We are not left on our own to understand who the psalmist David is speaking of in Psalm 16. He speaks of himself, and speaks of those who belong to the Lord, and of those who have rejected Him. But in Acts Chapter 2 we are told that this Psalm also speaks of the resurrection of our Messiah, Jesus, from the dead. It is a Psalm of prayer that Jesus might have lifted up to His Father in heaven just hours before He was crucified.

The Psalm begins by reminding us that God is our preserver and our protector, a promise that was made to the Messiah by God the Father in Isaiah Chapter 49, where it says that God would keep and preserve Him. And through Him, God would bring salvation to the ends of the earth.

Just as Jesus was preserved, God also preserves and protects those of us who belong to the Father. We can take refuge in the Mighty One, the One with all power. We can put all of our trust in His strength and find shelter in the shadow of His wings.

The Messiah declared to God the Father, that He was His Lord and His Master. He submitted to His Father to accomplish what was needed in order to secure the salvation of those whom God had given to Him. In the same way, we must also submit to the Father. Our sufficiency is found in Him alone. As we are told in Psalm 73:25, “Whom have I in heaven except You, and besides You I desire nothing on earth.”

As for the godly ones who are on this earth, they are the majestic ones, the glorious ones, in whom is all of His delight. And now, from the glory of heaven, Christ Jesus intercedes for us. He speaks with God the Father on our behalf since we are now clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

We might be persecuted and ridiculed by the people on this earth for now, but someday we will have everlasting joy, joy without measure and without end. And we will live with Him in the glory of heaven forever. That is our future and our hope. That is what we are assured of because of the suffering of Christ.

But in contrast to those who belong to Jesus, there are those who are in rebellion against Him. The fact is they are all around us. There are those who worship and value anything and everything except Jesus. In their greed they have run after fame and fortune, self-satisfaction, and many other gods. The Messiah will not accept their worship, because it is not true worship. It is poison on their lips. Neither will He take their names upon His lips, but instead He will say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who act wickedly, and who disobey my commands.”

Even in His suffering for us the Messiah declared that God is the portion of His inheritance. God was His cup that was full and overflowing with blessing, though for the moment it was filled with suffering. God Almighty sustained Him. God had orchestrated every detail of the Messiah’s life on this earth.

In obedience to the will of His Father in heaven, the Messiah affirmed His trust in Him and believed that the path of His life and His heritage was beautiful, even in His suffering. His future looked bright. He delighted to do His Father’s will, so all that He spoke and all that He was came from the Father.

Jesus confidently and continually set God Almighty before Him. He would not be shaken. God would sustain Him. Therefore, His very being rejoiced in God, His Savior. He would rise from the grave and be seated by His Father in heaven. He would not be abandoned in the place of the dead. Death could not hold Him in its grip. And because our Savior lives, we who belong to Him will live with Him forever. He is the first born from the dead. He is the One who leads the way.

The Lord God Almighty will open up and make known to us the path of life, the way back from death to life, the only way to eternal life. And in His presence there is an overwhelming abundance of joy and gladness. There is joy without measure, joy without end. Amen.