JOY IN HIS PRESENCE, NOW AND FOREVER
I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is gladH8055 and my tongue rejoicesH1523; my body also will dwell
securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joyH8057 in Your presence,
with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.
Psalm 16:8-11
16:10 These words expressed the confidence of the lesser David, but were applied messianically to the resurrection of the Greater David (the Lord Jesus Christ) both by Peter (Acts 2:25–28) and Paul (Acts 13:35). (18)
MacArthur Study Bible
After Peter quoted Psalm 16 in Acts 2:25-28, he went on to explain that David was speaking prophetically about the Messiah, Jesus, when he wrote it:
Acts 2:29-32 Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.
David found his security and joy in the Lord and shares that testimony in Psalm 16. Verse 10 is Messianic prophecy concerning the resurrection of Jesus but is also true of believers. Even though our physical “earth-suits” will die and decay, who we are immediately enters the presence of the Lord; and when He returns, our bodies will be raised and transformed into glorious, incorruptible bodies!
Acts 15:51-52 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Even now, we are dwelling together with the Lord through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He is instructing and guiding us in the way that we should live. As we walk in obedience to His instruction manual for our lives—the Bible— He brings us totality of peace, love, and joy. “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.” (John 15:10). From God’s seat of authority, He bestows eternal joy to His treasured ones who are saved by His grace. I have joy right now because God, in His great magnificence, uses me when I am yielded, listening, and obedient. I trust and know that this life is only a “way station” on my journey to my everlasting home. I look forward to streets of gold and gates of pearl, to the sheer beauty of being in His presence. I will enjoy being able to move freely, dancing before the Lord while playing an instrument to praise Him. In my glorified body, I will need no glasses. Perhaps I will not have an overbite and will have wisdom without the gray hair!
Have you surrendered to the Lord’s call to follow Him? In addition to the security of knowing Heaven will be your forever home, do you also enjoy basking in the Lord’s presence here and now in your day-to-day life? Like David, have you “set the Lord always before you”? Are you practicing the command of Hebrews 12:2: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”? Christ’s death and resurrection meant that Jesus would no longer be an only child. It also meant that those of us who trust in Him will never be orphans, because our Father God keeps us securely in His forever family.
Father, thank You for the security of being in Your presence both now and forever.
Worship with The Martins singing “In the Presence of Jehovah:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqiLWWxZulM