Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 16:1 and following. Indeed, as the quotations made of it in the book of Acts show (Ac 2:22-28 and Ac 13:30-37), this psalm applies directly to the Man Christ Jesus. Besides, who else but Him would dare to declare, “I have always proposed the Lord before me”? We contemplate Him here, not as the Savior (this will be Psalm 22), but as the Model, not as the Son of God, but as the Man of faith: As the Son of God, He does not need to be kept and His goodness merges with that of God Himself (Mk 10:17-23). But trust, dependence, patience, faith, in short all the feelings that we see shining in this psalm towards a known and honored God are human feelings. To manifest them in perfection, Christ came to live on earth (and under what conditions!) the life of a man… but of a sinless man: He appears to us to be subject to God, the Lord; finding his joy in believers; in the part that the Father has reserved for him (Heb 12:1-3); finally in Jehovah Himself. He is confident until death itself. Wonderful path that made the delights of his God! A path that He has also made for us to walk in His footsteps!
For the Holy Spirit, quoting this psalm in Acts 2:25-28, reveals to us that here we have the words of Jesus through the mouth of David. Christ speaks as aware of dwelling in the house of God, as a priest or worshipper. Therefore there is no other Lord for him, and he wants to receive an inheritance only from God (as does Aaron the priest – Nb 18:20), considering this to be the best part. And it’s in constant communion with God that he wants to draw his trust and joy, his praise and hope. The very first act of this worshipper is to trust in Jehovah, recognizing that he cannot bring anything to Jehovah, for he must receive everything from Him. See the contrast with the worship of Israel (Ps. 2) and the worship of the Gentiles (Acts 17). It is easy and natural to recall here Jesus’ response to the young leader of the people in Luke 18. In the moral perfection of the place he had taken, the Son as a man could say that no one was good but God alone.
Although it’s true that Christ was not a priest for us before his resurrection (Heb. 5:8-10), and that he did not aarrogate to himself any similar office, the fact remains that he was a priest, or worshipper, for God throughout his life here on earth, manifesting in his person all the virtues suitable for such an office, always walking in the holiness of the sanctuary, and always making God the portion of his inheritance. What a fragrance, what a perfect incense rising uninterruptedly, was the life of Jesus considered in this aspect! What an exquisite cake offering in all his deeds and words!
“Your Saint” is the flesh of Jesus (Acts 2:27, 31). This title originates in Luke 1:35, a passage where the Holy Spirit establishes that Jesus’ human nature was free from filth, and presents it as constantly and fully the object of God’s favor and delight. Forin Ps. 16 we begin an important series of Psalms, those in which the relationship of Christ himself with the residue is presented to us by the divine Spirit: In Ps. 16, Christ formally takes his place in the midst of the residue. This Psalm is quoted by the apostle Peter in Acts 2. 25-28, and by Paul in Acts 13:35, to prove Christ’s resurrection, and the allusion to it in Hebrews 2:13, “I will trust in him,” is intended to show his participation in human nature.
Let’s add that it is not with the heavenly saints that he associates, and that those of whom he speaks here, are not united with him in heaven; – but he associates himself with them. Foruelque can enter the sky by this path of life of which he himself has traced the imprint, but he associates himself with them and he associates himself under this name of “excellent of the earth”. Notice moreover that the whole Psalm breathes this spirit and carries this character of dependence so precious to the poor residue. It is not here: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19); – what was taking a divine place: his body was a temple, – he raised it himself! But here he relies as a man on the Lord, perfect in this position as in the first.
For the Messiah, as a man, expects God, that God will keep him. He takes the position of man, not only as a Jew invoking Jehovah, but as a man before God: he puts his trust in God, and this principle of trust is presented in Hebrews 2:13, as a testimony that the Messiah is the true man. Then he takes the position of servant, saying to Jehovah: – for he now takes his position before him – “You are my ‘Adon’, my Lord”, and this is a well-defined and distinct position. Moreover, he does not take this position in divine goodness towards other people, but he places himself before God as a man: “My goodness,” he said, “does not rise to you”, as we see him respond to the young man who approached him calling him good Master: “Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, God (Luke 18:19). But, although in truth he is really alone, if we consider him in his relationship with man, for all were sinners, he takes his place with the residue, “the excellent of the earth”. He does not want to be told of God, if not of Jehovah: the miseries of those who run after another will be multiplied.
In Christ, no doubt, all this was perfect. At the same time as we judge all things by the Word, we must not neglect this work of the soul pushed and taught by God: we find in it the thought of the Spirit in moral discernment. Next to this direction, there was the positive purpose of the heart: he had always proposed the Lord before him! He had no other guide, and because Jehovah was always near, and at his right hand, he would not be shaken. It was not self-dependence, but it was trust in Jehovah, and truly the way of life, though not yet manifested in visible power (Rom 1:4). That is why he will rejoice through everything and pass through death with cloudless faith; his flesh will rest in assurance; as a man, he did not fear death. The Lord in whom he has entrusted himself, will not leave his soul to the sheol, nor will he allow his holy way to be corrupted. The soul and the body, although going respectively where the spirits of the dead go and where their bodies smell of corruption, will be neither one left to the sheol, nor the other affected by corruption.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Joy of a man saved from death:
· Providence sustains, it preserves the faithful
Dt 6:24 Jehovah commanded us to put all these laws into practice, and to fear Jehovah, our God, that we might always be happy, and that He would keep our lives, as He does today. Ps 31:24 Love the Lord, you who have godliness! The Lord guards the faithful, and He severely punishes the proud. Ps 37:28 For the Lord loves righteousness, and he does not abandon his faithful; They are still in his custody, but the seed of the wicked is entrenched. Pr 2.8 By protecting the paths of righteousness and keeping the way of his faithful. 2 Tim 4:18 The Lord will deliver me from all evil work, and He will save me to bring me into His celestial kingdom. To him be the glory to the centuries of the centuries! Amen!
· Abandonment of God, examples
Dt 28:20 The Lord will send curse, trouble, and threat against you in the midst of all the endeavors you will make, until you are destroyed, until you perish promptly, because of the wickedness of your actions, which will have led you to abandon me. Jg 10:13 But you have forsaken me, and you have served other gods. That is why I will no longer deliver you. 1 Kings 11:33 And this, because they forsaken me, and prostrated themselves before Astarte, the deity of the Sidonians, before Kemosch, god of Moab, and before Milcom, god of the sons of Ammon, and because they did not walk in my ways to do what is right in my eyes and to keep my laws and ordinances, as did David, Solomon’s father. Ezr 9:10 Now, what shall we say after that, O our God? For we have abandoned your commandments, Isaiah 43:22, and you have not invoked me, O Jacob! For you have grown tired of me, O Israel!
· Divine Counsel
Ps 16:7 I bless the Lord, my counselor; That very night my heart exhorts me. Ps 73:24 You will lead me by your counsel, and then you will receive me in glory. Isa 11:2 The Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon Him: Spirit of wisdom and intelligence, Spirit of counsel and strength, Spirit of knowledge and fear of Jehovah. Jer 32:19 You are great in counsel and powerful in action; You have your eyes open to all the ways of the children of men, To give back to each according to his ways, According to the fruit of his works. Rev 3:18 I advise you to buy from me gold tested by fire, that you may become rich, and white clothes, that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear, and eye drops to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
· Joy promised to believers
Neh 8:10 They said to them, Go, eat fatty meats and drink sweet liquors, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, for this day is dedicated to our Lord; do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord will be your strength. Ps 16:11 Thou shalt make known to me the path of life; There are abundant joys before your face, Eternal delights to your right. Ps 30:6 For his wrath lasts for a moment, but his grace all his life; In the evening come the tears, and in the morning the joy. Jn 16:24 So far you have not asked for anything on my behalf. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be perfect. Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy, through the Holy Spirit.
From all the above, we note that the prophetic Spirit of Christ recognizes Jehovah alone, and only after all this idolatry has been removed, will in the days to come he rejoice in the share that the Lord has given him with the “excellent of the earth.” The certainty of this hope is linked to the resurrection, which is the necessary condition for its fulfillment, and which the favor of the Lord assures to his Anointed, by virtue of that power that will not suffer only his Holy Way, corruption. This is why the apostle alludes to the “assured graces of David” (Acts 13:34), that is, to the fulfillment of all of God’s promises to Israel, as proof that Christ had to rise from the dead to no longer see corruption. Nothing, except his death, can be more beautiful than the expression of the Feelings of the Lord given to us in this Psalm, in which he himself expresses the position he has taken and taken with the saints. The Lord is his part! How true this has been! What else did he have but Jehovah? However, he took pleasure in the saints. Don’t we see that he took pleasure in his disciples? From the first step of the spiritual life in the faithful of the residue, manifested in their submission to the baptism of repentance preached by John, he identifies with them, he who certainly did not need repentance; and so, as a faithful man, an Israelite, he always proposes the Lord before him. Thus, even in death, he entrusts himself in himself for the resurrection, the way of life through and in spite of death (the path he has opened for us); and there, he knows, the Lord, God, the presence of his Father, is a fullness of joy, –there are pleasures at his right hand forever”. It is the highest joy, the own joy of the soul and Spirit of Christ: – not the glory, but the presence of God. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the Lord is my shepherd.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.