Let me read you the first verse
of that song in our hymn book. I'm so thankful the words were
changed. I'm pressing on the upward way, new heights I'm gaining
every day. Still praying as I'm onward bound,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. Lord, lift me up and
let me stand by faith on heaven's table land, a higher plane than
I have found. Lord, plant my feet on higher
ground. I like that a lot better. Not
this, that. Let's turn back to Psalm 16.
I've entitled this message, The Resurrection Psalm. Now look at the title, Mictum
of David, and these titles are inspired. They're in the original. And my marginal reading calls
this the Golden Psalm. I love that title. And indeed,
it's speaking of the most glorious subject that I think can be spoken
of, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of our hope,
all of our message, all of God's glory, all of God's character
is manifest in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. So
I can see why this is called the golden song. And Peter quotes this as the
focal point of his sermon preached in Acts chapter two, when the
Lord used this message 3,000 people to saving knowledge of
his son. Remember how the Lord opened
their understanding that they could understand the scriptures
and now they could go to Psalm 16 and probably before they never
understood it, but now they see the gospel of the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. So clearly, and Paul quotes it
in his first recorded message in Acts chapter 13. But would
you turn with me to Acts chapter two? We'll get back to this Psalm,
but I wanna look at how Peter used it in Acts chapter two. Let's begin in reading in verse
22. And let me comment before I begin
reading these words. Actually, I read these words
last week, but this is the way the gospel ought to be preached. This is where Peter begins. I
dare say that. I don't think I would be exaggerating
to say that 99% of the preachers would never begin here, but this
is where Peter begins. You men of Israel, hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God
did by him in the midst of you. As you yourselves also know,
him being delivered, and I love this language, by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. The reason he was delivered
was not because you got him, it's because God delivered him.
Now you with wicked hands crucified and slew him. It's your fault,
but he was delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of
God. Verse 24, whom God hath raised
up, having loose the pains of death because it was not possible
that he should be holding of it. It was not possible for him
to stay dead. Yes, he died, but it was not possible. It was not
within the realm of possibility for him to stay dead. Verse 25,
for David speaketh concerning him. Now that's the Psalm we
just read, Psalm 16. And it says, David speaketh concerning
him. David knew what he was talking
about. David knew that these words were not words concerning
David. He knew they were words concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. David speaketh concerning him. Anytime we speak, that ought
to be our subject. He speaketh concerning him. I foresaw the Lord always before
my face, for he is on my right hand that I should not be moved.
Therefore did my heart rejoice. My tongue was glad, moreover
also my flesh shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell. Neither wilt thou suffer thine
holy one to see corruption or decay. Thou hast made known to
me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy
with thy countenance." Now that's a direct quote from that psalm
I just read. Now look at Peter's comment.
Men and brethren, Let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch,
David, that he's both dead and buried. And his sepulcher is
with us unto this day. It's got the dirt that at one
time made his body. Therefore, being a prophet, David,
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, Seeing this before
spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not
left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption." Now, when
David was writing this psalm, he knew exactly what he was talking
about. He was talking about the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Paul used this as well,
if you turn to Acts chapter 13 for a moment. Verse 35. Wherefore he saith also in another
Psalm, thou shalt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption.
Quoting Psalm 16, for David, after he'd served his own generation
by the will of God, fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers
and saw corruption. He rotted and decayed just like
you and I will. But he whom God raised again
saw no corruption. His body did not decay. And this is an announcement of
his resurrection and the satisfaction that came from him being raised
from the dead. His body saw no decay because
of God's infinite satisfaction with what he did. God said, I'm
satisfied. Now, if you're in him, you know
what that means? God is satisfied with you. And there's nothing
you can do to make him more satisfied. There's nothing you can do to
make yourself more accepted. All of his satisfaction is in
the resurrection of his son. When his son was raised from
the dead, God said, I am satisfied with what he did and all of those
in him. In Spurgeon's treasury of David,
he made this statement. I don't usually quote people,
but I want to quote this. It has been the plan of commentators
to apply the psalm to David, to the saints and the Lord Jesus
Christ. This was David speaking of his
experience. This is all the saints experience.
And this is the experience of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then
Spurgeon says with regard to this psalm, like the apostles
on the Mount, we can see no man. to save Jesus only. These are
the words of the Lord Jesus in his experience in the first person. They cannot be applied to anyone
but him. It's not David speaking of his
experience or the experience of the saints. This is the Lord
Jesus Christ speaking in the first person, giving us this
with regard to his resurrection. Psalm 16, verses 10 and 11. For thou wilt
not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one
to see decay. Thou wilt show me the path of
life, in thy presence is fullness of joy, at thy right hand there
are pleasures forevermore. Now that's obviously only the
Lord speaking, but the whole Psalm is only the Lord. The resurrection Psalm. Now let's
go to verse one. He says, preserve me, O God,
for in thee do I put my trust. Now he's asking to be preserved. Now somebody says, why would
he even have to ask that if he's the God man? Somebody had to
trust God completely. Now you'll notice in his life,
he never performed a miracle for himself. He performed miracles
to testify who he is, that other people could see, but when the
devil said, after he'd been fasting 40 days, if you're the son of
God, command that these stones be made bread. Now if I had the
power to do it, if I'd gone 40 days without eating, I'd do it. I'd turn them into bread, and
I'd have me a meal right then. But I can't. I can't. And because I can't, he put himself
in the same position of having to trust his father completely. He trusted his father for his
next meal. He is the one who trusted God
completely. Somebody had to believe God.
Me and you, as soon as something goes wrong, You know the way
we are, but not him. And he depended completely upon
his father. Preserve me, O God, for in thee
do I put my trust. I trust you completely. Now, no man could say that. We
want to, but he did. Anytime we do trust him, we still
have unbelief, don't we? Help thou mine unbelief. It's
always there, but not him. He never had a moment of unbelief. In thee do I put my trust. Verse two, O 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. Now, the son is saying
to the father, my goodness, my obedience, my righteousness,
my perfection, doesn't add anything to you. Nothing could add anything to
the glorious God. My goodness doesn't add anything
It's not extended toward you. It doesn't do anything to make
you more glorious than you already are. My goodness doesn't extend
to thee, but here's where his goodness extends, but to the
saints that are in the earth and to the excellent in whom
is all my delight. Now the saints, the holy ones,
the excellent of the earth in whom is all my delight. Now,
what he's saying is, My goodness, my perfection, that perfect righteousness
that I worked out, it's no benefit to you, but it is to them. Oh, how it is extended to them. Now here's what that means. That
means His righteousness is mine. It's extended to me. And understand, His righteousness,
and I said this, I touched on it this morning, let me say it
again. His righteousness is not a cover-up for my sinfulness.
His righteousness makes me righteous through and through, perfect
in God's sight, without sin, without fault. I love it when
he said to John the Baptist, when he had come to be baptized
of John, and John said, you baptized me? I need to be baptized of
thee. He said, suffer it to be so now. I love the way he said
that. He was saying to John, I know how this just seems completely
inappropriate. You're a sinner and I'm the holy
son of God. I understand that. Suffer it to be so now, for thus
it becometh us. Now he's not just speaking about
him and John, he's talking about every believer. Thus it becometh. us to fulfill all righteousness. Hold your finger there in Psalm
16 and turn to Revelation 19. Verse eight, Let's look at verse 7. Let us
be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage
of the lamb has come and his wife hath made herself ready
and to her was granted graciously bestowed that she should be arrayed
in fine linen clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness
of Christ imputed to the saints. I didn't say that right, did
I? Now, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the saints.
There's no question about that. We love righteousness imputed. Now, I don't like the term imputed
righteousness, where imputed is used as an adjective to describe
righteousness. No, there's no such thing as
imputed righteousness. There's only righteousness imputed. Imputation is always a verb.
It's given to us. It is ours. This fine linen,
clean and white, is the righteousness of the saints. My personal righteousness,
my obedience. The obedience of Christ is the
righteousness of the saints. And that's what the Lord is saying.
My righteousness, my goodness, my faithfulness, my law keeping,
whatever you want to, Say with regard to me, it's not extended
to you. You're the God of glory, but
is extended to the saints, the holy ones. He's talking about
his church. He's talking about all of his elect. The excellent
of the earth. Look at the way the Lord describes
his people. The excellent of the earth. What a description. He's talking
about every one of his people. The excellent of the earth. In whom is all my delight. Thou art all fair, my love, there
is no spot in thee. This is the way he regards his
people. The excellent of the earth, in
whom is all his delight. What a glorious savior. This
is how every believer is. in his sight. And let me remind
you, he only sees things as they really are. If he says you're the excellent
of the earth in whom is all his delight, that's because you are
through his comeliness, the excellent of the earth in whom is all his
delight. Now look what he says next in
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 name into my lips. Now,
what I thought of when I read that verse is Jonah's words from
the belly of the whale, when he said, they that observe lying
vanities forsake their own mercy. Now here, he's talking about
hastening after a false God. And he says, He said they, verse
four, their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after
another God. Their drink offerings of blood
I'll not offer, nor take up their name into my lips. Now, any God
that is not the God of the Bible, any God that is presented, that
is inconsistent with the attributes of God, is a false God. Now,
God is, as he reveals himself to be, a God that's not absolutely
sovereign, a God that's not absolutely just, a God that's not absolutely
holy, a God that's not immutable, a God that's not independent,
a God that's not gracious, a God that is not love. If I present
a God like that, I'm not preaching the God of the Bible. I'm hasting
after another God. A God that cannot save. I think
of that passage in Isaiah 45 says they have no knowledge who
pray into a God who cannot save. Any God that is not the God of
the Bible with all of his attributes is a God that cannot save. Now, what does the Lord say about
those who hasten after this God? He says, their sorrow should
be multiplied. And that's talking about being
multiplied in hell. Their sorrow should be multiplied that hasten
after another God. Their drink offerings of blood
I'll not offer, nor take up their name into my lips. I won't resent
their name to the father. I won't do it. Now that's what
the Lord is saying. I'm not going to intercede for
them. Now this is who he is, and he
is intolerant. And I use that word carefully,
reverently. He is intolerant of a false God
or a false representation of God. He said, I won't. The only
thing you're gonna hear from him, if you hasten, if I hasten
after another God, if I preach another God, here's all I'll
hear. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. I never knew you. Now this is the Lord speaking.
This is him speaking from this psalm. Now let's go on reading.
Verse five. This is the son speaking of his
father. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my
cup. Thou maintainest my lot. Now the son delights in the father. The father delights in the son. The spirit delights in the father. The spirit delights in the son.
The father delights in the spirit. I just love to think of the unity
of the Trinity and their love one toward another. Oh, they
worship one another. They delight in one another. And it's God the Spirit that
maintains this. When the Lord says this, the
Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest
my lot. The lines. And that word lines
in verse six, thou maintainest my lot, you preserve my lot,
my inheritance, the lines, and that word lines means the boundaries,
the boundaries. The lines are fallen unto me
in pleasant places, yea, I have a goodly heritage. Now, when he speaks of the lines
or the boundaries, You know, we use the term, I don't know,
you know, I've thought it's a good term sometimes, sometimes I don't
think it's a good term, but right now I do. We use the term limited
atonement. And I can understand where people
get upset with that sometimes when they start thinking, you
say the atonement's limited? Well, everybody limits the atonement.
You either limit it by your free will or God's will, but everybody
limits the atonement. I mean, there's no getting out
of that. But here, the Lord is saying, Saving mercy is limited
to my left. The boundaries, but he says the
lines are fallen to me in pleasant, in good places. He's speaking
of the church. Christ loved the church and gave
himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with
the washing of the water by the word. Now he's saying, this is
where my pleasures are. This is where they're limited.
The church. Everybody who believes, I love
that scripture, Hebrews 12 too, it says, looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before him, the joy of doing his father's will and the joy
he received in saving his church, who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat
down at the right hand Majesty on high. That's how the Lord
views his people. And he says, the lines are falling
into me in pleasant places. Yay, I have a goodly heritage. He's talking about his elect.
He's talking about every believer. That's his heritage. The Lord's
portion is his people. And he sees his people as goodly,
as beautiful is what the word means. His beautiful bride. Thou art all fair, my love. is no spot in thee." Now this
is what he accomplished by his life and by his death, he made
every one of his people holy and unblameable and unapprovable
in his sight. Verse 7, this is still the Lord speaking,
he says, I will bless the Lord. who has given me counsel. My
reigns also instruct me in the night seasons. Now understand
this, anytime we say, I will, it's bad. Is that so? Well, I say, if the Lord will,
we'll do this. But anytime I say, I will bless
thee. Well, I will if he enables me
to. I'm gonna believe God. Well, I will if he enables me
to. Just the term, I will do anything. You know, most of the
quote praise songs going on back here, they, I will bless thee. I will praise thee. I will worship
thee. I will follow thee. That's the
kind of music you hear. It begins with an I will. Now,
anytime a son of Adam begins something with an I will, it's
not good. But he can say this, I will. Father, I will. He speaks to the father as his
equal. Father, I will that they whom
you've given me be with me where I am. And he says, I will bless
thee. And indeed, he blesses his father. He says, I will bless thee who
hath given me counsel. My reigns also instruct me in
the night seasons. Now the night seasons are the
time of darkness. And when was his time of darkness?
When he cried out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It was the night seasons for
him. But even then, his reigns, his
innermost being instructed him. And he was enabled, though he
didn't say, my father, my father, why hast thou forsaken me? He
couldn't at that time. I don't understand that, but
I know He could not address Him as His Father when He was made
sin. But He still said, My God, My
God. Not God against me. My God, My
God. He never quit believing His Father. He never quit trusting His Father
even when He was in His night season, in utter darkness. He said, my God, my God, why
has thou forsaken me? That's the real agony that he
went through when he was separated from his father on the cross. He said in verse eight, I have set the Lord always before
me. Now who's done that for Christ? I have set the Lord always before
me. You know, the first commandment,
thou shall have no other gods before me. How many times have
you broken that? Every time you breathe. Every
time you breathe. Only the Lord can be described
as the one who's always set the Lord before me. That's the first
commandment. He's the one who never made a false god. He's
the one who always reverenced his father. He's the one who
truly rested. He's the one who honored his
mother and father. He's the one who never murdered
anyone. He never committed sexual sin. He never lied. He never
stole. He never coveted without sin. He said, I have set the Lord
always before me because he's at my right hand. I shall not
be moved. What if I said I shall not be
moved? Wouldn't work, would it? But he could say that. I shall
not be moved. As the immovable rock, he is
not moved. Truly Jesus Christ the same,
yesterday, today, and forever. Verse nine, therefore, my heart is glad, and my glory, my majesty, my
excellency rejoiceth My flesh also shall rest in hope. Now, my heart is glad. Once again, this describes the
joy that the Lord received from what he accomplished on Calvary
3. And all we can do is bow and worship. He said, therefore,
my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also shall
rest in hope. Now this is a reference to the
three days of his death. He says, my flesh shall rest
in hope. Now I've said many times, we
don't know what was going on during those three days, but
that's not altogether true. We know his flesh was resting
in hope. Somebody says, explain that to
me. I'm not even going to attempt it. But I know this, his flesh
was resting in hope. He wasn't in hell and he wasn't
going through the process of decay. Look what he says in verse
10. Four, thou will not leave my
soul in hell, in Hades, in death's grip. Neither wilt thou suffer
thine holy one to see corruption. Now this is what both Peter and
Paul used in their sermons, making a big point about the Lord never
suffering decay. The reason he didn't suffer decay,
the millisecond he died, I don't know whatever the word to use,
but the instant he died, God was completely satisfied. Satisfied with him, and satisfied
with everybody in Him. Complete, utter satisfaction. God is satisfied. Now, the reason hell is eternal
is because the death of the sinner can never satisfy the justice
of God. My death could never... If I
was punished eternally, God would never say, that's enough. My
sin is so bad that it would have to go on eternally because it's
against His Son. I'm guilty, you're guilty of
the death of his son. Somebody says it seems wrong
for God to cause somebody to suffer eternally. No, it doesn't. No, it doesn't. Hell is a horrible
thing to think about. I don't like thinking about it,
but I know that God is just and he's never satisfied with a sinner,
even throughout eternity, his justice is never satisfied. But
the second Christ died, God said, I am completely satisfied. My justice is satisfied. My law is satisfied. My purpose is satisfied. He said
regarding this man, I'm completely satisfied with him. Nothing else
is needed. He can't do anything to make
me more pleased. He can't do anything to make
me more happy. He can't do anything to make himself more saved. I
am satisfied because of the death of my son. Now, if Christ lived
and went back to heaven, what good would that do you? None. Condemn me even more. died. And in that death, he satisfied
God. And that is why God raised him
from the dead. That's why death couldn't hold
him down. Complete satisfaction was made. There was no reason
for him to be dead. All the sin that he bore in his
body on the tree was made to be no more. It's gone, extinguished,
separated as far from us as the East is from the West. There
is no sin. That's the satisfaction he accomplished. Thou wilt not leave my soul in
hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Verse 11, thou wilt show me the
path of life. Now he's talking about the resurrection
there, the resurrected life. thou wilt show me the path of
life. Now, I wish we could get a hold
of this, but the life of Jesus Christ is my life before God. And I don't want it to be any
other way. The life of Jesus Christ, he said, I am the way,
I am the truth, I am The life, the only life. His life is the
life of every believer. I love that passage of scripture
in Colossians chapter three, verse four, when Christ, who
is our life, shall appear. He's my life. For me to live
as Christ, that means more than For me to live is to serve Him
and to know Him and to follow Him and to be found in Him. It
means all those things. But for me to live, this doesn't
even make grammatical sense, is Christ. But it makes spiritual
sense, doesn't it? For me to live is Christ. And to die is gain. The best day of my life will
be the day of my death. Because that is the last step
toward perfection. Blessed are the dead that die
in the Lord, that they may have rest from all their labors. That's not talking about all
the work they were doing for Christ. Now they don't have to
do it anymore. They get to sit down and take a nap and rest. No. That's talking about the
labor with sin is over. It is no more. The resurrection song, thou will
show me the path of life in thy presence is fullness of joy. What language? Who can tell what
it's gonna be like to be in heaven in his presence? without sin. We can talk about it, but we
don't understand it. I know that John, when he was speaking of
the return of Christ and us being like him, when we see him as
he is, he said, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it doth not
yet appear what we shall be. John, speaking, writing scripture,
says, we don't know what it's gonna be like to be without sin,
but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is. One last thought, Ephesians chapter
two. The resurrection Psalm. Verse four, 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. By grace are you saved. and hath
raised us up together and made us sit together in heaven. In heaven, no places, in heaven,
in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come, he
might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. The resurrection is solved. It's
a glorious psalm, isn't it? Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
life, the death, the resurrection, the ascension of our Redeemer.
And Lord, we confess that all of our salvation is in him. How we thank you for him. Bless
us for his sake, in his name we pray, amen. Dwayne, give you
ladies a closing hand.