Not even outwardly did He come into contact with decay, for He was laid in a new tomb where no one had ever lain before (John 19:41). He who died and was buried is “alive for ever and ever” (Rev 1:18). His resurrection is a wondrous fact that we can believe and joyfully testify to.
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