Psalm 16 and hold your finger
there. And before we read the song,
I want to read a passage out of Acts chapter two. Now, Peter
is quoting this song on the day of Pentecost, if you look in
Acts chapter two. He had just quoted Psalm 16,
and then he said in verse 29 of Acts chapter 2, after he quoted
this passage in Psalm 16, men and brethren, let me freely speak
unto you of the patriarch David, that
he is both dead and buried and his sepulcher is with us unto
this day. Therefore, being a prophet and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit
of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ
to sit on his throne, He, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection
of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his
flesh did see corruption. Now that passage of scripture
tells us that when David was writing this psalm, he knew exactly
what he was saying. He knew that he was speaking
of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let's go to
Psalm 16, and let's keep that in mind as we read this Psalm
together. When David wrote this, David
knew he was writing of the Christ. Now look in Psalm 16. Preserve me, O God, For in thee do I put my trust. Now remember, this was Christ
speaking. Yes, it's David speaking, but preeminently, it's Christ
speaking. Oh my soul, thou hast said unto
the Lord, thou art my Lord. My goodness extendeth not to
thee, but to the saints that are in the earth. and to the
excellent in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied
that hasten after another God. Their drink offerings of blood
will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The Lord is the portion of mine
inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The
lines are falling to me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly
heritage. I will bless the Lord who has
given me counsel. My reigns also instruct me in
the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before
me because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore,
my heart is glad and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall
rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of
life, in thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there
are pleasures forevermore. Now this is quoted by both Peter
and Paul in their first public addresses as referring to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now would you turn with
me back to Acts chapter 2 and see how Peter uses this. Acts chapter 2 verse 23. This is that great sermon on
the day of Pentecost. Him being delivered by the determinant
counsel and for knowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain whom God hath raised from the
dead. He's raised him up, having loosed
the pains of death because it was not possible that he should
be holding of it for David. Now he's quoting Psalm 16. For
David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before
my face, for he is at my right hand that I should not be moved.
This is Christ speaking, David says. Therefore did my heart
rejoice and my tongue was glad. Moreover, also my flesh shall
rest in hope, because thou will not leave my soul in hell, neither
wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. known to me
the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy
with thy countenance." Now that was in Psalm 16. Look in Acts
chapter 13 beginning in verse 33. This is
Paul's first public message. God hath fulfilled the same unto
us, their children, and that he hath raised up Jesus again,
as it's also written in the second Psalm, thou art my son this day,
have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised
him up from the dead, now no more to see corruption, he saith
on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore,
he also saith in another Psalm, the one we were just reading,
thou shalt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption. For David, after he had served
his own generation, by the will of God, fell on asleep. And he
was laid into his father's and saw corruption. But he whom God
raised up again saw no corruption. Be it known therefore unto you,
my brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the
forgiveness of sin." So we see in Psalm 16, this is used to
demonstrate and to reveal the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now let's go back to Psalm 16. Look at each verse. The Lord says, and David says
this as well, but this is, we see David knew when he was writing
this psalm, he was speaking of Christ. Preserve me, O God, for
in thee do I put my trust. Now we pray this prayer, don't
we? Lord, preserve me. What'll happen to you if the
Lord doesn't preserve you? How bad will you go? How bad will
I go? We pray, Lord, preserve me. But this is the Lord Jesus Christ
praying this prayer. Lord, preserve me. He trusted his Father completely. Lord, preserve me, for in thee
do I put my trust. Oh my soul, verse two, thou hast
said unto the Lord, thou art my Lord. My goodness extendeth
not to thee, but to the saints that are in the earth and to
the excellent in whom is all my delight. Now listen to this,
my goodness. Who's the only one who could
speak of his goodness? If I said, my goodness, it'd be wrong, wouldn't
it? There's only one good, that's the Lord. The Lord Jesus is speaking
and it says, my goodness, it doesn't extend to you. What's
he mean by that? My righteousness is no addition
to yours. It doesn't extend to you. It
extends to the saints that are in the earth. This is talking
about the righteousness of Jesus Christ, his goodness, his righteousness,
his law keeping, being counted to his Now, my goodness doesn't
extend to you. It extends to the saints which
are in the earth. And look how they're described.
The excellent in whom is all my delight. This is how the Lord views his
people. He views you as the excellent of the earth. In whom is all
his delight. This is how the Lord views his
people, the excellent of the earth in whom is all his delight. Go on reading. Verse four, their
sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another God. Their drink offerings of blood
will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. Now, those who hasten after a
false God, now remember this, God is who he is. And any presentation
of God that is not like the God of the Bible is a false God. Now, the Lord says those who
hasten after another God, A false God, a false concept of God. God said, I am that I am. I'm
so thankful He said that. I am that I am. God is as He
is. And any God presented that's
not this God, the God of the Bible, is a false God. Now, the Lord says, Their sorrows
shall be multiplied that hasten after another God. Their drink
offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their name
into my lips. Now what that is talking about
is the intercession of Christ. If I hasten after another God,
what Christ did will do me no good. He's not gonna take my
name into his lips and present my name before the Father. And
that's my only hope is that the Lord represents me. And if he
doesn't represent me, I have no hope. That's what the intercession
of Christ means. It means He brings my name before
the Father and says, He's one of mine. I represented Him. And
if I hasten after a false God, a false concept of God, I've
proved by that I don't know the living God. And he says, what
I have done is gonna be of no benefit whatsoever to them. Those
that hasten after another God, I won't take their names in my
mouth. My sacrifice is not for them. Let's go on reading verse
five. The Lord is the portion of mine
inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. Now, what an inheritance. The
Lord is the portion of mine inheritance. And when we think of inheritance,
we think of what we'll get, how much money we'll get, how, well,
the Lord says the Lord himself is my inheritance. He's the portion
of my cup. What an inheritance he is, and
listen to this. If you're a believer, you're
a joint heir with Christ. All that is coming to him is
coming to you. He said, the Lord is the portion
of my inheritance. Thou maintainest my lot. He maintains us, that's his part
of preserving us, verse six. The Lord says, the lines are
fallen unto me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. Everything's going to be for
my good. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ is saying. And that's
the reason everything is going to be good for the believer is
because everything's good for Christ. That's why we can count
on all things working together for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to his purpose, because everything
is good for Christ. You see, The father delights
in the son and he's given all things into his hand. And that's why he makes this
statement. I have a goodly heritage. Verse seven. He says, I will
bless the Lord who has given me counsel. My reigns also instruct
me in the night seasons. I'll bless the Lord. Now this
is talking about his love for his father. He's given me counsel. You see, The Lord Jesus Christ
trusted his father, even in the dark. And that can't describe
me and you. I wish it did. But as soon as
something goes wrong, we're questioning everything. but not the Lord. He said, he's given me counsel.
My reigns also instruct me in the night seasons. And I have
no doubt that's talking about when the whole earth turned dark
and he was left in the darkness on Calvary's tree. Now look what
he says in verse eight. He says, I have set the Lord
always before me. Now who could say that but Christ?
Could you say that? For one thing, I would feel uncomfortable
saying, I've set the Lord anywhere. I can't do that, he's God. I
can't set him somewhere. But he who is equal with his
father, he said, I've set the Lord always before me. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could
say that. He is at my right hand, I shall
not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and
my glory rejoices. My flesh also shall rest in hope."
And I don't have any doubt that when he says that, he's talking
about his dead body. His flesh will rest. He never went through
the process of decay. What happened during those three
days of his death, I have no idea. But he says, my flesh shall
rest in hope. That's so incredible to me to
think that Jesus Christ, the God-man, died. That's one of
the most mysterious things. He died. I know why he died. Sin, the sins of his people became
his. He became guilty of the commission
of those sins and the father killed him. The soul that sinneth
shall surely die. Jesus Christ died because the
sins of his people became his. But look what it says in verse
10, four. Now here's why my flesh shall
rest in hope. And he's talking about when he's in that tomb.
Here's why my flesh shall rest in hope. Dwell confidently in
hope. 4, verse 10, Thou wilt not leave
my soul in hell in the grave, neither wilt thou suffer thine
Holy One to see corruption. Now this is used by both Peter
and Paul in their first sermons with regard to the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the very heart and soul
of the gospel of Jesus Christ is found in his resurrection. Now, when you and I die, you
know what's gonna happen? The process of decay will begin. and I don't know what all's involved
in that, but it's not very pleasant. You know that. The process of
decay will begin. When the Lord Jesus Christ died,
there was no process of decay. That's why he said, my flesh
shall rest in hope. And the reason there was no process
of decay is because the moment he died, all the sins of God's
people were put away, paid for, and God said with everybody that
Jesus Christ died for, I am satisfied with them. They have no sin. They are perfect in my sight. Now what a glorious thing that
is to think of, and that's what the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ tells us, it tells me that right now while I'm speaking
to you, aware of my own sinfulness, aware of my own weakness, and
I could go on and on about that, and you could too, but when God
sees me, he sees someone that's never sinned. That's what his
death, his life, his death, and his resurrection accomplished.
God looks at me and he sees someone who has never sinned, who has
always done that which is right, and has never done anything that
is wrong. That's how God sees you if you're
a believer. And let me remind you how God sees things is the
way they really are. The way we see things, well,
we don't see very clearly. but the way God sees things are
the way they really are. And that's what the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ tells us. And this is what he is speaking
of. Acts chapter two, Acts chapter 13, thou will not leave my soul
in hell or in the grave. Don't you love to think about
the Lord being dead in that tomb, darkness, and all of a sudden
he opens his eyes. He breathes. He's been raised
from the dead. And nobody witnessed this but
the father. But he gets up, takes his grave clothes off. I don't
know how the stone was rolled away. Maybe it was an angel.
Maybe he just willed it out of the way. And he walked out of
that tomb. The living Lord Jesus Christ.
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what a glorious
thing to celebrate. Now, for thou wilt not leave
my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the Holy One, isn't He? I love the way
He calls Himself the Holy One. He's the Holy One. And everybody in Him is holy,
but only He is holy in and of Himself. He's the Holy One. will not leave my soul in hell,
neither wilt thou suffer. Allow thine Holy One to see corruption
decay." Now, I think it's interesting as we were reading in Acts, let's
go back there. Hold your finger there and go
back to Acts chapter 2. This is Peter's great sermon
on the day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2. Notice he says in verse 24, whom
God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death. Now look
at this next phrase, because it was not possible. Under no circumstance was it
possible for him to stay dead. Now, why was it not possible?
Because He put away the sins of everybody He died for. And
those sins are gone. And the only reason for sin is,
the only reason for death is sin. And if there is no sin,
there's no death. He was raised up. It was not
possible for Him to be holding of death because of His achievements
on Calvary's tree. That is what He accomplished. And look what it says in verse
11. Thou wilt show me the path of
life. In thy presence is fullness of
joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures
forevermore. Now, I love to think of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's speaking of knowing that
he's gonna be raised from the dead. He says, thou wilt show
me the path of life. even though I'm going to be.
dead in that tomb, you will show me the path of life. You see,
he believed his father completely, even when he was on the cross.
He knew he was gonna die and he knew God was gonna raise him
from the dead. Yet he was in utter darkness. He didn't have
any light from his father. He felt no favor from his father. Yet in spite of all that, he
never quit believing God. He said, you will show me the
path of life. I know that for a fact, it's
gonna happen. you will show me the path of
life. In thy presence is fullness of joy." And he knew he was going
to be brought and ushered into the very presence of God where
there's fullness of joy. Now, I don't even know what all
that means, neither do you, neither does anybody else, but it sure
sounds glorious, doesn't it? the joy that exists between the
Father and the Son, fullness of joy, and every believer possesses
that in the Lord Jesus Christ. This fullness of joy we have. Fullness, not partial. Fullness
of joy. The fullness of joy is seen in
the complete acceptance we have in the Beloved. The complete
salvation we have in the Beloved. There's fullness of joy at thy
right hand. There are pleasures For evermore,
the place He set down at the Father's right hand, there's
fullness of joy and pleasures evermore. Now I wanna close by
looking at Ephesians chapter two. Verse one, and you, Hath he quickened
who were dead in trespasses and sins? Now that doesn't mean we were
physically dead. Physical death is the end of
that. But we were dead in trespasses and sins in the sense of what
can a dead man do with regard to life? Nothing. Can't breathe,
can't feel, can't see, can't taste. He can't do anything. And the spiritually dead man
can't do anything with regard to spiritual life. He can't believe,
he can't repent, he can't love, he can't see God, he can't see
himself. He can't, he's dead. And you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sin, where in times past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, Even as others, but God. There's the difference. Not that you turned it around.
Not that you of your own free will accepted Jesus Christ as
your personal savior. But God. That's the difference. Somebody
once said, here's what grace is. But God. But God, who is rich in mercy,
For his great love, wherewith he loved us even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. Now notice that, quickened us
together with Christ. When Christ was raised from the
dead, you know who else was? Everybody he represented. Notice
the language, he quickened us together with Christ. When Christ
opened his eyes, I'll open mine eyes. When Christ was raised
perfect before the Father, so was every believer. Let's go
on reading. Even when we were dead in sins,
hath quickened us together with Christ by grace, ye are saved. Now remember the way he was talking
about it, thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. Well,
look at this, verse six. And he hath raised us up together. and made us sit together in heaven
in Christ Jesus. Now, at his right hand, there are
pleasures ever more. Jesus Christ is at his right
hand, and so is everybody that he died for. And we're seated
together right now. I've heard people say, well,
I'm for sure for heaven is if I was just as if I was already
there. Well, for one thing, when somebody
says something like that, they're kind of exposing the fact that
I, I doubt that you're really that sure you're, you're saying
that, but I don't, I don't believe you, but I'm not as sure for
heaven is if I were already there, I'm already there. In Christ
Jesus, I am already there. And in His right hand, there
are pleasures evermore.