I thank God for the resurrection Jesus Christ and what it means to a secular world.

The Bible clearly declares that one day all people will be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Psalm 16, written by King David, is a “mystery psalm” whose full explanation is found only in the New Testament.

One of the lines in it reads: You will not leave my soul in sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption.

But David’s body did decay in the end. What then did he mean by those words?

There’s something puzzling about it when we read it in the context of David’s life. In Acts 2, the mystery unfolds.

On the day of Pentecost, when the Church was born, Apostle Peter quoted from David’s psalm and revealed its mystery in Acts 2:25-28.

There, Peter just quoted the psalm in his explanation to the crowd in Jerusalem about the death and resurrection of Jesus which had taken place just a few weeks earlier. In verses 29 to 32, he explained the mystery of the psalm and cleared it up.

Psalm 16 is speaking, not of the death and the potential resurrection of King David, but of the Messiah himself.

This psalm is referring not to David but to the Son of David, Jesus Christ.

Apostle Paul also knew about the power of resurrection (Philippians 3:10).

In the same chapter he continues: Our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (vs. 20,21).

Our hope in the power of resurrection is based on the Lord alone. Whoever believes in him, though he dies, will live forever.

It is fascinating that David would say that the goodness of his life is nothing apart from the Lord.

When one puts his trust in the living Lord, it is not based on his goodness or performance.

You may think that you have done some good things in life — and maybe you have — but it’s not your goodness that saves you (Ps.34:8; 100:5).

I have never seen a day in which people need stability like they do today. More people are going for help and counsel than ever before.

There are two things upon which this stability is based: God’s constant presence and His mighty power. David wrote: “I have set the Lord always before me.”

Stability is based not only on God’s constant presence, but upon His power to sustain us when we can’t take another step.

When Socrates was on his death bed, one of his disciples asked him: “Shall we live again? He replied, “I don’t know. I hope we will, but I simply do not know.”

Real peace is found only when we know what’s going to happen to us when we die (2 Cor. 5:6-9).

When we read that, do our hearts express the same kind of confidence? Are you confident that when you die, you will be with the Lord?

The power of resurrection brings a wonderful peace to our hearts.

If Jesus was not raised from the dead, I would have no desire to keep attending church services or continue preaching.

Paul said it as it is: If Jesus did not rise from the dead, you are yet in your sins.

But Jesus is alive! Every Lord’s Day is special because it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus.

Because he lives, we also will live.

Happy Easter! Joyous Resurrection!

Narayan Mitra is pastor of Merritt Baptist Church at 2499 Coutlee Ave., Merritt. [email protected]