“The Sure Mercies of David”

"The Sure Mercies of David"

(No. 2366)

A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S DAY, JUNE 24, 1894.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL
6, 1888.

"And as concerning that He raised Him up from the dead, no w no more to
return to corruption, He said on this wise, I will give you the sure
mercies of David." Acts 13:34.

WE know from this quotation made by the Apostle Paul in his address at
Antioch, that he was alluding not only to David, but to the Lord Jesus,
also. "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of
God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
but He, whom God raised again, saw no corruption." There was a Covenant
made with David which was intended to be typical of another
Covenant–and David, himself, is the special type of that great King
with whom God has made a Covenant on behalf of His people. We will
leave David somewhat in the background in our meditations tonight. We
will only use him as the symbol of the great Christ in whom we rejoice,
for God gives to us "the sure mercies of David" in Jesus Christ, His
well-beloved Son.

The course of our thought upon this passage, if we are helped to follow
it, will be this. First, let us consider, Where our salvation lies–it
lies in this, that the mercies we receive are "the sure mercies of
David." When we have turned that thought over, we will try to answer
this question, What are the sure mercies of David? Our next enquiry
will be, In what day are they so sure? And then, lastly, we will
enquire, What is the connection between the sure mercies of David and
the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ? This text is evidently
quoted to prove that the Resurrection of Christ was spoken of in the
Old Testament–"As concerning that He raised Him up from the dead, now
no more to return to corruption, He said on this wise, I will give you
the sure mercies of David."

I. First, dear Friends, let us consider, WHERE OUR SALVATION LIES.

It does not lie in ourselves. You may sift yourself over and over, as
with a sieve, and you will not discover one atom of saving matter in
yourself! You may throw on the dunghill all that you find there. There
is not a grain of Grace in a hundred tons of human nature. You may go
on sifting, sifting, sifting, to all eternity and you shall find only
that which is worthy of the damning sentence. Ask any man who is saved
and if he speaks intelligently, he will tell you that the Lord Jesus
Christ is his salvation. If he begins to explain the grounds, reasons
and foundation of his salvation, he will look away from himself and
will point to Jesus Christ, alone!

The text speaks about David and David is a good type of our Lord Jesus
Christ, in whom our salvation lies. Jesus was One who was despised and
rejected, just as David was in his own family. When Samuel came to
anoint as king one of the sons of Jesse, David was away watching the
sheep–he was not thought worthy of being called in till Samuel
specially sent for him. His brothers evidently despised him and
condemned him as being forward when really he was more courageous than
they were. So, too, our Lord was despised and rejected of men–they did
not think that the Nazarene could be the Messiah. It was enough,
merely, to mention His name and to speak of Him as Jesus of Nazareth,
for them at once to ridicule His claims. They judged that it was not
possible that He, who was so poor, so meek, so lowly–that He who had
so little of anything which they looked for in the promised Deliverer,
should be the Savior–yet He was and still is the only Savior.

You know the story or tradition that when they were building Solomon's
Temple, all the stones were marked to indicate the places where they
should go, for no hammer or chisel was to be used upon them in the
sacred courts. There was one stone of a very awkward shape and the
builders could not find a place for it. They turned it over and tried
to fit it in here and there, but it would not go in anywhere, so they
threw it aside and the nettles and the thistles grew over it. It

became a proverb and a by-word. One would say to another, "Will you not
try to build in that stone?" but they all in turn gave it up–it was
the stone which the builders refused. At last, the Temple was all but
finished–it only lacked one cornerstone and they looked about for it,
but they could not find it. Someone at last suggested, "Perhaps that
queerly-shaped stone is the very one intended to complete the Temple."
So they brought it out and found that it was even so. Our blessed Lord
and Master applied to Himself the words of the Psalmist, "The stone
which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner:
this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes." Like David,
Jesus was the Rejected One, but He is the Anointed of the Lord, blessed
be His holy name!

Our salvation lies in Another, even in One who has fought our greatest
enemy, and overthrown him. This was the mark of David that, in due
time, he came to the front when all Israel fled from the gigantic
Philistine. The two champions meet for the deadly duel, the stone flies
from the shepherd's sling, the giant falls! His head is cut off with
his own sword and David brings the gory trophy to King Saul. Our
salvation lies in One who has destroyed death, and him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil. I see Him coming back with the
tokens of His triumph in His hand! Like David, He has slain His ten
thousands in slaying the one great enemy of His people! In this Jesus,
who died on Calvary and in dying, destroyed death and burst the bonds
of the grave, lies our salvation!

Yet it lies in One who, despite His glorious triumphs, was sorely
persecuted. David did not go straightway from his victory over the
Philistine to sit upon his throne–he was hunted by Saul like a
partridge on the mountains and long had to carry his life in his hands.
He had to pass through sore persecution before he became king. And,
Beloved, in a certain sense, that is the condition of our Lord Jesus
Christ even now! He is still rejected. I know that His name is used and
men like to call themselves His followers, but if you set forth a real
Christ, crucified among them, and preach His great substi-tutionary
sacrifice, you shall see that He is no more a favorite among men than
He used to be! Still will they spit in His face! Still will they
scourge Him! Still will they crucify Him. There has been a long, long
battle, through these nearly two thousand years, while men have cried,
concerning the Lord and His Anointed, "Let us break their bands
asunder, and cast away their cords from us."

But the King will yet come to His Throne. God says, concerning Him,
"Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion." "I will set His
hand, also, in the sea, and His right hand in the rivers. Also I will
make Him My First-Born, higher than the kings of the earth." But, for a
while, the Prince of this world prevails, the Saul, the enemy that
walks in darkness, is allowed to "worry whom he can't devour." And
though it shall not always be so, yet at present it is a time of
conflict and trial. Our salvation still rests in a despised Gospel, in
a hunted Christ–but as Israel looked to David in Engedi, by the tracks
of the wild goats, and not to Saul upon the throne–so we look to our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Though He is still cast out and
persecuted, He is the one hope of our spirits!

Bear with me while I also say that our salvation lies in One who was
thrice anointed, even as David was, first, at his father's house, then
at Hebron, where he was anointed king of Judah, and afterwards when he
came fully to his throne and was acknowledged as king of all Israel.
Our Jesus was trebly anointed as our Prophet, Priest and King. God has
anointed Him with the oil of gladness and we, today, rejoice in Him as
fully fitted, prepared and equipped for completing the great work of
our salvation.

Once more, Beloved, as David ultimately came to his throne and when, on
his throne was seen as the king with whom God had entered into a solemn
Covenant that the throne should be his forever, even so our salvation
lies in One with whom God has made a Covenant, "ordered in all things
and sure," a Covenant which shall stand fast when earth's old pillars
bow and when all things that are created shall melt into their natural
nothingness! You know that we fell in one federal head, even the first
Adam. Behold the glory of the fact that we rise in another
Representative, even the Second Adam, the Lord from Heaven! We see our
ruin, yonder, in the Garden of Eden. We see our salvation, yonder, in
another garden, Gethsemane, and on the Cross of Calvary. Still we look
beyond all our willing, doing, praying and everything that comes of
ourselves, to the Son of God and Son of Man, given by God to accomplish
that redemption by which sinners are saved! The Lord says, concerning
Jesus, "I have laid help upon One that is mighty; I have exalted One
chosen out of the people." This Almighty Savior is the only hope of
guilty men!

May I ask my dear Hearers at once–lest I should suddenly have to stop
short in my sermon–do you know and trust this Savior? Have you come to
lean on Christ, alone? Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? Can you say,
"He is all my salvation and all my desire"? Can you take Him up in your
arms, as old Simeon did, and bless God that your eyes have seen

His salvation? All that can save you lies there, in the Person and work
of this glorious David, of whom I desire to speak to you, tonight. May
God the Holy Spirit introduce you to Him if you know Him not, and may
you accept Him at once, as God would have you accept Him–as your
Savior and your All! I have thus spoken upon the first point, where our
salvation lies.

II. Now, secondly, WHAT ARE THE SURE MERCIES OF DAVID? What is meant by
that expression?

I have already told you, but I may tell you yet again. God dealt with
Israel by way of mercy and, to make that mercy sure, He took a man whom
He had chosen–a man whom He loved, a man whom He intended to use–and
He made with him a Covenant that He would set him upon the throne, that
by his personal influence he might bring down blessings upon all the
people. These are "the sure mercies of David."

In the matter of our salvation, "the sure mercies of David" mean that
God has laid hold upon His Son, Jesus Christ. You cannot help yourself,
but Christ can help you. You cannot cleanse yourself, but Christ can
cleanse you. You cannot save yourself, but Christ can save you. Dear
Heart, whatever it is you lack, there is no lack in Christ! Whatever is
your need, Christ has exactly that which can meet your case. Young man,
you say, "I have nothing." And I answer you with this–Christ has
everything! You say, old man, "What can I do? "And I answer you with
this–What cannot Christ do? If you are nothing, Christ is everything!
If you are everything that is evil, Christ is everything that is good.
If you have weakness, mourn it, but trust Christ and He shall be your
strength! If you have sorrow, you can not shake it off, but go to Jesus
and He shall be your song! All that you need is in Christ. This, then,
is the first sure mercy of David–that help is laid on Christ.

And, next, as David was anointed to be the Leader and Commander to his
people, even so, Christ is anointed on our behalf. He comes not to as a
self-sent Savior, but as one anointed of God! It was a great comfort to
me, when I put myself in Christ's hands, that I had not to pick out a
Savior for myself, but God had appointed Him. I did not put myself into
the hands of One who was not authorized to act, for Jesus comes to us
fully commissioned by God. A person who has no diploma may very
possibly be a wise surgeon, but there are few sufferers who would trust
themselves, in difficult operations, with a man who was not properly
authorized to act in such a case. My Lord has a full diploma given Him
by the infinite wisdom of God! He knows how to save. He has been long
in practice and there are multitudes in Heaven whom He has saved. He is
the great specialist in soul saving and He can meet your special case!
He has dealt with diseases that no one else can understand–if you are
an odd man, or the oddest of the odd, yet this Christ, all
comprehensive in His wondrous wisdom, knows all about your condition!

This is another of the sure mercies of David. First, help is laid on
Christ and, next, He is anointed to act on our behalf.

We are told, in the 89th Psalm, that God promised David that He would
overthrow all his enemies–"I will beat down his foes before his face."
Here, then, is another sure mercy for us, Christ will rout all our
enemies. Who are they? How many are there of them? Which way do they
come to assault us? Christ can meet them all! Your sins, your many
fierce and cruel sins, are your enemies. But Christ has made full
Atonement for them all. Believe, and these Egyptians shall sink like
lead in the Red Sea of your Savior's blood! Your present lusts, your
evil passions, the instincts of your nature which you cannot curb are
foes too strong for you to overcome, but Christ is able to destroy them
and to put all your temptations to the rout! It may be that Satan,
himself, assails you and I pity you if that is the case. Any man who
has had a real encounter with the devil will never forget it! All the
tempters in Hell, together, cannot make up so dreadful an adversary as
Apollyon, himself–but even Satan knows who is his Master! Christ can
bid him lie down and be still as a man silences a dog! Only look to
Christ, for this is part of the Covenant, ordered in all things and
sure, that He shall rout your adversaries! Hand your enemies over to
Him and He will rid you of them. Cry, "Son of David, have mercy upon
me," and you shall have a gracious answer and quick deliverance!

God also made this to be a part of His Covenant with His servant,
David, that he was to be a storehouse of good things to the nation over
which he reigned, and Jesus is the storehouse of mercy to all His
people. I am so glad that I have to speak to those who need large
supplies of Grace, for there is, in Christ, all that any sinner can
ever need! As truly can it be said, now, as it might have been said
nearly nineteen hundred years ago–

"Dear dying Lamb, Your precious blood Shall never lose its power,

Till all the ransomed Church of God Is saved to sin no more."

He that opened eyes long ago can open your eyes! He that healed lepers
in Judea can heal you! He that raised the dead can raise you! He is as
much a Savior, now, as He was at the first–if there is any difference,
He has an increase of power, for now has God committed into the hands
of Jesus all power in Heaven and in earth. Only come and trust Him–for
all your salvation lies in Him–and in Him will be found for you in
abundance all "the sure mercies of David."

There is this point, also, about the Covenant made with David, that he
was always to have a seed–and Jesus will always have a seed. I never
come to preach at haphazard, saying to myself, "Perhaps my Lord will
have some souls bow before Him." I know that I have a large
congregation and I feel sure that, when God's Truth is proclaimed, some
will yield to Christ. When He speaks, some of His sheep will hear His
voice and follow Him–and He will give unto them eternal life! When the
good Seed of the Kingdom is sown, there are some furrows in which it
will surely take root and bring forth a harvest to His praise.

Well, then, since Christ must have a seed, why should not I be among
them? Since, as a Savior, He must save some, why should He not save me?
If He is a Physician and must heal some, why should He not heal me? If
He spreads a banquet of mercy and the wedding must be furnished with
guests, why should not I have a seat among them? How I pray that I may
be putting a hopeful thought into some troubled heart tonight! I would
get alongside some trembler and whisper this into his ear, "Jesus must
save sinners–will you not be one of those whom He must save?" It is
written, "Him that comes to Me , I will in no wise cast out." If you
trust Him and He does not save you, let us know of it, for we shall
have to alter our preaching! Christ will have run back from His Word.
He will be another Savior and not the one in whom we trusted. Come,
then, and learn what "the sure mercies of David" are. They are the sure
mercies of Jesus, that in Him there is salvation! He is anointed on
purpose to give salvation! He is able to rout your
adversaries–yes–"He is able, also, to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for
them."

III. That leads me to say a few words, as best I may, upon the third
point–IN WHAT WAY MAY THESE MERCIES BE SAID TO BE SURE?

Well, they may be said to be sure because they are found in Jesus. He
is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Then, whatever is in Him, is
most surely sure! What a storehouse for God to lay up His mercy–the
Person of the Lord Jesus Christ! Remember how the Israelites built
treasure cities for Pharaoh? Well, Beloved, the Lord God has made His
treasure city to be His own dear Son! "It pleased the Father that in
Him should all fullness dwell." "Go unto Joseph," said Pharaoh. "Go
unto Jesus," says Jehovah, for all the blessings of the Covenant are
treasured up in Him and are, therefore, safe and sure! If salvation had
been in your own keeping, you would have lost it long ago. If your hope
had lain in yourself, it would soon have been withered! But since it
lies in Jesus and in Jesus, only, it is always living and blessed! You
and I, poor, helpless, hopeless souls, can flee to this City of Refuge
whose gates are never closed, and find ourselves secure from the
adversary. They are "the sure mercies of David" because the mercies are
all in Christ Jesus our Lord!

The expression is also a good one because the mercies that come to us
by Christ are real mercies. It seems a very commonplace question to
ask, but it is necessary to ask it–did you ever feel yourself to be a
real sinner? It is wonderfully easy to go on crying, "Lord, have mercy
upon us, miserable sinners," and yet to know nothing at all about
genuine conviction of sin. You know that beggars make sham wounds. I do
not know the process, but I have been told that they have certain acids
which they can put on their flesh to make you believe they have
terrible wounds. But real wounds are very different from sham ones–and
when a man is a real sinner and knows it, and his sin cuts into his
heart–then he needs real pardoning, real cleansing and a real Savior!
So I tell you of "the sure mercies of David"–real forgiveness for real
guilt, real pardon for real rebellion–nothing sham or superficial.
Yes, you truly guilty ones, you who might be ashamed to be sitting in
the House of God, tonight, you who might well cover your faces at being
found where godly people come together–you are the sort of people for
whom Jesus died! You who need to be disinfected and set apart–you are
the sort that our great Lord came into the world to seek and to save!
Blessed be His name, He brings us "the sure mercies of

David!"

I think the expression is used, again, because the blessings needed are
surely provided. I have said that you need pardon and cleansing–

"There is a Fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Emmanuel's veins.

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains."

There is cleansing in that Fountain for you. The blessings which your
souls need will not have to be created–they are ready, they are
waiting. The medicine for your sickness is already compounded! The
clothing for your nakedness is already made! All that you need between
here and Heaven is stored up in the provision of God's mercy that is
made in Christ Jesus! You will never surprise the Lord by the greatness
of your necessities, nor have to hear Him say, "I cannot meet your
special case." No, there is a sure provision already made for every
soul that will come to God by Jesus Christ!

The blessings of the Covenant of Grace are sure mercies because they
are surely bestowed. You shall not merely hear of them, but you shall
receive them. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, your sins, which
are many, shall be all forgiven. If you will look only to Christ, you
shall be saved with an everlasting salvation! Do you hear this, you
despairing one? In the name of God I say it to you, if I never have an
opportunity of uttering it in your hearing again! Will you come and
cast your soul on the great David, Jesus Christ, the Well-Beloved of
the Father? If you do, you shall have power to become a child of God
and then all the heritage which belongs to the heirs of Heaven shall
fall to your lot! It will surely be so! You will have those "sure
mercies of David."

And once you have them, you shall never lose them because they shall
surely be continued. If God shall bestow on you eternal life, it shall
be eternal life! If God shall once forgive you, He will not afterwards
condemn you! If the Judge of all shall justify you, who shall lay
anything to your charge? If the Good Shepherd shall bring you into His
fold, who shall pluck you from His hand? He says of His sheep, "I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
pluck them out of My hand." I have not to preach to you a Gospel of,
"ifs," and "buts," and "perhapses," but a Gospel of, "shalls" and
"wills!" "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved." Jesus said,
"He that believes on Me has everlasting life." God does not speak to
sinful men in the way of mere hopefulness, but He speaks with an
absolute certainty of Grace! If you believe, you shall be as surely
saved as God is God! Though you are the most guilty soul out of Hell,
if you will flee to Christ Jesus, you shall as surely be in Heaven as
God is in Heaven! Only trust in Jesus. "Trust in the Lord forever: for
in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." Riches of mercy, floods
of Grace, ceaseless outflowing of love shall be yours if you will but
put yourself under Christ's leadership–if you will take Him as your
Leader and Commander and as the one Mediator between God and men!

IV. Now, lastly, IN WHAT WAY ARE "THE SURE MERCIES OF DAVID" CONNECTED
WITH THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST?

God promised to David that his seed should always sit upon his throne,
but if Jesus dies, then is that Covenant broken? That Jesus' reign may
endure forever, He must live. Though He bows His head in death, yet
must He live. He must rise again, otherwise the King is gone, the
throne is vacant, the Covenant has failed. Jesus must rise from the
dead, else how can He save His people? Can a dead Christ save us? The
Church of Rome continually sets before us Christ either as a Baby in
His mother's arms, or else as a Man dead on the Cross. Neither of these
is a true portrait of Christ! He is no more a Babe, and He is no more
dead! He sits on the Throne of God, reigning and ruling, and He will
come, the second time, without sin, unto salvation! The living Christ
is our hope! It is witnessed of Him that He lives at the right hand of
God and, as I quoted to you just now, it is for this reason that "He is
able, also, to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him,
seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them."

Finally, the resurrection of Christ guarantees to all His people, "the
sure mercies of David." Our Lord Jesus Christ has passed through great
changes, yet He has always remained the same. He was once God in the
full Glory of illimitable splendor, then a Baby upon a woman's lap,
then a carpenter's Son working and toiling in a quiet village, then a
Teacher and Preacher and miracle-worker, then a Sufferer with His
visage more marred than any of the sons of men, then bound, accused,
scourged, condemned, crucified, dead and buried! A wonderful change
this, is it not–from pure Godhead to the grave? Then He rose again
and, rising, He revealed Himself in His Glory to His disciples, meeting
with them by the sea, and in different places until, at last, He
ascended and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And now He sits,
in supernal majesty, at the right hand of the Father, waiting till He
shall come to judge the earth with righteousness and the people with
His Truth.

I do not know how to finish up my sermon better than by telling you the
old story of Robbie Flockhart, which I have told in this house, before,
but not to this present congregation. The story shows the blessedness
of Christ's death and

Resurrection. Robbie Flockhart used to, constantly, preach in the
streets of Edinburgh, and he told this story. He said, "I had a friend
in the army and he committed some offense in war-time for which he was
condemned to be shot. So he said, 'Robbie, I have to die tomorrow, and
as I have a little money, I have made my will and left it to you.'
'Thank you,' I said. The next morning, instead of being taken out to be
shot, the soldier received a free pardon, so," said Robbie, "He got his
life and I lost my legacy, for a testament is not in force while the
testator lives. He must die to give effect to his will. And," said
Robbie, "our great Testator is dead. We know that He died, they nailed
Him to the Cross. Therefore His will stands good–let us go and take
the legacy He has bequeathed to us. But," added Robbie, "that story is
not enough to set forth Christ's work for us. Some time after, another
friend left me a legacy and he did die."

There were some lawyers who got hold of the money and Robbie never
received a penny of the legacy. He said, "if my friend had been alive,
I would have got it–that is to say, if he would have died and then,
afterwards, have been alive, again, he would have seen that I received
the legacy. So, the first time I lost my legacy because the friend who
left it to me did not die and, the second time, I lost it because the
friend who left it to me did die, but did not rise again. But," he
said, "see the glorious safety of the Believer's legacy from His Lord!
He who died and so made the will to be effective, has risen, again, and
He will see that no lawyer, honest or dishonest, shall ever interfere
with the legacies that He left to His people! Not even the devil,
himself, shall prevent the heirs of everlasting life from obtaining the
heritage which Christ has left them in the New Covenant which He has
sealed with His blood!"

Beloved, the mercies of David are sure because your David lives! He
died to purchase these mercies for you–He lives to claim them on your
behalf! He died to cleanse you–He lives to apply that cleansing to you
and to see that the work is fully done! Come to God in the name of Him
that is living and was dead! I entreat you to come to Him! How happy
would I be if all in this congregation came to Christ! You who have
come and I suppose that is the majority here, tonight, come again,
looking unto Jesus! And you who have never come before, oh, that this
Thursday night might be made memorable by your coming to Him who always
lives to save the sons of men! Dreams of happiness and thoughts ofjoy
hit across my mind as I stand here and think that perhaps–no, great
Lord, I drop the, "perhaps," for it will be so–you will yield
yourselves to Jesus, tonight! He will give you "the sure mercies of
David," He will enter into Covenant with you and then each one of you
will say–

"Now will I tell to sinners round,

What a dear Savior I have found!

I'll point to Your redeeming blood

And say, 'Behold the way to God.'" As I remember the day when I first
saw Christ on the Cross and, trusting in Him, soon began to tell the
story to others and, by His Grace, many thousands have come to Jesus by
the simple telling of the old, old story, so I feel, tonight, as if
some young man here will come and trust in Jesus and will go and say to
others, "Look and live." It may be that some mother, here, finding
Christ, herself, will be a blessing to her children. And that some
father, believing unto life eternal, will bring his sons and daughters
to the Savior's feet. And if so, I will be forever happy and the Lord's
name shall be praised and magnified forever and ever! Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: Acts 13:13-49.

Verses 13, 14. Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they
came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to
Jerusalem. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in
Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down. They
would be noticed as strangers who had come there. The synagogue did not
generally contain a very large assembly, and the Jews of the place
would be well known to one another, and they would notice that two or
three men had come in whom they had not been accustomed to see in their
company.

15-17. And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets the rulers of
the synagogue sent unto them, saying, You men and brothers, if you have
any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up and
beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and you that fear God,
give audience. The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and
exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt,
and with an high arm brought He them out of it. They always liked to
hear the story of their race, it was sure to win their attention.
Notice how expressly Paul puts it, that though they

were a favored people, it was by the election of Divine Grace that they
were such–"The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers." The
Lord chooses whom He will and He chose the fathers of the house of
Israel–"and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the
land of Egypt." God took care of them when they were aliens and
foreigners under a cruel power in the land of Egypt–"and with an high
arm brought He them out of it." This was the glory of Israel! The Jews
always delighted to hear of Egypt, of the Exodus and of the great
things that God did for them in the day of their redemption when, by
the sprinkling of the blood of the paschal lamb, they were protected
from the sword of the destroying angel.

18. And about the time of forty years suffered He their manners in the
wilderness. It is a continuous history that Paul gives to these people
at Antioch and it brings to their minds the sins of their fathers as
well as the Grace of their God. These are two things that you and I
always need to keep in mind–God's Grace and our own sin. Truly, I fear
that God has had much provocation from us during our 40 years, even as
He had with His ancient people. There is much meaning packed away in
that sentence, "Forty years suffered He their manners in the
wilderness."

19. And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He
divided their land to them by lot. The Lord did not run back from His
Covenant. He promised them a land flowing with milk and honey and He
gave it to them, even though seven nations had to be destroyed to make
room for them. This verse reminds us of that passage in Isaiah–"since
you were precious in My sight, you have been honorable, and I have
loved you: therefore will I give men for you, and people for your
life." He gave seven nations of Canaan for this one nation of Israel!

20. 21. And after that He gave unto them judges about the space of four
hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the Prophet. And afterward they
desired a king. This was another piece of wantonness on the Israelites'
part. God was their King, yet they must have a visible king like the
other nations by which they were surrounded. They were faithfully
warned by the Prophet Samuel of the evil consequences that would follow
their choice, but they would not be content with their God as their
only Ruler–"afterward they desired a king."

21-23. And God gave unto them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe
of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when He had removed him,
He raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also He gave
testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse a man after My
own heart, which shall fulfill all My will. Of this man's seed has God
according to His promise raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus. No matter
where the Apostle begins, he comes to Jesus Christ before long! No
matter what the preacher's text may be, he must never close a sermon
without having set forth the claims of Jesus! This should be the
invariable rule of our ministry–that Christ is the top and bottom, the
sum and substance of all our preaching. Paul could truly say, "We
preach Christ crucified."

24-26. Whom John had first preached before His coming, the baptism of
repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John fulfilled his
course, he said, Whom think you that I am? I am not He. But, behold,
there comes One after me, whose shoes of His feet I am not worthy to
loose. Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whoever
among you fears God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. This is
plain preaching, pointed preaching, bold preaching! Paul did not
conceal the Truth of God, though he well knew how objectionable it
would be to his hearers, yet he put it before them in the plainest
possible terms–"To you is the word of this salvation sent."

27. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they
knew Him not, nor yet the voices of the Prophets which are read every
Sabbath, they have fulfilled them in condemning Him. It was strange
that they should fulfill the prophecies which they had often read, no
doubt, with fear and trembling! They became the guilty agents by which
the prophecies were fulfilled. Paul's preaching agrees with what Peter
said on the Day of Pentecost–"Him, being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands
have crucified and slain."

28-30. And though they found no cause of death in Him, yet desired they
Pilate that He should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that
was written of Him, they took Him down from the tree, and laid Him in a
sepulcher. But God raised Him from the dead. Now the Apostle has
reached the very heart of his judgment! Now he has come to the great
cornerstone of the Christian faith! Notice that there are no
embellishments here–there is not even an anecdote, or a story by which
he may illustrate the Truth he sets forth–but just a plain declaration
of the great facts of the life and death and Resurrection of Jesus
Christ. These are the backbone of the Gospel and the more we dwell upon
these facts, the better. Let us preach the doctrines that grow out of
these facts, for the facts are stubborn things and if they are backed
by the Spirit of God, they will carry all before them.

31-33. And He was seen many days of them which came up with Him from
Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses unto the people. And we
declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto
the fathers, God has fulfilled the same unto us, their children, in
that He has raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second
Psalm, You are My Son, this day have I begotten You. Writing to the
Hebrews, Paul quotes this passage from the Psalms to prove Christ's
Godhead and everlasting filiation, so that he evidently saw more than
one meaning in this portion of Divine teaching, and we do not err when
we believe that no Scripture is exhausted by a single explanation. The
flowers of God's garden, bloom not only double, but sevenfold–they are
continually pouring forth fresh fragrance.

34, 35. And as concerning that He raised Him up from the dead, now no
more to return to corruption, He said on this wise, I will give You the
sure mercies of David. Therefore He says also in another Psalm, You
shall not suffer your Holy One to see corruption. Christ did die but
His precious body was not allowed to see corruption.

36-41. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of
God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
but He whom God raised, again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you,
therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from
all things, from which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses.
Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the
Prophets, Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a
work in your day, a work which you shall in no wise believe, though a
man declare it unto you. This is a noble sermon, but again I remark,
how simple it is! Like the sermon of Peter, on the day of Pentecost, it
is free from that continual calling out of, "Believe, believe,
believe," which is the habit of some preachers who never tell the
people what they have to believe! Exhortation is well enough in its
place, but you must not have only powder in your gun–there must be
some shot, also. The Apostle has solid facts here which he drives home
to the heart and conscience of his hearers. He does not forget that the
weight and forge of a sermon must lie in the distinct Truth of God
which is taught in it.

42. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles
besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
They would like to hear the same message, so they said to Paul, "This
sermon was to the Jews. Will you not preach to us Gentiles? We have
come in here and heard what you have said, but you did not speak
specially to us– will you do so next Sabbath?"

43, 44. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and
religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them,
persuaded them to continue in the Grace of God. And the next Sabbath
came almost the whole city together to hear the Word of God. There is
something attractive about the Gospel. I do not think they sent out a
trumpeter–the preaching of the Gospel is all the trumpet that is
needed to gather the people together! If we will but preach it in the
power and plenitude of the Spirit of God, it will soon attract a
congregation, as it did in this instance.

45-49. But when the Jews saw the multitude, they were filled with envy
and spoke against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting
and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said, It was
necessary that the Word of God should first have been spoken to you,
but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of
everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so has the Lord
commanded us, saying, I have set you to be a light of the Gentiles,
that you should be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when
the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the Word of the
Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the
Word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. God send us
days like that, for Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.