“You will show me the PATH OF LIFE; In Your presence is FULLNESS OF JOY; At Your right hand are PLEASURES FOREVERMORE.” (Psalms 16:11) The path of life is what God makes known to us — not as a trail to follow, but as a WONDERFUL PROMISE TO EMBRACE. “You always show me the path that leads to life. You will fill me with joy when I am with you.” (Acts 2:28)
There is always a “FULLNESS OF JOY” for us in the presence of our Lord. Sometimes we know that joy as soon as we enter His presence. Other times “fullness of Joy” overtakes us as WE LINGER IN THE PRESENCE OF OUR GOD. “That I may dwell in the house of the LORD ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, to behold the BEAUTY OF THE LORD” (Psalm 27:4). God desires to continually fill us with His joy as we enter His presence, for His joy FORTIFIES US AND BUILDS US UP in our lives, even as it written in the book of Nehemiah, “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord IS YOUR STRENGTH” (Nehemiah 8:10).
The theme of Psalm 16 centers on entrusting oneself to God’s care and walking closely with Him. In one way or another, the psalmist seems to say with every line, “Lord, you mean everything to me.” David, the author of most of the psalm, ends with this declaration of eternal trust in the goodness of God, “…at your RIGHT HAND are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11). The “right hand” is a term used metaphorically in Scripture to speak of God’s strength and power: “Your RIGHT HAND, LORD, was majestic in power. Your RIGHT HAND, LORD, shattered the enemy” (Exodus 15:6)
When David said, “At your right hand are pleasures forever,” he was expressing trust in the knowledge that his life was ETERNALLY SECURE in the glorious presence of his ALL-POWERFUL GOD. He was thinking beyond life on earth to everlasting life—resurrection life—in eternity. For this reason, on the Day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter cited David’s words (Psalm 16:8–11) and interpreted them as a prophecy of Jesus Christ’s RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD. (Acts 2:25–31).
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham