First of all, the prophecy that
we find in Psalm 16. Let's read verse 9 and verse
10, and that will take us to Acts 2. Psalms 16, 9, and 10. Therefore, my heart is glad,
and my glory rejoices. 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." In Acts, the second chapter,
verse 22 through verse 31. Ye men of Israel, hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
beholden of it. For David speaks concerning him. I foresaw the Lord always before
my face, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
my tongue was glad. Moreover, also my flesh shall
rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." Thou hast
made known to me the ways of life. Thou hast made me full
of joy with Thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me speak
freely unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and
buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore, being a prophet, knowing
that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his
loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit
on his throne. He, seeing this before, spake
of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in
hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." Now you can see
how Peter merges in with his preaching the prophecy of the
16th Psalm. It is beyond question that the
16th Psalm is messianic. It is used two times in the New
Testament, Peter in the second chapter of Acts, Paul again in
Acts chapter 13, and both of them are very emphatic. Christ
is the one spoken of by David and the one who died and rose
again without seeing any corruption. Both of them deny, that is Peter
and Paul, they deny that David himself is the primary subject
of the prophecy. I should have said both of them
prove that David did not fulfill this prophecy in his death and
life. That he was not the subject of
the text in the 2nd Psalm, and that for obvious reasons. The text in Acts chapter 2, as
you know, is from the post-Pentecostal sermon of the Apostle Peter. It was delivered by him after
the pouring out of the Holy Spirit of God and all those great manifestations
among and upon the Jews in Jerusalem. Actually, when you look at Peter's
address or sermon, It is easy to see that there are two halves,
or two parts, to this sermon. They are as follows. We'll notice
quickly. Number 1, verse 14 through verse
21, is the first part of the sermon, and it contains and concerns
an explanation unto the Jews that what just had occurred in
their sight was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel chapter
2 verse 28 through verse 32. Peter says in the 16th verse,
this is that that was spoken by the prophet Joel, that is,
in the last days I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and it shall be that whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved." Then the second half of Peter's post-Pentecostal
sermon runs from verse 22 down through verse 36. The apostolical
declaration of the victory of Christ over death and the grave,
and His exaltation to highest glory at the right hand of God. Now these points are very clearly
set forth in the text. A. In verse 22 and verse 23,
He was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. He was a man approved of God
among you by signs and miracles and wonders. And you took Him
and put Him into the hands of the Romans, and he was put to
death. And then B, in verse 24, God
raised him up to life again because he loosed the pangs or the cords
of death because it was not possible that he should be held of them
beyond the appointed time. Sometimes we sing, He overcame
the prey. He tore the bars away in an old
hymn that we sing. And He was raised without seeing
any corruption according to the exact testimony of David in the
16th Psalm that we have read. Again, in verse 33-36, He is
so raised where He is now What belongs unto him is to sit
at the right hand of God, and he hath been made both Lord and
Christ. He not only has died, he not
only has been raised again, but he has been exalted to a great
and sovereign lordship, and that is his present position. Now Peter declares that the risen
and the exalted Christ is the one who has poured out the Spirit
upon them," in verse 33, that the one they crucified, being
exalted to the right hand of God, has shed forth this which
ye now see and hear. Now the heavy emphasis is put
upon the resurrection of the Lord without seeing any corruption,
especially following the death of our Lord in the apostolic
preaching Heavy emphasis was laid upon the resurrection of
our Lord. Again and again, the Apostle
declared that Christ has been crucified by the hand and desire
of the Jews, but that He is risen again. Now, Peter emphasizes
two things. Number one, that Christ is raised
up. He is alive from the dead. And on many occasions, Peter
took the opportunity to make that contrast. You put him to
death, but God has raised him up again. But secondly, Peter
makes the point, not only is Christ raised again out of the
grave, up from death, but He has been raised up without seeing
any corruption. The Lord is raised out of the
grave without corruption. And this is just as important
as his being raised up. For it was not possible for him
to be held in death, so it was not possible for death to hold
him and corrupt him and swallow him up as it does all others. It was not possible for death
to hold him and to bring his body to putification and decay,
and be consumed away in the grave. Not possible at all. So let's
begin with verse 24, and work into the prophecy of David, and
the word whom there refers, of course, to the Lord Jesus Christ. Whom God raised up. Raised Him up by loosing the
cords of death. Loosing the bands. Breaking the
cords. Tearing away the snares that
attempted to hold our Lord. Now this is all taken together. God raised up Christ, whom you
crucified, loosing the cords of death, setting Him free, letting
Him be loosed out of the bonds of death. Because God did it
because it was not possible that He should be held by death. Not possible that our Lord should
stay in the grave past the appointed time. Totally impossible it was
for Christ to be held by the bands of death so that He could
not escape or rise again. Our mighty Samson broke the whiz
of death and came out of the grave at the appointed time."
It is true, our Lord did die. The human body God prepared for
Him died. He was put to death in the flesh. 1 Peter 3 and verse 18, that
He died is the uniform testimony of the Word of our God. That
he was buried is the testimony. That a stone was put over the
grave and that it was rolled away. But it was not possible
for our Lord to stay in the grave beyond the appointed time. Question. Wherein lay the impossibility
of our Lord staying in the grave and under death? A million other
souls had had that experience. from great Abraham to Moses to
David to Joseph and on, had been swallowed up in the grave and
their sepulcher was yet within. But it was not possible that
our Lord stay beyond the three days and the three nights that
were appointed for Him to lay in the grave in death." Again,
where is that impossibility? Why must our Lord live again? Why must he not stay under the
power of death? We might say it's because of
the eternal purpose of God and its rich fulfillment. It requires
the resurrection of the Messiah, and so it does. Therefore, beginning
in verse 25, the Apostle Peter confirms the impossibility of
God's Holy One being held under by death using the prophecy of
David in the sixteenth psalm as a proof text. Especially the
part that is quoted here in the second chapter of the book of
Acts. First of all, let us notice how
Peter applies the whole of the prophecy unto Christ. Verse 25, For David speaks concerning
Him, that is, Christ. Verse 31, He spoke of the resurrection
of Christ. That is, David was not speaking
of his own resurrection, but of the resurrection of Christ. And let's consider what we see
in verse 26. Moreover, my flesh shall rest
in hope. That is, in addition to that,
my flesh shall rest in hope. It shall dwell in and under the
hope, the flesh of his body, and the rest, or the dwelling,
is the time under death or spent there in the grave. It will quietly
repose his body will in the grave, that in hope, that with the expectation
that it will be raised up again per the promise and the prophecy
of God. concerning the blood of the everlasting
covenant. Our Lord must be raised again
from the dead. Now, a Jew, hearing Peter cite
the 16th Psalm on this occasion, might perceive that the Apostle
takes these things away from David as if they belonged to
him exclusively, and gives them unto another. Peter uses wisdom. in giving a reverence to David
by calling him the patriarch. He does not speak of him disparagingly. He is the patriarch. He was the
head and founder of a family or a clan. He was the progenitor
of the royal family, he and king. There was an honored title given
to him, such as to Abraham. Hebrews 7.4, and the sons of
Jacob who built up Israel. So he does not denigrate David
in any way. David the patriarch of whom God
spoke of raising up this special one. David spoke something wonderful
in verse 27, calling him, thine holy one. Certainly that distinguishes
our Lord from any other, whose soul would not be left in hell
or Hades." The word hell is variously applied. Literally, Hades, the
invisible world of spirit, temporarily separated from the body without
respect to either heaven or hell. Sometimes it is used, sometimes
it is rendered the grave or Hades as it is in the Geneva Study
Bible. But the focus on the words, thou
wilt not suffer or permit or allow thine holy one to see corruption. We'll not allow him to come under
the putification and the rotting of death. The question must be
forced. Who is this Holy One? Is it David the Patriarch and
King of Israel as the apple of God's eye? The Jew might ask,
as did the Ethiopian eunuch when read from the prophet Isaiah,
of whom speaks the prophet of himself or of some other man? He might ask that of David. So
Peter proves to his hearers that David could not be describing
himself. And the reason Peter gives is
in verse 29 through verse 31 of Acts 2. We'll not take time
to read it again. But Peter is conciliatory. He's not combative with those
that are listening to him this day. He says to them, men and
brethren, Well, that's reverent unto them, fellow Israelites,
believers as you are in the Holy Scriptures and Word of God, who
hold, as I do, David to be a prophet and a patriarch of the house
of Israel. Let me speak concerning him. Let me be heard, he said. Consider
carefully what I am about to say concerning David. It is an undisputed fact. It is beyond all controversy,
Peter said. He is both dead and buried, and
his supplicant is with us until this day. David's grave, David's
monument, David's marker was yet there and identified in the
place nearby. David's grave was still known. None disputed that. Therefore,
David did not speak of himself when he told of one that would
lay in the grave without seeing corruption. In fact, Peter said
in Acts 2.31, David spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that
his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. Paul in Acts 13 and verses 35-37
uses that same text and preaching in the Jewish synagogue
in Antioch in Pisidia, he puts the matter beyond dispute in
Acts 13.36. David served his generation by
the will of God. Then one, he fell on sleep. That is, he died. And number
two, he was laid with his fathers. He was added unto the fathers. He was put among them in the
burial place known unto that day. Number three, he saw corruption. David saw corruption. He experienced corruption. The
body of David did go to corruption. He fell under the corrupting
power of death. And as Peter stated, his sepulcher
is yet with us and known and marked in our city. Linsky said,
The sepulcher of David bore mute but uncontrovertible evidence
that the prophecy in Psalm 16 was not fulfilled in David, but
in Christ." James A. Alexander wrote, we have the
word of the two most eminent apostles in all of the New Testament,
that David was not the subject of his own prophecy, but that
Christ was. Paul states the contract. He
says here, David died and saw corruption. Christ died, saw
no corruption, and rose again out of the grave. He came out
of the grave without corruption at all. This especially marks
him as the Holy One of God. He not suffered to see corruption. He saw no corruption. It means
not that he didn't see it with his eyes, but that he experienced
no corruption at all. So let us digress only to make
a pertinent point unto our study, which we have made before, how
that Christ came close to His people's condition. He came close
enough to be made true man, but not a sinful man. He came close
enough to be made sin for them, but not sinful. But also close
enough to die, but not close enough to be held forever under
the power of death. Close enough to die and live
and lie in a tomb and yet see no corruption the time that he
was there. that though He took a fleshly
body, in it He died, yet He would not be swallowed up and overcome
by the power of death. What is the point of the declaration
of Scripture that He saw no corruption? Is it that His body of flesh
or the flesh of His body was in its essence indestructible? Was it a sort as would never
corrupt if God should have forbid the thought, allowed him to stay
in the grave on and on? Or is it the declaration that
he would not remain under the power of death because of God's
appointment, because he is God's Holy One? Three times it is stated,
thou wilt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Psalm
16 and 10, Acts chapter 227, in Acts 13 and verse 35. Yea, a fourth time if you count
Acts 2 and verse 31. Paul makes the proper contrast
that David saw corruption, but he whom God raised up saw no
corruption. Let's consider some small words
that we find in connection with this. The words see and saw. One of them from the future,
the other from the past. Shall not see. Saw no corruption. He shall die, but he shall not
see corruption. He died and he rose again, and
he saw no corruption. These words that express perception
are experienced together to partake yet without corruption. One great
example is that of John 3 and verse 5. In verse 3, it is except
a man be born from above, he cannot see or enter into the
kingdom of God. Revelation 18 and verse 7, and
shall see no sorrow. Those certain people. John 8,
verse 51, if a man keep my saying, he shall not see death, And again,
thus it was the promise of God to his Christ that though he
would die, he would not see, he would not experience, he would
not partake, he would not undergo any corruption. This means that
he would not undergo the dissolution of his human or fleshly body
because he would not remain in the grave past the appointed
time. He is God's blessed and holy
one. Now, what was the expectation
of the sisters of Lazarus? John 11, verse 39, "...by this
time he stinketh," they said, "...for he hath been in the grave
four days." Or been dead four days. And even David, a patriarch
and prophet, saw corruption. But not Christ, the Holy One
of God. Now, pardon a minute, a practical
matter of recent days concerning all of the Hubbaloo, concerning
the death of popes and certain big dignitaries that have passed
away in our society, and bearing them as if they were sitting
on the front row of heaven and had the greatest right and were
the holiest of all. But consider, if you will, the
ignorance of men and of women in our day who think of death
in a way not set forth for us in the blessed Scripture. Surely
the power of death and darkness, surely the grave, sought to hold
our Lord under its power and sway, and would have exerted
power to corrupt Him, keep Him in the prison of death, had that
been possible. But the other was decreed by
God Not possible for Him to lie under death beyond three days. Neither was it possible for Him
to see corruption, for He is God's Holy One. Die He would. Lie in a grave He would. But
to remain under and come to corruption, our Lord would not, for He would
live again. Wherein lay the impossibility
of death holding the Son of God? For the verb here to be holden
or to be held. In the New Testament it means
to hold on to. It means to even hold on fast. See the full connection between
loosed and the impossibility of being held. The cords of death
be loosed since our seeing it is not possible for Him to be
held and remain under death. But it reaches farther back even
than that. even to verse 22 and 23 in the
chapter. He was approved of God, yet slain. He was appointed to death by
the purpose of God. He was taken, and by wicked hands
He was crucified and slain. But God raised Him up, loosing
the bands of death because or for the reason that it was not
possible for Jesus to be held under death beyond the appointed
time. Not possible for him to remain
in the grave, remain dead. Again, wherein lay that impossibility? Was it his holiness? Was it his
making atonement? Was it the divine purpose of
God? Was it the promise of God unto
him? Or some of all of these? His holiness, his raising is
a necessary part, to the saving of His people. Romans 4 and verse
25, the divine purpose must be fulfilled. God had promised and
God cannot lie. So He must be raised. He must
not be lost or left under death. He must not have the worm to
come or corruption to overcome our blessed Lord. And Peter ties
the Lord's death to the counsel and the purpose of God in verse
23, which determined that he not only must die, but that he
must live again in order to destroy death. He also found the impossibility
upon the prophecy and the word of David to his Holy One. There is no possibility that
he will be held under death or kept in the grave beyond the
three days and three nights. David wrote, thou wilt not leave
my soul in hell, nor suffer thy holy one to see corruption. They are enclosing some great
theological implications in the resurrection of Christ, which
was confirmed by many credible witnesses, that atonement is
made for one, that our Lord is out of the grave and up and about
shows that atonement is made and that it is accepted. Our surety is let out of prison. Our surety is free again. It confirms the satisfaction
that He made, that His sufferings were full and sufficient and
pleasing unto God. It tells us that there is complete
victory over sin, death, and hell, in the grave of our Lord. Do you ask if Christ must not
seek corruption? Why then must His people? Now the promise is certainly
applicable unto them. Our flesh shall rest in hope.
The thought that the saints corrupt and skin worms destroy this flesh,
as Job described, yet shall they live again. He is able to perform
that which He has promised. Not possible for our Lord to
be held under the power of death past the appointed time. He will rest in hope. His flesh
will not seek eruption. He will not abandon His Holy
One to death. He has died and He is alive evermore. Not only that, He sits at the
right hand of God making intercession for us.