Skip to main content

341. Pleasures Forevermore

Psalm 16, Acts 2:25-35
Key Verse: "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
Psalm 16:11

What a difference in the meaning of this Psalm depending upon who is speaking it.  When we see it as a poem or hymn written by David, the man after God's own heart, we see it as a testimony, by a man, of God's faithfulness through some difficult times.  David says, "I have set the Lord always before me.  Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."  (Ps. 16:8)  We can understand David in human terms because we ourselves are human and need the reassurance that the Lord is with us and guiding us.

Peter, however, gives this Psalm a whole new meaning when he applies it to Jesus. Jesus can relate to our human frailty and dependence on God, but Peter calls us to look deeper and ascribe these words to Jesus directly as applying to Jesus' own situation.

We see snippets of Psalms mentioned throughout Jesus' ministry and beyond. His disciples, including Paul often quoted from the Psalms because they add so much richness to our understanding of Christ. Even if an entire Psalm was not quoted, the whole quote wasn't usually necessary because just mentioning the Psalm would trigger, for the Jewish listener, the recollection of the entire Psalm. We do the same today. Often, just one line from a song will jog our memory and we go round singing the entire song for the rest of the day. Peter's audience would be very familiar with the Psalms because the Psalms were their hymnal.  When Peter refers to Psalm 16, it isn't necessary for him to go line by line through the entire Psalm to promote understanding. Many of his listeners had "aha!" moments as Peter continued to Speak.

Since we aren't probably as familiar with the Psalm as Peter's audience, perhaps a few lines emphasized will help us to further our understanding of why this Psalm was so appropriate as well. Peter himself highlights the end of the Psalm when he quotes: "I saw the Lord always before Me.  Because He is at My right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore My heart is glad and My tongue rejoices; My body will also live in hope, because You will not abandon Me to the grave, nor will you let Your Holy One see decay. You have made known to Me the paths of life; You will fill Me with joy in your presence."  (Ps. 16:8-11 & Acts 2:25B-28)  Peter points out that this Psalm makes more sense applied to Jesus because, unlike David who did die and whose body has experienced decay, Jesus rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in Glory.

However, let's consider a little more.  Psalm 16:3 says, "As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all My delight." It is those who recognize Jesus for who He is and come to Him that brings Him joy. It was all worth it for those who come to Him.

"Lord, you have assigned Me my portion and my cup." (Sp. 16:5) Remember the cup, in the garden, that the Father would not take away for our sake?  "The boundary lines are set for Me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." Have you ever considered yourself to be Jesus' "delightful inheritance?" It is in Ephesians 1:18 that we are called his inheritance, where is says, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people." HIS glorious inheritance is US! And it was a delightful prospect for Jesus. We know because the writer of Hebrews says, "For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of God the Father."  (Heb. 12:2B) 

Yes, certainly sitting at God's right hand brings Jesus joy, but winning the prize of those who believe is joy to Him as well. Surely, it was Peter's new explanation that helped to bring the response that, as we shall see, he received on that day. May we enjoy that same response as we share with our listeners, in our day.

Hymn: "Holy Spirit"  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

174. Pleading for the Fig Tree

Proverbs 27:18 , Luke 13:6-9 Key Verse: He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who looks after his master will be honored. Proverbs 27:18 We have here three main characters: a master, who acquired the tree in hopes of eventually enjoying its fruit, a servant, who looks to the tree to reflect his care and attention, and lastly, the tree itself. The master has the right to expect his investment to pay off. The servant, who has obviously put much effort into the tree, would also like to see fruit. The servant's interest is not only to show his own talent in gardening, but because he wants to please his master. Both the servant and the master are dependent upon the tree to do what it was designed to do. Their little parable is an interesting way for Jesus to finish off His exhortation to, "repent or perish."  God is the Master. He had a purpose for you before you were even born. ( Jeremiah 1:5 & Psalm 139:16 ) He planted you on this earth to ful...
Post a Comment
Read more

204. Come Like a Child

Psalm 127 , Matthew 19:13-15 , Luke 18:15-17 , Mark 10:13-16 Key Verse: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 The attitude of the disciples isn't much different than the attitude of many people, even Christians, today. Instead of seeing children as a blessing from the Lord, too many regard them as a burden to bear that gets in the way of our own selfish happiness. Family size is determined by what we think we can afford rather than openness to God's blessing, trusting God to provide. Satan hates children. Children represent innocence. The sooner he can corrupt and or damage a child, the happier he is. This is why Jesus warned in Matthew 18:6: "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drown in the depths of the sea." To corrupt or damage ...
Post a Comment
Read more