Reading: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Psalm 16:10
In this Psalm David flees to God’s protection with cheerful, believing confidence. Those who have avowed that the Lord is their Lord, should often put themselves in mind of what they have done, take the comfort of it, and live up to it. He devotes himself to the honour of God, in the service of the saints. Saints on earth we must be, or we shall never be saints in heaven.
David declares his resolution to have no fellowship with the works of darkness; he repeats the solemn choice he had made of God for his portion and happiness, takes to himself the comfort of the choice, and gives God the glory of it. This is the language of a devout and pious soul. Those that have God for their portion, have a goodly heritage. Return unto thy rest, O my soul, and look no further. But so ignorant and foolish are we, that if left to ourselves, we shall forsake our own mercies for lying vanities.
In our text David speaks concerning Christ, and particularly of His resurrection. But Christ being the head of the body, the church, this verse may be applied to all Christians, guided and animated by the Spirit of Christ; and we may hence learn that it is our wisdom and duty to set the Lord always before us. And if our eyes are ever toward God, our hearts and tongues may ever rejoice in Him. Death destroys the hope of man, but not the hope of a real Christian. Christ’s resurrection is an earnest of the believer’s resurrection. In this world sorrow is our lot, but in heaven there is joy, a fulness of joy; our pleasures here are for a moment, but those at God’s right hand are pleasures for evermore. Through this thy beloved Son, and our dear Saviour, thou wilt show us, O Lord, the path of life; thou wilt justify our souls now, and raise our bodies by thy power at the last day; when earthly sorrow shall end in heavenly joy, pain in everlasting happiness.
“Gracious persons, though they still covet more of God, never covet more than God”—Matthew Henry
Adapted from Matthew Henry
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