Psalm 16:9-11 – “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
Though he lived over 1,000 years before the birth of Christ, King David, who wrote Psalm 16, was inspired by the Holy Spirit to pen eternal truths. He speaks of the gladness of his heart because of God’s guidance and the joy that comes from God, but he also speaks of the promise of God for his body. As humans, we are embodied creatures. We are eternal beings with souls that will live forever, but we can’t forget that God also made our bodies and called them good.
That is part of why the Resurrection is so glorious: God not only redeems our souls through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, he promises to regenerate our bodies too. We can have hope, and “rest secure” like David, that God will not “let your faithful one see decay.”
Paul underscores this when he says in 2 Corinthians 5:2-3, “We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.”
Question 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism asks, “What is your only comfort in life and in death?”
The answer: “That I am not my own but belong body and soul in life and in death to my faithful savior Jesus Christ.” Alleluia!
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