Pentecost
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Therefore did my heart rejoice, and 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 shalt make me full of
joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak 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, and
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
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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. This
Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the
Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which
ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens; but
he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right
hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, who ye
have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Peter here shows that David could not have spoken in reference to
himself, but definitely of Jesus Christ. David died a natural death like
other men; his sepulcher, with the honored dust it contained, had been
preserved with great care until that time. David, as king of Israel, and
also as a prophet, had been specially honored by God. In prophetic
vision he was shown the future life and ministry of Christ. He saw his
rejection, his trial, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension.
David testified that the soul of Christ was not to be left in hell (the
grave), nor was his flesh to see corruption. Peter shows the fulfillment
of this prophecy in Jesus of Nazareth. God had actually raised him
up from the tomb before his body saw corruption. He was now the
exalted One in the Heaven of heavens.
The surprising demonstrations on the occasion of the Feast of
Pentecost could only be accounted for in this way: The promise which
Christ had given the disciples of the descent of the Holy Ghost from
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the Father was in this manner fulfilled. “He hath shed forth this which
ye now see and hear.” Peter assures them that David’s prophecy could
not refer to himself, for he had not ascended into the heavens; he was
resting in his sepulcher. If the soul of David had gone to Heaven, Peter