The Path of Life: Divine Direction to Eternal Glory

Psalm 16:11 reveals the twofold blessing of salvation: entrance into life and a pathway within it. This passage is prophetic of Christ, to whom "the path of life" was first opened. Lost man possessed no way to God. Through Adam's sin, access to the Divine presence was forfeited; yet through Christ the way to paradise stands open.

The psalmist teaches that man cannot construct his own way to God—the path is already prepared. We require God's revelation to perceive it and must be brought to its true starting-point. Every Christian faces hourly need of Divine direction and heavenly illumination in passage through life. What persevering prayer and unceasing watchfulness must constrain us, lest each step lead toward the path of death rather than toward the path of life, of glory, honour, and immortality!

Attention to God's guidance yields blessed results: admission into His presence where fullness of joy dwells. This joy, constituted by presence of God our heavenly Father, cannot be consummated in this world alone. The grave covers what would otherwise prove painful and injurious to survivors, yet annihilation is unknown in God's universe. Though life remains uncertain, we hold faith in future life and hope that our merciful Creator will perfect our nature and confer upon us painless, unbroken happiness. Our individual immortality—what it involves and promises—calls us to walk steadfastly upon the illuminated path before us.