Psalm 16

“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 rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:8-11 (NKJV)

Here, in Psalm 16, David is speaking prophetically and pleading emphatically. He begins with desperation, “Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.” Obviously, David has found himself in a jam only God could get him out of. It is not unlike many prayers that you or I have prayed, looking for a way through a dilemma for which we cannot imagine a solution. But David’s situation leads us to believe that he feels he may not make it out alive. So, he is declaring his belief that if he dies, God will preserve him, resurrecting him from the grave.

Notice his words, “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol (Heb: the grave)….”  

David is declaring his belief, not just in God’s ability to resurrect the dead, but in His willingness to resurrect David, personally, because he has placed his faith in God. For those who hold to the notion that the resurrection of the dead is a purely New Testament idea, this is solid evidence otherwise! But don’t feel lonely; the Old Testament’s teaching (of the resurrection of the dead) was hotly debated, even in the days of Jesus and His apostles.

“Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.’” Acts 23:6 (NIV)

Just when we might believe Psalm 16 is purely a declaration of David’s belief that he will be resurrected, his psalm moves to the subject of Messiah (Jesus) and His resurrection: “…nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” Psalm 16:10b (NKJV)

It should not surprise us that David prophesied about Messiah. After all, the Messiah was also known as “the Son of David.”  However, David was not the only prophet who understood the Messiah’s role. Every single Old Testament prophet plainly saw Jesus and His role & resurrection. (Micah 5:2; Isaiah 53; Psalm 22; Isaiah 9:6)  Furthermore, they all knew there would be no salvation other than Messiah Jesus.  

“All the prophets testify about Him (Messiah) that through His Name everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins.” Acts 10:43 (see also: John 12:41) (NASB)

“This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other Name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12 (NKJV)