The Hand of the Lord Who Is Risen

Text: Psalm 16:1-11 Speaker: Pastor Matthew Ude Festival: Easter Passages: Psalm 16:1-11

Psalm 16:1-11

Throughout our Lenten series we have heard of all the marvelous things the hand of the Lord has done. We might well be jealous of those who were present at these miraculous events, those who got to see them and receive the benefits of his power.

Today David reminds us that the same hand which performed such great miracles is still with us today. Jesus is the Lamb who was slain but now lives. Although that hand was pierced in death it is now risen. Because he is risen his hand is with us to this day, to protect us, to heal us, to remove our sins and to give us life.

The hand of the Lord who is risen.

We have just heard how the women came early to the tomb filled with sorrow, but their sorrow did not last. What they found at that tomb filled them with joy, joy that was not just temporary but that lasted the rest of their lives. Likewise, the disciples were hiding in fear for their lives, but in Jesus’ resurrection they found peace. Not the type of peace that come from a quiet evening but a peace which resulted in their willingness to accept suffering and death. It did not matter to them what others thought of them or did to them. They knew that their Savior was risen from the dead and that because of his resurrection they too would rise.

This was something that David knew and understood a thousand years before Jesus was ever born:

In verses 8 and 9 of our text David declares

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 rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.

David didn’t have to go and see that empty tomb, he already knew that Lord lived and that his hand was present with him.

“My Flesh also will rest in hope.” David is confessing that he will go to his death not in sorrow or in fear but in the confidence that it is the doorway to something much greater.

Remember that David was not one who had a charmed life. When he was young, he was hunted by Saul. His wife was taken away from him and given to another man. One of his sons raped his daughter, and then his other son rebelled and tried to kill. He himself committed murder. The list could go on. His life was turmoil. But David looked to the Lord and his promises “I have set the Lord before me.” David learned the hard way there is no peace to be found on this earth but instead he looked to the risen Lord and that is where he found peace. He set that resurrection that empty tomb before his eyes at all times.

Just like Job who in the midst of his tragedy and sorrow looks up and says where can I find peace, “I know that my redeemer lives.”

There is no other peace in this world. Anywhere else we look is over shadowed by death.

Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;

David isn’t talking just about those who worship Zeus or Thor. He is talking about those who seek peace anywhere other than in the truth of that empty tomb. If you seek power, or if you seek the wisdom of the world, or if you seek to fulfill your own desires, or if you seek riches, or if you seek retribution on those who have wronged you. None of this is going to bring you peace. You will only find more sorrow in all these things.

Come instead to the empty tomb, to the garden, and the upper room. See the hands of the Lord who has risen from the dead. Here we find the forgiveness of our sins and life everlasting.

What tactics have you tried lately to find peace and joy in your life? People will tell you “try harder,” minimize your life, “grin and bear it, you got to look out for yourself, its not really your fault, you are the victim . . . None of these things bring us lasting peace.  The works of our hands end only in sorrow. David confessed instead “you make known to me the path of life”

We cannot find peace through the efforts of our hands, such efforts will always end in death. But the hand of the Lord which was pierced is risen from the dead. The tomb is empty. He is not there for his arisen.

David confesses in the Psalm

You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

Peter and Paul both make the point in the new testament that David’s grave with David’s body in it was present with them. David’s body did see corruption. David was not speaking of himself he was speaking of the Messiah who was to come. David’s grave was not empty but Jesus’ is. He is arisen and he has ascended to the right hand of the Father, and there his risen hands rule over all things for the good of the church.

I mentioned the other night a quote a recently came across, where an unbeliever asked, “If he rose from the dead why did he never do anything important afterwards.” Such an attitude fails to understand all the mighty things the hand of the Lord is still doing. His hand is risen from the dead and the arm of the Lord is present with us to save his people.

Let this truth be set before you in all the troubles of life. In all darkness look to the light of his resurrection. There is no peace in any of the works of our hands, pace and joy come from the truth of his resurrection and the forgiveness and life he has promised to us.

Job 19:25-27   25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;  26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,  27 Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!