Psalm 16:9-11 - Our Great Hope

Psalm 16 is also called the “Golden Psalm” because it prophetically proclaims the resurrection of Jesus Christ and assures us of life after death! To delight in the Lord and His goodness and then lose all these blessings at death would be a great tragedy. The Apostle Paul said that if there is no resurrection, we are of all men most miserable, and our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14-19). It other words, the Gospel, the death of Christ, the Christian life, has no meaning or purpose if there is no resurrection! David in verse 9, was assured that he could have a “glad heart and his glory rejoice”, because his flesh would rest, would die, in hope. In His death and resurrection, Jesus has conquered death, and through faith in Him we have a "living hope". “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). When David wrote "My body will rest secure" (v. 9, NASB), he was referring to Messiah and not to himself. Using these verses, Peter proved that Jesus had been raised from the dead, for it's obvious that David was dead and his body had decayed in his tomb (Acts 2:22-31). But Jesus did not see corruption! When He arose from the dead on the third day, He had a real and substantial body, but it was a glorified body that could ingest food (Luke 24:36-42), but was also able to appear and disappear (Luke 24:28-31), and pass through locked doors (John 20:19-29). David could face death with a glad heart and soul, and could rest in the grave in hope, knowing that one day, he, too, would have a new glorified body. Paul used this same text to prove the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (Acts 13:26-39). The full light of revelation about death and resurrection had not yet been revealed in Old Testament times, although there are hints in verses like Psalm 17:15, Psalm 73:24-26, and Job 19:23-27, but through Jesus Christ, God had brought "life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10). A question I’m often asked about verse 10 is, “Did Jesus go and burn in hell during the three days His body was in the grave after He died on the cross?” This is often asked because the Old King James translation of the Bible says, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell….”. The Hebrew word here for hell is “Sheol”, meaning "the unseen world”, or “the abode of the dead”. Sheol is translated “the grave”, 31 times in the Bible.  I personally believe according to Luke 16, and other passages, that “Sheol” is in the “heart of the earth” and before the resurrection of Christ, it had two compartments. One was the paradise side and the other was the hades, or hell side with fire. The thief on the cross went to the paradise side with Jesus, and the rich man in Luke 16 went to the hell side. I’m also convinced that Jesus did not have to go and burn in hell after He died on the cross. He experienced the full wrath of God for us during the last three hours on the cross when He cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”. Then as He died, He proclaimed, “It is finished”. The work of salvation was complete!!!! The resurrection of Jesus is proof that He is the Son of God, and that God accepted His sacrifice for our sins! Paul said in Romans 1:1-4, that Jesus was, “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. My friend, we do not have to live in fear of death because Jesus conquered death by His death and resurrection! You can trust Jesus today to be your Lord and Savior and rejoice in this “living hope”!