God’s Word for You

Psalm 16:9-11 pleasures forever

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, April 5, 2026

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
even my flesh will dwell securely.
10 For you will not abandon my life to the grave,
nor will you let your holy one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
there is in an abundance of rejoicing in your presence,
at your right hand are pleasures forever.

At Pentecost, a thousand years after David wrote these words, the Apostle Peter stood up and said to the stunned crowd who were hearing the Gospel spoken at the same time in more than a dozen languages: “David was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. He spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact” (Acts 2:30-32).

Peter showed by prophecy and fulfillment in the Word of God that Christ has risen from the dead. He took up what he had set aside. This doesn’t only mean his life, but everything else: it is a description of his state of exaltation. Now, we know from the Creed that the exaltation includes these familiar steps: “He descended into hell, the third day he rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. From there he will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

But if we stay within the bounds of these final verses of the Psalm, we will see some specific truths about the second and fourth steps of Christ’s exaltation: “He rose again from the dead.”

First: The resurrection restored Jesus Christ to the path of life. Jesus remains both true God and true man. Therefore the man Jesus Christ (who is also truly God) rose, ascended, and lives with the Father forever. If we need to prove this, we do it simply in this manner:

(1) Jesus is every bit as much true man as he is true God. Scripture puts Christ in parallel with Adam (1 Corinthians 15:21) and in doing so confirms the reality of the human nature of Jesus. The Scriptures also show his human attributes: he got hungry (Matthew 4:2), thirsty (John 19:28), he slept (Mark 4:38), wept (John 11:35), learned in his childhood (Luke 2:46), was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1), and so on.

(2) Jesus’ humanity, which is a true humanity, is also a sinless humanity. Scripture assures us of this. The Apostle writes: “Our high priest is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26). We also notice that Christ’s sinlessness does not destroy the fact of his temptation, since “he learned obedience from what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8) and “he was tempted in every way, just as we are, and yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

(3) The incarnation of Christ’s divine nature means that his human nature was taken up into his divine nature and united it “most firmly, eternally, and insolubly to himself and his divine nature” (Hoenecke III p. 73). What he has taken up for our sakes he has not set aside, and this is also shown by his resurrection appearances and the promise of the angels that he will return in the same way (Acts 1:11).

Therefore, the words “Even my flesh will dwell securely” also points to this same doctrine and truth: The flesh, that is, the human nature of Christ, lives in heaven in his divine nature, and will be the very same Jesus that we will see and worship forever.

Second: The resurrection brought Jesus Christ an abundance of rejoicing in the Father’s presence. This is shown many times in the Psalms. “Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done” (Psalm 9:11). “I will praise you among the nations, O Lord; I will sing praises to your name” (Psalm 18:49). “Sing praises to God, sing praises. Sing praises to our King, sing praises” (Psalm 47:6). And Paul says, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples” (Romans 15:11; Psalm 117:1).

Third: The resurrection brought to Jesus “pleasures forever” at the Father’s right hand. While other passages speak about Christ’s sitting at the right hand of the Father (Psalm 110:1; Romans 8:34), this one speaks about the delights of heaven. These are not sensual delights, but the kind of delights that Adam and Eve enjoyed in Eden before the Fall, some of which were tied to the image of God. Outstanding among these things are to be without any fear of death or any other danger, and to be thoroughly content with God’s favor. He enjoyed even in his state of humiliation a perfect human power of reason (which none of us has on account of original sin and exacerbated by many intentional sins as well). He enjoys the fullness of joy and bliss in his contemplation of creation and of the state of heaven, the full worship of the angels and the souls in heaven, and the pleasures, almost infinite, of experiencing the delights of believers on account of their receiving good things in life, and praising him for these things in heaven. Every blossoming flower, every new and delightful friendship, every wholesome discovery or experience, every increase in learning about the Scriptures; every unseen victory of God’s angels on our behalf—all of the good things that have surrounded each one of us, known and unknown, can be visited and revisited to the glory of God and to his eternal honor and praise.

Our Lord Jesus was not abandoned to the grave, for he is without sin. Where there is no sin, there is no penalty for sin, no death, no grave. Christ has won this not only for his own glory, but for our benefit. Therefore we praise him and honor him always. As gruesome as was his agony and suffering of hell shall be his glory and splendor forever in heaven.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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