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Commentary on Psalms 16 verses 8–11
All these verses are quoted by St. Peter in his first sermon, after the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of pentecost (Act 2:25-28); and he tells us expressly that David in them speaks concerning Christ and particularly of his resurrection. Something we may allow here of the workings of David's own pious and devout affections towards God, depending upon his grace to perfect every thing that concerned him, and looking for the blessed hope, and happy state on the other side death, in the enjoyment of God; but in these holy elevations towards God and heaven he was carried by the spirit of prophecy quite beyond the consideration of himself and his own case, to foretel the glory of the Messiah, in such expressions as were peculiar to that, and could not be understood of himself. The New Testament furnishes us with a key to let us into the mystery of these lines.
I. These verses must certainly be applied to Christ; of him speaks the prophet this, as did many of the Old Testament prophets, who testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow (Pe1 1:11), and that is the subject of this prophecy here. It is foretold (as he himself showed concerning this, no doubt, among other prophecies in this psalm, Luk 24:44, Luk 24:46) that Christ should suffer, and rise from the dead, Co1 15:3, Co1 15:4.
1.That he should suffer and die. This is implied here when he says (Psa 16:8), I shall not be moved; he supposed that he should be struck at, and have a dreadful shock given him, as he had in his agony, when his soul was exceedingly sorrowful, and he prayed that the cup might pass from him. When he says, "My flesh shall rest," it is implied that he must put off the body, and therefore must go through the pains of death. It is likewise plainly intimated that his soul must go into a state of separation from the body, and that his body, so deserted, would be in imminent danger of seeing corruption - that he should not only die, but be buried, and abide for some time under the power of death.
2.That he should be wonderfully borne up by the divine power in suffering and dying. (1.) That he should not be moved, should not be driven off from his undertaking nor sink under the weight of it, that he should not fail nor be discouraged (Isa 42:4), but should proceed and persevere in it, till he could say, It is finished. Though the service was hard and the encounter hot, and he trod the winepress alone, yet he was not moved, did not give up the cause, but set his face as a flint, Isa 50:7-9. Here am I, let these go their way. Nay, (2.) That his heart should rejoice and his glory be glad, that he should go on with his undertaking, not only resolutely, but cheerfully, and with unspeakable pleasure and satisfaction, witness that saying (Joh 17:11), Now I am no more in the world, but I come to thee, and that (Joh 18:11), The cup that my Father has given me, shall I not drink it? and many the like. By his glory is meant his tongue, as appears, Act 2:26. For our tongue is our glory, and never more so than when it is employed in glorifying God. Now there were three things which bore him up and carried him on thus cheerfully: - [1.] The respect he had to his Father's will and glory in what he did: I have set the Lord always before me. He still had an eye to his Father's commandment (Joh 10:18, Joh 14:31), the will of him that sent him. He aimed at his Father's honour and the restoring of the interests of his kingdom among men, and this kept him from being moved by the difficulties he met with; for he always did those things that pleased his Father. [2.] The assurance he had of his Father's presence with him in his sufferings: He is at my right hand, a present help to me, nigh at hand in the time of need. He is near that justifieth me (Isa 50:8); he is at my right hand, to direct and strengthen it, and hold it up, Psa 89:21. When he was in his agony an angel was sent from heaven to strengthen him, Luk 22:43. To this the victories and triumphs of the cross were all owing; it was the Lord at his right hand that struck through kings, Psa 110:5; Isa 42:1, Isa 42:2. [3.] The prospect he had of a glorious issue of his sufferings. It was for the joy set before him that he endured the cross, Heb 12:2. He rested in hope, and that made his rest glorious, Isa 11:10. He knew he should be justified in the Spirit by his resurrection, and straightway glorified. See Joh 13:31, Joh 13:32.
3.That he should be brought through his sufferings, and brought from under the power of death by a glorious resurrection. (1.) That his soul should not be left in hell, that is, his human spirit should not be long left, as other men's spirits are, in a state of separation from the body, but should, in a little time, return and be re-united to it, never to part again. (2.) That being God's holy One in a peculiar manner, sanctified to the work of redemption and perfectly free from sin, he should not see corruption nor feel it. This implies that he should not only be raised from the grave, but raised so soon that his dead body should not so much as being to corrupt, which, in the course of nature, it would have done if it had not been raised the third day. We, who have so much corruption in our souls, must expect that our bodies also will corrupt (Job 24:19); but that holy One of God who knew no sin saw no corruption. Under the law it was strictly ordered that those parts of the sacrifices which were not burnt upon the altar should by no means be kept till the third day, lest they should putrefy (Lev 7:15, Lev 7:18), which perhaps pointed at Christ's rising the third day, that he might not see corruption - neither was a bone of him broken.
4.That he should be abundantly recompensed for his sufferings, with the joy set before him, Psa 16:11. he was well assured, (1.) That he should not miss of his glory: "Thou wilt show me the path of life, and lead me to that life through this darksome valley." In confidence of this, when he gave up the ghost, he said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit; and, a little before, Father, glorify me with thy own self. (2.) That he should be received into the presence of God, to sit at his right hand. His being admitted into God's presence would be the acceptance of his service and his being set at his right hand the recompence of it. (3.) Thus, as a reward for the sorrows he underwent for our redemption, he should have a fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore; not only the glory he had with God, as God, before all worlds, but the joy and pleasure of a Mediator, in seeing his seed, and the success and prosperity of his undertaking, Isa 53:10, Isa 53:11.
II. Christ being the Head of the body, the church, these verses may, for the most part, be applied to all good Christians, who are guided and animated by the Spirit of Christ; and, in singing them, when we have first given glory to Christ, in whom, to our everlasting comfort, they have had their accomplishment, we may then encourage and edify ourselves and one another with them, and may hence learn, 1. That it is our wisdom and duty to set the Lord always before us, and to see him continually at our right hand, wherever we are, to eye him as our chief good and highest end, our owner, ruler, and judge, our gracious benefactor, our sure guide and strict observer; and, while we do thus, we shall not be moved either from our duty or from our comfort. Blessed Paul set the Lord before him, when, though bonds and afflictions did await him, he could bravely say, None of these things move me, Act 20:24. 2. That, if our eyes be ever towards God, our hearts and tongues may ever rejoice in him; it is our own fault if they do not. If the heart rejoice in God, out of the abundance of that let the mouth speak, to his glory, and the edification of others. 3. That dying Christians, as well as a dying Christ, may cheerfully put off the body, in a believing expectation of a joyful resurrection: My flesh also shall rest in hope. Our bodies have little rest in this world, but in the grave they shall rest as in their beds, Isa 57:2. We have little to hope for from this life, but we shall rest in hope of a better life; we may put off the body in that hope. Death destroys the hope of man (Job 14:19), but not the hope of a good Christian, Pro 14:32. He has hope in his death, living hopes in dying moments, hopes that the body shall not be left for ever in the grave, but, though it see corruption for a time, it shall, at the end of the time, be raised to immortality; Christ's resurrection is an earnest of ours if we be his. 4. That those who live piously with God in their eye may die comfortably with heaven in their eye. In this world sorrow is our lot, but in heaven there is joy. All our joys here are empty and defective, but in heaven there is a fulness of joy. Our pleasures here are transient and momentary, and such is the nature of them that it is not fit they should last long; but those at God's right hand are pleasures for evermore; for they are the pleasures of immortal souls in the immediate vision and fruition of an eternal God.
Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead: And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. [Psalms 16:8-11] For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Blessed Peter in the Acts of the Apostles took these words as applied to the Lord.… He did not, however, take the words as though he were undermining their factual basis, but as more applicable to the Lord than to those of whom they were said, especially since it was also in the case of the Lord that the outcome of the events more appropriately brought out these words than in the case of those who live for a while but later are consigned to death—the Israelites themselves, I mean. Nothing therefore prevents either the factual basis being preserved or these words being understood of the Lord.
Who save him who rose on the third day was in a position to say that his flesh rested in hope, that his soul, not left in hell, would swifty return to reanimate his flesh, that his flesh would not undergo corruption as other corpses rot away? Surely, no one can maintain that all of this was verified in David, king and prophet!
"For You will not leave My soul in hell." For You will neither give My soul for a possession to those parts below. "Neither will You grant Your Holy One to see corruption." Neither will You suffer that sanctified body, whereby others are to be also sanctified, to see corruption.
So at this place, too, Christ the Lord in human fashion says, “Constantly supported by the divine nature, I am in the midst of my saving passion and find gladness in the hope of resurrection. My soul, you see, will not be abandoned in hades, nor will my flesh suffer natural corruption. I shall achieve a rapid resurrection and return to life, giving all people a glimpse of this path.”
This psalm refutes the folly of Arius, of Eunomius and of Apollinaris: the former ones said God the Word assumed a body without a soul, whereas Apollinaris called the body that was assumed ensouled though denying it a rational soul; I do not know where he found his doctrine of these two souls—the divine Scripture nowhere teaches it. Yet the all-Holy Spirit through blessed David made undisguised mention of a soul, thus giving clear refutation of each heresy.
Where are the false statements of the Apollinarians who say that the Lord Christ did not have a rational soul? Here he cries out and gives thanks to the Father because his soul is not abandoned to hell in the normal way, but is glorified by a swift resurrection and has passed to the realms of heaven.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 16:10 stands as a profound declaration of unwavering trust in God's preservation, expressing the psalmist's conviction that his soul will not be abandoned to the grave nor will God's "Holy One" experience the decay of death. While rooted in David's personal walk of faith and hope in divine protection, this verse transcends his individual experience, serving as a pivotal Messianic prophecy that finds its ultimate and unique fulfillment in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, establishing a cornerstone for New Testament theology concerning victory over death and the promise of eternal life.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalms 16:10 employs several significant literary devices that amplify its profound message. Foremost is Parallelism, specifically Synonymous Parallelism, where the two clauses express a similar idea in different words, reinforcing the central message of God's refusal to abandon His chosen one to the permanent grasp of death and decay. "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell" is powerfully echoed and amplified by "neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption," with the second clause adding a crucial, specific detail about physical preservation from decay, thus intensifying the promise. The verse also functions as Prophecy, a forward-looking statement that transcends the immediate context of David's life and points to a future, greater fulfillment that only one individual could perfectly embody. The term "Holy One" can be seen as a Title or Epithet, a specific designation that, in its ultimate fulfillment, identifies a unique and singular individual. Furthermore, the concept of Sheol itself can be understood as a Metonymy for death or the grave, representing the ultimate consequence of mortality, from which God promises a unique deliverance.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse is a theological linchpin, bridging the Old Testament's nascent understanding of the afterlife with the New Testament's full revelation of resurrection. It reveals God's ultimate sovereignty over life and death, demonstrating that even the grave cannot hold His chosen ones permanently. The promise that God's "Holy One" would not see corruption is a unique and precise detail that sets this prophecy apart, laying the groundwork for the Christian understanding of bodily resurrection as a triumph over physical decay. It underscores God's unwavering faithfulness to His covenant promises and His omnipotent power to bring life out of death, transforming the despair of the grave into a confident hope. This passage thus serves as a foundational text for understanding the continuity of God's redemptive plan across the testaments.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalms 16:10 offers profound comfort and an unshakable foundation for hope in the face of life's greatest certainty: death. For the believer, this verse, understood through its fulfillment in Christ, transforms the grave from a terrifying finality into a temporary passage, a mere threshold to eternal life. It assures us that God is not defeated by death but has decisively conquered it through His "Holy One," Jesus Christ. This truth empowers us to live with courage, knowing that our ultimate destiny is not decay and oblivion but resurrection and eternal fellowship with God. It calls us to place our trust wholly in the God who raises the dead, finding deep peace in His sovereign plan even amidst sorrow, loss, and the anxieties of mortality. Furthermore, it strengthens our faith in the absolute reliability and divine inspiration of God's Word, as we witness the meticulous and precise fulfillment of ancient prophecy in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Is this verse primarily about David or Jesus?
Answer: While Psalms 16:10 is found within a psalm attributed to David and reflects his personal confidence in God's protection, its language, particularly "thine Holy One" and the precise promise of "not see corruption," transcends David's personal experience. David himself died and his body experienced decay, as clearly acknowledged by Peter in his sermon in Acts 2:29, stating, "His sepulchre is with us unto this day." The New Testament apostles, notably Peter (Acts 2:27-31) and Paul (Acts 13:35-37), explicitly interpret this verse as a direct Messianic prophecy concerning Jesus Christ. They argue that David, being a prophet, spoke prophetically of the resurrection of the Messiah, who would uniquely fulfill the promise of not seeing corruption. Therefore, while it has a Davidic context and expresses a general truth about God's care for His faithful, its primary and ultimate fulfillment is uniquely in Jesus Christ.
What is the difference between "hell" in Psalms 16:10 and the New Testament concept of hell?
Answer: The word "hell" in Psalms 16:10 is a translation of the Hebrew word Sheol. In the Old Testament, Sheol refers to the grave or the general realm of the dead, the common abode for all departed souls, regardless of their righteousness. It was typically conceived as a shadowy, silent place, a state of existence after death, not necessarily a place of eternal punishment. The promise in Psalms 16:10 is that the "Holy One" would not be left permanently in Sheol, implying a release or resurrection from that state. In contrast, the New Testament uses different Greek words for "hell," such as Gehenna (a place of eternal judgment and fire, often associated with the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, Matthew 10:28) and Tartarus (a place of confinement for rebellious angels, 2 Peter 2:4). While Hades in the New Testament can sometimes refer to the realm of the dead, similar to Sheol, it is also distinguished from the ultimate place of eternal punishment. Thus, Psalms 16:10 speaks of deliverance from the power of the grave and death's dominion, not from eternal damnation in the sense of Gehenna.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 16:10 finds its perfect and singular fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate "Holy One" (the Chasid) of God, uniquely righteous and without sin, who perfectly embodied the loyal love and faithfulness to God that David himself aspired to. When Jesus died on the cross, He truly entered the realm of the dead, Sheol, experiencing death fully and descending into the grave. However, as prophesied in this psalm, God did not abandon His soul there, nor did He suffer His body to see corruption. On the third day, before His physical body could begin to decay, Jesus was gloriously raised from the dead by the mighty power of God Matthew 28:6. This miraculous resurrection, attested to by numerous eyewitnesses and boldly proclaimed by the apostles Acts 2:31-32, is the irrefutable proof that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God declared with power by His resurrection from the dead Romans 1:4. His victory over death and decay is not merely a historical event but the very foundation of Christian hope, making Him the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" 1 Corinthians 15:20, thereby guaranteeing the future resurrection and eternal life for all who believe in Him and are united with Him.