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Before we turn to the book of 
Acts, I just want to say that last week I used some hyperbole 
that I ultimately regret. I should have said that if Cam 
or I compromise with reference to the pulpit, please fire us. I apologize for going beyond 
that. I did ask our brother Lucas to 
remove the sermon from sermon audio. So again, I apologize. Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 2. Our focus this 
morning is on verses 24 to 32, which incorporates Psalm 132. 
That's why we read it at the outset of worship. and which is an application or 
an interpretation of Psalm 16, which is why we sang Psalm 16. Focuses on the resurrection of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, which is why we sang 599. There's a 
method to the madness here. The hope is that the Psalms and 
the hymns serve the doctrine of the Word and keep those themes 
fresh in our hearts and minds. Well, I want to pick up reading 
at verse 22 in Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost. Remember, 
that he is answering those mockers who said that they were full 
of new wine when the gift of the Spirit or the gifts of the 
Spirit had been manifested through speaking in other languages. 
So Peter says they're not drunk. This is a fulfillment of the 
prophet Joel, specifically Joel 2, concerning the last days. 
And now he goes on to explain who Jesus Christ is. Beginning 
in verse 22, men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, 
a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs 
which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves 
also know. Him being delivered by the determined 
purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless 
hands, have crucified, and put to death. whom God raised up, 
having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that 
he should be held by it. For David says concerning him, 
I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is at my right 
hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced and 
my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will 
rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul 
in Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. 
You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me 
full of joy in your presence." Men and brethren, let me speak 
freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and 
buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being 
a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him 
that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would 
raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, 
spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul 
was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This 
Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, 
being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from 
the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this 
which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into 
the heavens, but he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit 
at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool. 
Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that 
God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and 
Christ. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for this statement, this sermon by the Apostle Peter 
concerning Jesus Christ. And I pray now that your Holy 
Spirit would guide us and lead us and help us. I pray that your 
Holy Spirit would illumine our minds and our hearts and that 
we would receive with thanksgiving your word. And again, Father, 
we pray for any and all who have not called on the name of the 
Lord, that today would be the day of salvation, that they would 
look to Him who lived, who died, and who was raised the third 
day. Do forgive us now for our sins and our transgressions, 
and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, last time 
in this study in the book of Acts, Peter's sermon on the day 
of Pentecost, he basically presents who Jesus Christ is. And in the 
context, that makes sense. If you notice in verse 21, as 
he finishes his quotation of Joel's prophecy, he says, "...and 
it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord 
shall be saved." Now Peter will explain that Jesus is this Lord, 
that Jesus has absolute Lordship, and that all persons listening 
to Peter should call upon Him. All persons listening to subsequent 
preachers should call upon Him. In other words, if you have not 
called upon the name of the Lord, you are dead in your sins. You 
will ultimately perish in eternity. The way of salvation is not by 
calling and working, but by calling, by looking unto Jesus, by having 
faith in the one who lived and who died and was raised again. 
And last week we considered that Peter set forth the true humanity 
of Jesus Christ in verse 22, and then he highlights the predetermined 
death of Jesus Christ in verse 23. Now here in verses 24 to 
32, he takes up the resurrection of Christ. And then in 33 to 
36, he'll deal with the exaltation of Christ, which we will, God 
willing, look at next Sunday. But this morning, we're going 
to look at Jesus as the one who was raised by God the Father. So let's look first at the declaration 
concerning the resurrection in verse 24. And then secondly, 
the prophecy concerning the resurrection in verses 25 to 32. But note 
in the first place, verse 24, whom God raised up. Now, He had 
just said that God the Father had purpose, that He be delivered 
up, and that He ultimately be crucified. But He does not negate 
or neglect the responsibility of these Jerusalem sinners for 
their responsibility in terms of the death of Jesus. Notice 
at the end of verse 23, you have taken by lawless hands, have 
crucified and put to death. And then he goes on to say whom 
God raised up. So there's this great contrast 
between the lawless hands of these unbelieving Jews and the 
father. The father was pleased with the 
work of the son. And so the father raised him 
up. There are other texts that specify that Christ takes up 
his own life or raises himself. but all the persons of the Trinity 
are involved in this particular activity. It is not out of the 
ordinary for the authors to describe it as the particular act of the 
Father, and he does here, whom God raised up. So there is this 
contrast. F. F. Bruce says, the sentence 
passed on Jesus by an earthly court and executed by Roman soldiers 
has been reversed. Peter asserts by a higher court. In other words, if this is what 
the lawless hands thought of the Lord Jesus Christ, this is 
what God the Father thought of the Lord Jesus Christ. He raised 
Him up and He loosed the pains of death. He freed Him from that 
temporary captivity. He freed Him from that earthly 
bondage in terms of the death of His own body, His entrance 
into the grave. And notice specifically that 
it was impossible that He should be held by death. The end of 
verse 24, because it was not possible, that he should be held 
by it. Now we could say this is true 
of Christ by virtue of the hypostatic union. It's impossible for God 
to die. Christ, according to his humanity, 
did in fact die. But it's impossible for death 
to contain him because there wasn't a dissolution of the natures. 
He is still the one person, two natures. So while it's impossible 
in terms of who Jesus is, that's not Peter's particular point 
in this presentation. Peter says it was not possible 
for Jesus to stay dead because the scriptures had promised otherwise. Note how verse 25 begins. It begins with the word for. It was not possible that death 
hold him for God had promised that death would not hold him. In other words, Peter is showing 
that what is happening in life, in terms of the person and the 
work of the Lord Jesus Christ, is stuff that was written about 
him. It was prophesied. Peter's not 
the new thing on the block when it comes to interpreting scripture. 
Peter is interpreting the Bible consistently. Peter is interpreting 
the Bible accurately. And Peter wants to show these 
Jews that they've missed it, that they've resisted it, and 
that they need to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and 
be saved. It was impossible for death to 
hold on to him because the Father promised otherwise. Again, F.F. Bruce says, if his suffering 
and death were ordained by the determined counsel of God, so 
were his resurrection and glory. This was no accident. None of 
the things that Peter highlights concerning who Jesus is was any 
accident. It wasn't an afterthought, it 
wasn't a plan B, but rather it was indeed an application of 
God's Word in the history and in the work of Jesus Christ. 
Now let's look at that prophecy concerning the resurrection in 
verses 25 to 32. First, Peter appeals to Psalm 
16, verses 8 to 11, and then Peter interprets Psalm 16, verses 
8 to 11. But notice in the first place 
the subject of the psalm. Verse 25, for David says concerning 
him, Who's the him? It's the him that God raised 
up from the dead. It's the him who was engaged 
in an earthly ministry. It's the him who was attested 
by the Father with wonders and miracles and signs. It's the 
him they crucified. Their lawless hands put him to 
death, but the Father raised him up. And now we read that 
David wrote a psalm concerning him, concerning Christ, concerning 
Messiah. David is the author of the psalm, 
but David is not the subject of the psalm. The psalm is descriptive 
of the life of Messiah. Now, if you hear me use the word 
Messiah, that's simply the Old Testament equivalent to the word 
Christ. Both Messiah in Hebrew and Christ 
in Greek mean the anointed one, God's anointed one, the one whom 
the Father anointed for a particular task. And in the Old Testament, 
the people of God were taught to wait for and look for this 
coming Messiah. And so we need to understand 
that this particular psalm is not about David, rather it is 
about Jesus. And that psalm, just a brief 
overview, we just sang it, but if I gave you a test right now 
and asked you what Psalm 16 was about, I hope you'd pass. I hope you'd all come through 
with flying colors and say, oh yeah, I remember exactly what 
Psalm 16 was when we sang it, you know, two hymns ago or one 
hymn ago. But Psalm 16 is an expression by the Messiah, a 
petition for God's preservation. Verse 1, uphold me, preserve 
me, keep me. It's a good thing for Messiah 
to pray to his father. The reason that he prays this 
is because of his relationship with and his commitment to Yahweh. In other words, he can ask the 
father to preserve him based on his past that the father has 
in fact preserved him. And then in verses 7 to 11, he 
praises Yahweh. He expresses his praise to God 
and his confidence in him. In short, Psalm 16 basically 
describes the life of Jesus Christ. Psalm 16 expresses to us that 
Messiah is dependent upon the Father, that Messiah has a track 
record of dependence on the Father, that Messiah has a track record 
of experience wherein the Father sustains Him and blesses Him 
and encourages Him. And he has hopefulness in his 
father that he will see him even through the grave itself. So what God has done in the past 
furnishes material for praise in the present and gives him 
hope and stability and confidence for the future. So the subject 
of Psalm 16, though written by David, it's not David. It's about 
the Lord Jesus Christ. John Gill says the whole psalm 
belongs to the Messiah and everything concerning the person in it agrees 
with him. Spurgeon said it has been the 
usual plan of commentators to apply the psalm both to David, 
to the saints, and to the Lord Jesus. But we will venture to 
believe that in it, Christ is all. He goes on to say, since 
in the 9th and 10th verses, like the apostles on the mount, we 
can see no man but Jesus only. These guys got it right. These 
guys knew what they were talking about because David says concerning 
him. Now, when we go back to Psalm 
16, verses 8 to 11, how does it function here in Peter's sermon? Well, in the first place, it 
expresses the Messiah's focus on Yahweh. In other words, the 
resurrection is what Peter is intending to prove here. And 
he's intending to prove it by the fulfillment of Psalm 16. 
But he goes back just a little bit to sort of sketch for us 
a little more about the true humanity and the life of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, the whole context is 
verse 21. He's explaining the Lord that 
persons are to call upon his name. And notice, with reference 
to Psalm 16, the Messiah's focus is on Yahweh. Look at verse 25 
there in Acts 2. I foresaw the Lord always before 
my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 
The Psalm itself says, I set the Lord always before my face. And the idea here is that Jesus 
always lived in the consciousness of His Father's presence. In other words, this Jesus, whom 
you crucified, is the subject of Psalm 16. He is the Messiah 
announced by David, who would ultimately come into this world, 
die, and be raised the third day. But this Jesus, what characterized 
him in his earthly ministry as the anointed of God, as the Chosen 
One, as the Christ, or as the Messiah, is the consciousness 
that he was always in the presence of God. I sat the Lord always 
before my face. That was his focus. That was 
his orientation. That explains why, according 
to verse 23, it was the purpose of the Father. The pre-purpose, 
the pre-determination, the foreknowledge of God. Well, Jesus doesn't shrink 
back from that. Jesus doesn't say, no, I'm not 
going to do that. I sat the Lord always before 
my face so that whatever the situation, whatever the condition, 
whatever the trial, whatever the affliction, I can go through 
it. The Lord Christ Most High was 
one who, according to his humanity, when he lived on earth, lived 
with a conscious focus upon the Father. When he speaks of Yahweh 
being at my right hand. Now, there's no connection here 
to ultimately Christ is exalted to the right hand of the Father. 
This simply means that the Father has always been his advocate. 
This is where the advocate or the helper stands for someone, 
doesn't he? God's always been at my right hand. Messiah says 
of Yahweh, I foresaw the Lord always before my face. He is 
at my right hand that I may not be shaken. In other words, the 
stability that I possess, the confidence that I have, the resolve 
that I manifest, it's because the advocate, my Father, is at 
my right hand. He is my shield, my help, my 
defender, my friend. This is how the psalm applies 
to our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, secondly, this promotes 
joy in the Messiah. Verse 26, therefore, my heart 
rejoiced and my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will 
rest in hope. Isn't that the case? The presence 
of God affords what? It affords joy. See, Spurgeon 
said it's written about Jesus only, but I'm going to argue 
later on that it's for Jesus only, or it's really descriptive 
of the life of Jesus, or a prayer of Jesus. But believers, by virtue 
of their union with Him, it is for us as well. And I think thereby 
it shows us some very important things. Why do we lack joy? Maybe because we don't set Yahweh 
before our face. Maybe because we don't rely upon 
his advocacy. Maybe because we don't depend 
upon him as our friend. Maybe the absence of joy in our 
lives is because of the absence of God in our lives, which we 
are perfectly content with. Not so, Messiah. Messiah says, 
I set the Lord always before my face. He is at my right hand 
that I may not be shaken. Therefore, based on that reality, 
Messiah says, my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad. Literally, 
my glory was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will 
rest in hope. So just let us take from this, 
the joy or the presence of God produces joy on the part of the 
people of God. I know that seems like a fundamental 
basic principle, but it's one I think we stand in need of being 
reminded of a lot. Why aren't we typically happy? 
Oh yeah, we could use a raise or we could use a promotion or 
we could use a happier home life. No, it's because we need more 
God. Remember that interchange between 
Yahweh and Moses prior to their entrance to the promised land, 
and God says, I'm not going. I'm giving you the Jim Butler 
paraphrase. I'm not going. What's Moses say? We don't want to go to the promised 
land if you're not there. You're what makes the promised 
land good. You're what makes the promised 
land a land of blessing. If you're not in it, God, we 
don't want to be there, God. You see, the people of God throughout 
the ages of the church have this one thing in common. They're 
the people of God. They want Yahweh. They want Jesus 
Christ. They want all these things that 
the Bible says are available to them. They don't want to absent 
themselves. They don't want to not participate. 
They don't want to not read, not pray, not look to God. No, 
they want more of God, because it's God that produces joy. Therefore, 
based on the fact that I sat Yahweh before my face, the fact 
that He is at my right hand, therefore my heart rejoiced and 
my tongue was glad. And then this produces hope and 
confidence for the future. Moreover, my flesh also will 
rest in hope. And notice then, thirdly, the 
Messiah's confidence in Yahweh. Verse 27, specific reference 
to the resurrection. You see what Peter is doing? It's brilliant. Again, Peter 
doesn't need Jim Butler to say it's brilliant, but it's brilliant. 
He's moving this crowd to consider that this Jesus, whom they crucified, 
is the Messiah. That's why verse 32 isn't simply 
repetition of what he's already said. When he says in verse 32, 
this Jesus, that's what he's been leading to. Psalm 16 is 
not about David. David wrote about Messiah. We 
may agree to that, but verse 32 takes them in this specific 
direction, that Messiah is Jesus. Jesus is Messiah. And everything 
Psalm 16 says, it says concerning Him. Now, note specifically in 
terms of the Messiah's confidence in Yahweh, according to verse 
27, the proven faithfulness of God in the past, the proven faithfulness 
of God in the present, means the proven faithfulness of God 
in the future. So as the Messiah, speaking the 
words of Psalm 16, looks at the life to come, and he knows that 
that's going to entail death, as he knows it's going to entail 
Sheol or Hades, he knows equally as well that the Father will 
bring him forth. And Hades here is the preferred 
translation. It's not hell. This is not a 
proof text that Christ physically and literally went to hell. Hades 
and Sheol are the place of the dead. The Geneva Bible translates 
the word here as grave. And I think that's as good a 
translation as one can give. The doctrine here is not that 
Jesus went to hell. It's that Jesus' body went to 
the place of the dead. But God did not allow His Holy 
One to see corruption. God would not leave His soul 
in Hades, but rather God the Father would raise Him up on 
the third day. The very events and the very 
situation that Peter is prosecuting in terms of the life of Jesus 
Christ. And then notice the Messiah's 
dependence on Yahweh. Verse 28, you have made known 
to me the ways of life. I don't think that's by revelation. 
Okay, Jesus, Messiah, here's what life is going to entail. 
I don't think it's that at all. I think it's you've been with 
me every step in the ways of life. You've been at the head 
of every path in the ways of life. You have been my constant 
and ready companion every step of my way. This is the acknowledgement 
of Messiah with reference to the Father. And he says, you 
have made known to me the ways of life, and then notice, you 
will make me full of joy in your presence. Isn't that what God 
brings to the believer? It's probably a place where more 
than one person should say, amen. Brother, where does our pleasure 
come from? It's interesting because Psalm 
16 has another section to verse 11. It's as if it didn't even 
need to be stated, but the Psalm ends with, at your right hand 
are pleasures forevermore. You see, I think man by nature 
is a pleasure seeker. Isn't he? Well, yeah, I've heard 
about those sorts of guys. Just think about it for a moment. 
Pleasure seekers. I mean, you don't have to parent 
long before you see this is true in your children. I don't mean 
pleasure. We always think carnality or 
sexuality or something. No, we just want to be full. You may have one cookie, but 
I want two. Why? One's enough to get the 
taste and whatever nutritional benefit the cookie provides. 
Why do you have to have two? We want pleasure and we want 
a fullness of it. I'm not even saying that's necessarily 
bad. But what I am suggesting is man 
seeks his pleasure in things that are bad. And that might 
be true of some of you. You seek pleasure in drugs, you 
seek pleasure in alcohol, you seek pleasure in sex, you seek 
pleasure in pornography, you seek pleasure in work. Not that 
there shouldn't be in some of those things, but do you seek 
your pleasure in God? God is the source of pleasure. 
God is the giver of pleasure. God is good. God is merciful. God is kind. And this is what 
Messiah says concerning his own earthly sojourn. You have made 
known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy 
in your presence. At your right hand are pleasures 
forevermore. I think it was Lewis who said, 
it's not that we desire pleasure that's the problem. It's that 
our sights are set too low. We're like the child that would 
rather make mud pies in the gutter than enjoy a holiday by the seaside. God holds forth to each of you 
this morning pleasures forevermore. Why in the world would you reject 
that and go and make mud pies in the gutter? Why in the world 
would you resist and reject those things which God the Lord has 
promised to all those who come to Jesus Christ in faith? In 
fact, turn to the prophet Isaiah. He nails this very clearly, better 
than C.S. Lewis or better than any of Lewis's 
imitators. Notice in the prophet Isaiah, 
in Isaiah 55, he says, Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. 
You who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and 
milk without money and without price. And then note the question, 
the interrogation, why? Verse two, do you spend money 
for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat 
what is good and let your soul delight itself in abundance. 
Incline your ear and come to me here and I will make your 
soul live. You see what the prophet's saying? He's indicting the nation. He's 
indicting the covenant community saying, why are you spending 
your money on that which does not satisfy? Why are you going 
a whoring from Yahweh? Why would you follow after Baal? 
Why would you go to Asherah? Why would you go to Molech? They 
can't deliver. They have no goods. They have 
no resources. They have no benefits. They have 
no blessings to confer upon their worshipers. Why do you spend 
your money on that which does not satisfy? We can extrapolate 
and bring it to our own particular context and ask the same question. 
Why, young people, do you spend your money on that which does 
not satisfy? I don't mean you buy cheap stuff 
at Walmart. I mean your resources, your hopes, 
your dreams, your life, your orientation. Why do you spend 
it on porn? Why do you spend it on drugs? 
Why do you spend it on whatever is not God? The prophet all say, 
come to God. You want pleasure? That's not 
a bad thing. But seek your pleasure in the 
one who is perfectly equipped to deliver that pleasure. And 
that pleasure is the forgiveness of sins. That pleasure is a conscience 
that is void of offense toward God and men. That pleasure is 
the life of faith. That pleasure is knowing Yahweh 
always before our face, Yahweh as an advocate or a helper at 
our right hand. That pleasure is the confident 
reality that though we go into the grave, we will arise. We 
are going to follow the Savior. What did the Savior do in terms 
of the grave for his people? He took the fangs out of it. 
Isn't that what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15? Grave, where 
is your sting? Death, where is your victory? 
It's been de-deathed and been de-fanged by our Savior. See, those are the pleasures 
that we need to orient ourselves toward. The reality that Jesus 
will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. The 
reality that he's going to say to wretched, miserable, horrible 
sinners like us, well done, good and faithful servant. Isn't that 
amazing? Christ is going to say that? 
I can think of a thousand reasons Jesus should never say that to 
me. But the one reason why he will is because he died and he 
was raised again. That's pleasure. Pleasure is 
not doing whatever it is you want to do. Pleasure is coming 
to the Father through the Son, knowing the joy of being found 
in Him. Not having your own righteousness, 
which is from the law, but that which is from God through faith 
in Jesus. So I want to encourage young 
people, children, adults as well. Your problem isn't that you want 
pleasure. The problem is is where you're seeking to satisfy, seeking 
to find, seeking to fetch out that pleasure. And I want to 
encourage you, find that pleasure where Messiah found it, namely 
in his father. Psalm 16 is appealed to, now 
Peter comes to interpret in verses 29 to 32. He reminds them of the subject 
of the psalm. He's already said, David says 
concerning him in verse 25. Now in verse 29, he's going to 
say, you know, men and brethren, he's not speaking to them as 
brethren Christians, but brethren Jews. And some have observed 
that he softens his language a little bit here in terms of 
men and brethren, because he's going to press on them something 
that is going to be very difficult for them to understand and receive. 
I hope you appreciate the contrast. This Jesus, whom you crucified, 
is the Messiah that David wrote about. This Jesus, whom you crucified, 
is the Messiah that David wrote about and the one whom God raised 
up. So, men and brethren, I want 
to take you by the hands now. I want to work our way through 
the interpretation of this particular psalm, and I want to show you 
how it finds its fulfillment in Jesus. And first, I need to 
remind you who the subject of the psalm was. It wasn't David. 
It wasn't David. Notice in verse 29. Men and brethren, 
let me speak freely to you. of the patriarch David, that 
he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 
So Psalm 16 couldn't have been about him, because he was both 
dead and buried, and his tomb is present with us to this day. 
Now, whether it's present to us in our day is not the point. 
It was present to them in their day, and they could see it. They 
understood it. They knew it. They knew that 
this could not be true of David because he both died, he was 
buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Now notice he 
goes on to indicate that David was a prophet and that David 
functioned as a prophet and David operated according to things 
that he had known and things that he foresaw. Notice in verse 
30, therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn 
with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according 
to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. 
There's a bit of a variant. If you're using the NIV, NAS 
or ESV, there's a bit of a variant there. If you're interested, 
you can talk to me afterwards and we can debate the merits 
of this particular interpretation. We're going to stick with what's 
here in New King James. But the backdrop is Psalm 132. 
And the backdrop of Psalm 132 is what's called 2 Samuel 7. 
Now, this is very important, and I encourage you all to just 
pay attention, not to suggest that you're not, but it's always 
good to get a little reminder. What's 2 Samuel 7? It's the promise 
of God to David that from David's line, one would rise up and one 
would sit on David's throne and one would rule over the kingdom 
of God forever and ever. It's a beautiful promise, isn't 
it? David receives this. The psalmists, you know, amplify 
it. Psalm 132 as well. Psalm 89. 
You notice I often choose Psalm 89 as an opener for worship because 
it's a psalm of Christ. It speaks to Jesus. It speaks 
to his relationship to David, his father. And it's all under 
that promise of 2 Samuel chapter 7. And that's precisely what's 
happening. So the Lord had sworn with an 
oath to him. Look at the language. Therefore, 
being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath. That's 
kind of redundant, isn't it? He just swore. He swore with 
an oath. In other words, what God says in 2 Samuel 7 is not 
open for debate. It is not compromisable. It is not something that will 
vanish. It is not something that can 
be threatened. God swore with an oath to David 
that from David's line, God would raise up a son, sit him upon 
his throne, and he would rule and reign over all things. Again, 
2 Samuel 7, Davidic Covenant, Psalm 89, Psalm 132. So David knew these things. David understood these things. David had accurate sort of a 
perception concerning the scope of future history. But notice 
as well in verse 31, he says, he foreseeing this spoke concerning 
the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in 
Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. So the prophet David 
spoke of Jesus Christ in Psalm 16. We've already established 
that, we already know that, but let's proceed. He says the reference, 
or rather the reference to his flesh, notice in verse 31, his 
flesh did not see corruption. Highlights further the physicalness 
of bodily resurrection. In other words, there are those 
who taught that it really doesn't matter whether Jesus rose from 
the dead or not, it's what it inspires from his people. It 
really doesn't matter if the body that went into the tomb 
came out of the tomb. It's the thought that counts. 
No, it absolutely does matter that the body that went into 
the tomb is the body that came out of the tomb. We hang our 
souls on that data and it most certainly does matter. The sorts 
of people that say, well, it really doesn't matter how God 
created the world or how long it took for God to create the 
world. Those are the same sort of people that say, well, it 
doesn't really matter if Jesus did what he says he did. Brethren, 
the authority of God's word hangs on such things. And if we suggest 
or rather sacrifice one, then the whole thing collapses. But 
Peter telling us the flesh was raised, true bodily resurrection. And notice that the Psalm prophetically 
announces the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. And it 
does not do so with reference to a future millennial kingdom, 
but it does so with reference to the resurrection of our Lord 
Jesus. In other words, there are those 
who teach us that we need to wait for King Jesus to reign. That's not what Peter says. Verses 
33 to 36 are going to show us that he is both Lord and Christ, 
that he rules and reigns over all things. Psalm 110, one is 
true of him. Yahweh said to my Lord, sit down 
at my right hand till I make all of your enemies your footstool. 
Brethren, we are not waiting for the King to come. We are 
submitting to the King in his reign now. When does Peter tell 
us that Jesus occupies David's throne? Not in our future, but 
rather at the resurrection. He was raised from the dead, 
he was exalted on high, and there he sits rather on the throne 
of David. All the promises of God are yea 
and amen in Him. The promise concerning the Son 
of God, who would build a house for God, is now fulfilled in 
and through our Lord Jesus Christ. And then notice, in verse 32, 
the specific application of the Psalm to Jesus. Again, the name 
Jesus was announced in verse 22. But then here, it's encapsulated, 
or rather brought back, to show that this Jesus God raised up, 
of which we are all witnesses, the psalm was not about David, 
but the Messiah, and the Messiah is this Jesus. Now, I don't know 
that we feel the full import of this particular statement, 
because we're not Jews living in the first century. We're not 
Jews who, by and large, rejected this man Jesus of Nazareth, We're 
not Jews who scoffed or ultimately said, away with him, away with 
him, crucify him. But you see Peter's impeccable 
logic. David's not writing about David. David's writing about 
Messiah, and Messiah is this Jesus whom you crucify. Now, 
brethren, thankfully they were cut to the heart and about 3,000 
were added to the church that day. But for those who were not 
added, I am sure that this name, this application, this series 
of implications made by Peter in terms of his interpretation 
of Psalm 16 would have just blown their minds and enraged them. They would have been outraged. 
Jesus is not the Messiah. This man from Nazareth, this 
carpenter's son, remember the kind of disdain they held for 
him during his earthly ministry? Do you think that magically changes 
at this particular point? Yes, some do come. Yes, some 
do believe. Yes, some do call on the name 
of the Lord. But brethren, as we proceed through 
the Book of Acts, who's the chief enemy of the Church of Jesus 
Christ, at least primarily or initially? It's unbelieving Jews. That is not an anti-Semitic statement. It is a statement of fact. Initially, 
the Roman Empire saw Christianity as a subset of Judaism. And the 
Roman Empire, for the most part, left Judaism alone. They didn't 
mess with them. And so for the Roman Empire, 
it was a moot point who these believers were, who these Christians 
were. Yeah, it's a sect of the Nazarene, 
but they just assumed it under the banner of Judaism. The first 
primary enemy is unbelieving Judaism. That's who the apostles 
are going to have their troubles with. That's who they're going 
to be opposed by, because they didn't say, wow, I guess David 
was writing about Jesus. No, they didn't see it that way. They didn't think it that way. 
I submit that verse 32 is not just the repetition of information, 
but it is taking like a dagger the reality of who Jesus Christ 
is and screwing it into their consciences. This Jesus God has 
raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Alexander said what 
he said in the preceding verse was that David spake of the Messiah's 
resurrection. What he here says is that the 
Messiah was no other than Jesus whom they crucified. Why so? Because in him and him alone, 
the prophecy has been fulfilled. The Messiah was to rise from 
the dead. Jesus of Nazareth has risen from 
the dead. Therefore, the two must be identical. It's impeccable logic on the 
part of the Apostle Peter, and it's affirmed by two witnesses. God raised him up, and we, the 
disciples, saw him. We, the disciples, looked at 
him. We, the disciples, saw the self, 
same body that went into the tomb is the self, same body that 
came out of the tomb. We are eyewitnesses of this fact. That's Peter's interpretation 
of Psalm 16. Now, before we move to some concluding 
thoughts of application, I think it's important that we learn 
to read the Bible the way the apostles read the Bible. Notice 
that the words Christ and resurrection are not found in Psalm 16, but 
Christ and the resurrection are found in Psalm 16, right? You see that? If you're ever 
walking down Yale Road on a Saturday morning, you'll probably bump 
into the Watchtower Society. And what's one of their biggest 
arguments against the doctrine of the Trinity? Well, the word 
Trinity is not in the Bible. The word Trinity is not in the 
Bible. Take your concordance out. And they're right. Take 
your concordance out. Look up T, or better yet, type it in 
on your computer concordance. It's a lot easier than getting 
up and having to walk five steps. That's a bummer. Type in Trinity, 
you won't find it in the Bible. It's called the word concept 
fallacy. The idea that the word is absent, 
so therefore the concept is absent. That's false. It's a lie. The Trinity is everywhere in 
the Bible, even if the word is absent. Christ and the resurrection 
are clearly plainly taught by David in Psalm 16, even though 
those words are absent from Psalm 16. In other words, read the 
Bible the way the apostles did. As well, if your interpretative 
method couldn't yield Peter's interpretation of Psalm 16, I 
would say get a new interpretative method. Now, for those of you 
who might be scratching your melons and wondering what I'm 
going on about, well, there's a whole hermeneutic that we ought 
to adopt in terms of reading Old Testament texts. And that 
hermeneutic is not what is oftentimes bandied about in pulpit after 
pulpit and seminary after seminary. We need to arrive at how these 
men read the Old Testament, and we need to function likewise. 
Just had to get that out of my system there. I think interpretation. 
One of my aims or hopes or goals in preaching is not only to preach 
what the text says, but hopefully to encourage you how to read 
texts so that you don't need me. I mean, we always need churches, 
and we always need ministry, and all that sort of thing. But 
on a Monday, or a Tuesday, or a Wednesday, it'd be good for 
you to say, oh, yeah, I get it. I see how Peter's operating here. 
I see how Peter's functioning. You know the old adage, you give 
a man a fish, you feed him for a day. You teach a man to fish, 
you feed him for the rest of his life. I think the people 
of God need to be taught how to fish. They need to be taught 
biblical hermeneutics or principles of interpretation so they can 
yield the meaning of texts on their own, because that's what 
God wants from us. Well, in terms of some thoughts 
concerning application, first, the whole context, Peter is concerned 
to explain this Lord of verse 21. It shall come to pass that 
whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And 
that Lord is Jesus Christ. That Lord is the second person 
of the Holy Trinity who came into this world and took on our 
humanity with all the essential properties and common and firmities 
thereof, yet without sin. He is our fellow in terms of 
his humanity. And that one lived in obedience 
to the Father's law. Why? Because we have not. We 
do not. We will not. And he obeyed every 
step of the way. And then he was offered up as 
a sacrifice, and he gave himself willingly. And there on that 
cross, he was just that, a sacrifice to God for sin. And he was also 
a substitute there, because we deserve to bear that punishment 
and wrath. Christ took it for us. Isn't 
that a beautiful thing? I wonder if we've lost the freshness 
of that. I wonder if we've lost the sort 
of awe and the wow factor about this reality. I mean, I think 
we touch on, you know, the doctrine of justification a lot. We speak 
about salvation a lot. We look to the gospel a lot. 
Brethren, the purpose of looking to the gospel a lot is not to 
lose the wow factor. Would to the Lord God Almighty 
that we'd be wowed every day as we consider our lot in life. 
We are that servant who knew our master's will and we didn't 
do it. We deserve a multitude of stripes, but lo and behold, 
our master, our savior, our Lord and redeemer, he came in and 
he bore those stripes on our behalf. Let us never lose the wow factor 
the gospel provides at the beginning of our salvation. May it be the 
case that it always provides that throughout our salvation. 
He not only died, but he was raised a third day. And as Paul 
sort of encapsulates that whole event, that sort of two things, 
the death and the resurrection, he tells us in Romans 4.25 that 
Christ was delivered up because of our offenses. In other words, 
why did Jesus die? Because of our sins. And he was 
raised for our justification. Secondly, we ought to appreciate 
the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, the promise made by 
God to David in 2 Samuel 7, 12-16. And there, in that particular 
section, God says, death does not annul the promise. In other 
words, David would die, Solomon would die, the subsequent Judean 
kings would die. And the idea might be, well, 
the promise would die then as well. No, death does not annul 
it. He says as well that sin does 
not destroy it. The Lord's David sinned, Solomon 
sinned, and all the subsequent Judean kings sinned. Doesn't 
that mean that the threat is there for the dissolution of 
this Davidic covenant? No. God knows that they would 
sin, but the one who would come to fulfill it would never sin. 
And as well, time will not exhaust it. And then that Davidic covenant 
is further amplified or rather referred to in Psalm 89 and Psalm 
132. And then throughout the Psalms, 
you get David reporting more and more to us about Messiah, 
about this one who would be the one to achieve all that God promised 
in the Davidic covenant. Psalm 22, we call it a Psalm 
of the cross. Why? Because it speaks of crucifixion. My God, my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me? And then here, specifically in 
Psalm 16, he speaks of the resurrection. In other words, if you only had 
your Old Testament, you would have enough to have saving faith 
in Jesus Christ for the salvation of your souls. One man, a recent 
Bible teacher somewhere said, we need to separate ourselves 
or disattach ourselves or get rid of the Old Testament. Please 
don't do that. You get rid of the Old Testament, 
you get rid of Jesus. You don't ever get rid of your 
Old Testament. Brethren, read it, study it, 
sing it, praise God for it, because it's all about Jesus. Didn't 
Jesus say this? You search the scriptures, for 
in them you think you have eternal life, but these are they that 
testify of who? Me. that any preacher would ever 
say that the Christian church doesn't need the Old Testament, 
there's a guy that should be fired. Hyperbole, or hyperbole 
within boundaries. That's not hyperbole. He should 
be fired. That's terrible, bad. What does it make of Paul's statement 
in 2 Timothy chapter 3? All scripture is given by inspiration 
of God. It's profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. 
Why? That the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto 
every good work. What scripture is Paul primarily speaking of 
in that particular instance? The Old Testament. You have known 
the sacred scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation 
through faith in Jesus Christ. Brethren, we ought to take the 
Word of God seriously. And when we see here that Psalm 
16 was about Jesus, we ought to be thankful. The application 
to Jesus in the birth narrative in Luke's Gospel. We see the 
fulfillment in Jesus at his resurrection and exaltation. And then we have 
that sort of snippet in Matthew chapter 16, which gives us the 
fruition. In other words, it gives us what 
the 2 Samuel 7 covenant promise was all about. What was it? It 
was that a son of God would build a house for God and he would 
rule over it. Isn't that Matthew 16? Who do 
men say that I, the Son of Man, am? They go about explaining, 
speaking what's going on out there. And then Jesus says, but 
who do you say that I am? Peter says, thou art the Christ, 
the son of the living God. What's Peter or rather Jesus 
go on to say? I will build my church. You have a son of God building 
a house for God, ruling over it for all eternity. It's a blessed 
fulfillment in terms of our Redeemer. And then finally, the practical 
benefit of the passage. Hopefully all of this has been 
practical, but so that we get some specifics. The union believers 
have with Christ means the truths set forth by Psalm 16 are true 
for those in Him. In other words, it does apply 
to Jesus, but we in Him, we have life eternal in Him. We are bound 
up in Messiah. So what He prays there in Psalm 
16 is true for His people as well. Shouldn't we each and every 
day pray Psalm 1, verse 1 of Psalm 16, Preserve me, O Yahweh. and use as an argument God's 
past faithfulness. You've always been with me in 
the past. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. You've 
never left me destitute. You've never left me wandering. You've never left me alone. Isn't 
this the way the people of God ought to pray? Pray the way Spurgeon 
says, as those who have tried and proven their God. That's 
precisely how Messiah Jesus prays there. In Psalm 16, preserve 
me. And I know that you will because 
you always have. And when I come to a particular 
crux in my life for the Lord Jesus, that meant the cross, 
I am confident that you will not leave my soul in Sheol. And 
you will not allow your Holy One to see corruption. You will 
raise me from the dead. Brethren, those things Christ 
prays in Psalm 16 are true for us. God is our preserver. God is at our right hand. God 
is the source of our joy. God is our stabilizing influence. God promotes hope for us in the 
future. We are going to die, but we have 
a certain confident hope that we're gonna pass through that 
grave. It functions as a portal for 
the people of God to send them into the place of God. Takes 
the death or the sting right out of it, doesn't it? When you 
look at it that way. You've heard the old adage, I 
don't mind dying, I just don't wanna be there when it happens. 
I get that. Death is unnatural. It's the 
sort of consequences of sin. It's not good. It's not pleasant. 
But for the people of God, who foresee the Lord always before 
their face, who know His presence at their right hand, who have 
that joy unspeakable and full of glory, who have that confident 
hope and expectation, we say with Paul Grave, where is your 
victory? Death, where is your sting? Not 
that we get cocky or arrogant, but we know that there's a day 
coming wherein we will enter in to Immanuel's land. We will 
sing stanza four of 599, really, the king there in his beauty. I'm sorry, I always mess this 
up when I try to wing it. Another sign that my memory is 
not as good as it was even five years ago. The bright eyes, not 
her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze at glory, 
but on my King of grace. Not at the crown he gifteth, 
but on his pierced hand. The Lamb is all the glory of 
Emmanuel's land." That's our future, Saint. That's in our 
future, brethren. That's what we have the hope 
for. He will not allow our soul to perish in Sheol or in Hades. He will not let our flesh see 
corruption. Well, He will for a time. The 
worms are going to get to it. But there's a resurrection day 
coming. There is a judgment day coming. There is a final glorious 
appearing before the Lord coming. And in that, we hope. In that 
we rejoice, in that we trust. Please, please, please see Psalm 
16. Yes, first and foremost, as the 
Messiah's experience of Yahweh in his earthly ministry, but 
see it as well as your prayer to the God of heaven and earth. 
Preserve me. Keep me. Hold me. Be there at 
my right hand because sometimes life is a mess. Sometimes it's 
challenging. Look at what it was for Christ. Came to his own, his own, received 
him not. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He needed 
to depend upon his father. And what does he do? He depends 
upon his father. Brethren, please take Psalm 16, 
add it to your prayer life, I think you'll be happier for it, and 
enjoy singing that psalm of praise to God Almighty. And if you're 
not a believer this morning, I want you to have all that Psalm 
16 says is true for the people of God. And the way of salvation 
is so clearly outlined in verse 21, we'll simply end with a statement 
concerning it. Whoever calls on the name of 
the Lord shall be saved. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for the glory and 
the majesty of Jesus Christ our Lord, his true humanity, his 
predetermined death, his glorious resurrection, and God willing, 
as we consider next week, his exaltation to the right hand 
of the Father. How we thank you that the Old 
Testament is all about Jesus, and how we thank you that it's 
beautiful and wonderful and expressive of his relationship with the 
Father. And God, I pray that we would 
find great encouragement and great hope for our own souls 
in such Psalms as these. And we pray these things through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, why don't we close 
by singing the doxology of praise to our triune God. If you're 
not familiar, it's page Roman numeral 16 in your Trinity hymnal. We'll stand as we sing the doxology. 
♪ Praise God around whom all blessings 
flow ♪ ♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Praise Him above 
ye heavenly host ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost. Amen. That a Him who is able 
to keep you from stumbling, and that you fall in the support 
of the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. The God of 
our Savior, the Lord is wise, the glory and majesty, dominion, 
and power, for now and forever. Amen. Father, we acknowledge 
what you write here, and we pray to you that you do keep us, that 
you do preserve us, and I pray that now you would go with us, 
and your face, your countenance, your kindness, your goodness 
would shine upon us, that you would keep us, that you would 
bless us, that you would bring us together again, and we may 
worship you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we pray this 
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.