Author's Note: This post inaugurates what I intend to be a series where I wonder at the truth of a single verse (in context).
If there is one verse that I've clung to like a drowning man clings to a lifebuoy, it would be Psalm 16:11:
[11] You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
This verse has slayed its share of sin in my life, and it continues to be a trusted sword in my belt of truth.
These words are familiar ground to me; I've tread them many times. Over and over again I've returned to them to remind myself that there is more joy and more pleasure to be found in the Lord than anywhere else. In fact, we don't just find more joy and more pleasure, we find truest joy and truest pleasure in the Lord. This is the path of life. This is what God made us for!
But when I recently revisited this verse, I noticed something — or rather, someone — I hadn't noticed there before: Jesus.
Now, I shouldn't be surprised. Of course Jesus is in this text! All of God’s Word points to Him! But it wasn't just that I saw Jesus here that struck me, it was where I saw him.
Seeing Jesus
So where were my eyes opened to see Jesus?
Not in the cross references, though Psalm 16 is quoted twice in Acts as the apostles proclaim Christ. Peter quotes it in Acts 2 in his sermon at Pentecost immediately following the coming of the Holy Spirit, and Paul quotes it in Acts 13 as he preaches at Antioch in Pisidia. The apostles used Psalm 16 to testify to Christ's resurrection, exaltation, and saving power (more on this in the Doxological Extras below), and the Holy Spirit worked mightily to open the hearts of many to Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior.
Not in the cross references, though Psalm 16 is quoted twice in Acts as the apostles proclaim Christ. Peter quotes it in Acts 2 in his sermon at Pentecost immediately following the coming of the Holy Spirit, and Paul quotes it in Acts 13 as he preaches at Antioch in Pisidia. The apostles used Psalm 16 to testify to Christ's resurrection, exaltation, and saving power (more on this in the Doxological Extras below), and the Holy Spirit worked mightily to open the hearts of many to Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior.
Not in the first line of Psalm 16:11, You make known to me the path of life, though it's clearer than daylight that He is there. He Himself said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the path of life that God makes known in Psalm 16:11. There is no other way, no other truth, no other life.
Not even in the second line, In your presence there is fullness of joy, though Jesus is there too. He says in John 15:9-17 that He has given us His love to abide in and His commandments to keep so that His joy may be in us and our joy may be full (more on this in the Doxological Extras below). This is joy that isn't just full, it abounds and runs over! This is the joy that we find in Jesus and the joy that He finds in the Father and in us. This is the joy that was set before Him for which He endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). This is the joy that made the way for us to enter the presence of God. This is joy that isn't just for eternity but for now too. Our fullness of joy is found in Christ, and it is fully realized as we enter His presence now and in glory.
Not even in the second line, In your presence there is fullness of joy, though Jesus is there too. He says in John 15:9-17 that He has given us His love to abide in and His commandments to keep so that His joy may be in us and our joy may be full (more on this in the Doxological Extras below). This is joy that isn't just full, it abounds and runs over! This is the joy that we find in Jesus and the joy that He finds in the Father and in us. This is the joy that was set before Him for which He endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). This is the joy that made the way for us to enter the presence of God. This is joy that isn't just for eternity but for now too. Our fullness of joy is found in Christ, and it is fully realized as we enter His presence now and in glory.
The Key
It was the last line of Psalm 16:11, At your right hand are pleasures forevermore, that opened my eyes to see Jesus.
The key for me was pondering where the pleasures are found: at God's right hand. But it's more than a matter of what is at God's right hand. It's a matter of who is at God's right hand. There are so many New Testament verses that testify to this, but Hebrews 1:3 says it best, "He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…" Here is Jesus in all His glory, divinity, power, holiness, mission, and exaltation. Here is Jesus at God's right hand.
It was my tendency, and mistake, to read "pleasures forevermore" and imagine a spiritualized treasure trove much like Smaug's hoard of riches. But these pleasures aren't just the best of what the world offers made eternal. These pleasures are all found in Jesus Christ and His excellencies. In Him we find pleasure better and beyond anything this world offers. In Him we find pleasures that will never fade, wither, or grow old. Streets paved with gold? Pfft. Give me Jesus.
The key for me was pondering where the pleasures are found: at God's right hand. But it's more than a matter of what is at God's right hand. It's a matter of who is at God's right hand. There are so many New Testament verses that testify to this, but Hebrews 1:3 says it best, "He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…" Here is Jesus in all His glory, divinity, power, holiness, mission, and exaltation. Here is Jesus at God's right hand.
It was my tendency, and mistake, to read "pleasures forevermore" and imagine a spiritualized treasure trove much like Smaug's hoard of riches. But these pleasures aren't just the best of what the world offers made eternal. These pleasures are all found in Jesus Christ and His excellencies. In Him we find pleasure better and beyond anything this world offers. In Him we find pleasures that will never fade, wither, or grow old. Streets paved with gold? Pfft. Give me Jesus.
As the conclusion of this Messianic psalm, Psalm 16:11 declares that the LORD is better than anything else. It is the truth and wonder of this one verse that opened my eyes to see Jesus here and in all the rest.
Doxological Extras:
1) Stabbed by Joy by Greg Morse and That Kind of Happy by Marshall Segal. It was God's providence that had me discover these articles while writing this post.
2) As the apostles share the Gospel, they use Psalm 16:10, "For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, / or let your holy one see corruption", to testify to Christ's resurrection, exaltation, and saving power. Their reasoning goes something like this:
- David wrote this psalm.
- But David died, was buried, and is still entombed.
- Therefore, this psalm is not about David.
- Therefore, David is not the one speaking in this psalm.
- Furthermore, David was a prophet.
- And David knew that God promised to place one of his descendants on his throne.
- Therefore, David foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that He was not abandoned to the grave, nor did His flesh see corruption.
- Therefore, the speaker in this psalm is Christ.
- Therefore, Christ is the fulfillment of God's promise to David.
- Therefore, Christ is the Messiah.
While there are parallels in Psalm 16 to David's life, it is not truly or mainly about him. Luke 24:44 says, "Then he [Jesus] said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Psalm 16:11 is truest of Jesus, and if we are in Him, it becomes true of us too.
3) Jesus says in John 15:9-17 that He has given us His love to abide in and His commandments to keep so that His joy may be in us and our joy may be full. But according to this text, what is His love and what are His commandments?
The love that Jesus has for us is the same love that the Father has for Him (Jn. 15:9). To put it another way, the love that the Father has for Jesus, who, as His Son, is a member of the Trinity and is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of His nature (i.e., He's perfectly perfect!), is the same love that Jesus has for us. Amazing!
And what is the commandment He has given us? To love one another as He has loved us (Jn. 15:12). So, as the Father loves the Son, and as the Son loves us, we are to love one another. When we see what that love looks like between the Father and the Son, and what that love looks like as the Son lays down His life for us (Jn. 15:13), we begin to understand the greatness of this command. It's staggering.
Mark 12:28-31
[28] And one of the scribes came up, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” [29] Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. [30] And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ [31] The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these."