Psalm 16:10 "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."
It is amazing the manner in which the Lord gave glimpses of the work of Jesus
Christ throughout the Old Testament. We can't be certain as to how much the
writers understood as they penned the words. We are especially blessed to be
able to come across a gem, such as today, and know Christ was being introduced
even as David was writing concerning His need and His relationship with the
Father. The Apostle Peter referred to this passage on the day of Pentecost as
he preached that marvelous message concerning the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
In this passage, we must be careful to look for the original meaning of the
words, else we go in the wrong direction of thinking Jesus went into the pits
of hell during the three days from crucifixion to resurrection. He did not go
into the pits of hell to try to beg people out. No! He went into heaven itself
to offer the righteous sacrificial offering of His blood to the Father as
payment in full for our sin debt. "Neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us." (Hebrews 9:12)
"Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell." The word hell in this passage
refers to the grave. What is this describing? The Father promised the Son that
He would not leave Him in the grave (hell). Jesus, as our Great High Priest,
offered the sacrificial blood of the Lamb of God (His own blood) to make an
atonement for our sins. How can we know the Father accepted that
offering? Under the law, the people knew God had accepted the offering of
the blood of a lamb when the high priest walked back out of the holy of holies
where he had sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat. We can know the Father
accepted the offering of Jesus Christ because He did not leave His body in the
tomb. Jesus walked out alive. There was no corruption (decay) on the body of
Jesus Christ. In fact, He now occupies that glorified body!
What does this hold for us? The main thing is our sins have been forgiven
through the shed blood of our Lord. We have a right relationship with our
Heavenly Father because of the work of Christ Jesus. We also have the
precious promise that just as the grave could not hold the body of Jesus, it
will not prevent our glorified bodies from coming forth on that great
resurrection day. The trump shall sound. The shout of the archangel shall be
heard. The graves will release glorified bodies and we shall forever be with
the Lord.
I do wonder how much of this David understood as he penned this words. By the
same token, I am humbled and grateful that our Heavenly Father has revealed
this grand truth to us.