Psalms 16:9

Moreover my flesh too shall rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul in hell, nor will you give your holy one to see corruption. It is superfluous to wish to treat of those things which have been explained by the apostles. We therefore say these things, which were passed over by them as being, as it were, of lesser importance: that he said, "My flesh shall dwell in hope," for this reason, that the Savior descended to the dead with the hope of rising again at once. And he did not say "shall dwell," or "shall rest," as is read in the Latin manuscripts, but "kataskēnōsei," that is, "shall sojourn," so that the meaning is: It will tarry there a little while, and will see the underworld in passing, and his soul too will not be left in hell. "For I have power to lay down my soul, and I have power to take it up again." Nor will it be granted by the Father to see corruption. But he said "to see" for "to suffer," according to that idiom (idiōma) of the Scriptures: "Who is the man that lives, and shall not see death?" And elsewhere: "He who, though he had not known sin, was made sin for us." And at the same time note that the Lord had both flesh and soul: the flesh which was laid in the tomb, and the soul which descended to the underworld. And as the flesh without the soul was perfect flesh, so also the soul without the flesh was a perfect soul, and lacked no function of its own nature which the human soul is wont to have apart from sin. This is against the new heresy. And at the same time, because some argue variously, from the fact that the Lord entered with the doors shut, that the same flesh did not rise which had died, let them hear what the Lord himself here recalls. Moreover my flesh too shall rest in hope. […]

Let us see [Jesus] … in his suffering as man but not suffering as God, and in his dying in the flesh but being greater than death, and in not remaining … in the tomb as we do and not being held fast by the gates of the underworld together with the other dead.… For he rose again, despoiling death and "saying to the prisoners: Come out, to those in darkness: Show yourselves," and he ascended to his Father above in the heavens to a position inaccessible to people, having taken on himself our sins and being the propitiation for them.

The word destruction (phthora) has two meanings. [First], it means human sufferings such as hunger, thirst, weariness, piercing with nails, death—that is separation of the soul from the body—and the like. In this sense, we say that the Lord's body was destructible, because he endured all these things freely. Destruction, however, also means the complete dissolution of the body and its reduction to the elements of which it was composed. By many this is more generally called corruption (diaphthora). This the Lord's body did not experience, as the prophet David says [in this psalm].… Therefore, it is impious to say with the insane Julian and Gaianus that before the resurrection the Lord's body was indestructible in the first sense. For, if it was thus incorruptible, then it was not consubstantial with us, and the things such as the hunger, the thirst, the nails, the piercing of the side and death that the gospel says happened did not really happen but only seemed to. But if they only seemed to happen, then the mystery of the incarnation is a hoax and a stage trick; it was in appearance and not in truth that he was made man and in appearance and not in truth that we have been saved. But far be it, and let those who say this have no part in salvation. We, however, have gained and shall obtain the true salvation. Moreover, in the second sense of the word destruction, we confess that the Lord's body was indestructible, that is to say, incorruptible, even as has been handed down to us by the inspired fathers.

"Therefore my heart has been glad." 1 Sam. 2: "My heart has rejoiced in the Lord." Ps. 63: "The just man shall rejoice in the Lord," etc. "And my tongue has rejoiced," etc., outwardly, when exterior joy breaks forth into vocal praise. Is. 12: "Sing …

"Moreover." Here he enumerates the benefits to be hoped for. First as to the resurrection of the flesh; second as to the soul, at "You have made known." The first is divided into two. First he sets forth the hope of resurrection; second, the manner, …

Shall rest - in confident assurance of its incorruption there, and of its resurrection to an immortal life: the flesh or body is in itself, but a dead lump of clay; yet hope is here ascribed to it figuratively, as it is to the brute creatures, Rom. viii, 19. Hell - In the state of the dead. Holy one - Me thy holy son, whom thou hast sanctified and sent into the world.

Therefore my heart is glad,....

7 I will bless the L ORD , who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. This psalm is entitled Michtam, which some translate a golden psalm, a very precious one, more to be valued by us than gold, yea, than much fine gold, because it speaks so plainly of Christ and his resurrection, who is the true treasure hidden in the field of the Old Testament.

He clearly foresaw that he must die, for he speaks of his flesh resting, and of his soul in the abode of separate spirits; death was full before his face, or he would not have mentioned corruption; but such was his devout reliance upon his God, that he sang over the tomb, and rejoiced in vision of the sepulchre.

glory--as heart (Ps 7:5), for self. In Ac 2:26, after the Septuagint, "my tongue" as "the glory of the frame"--the instrument for praising God. flesh--If taken as opposed to soul (Ps 16:10), it may mean the body; otherwise, the whole person (compare Ps 63:1;

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He clearly foresaw that he must die, for he speaks of his flesh resting, and of his soul in the abode of separate spirits; death was full before his face, or he would not have mentioned corruption; but such was his devout reliance upon his God, that he sang over the tomb, and rejoiced in vision of the sepulchre. He knew that the visit of his soul to Sheol, or the invisible world of disembodied spirits, would be a very short one, and that his body in a very brief space would leave the grave, uninjured by its sojourn there; all this made him say, "my heart is glad, " and moved his tongue, the glory of his frame, to rejoice in God, the strength of his salvation. Oh, for such holy faith in the prospect of trial and of death! It is the work of faith, not merely to create a peace which passeth all understanding, but to fill the heart full of gladness until the tongue, which, as the organ of an intelligent creature, is our glory, bursts forth in notes of harmonious praise. Faith gives us living joy, and bestows dying rest. "My flesh also shall rest in hope."

Therefore my heart is glad - Unutterably happy in God; always full of the Divine presence; because whatsoever I do pleaseth him. The man Christ Jesus must be constantly in communion with God, because he was without spot and blemish. My glory rejoiceth - My tongue, so called by the Hebrews, (see Psa 57:8; Psa 30:12), because it was bestowed on us to glorify God, and because it is our glory, being the instrument of expressing our thoughts by words. See Dodd. But soul bids as fair to be the meaning. See the notes on Act 2:25, etc. My flesh also shall rest in hope - There is no sense in which these and the following words can be spoken of David. Jesus, even on the cross, and breathing out his soul with his life, saw that his rest in the grave would be very short: just a sufficiency of time to prove the reality of his death, but not long enough to produce corruption; and this is well argued by St. Peter, Act 2:31.

Therefore my heart is glad - In view of this fact, that my confidence is in God alone, and my belief that he is my Protector and Friend. See the notes at Act 2:26. And my glory rejoiceth - The Septuagint translate this, “my tongue,” and this translation is followed by Peter in his quotation of the passage in Act 2:26. See the notes at that passage. The meaning here is, that whatever there was in him that was honorable, dignified, or glorious - all the faculties of his soul, as well as his heart - had occasion to rejoice in God. His whole nature - his undying soul - his exalted powers as he was made by God - all - all, found cause of exultation in the favor and friendship of God. The heart - the uuderstanding - the imagination - the whole immortal soul, found occasion for joy in God. My flesh also - My body. Or, it may mean, his whole person, he himself, though the direct allusion is to the body considered as lying in the grave, Psa 16:10. The language is such as one would use of himself when he reflected on his own death, and it is equivalent to saying, “I myself, when I am dead, shall rest in hope; my soul will not be left to abide in the gloomy place of the dead; nor will my body remain permanently in the grave under the power of corruption. In reference to my soul and my body - my whole nature - I shall descend to the grave in the hope of a future life.” Shall rest - Margin, “dwell confidently.” The Hebrew is literally “shall dwell in confidence” or hope. The word here rendered “shall rest” means properly to let oneself down; to lie down, Num 9:17; Exo 24:16; then, to lay oneself down, to lie down, as, for example, a lion lying down, Deu 33:20; or a people in tents, Num 24:2; and hence, to rest, to take rest, Jdg 5:17; and then to abide, to dwell. Gesenius, Lexicon. […]