The path to life (Psalm 16)

This psalm is used both by Peter at Pentecost and Paul later (Acts 2:27-33; 13:34-39) to support the idea that Messiah had to die and be raised to life again, thus it is an appropriate passage to reflect on as we celebrate that Jesus has indeed been vindicated by God and conquered death. In Western societies, death has become almost invisible. We use euphemisms for it like someone ‘passed away’ and we are largely shielded from its gruesome aspects. The language around funerals has changed overtime from talking about mourning the loss of someone to ‘celebrating their life’ and in line with this, most no longer wear black to such occasions. There is social pressure to hide grief and to focus on life, even though losing someone we loved is painful. It is as if we feared coming face-to-face with our own mortality or acknowledging that death is not natural, but scary. I never forget hearing a dear ninety-year-old faithful Christian lady say that she was afraid of death. Depending on temperament, some fear the unknown more. Even Jesus agonised over his coming death, so that his sweat became like drops of blood (Luke 22:44). We don’t know what aspect He found difficult (the physical pain of crucifixion, the coming sense of abandonment, death itself or all of these and more), but it should comfort us that Jesus can enter into our anxieties and fears.

The choice between God and other gods

While we cannot necessarily help our feelings, our psalm teaches us, like Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, that we can turn to the Lord and be strengthened in our confidence in Him, no matter how terrifying the prospect of death is. The psalmist reminds himself that God is his refuge and his ultimate good (Ps 16:1-2) and this is in stark contrast to those who choose or chase after other gods to secure a happy, healthy, and prosperous life (Ps 16:4). In our modern context, we may not bow down to idols or offer sacrificial blood to the gods as a drink offering (Ps 16:5), but the aim to secure a good life may lead some to place their ultimate trust in the latest collection of vitamins to preserve health, or the most up-to-date research on how to exercise to prolong life and maintain a kind of eternal youth. Looking after our health is a good thing, of course, but some pursue the path to (physical) life and well-being with almost religious fervour.

The inheritance of those following God

The psalm on the other hand points us to a different priority: the relationship with God, which provides us with a heritage described in terms that evokes Israel’s settled life in the Promised Land after the hardships of Egyptian oppression and the subsequent deprivations of the desert (the language of inheritance, portion, lot, [measuring] lines are used in the dividing up of the land as Israel settled there; Ps 16:5-6). In other words, the psalmist affirms that the source of what we seek and hope for are only found in the Lord. While he focuses on security from danger especially in this life and expresses his confidence that God will protect him from death (Ps 16:9-10),[1] these words are also prophetic, as the apostles recognised. No matter how often God saved people like David from death (especially during the time Saul persecuted him), eventually he, like all others, died and his body underwent decay.

The path to life in the light of Jesus’ resurrection

Yet when we re-read these words in the light of Jesus’ death and resurrection, they take on new significance. Jesus did not escape death, yet God did not abandon Him to death but raised Him back to life. Since it is sin that gives death its power and Jesus committed no sin, death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24; Rom 5:12). Not only was He Himself saved, however, but by redeeming us from sin, He made a way for us through death. Thus, He makes known to us the path of life (Ps 16:11) not only in the sense of following God in this life, which results in flourishing, but also leading us into life that is everlasting. When death casts a fearful shadow over our lives, may we take hope that He will not abandon us on this our last journey, but hold our hand even then and guide us into eternal life.

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[1] Sheol in the Old Testament is the ‘underworld’ where in ancient understanding all the dead go.

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