Resurrection Day Blessings

Psalm 16:8-11
I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

The Psalmist gives us a glimpse into the very soul of our redeemer as he prayed in the Garden. I will never understand this, but for a brief time, Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, feared to go forth to the suffering of the cross. But that fear, that desire to turn back, was only momentary. He said, nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. What encouraged our Savior to go forward in His task? What made Him stay on the cross until he could cry, "It is finished"? Was it not hope? Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. And what hope? For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. It was the hope of the resurrection. That same hope encourages us as we travel on the upward way to heaven.

The resurrection gives us hope in the valley of the shadow of death… I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me… But the resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us hope in life as well. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. The resurrection is about life. Christ gives life, and life more abundantly. Don’t simply cling to the resurrection for death. Cling to it for life. Life in the present, and life continuously.

When we are in God’s house, we are in God’s presence, and God is in our midst. The house of God is the path of life. And in the house of God, we find fulness of joy. Lift up your hearts, your heads, your voices, and praise the Lord God of heaven, the Blessed Redeemer, for He lives!