Act 2:25-28 | Barnes | STEP | Verses 25-28. For David speaketh , etc. This doctrine that the Messiah must rise from the dead, Peter proceeds to prove by a quotation from the Old Testament. This passage is taken from . It is made from the Greek version of the Septuagint, with only one slight and unimportant change. Nor is there any material change, as will be seen, from the Hebrew. In what sense this Psalm Can be applied to Christ will be seen after we have examined the expressions which Peter alleges. I foresaw the Lord . This is an unhappy translation. To foresee the Lord always before us conveys no idea, though it may be a literal translation of the passage. The word means to foresee , and then to see before us , that is, as present with us, to regard as being near. It thus implies to put confidence in one; to rely on him, or expect assistance from him. This is its meaning here. The Hebrew is, I expected , or waited for . It thus expresses the petition of one who is helpless and dependent, who waits for help from God. It is often thus used in the Old Testament. Always before my face . As being always present to help me, and to deliver me out of all my troubles. He is on my right hand . To be at hand is to be near to afford help. The right hand is mentioned because that was the place of dignity and honour. And David did not design simply to say that he was near to help him, but that he had the place of honour, the highest place in his affections, . In our dependence on God, we should exalt him. We should not merely regard him as our help , but should at the same time give him the highest place in our affections. That I should not be moved . That is, that no great evil or calamity should happen to me, that I may stand firm. The phrase denotes to sink into calamities, or to fall into the power of enemies, . This expresses the confidence of one who is in danger of great calamities, and who puts his trust in the help of God alone.

Acts 2:25-28

Verses 25-28. For David speaketh, etc. This doctrine that the Messiah must rise from the dead, Peter proceeds to prove by a quotation from the Old Testament. This passage is taken from Ps 16:8-11. It is made from the Greek version of the Septuagint, with only one slight and unimportant change. Nor is there any material change, as will be seen, from the Hebrew. In what sense this Psalm Can be applied to Christ will be seen after we have examined the expressions which Peter alleges.

I foresaw the Lord. This is an unhappy translation. To foresee the Lord always before us conveys no idea, though it may be a literal translation of the passage. The word means to foresee, and then to see before us, that is, as present with us, to regard as being near. It thus implies to put confidence in one; to rely on him, or expect assistance from him. This is its meaning here. The Hebrew is, I expected, or waited for. It thus expresses the petition of one who is helpless and dependent, who waits for help from God. It is often thus used in the Old Testament.

Always before my face. As being always present to help me, and to deliver me out of all my troubles.

He is on my right hand. To be at hand is to be near to afford help. The right hand is mentioned because that was the place of dignity and honour. And David did not design simply to say that he was near to help him, but that he had the place of honour, the highest place in his affections, Ps 109:31. In our dependence on God, we should exalt him. We should not merely regard him as our help, but should at the same time give him the highest place in our affections.

That I should not be moved. That is, that no great evil or calamity should happen to me, that I may stand firm. The phrase denotes to sink into calamities, or to fall into the power of enemies, Ps 62:2,6. This expresses the confidence of one who is in danger of great calamities, and who puts his trust in the help of God alone. Verse 26. Therefore. Peter ascribes these expressions to the Messiah. The reason why he would exult or rejoice was, that he would be preserved amidst the sorrows that were coming on him, and could look forward to the triumph that awaited him. Thus Paul says, (Heb 12:2) that "Jesus--for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame," etc. And throughout the New Testament, the shame and sorrow of his sufferings were regarded as connected with his glory and his triumph, Lk 24:26, Php 2:6-9; Eph 1:20,21. In this, our Saviour has left us an example, that we should walk in his steps. The prospect of future glory and triumph should sustain us amid all afflictions, and make us ready, like him, to lie down amid even the corruptions of the grave.

Did my heart rejoice. In the Hebrew this is in the present tense, "my heart rejoices." The word heart here expresses the person, and is the same as saying I rejoice. The Hebrews used the different members to express the person. And thus we say, "every soul perished; the vessel had forty hands; wise heads do not think so; hearts of steel will not flinch," etc.--Prof. Stuart on Ps 16. The meaning is, because God is near me in time of calamity, and will support and deliver me, I will not be agitated or fear, but will exult in the prospect of the future, in view of the "joy that is set before me."

My tongue was glad. Hebrew, My glory, or my honour exults. The word is used to denote majesty, splendour, dignity, honour. It is also used to express the heart or soul, either because that is the chief source of man's dignity, or because the word is also expressive of the liver, regarded by the Hebrews as the seat of the affections. Gen 49:6, "Unto their assembly, mine honour," i.e. my soul, or myself, "be not thou united." Ps 57:8, "Awake up, my glory, etc. Ps 108:1, "I will sing--even with my glory." This word the Septuagint translated tongue. The Arabic and Latin Vulgate have also done the same. Why they thus use the word is not clear. It may be because the tongue, or the gift of speech, was that which chiefly contributes to the honour of man, or distinguishes him from the brutal creation. The word glory is used expressly for tongue in Ps 30:12, "To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent."

Moreover also. Truly; in addition to this.

My flesh. My body. See Acts 2:31, 1Cor 5:5. It means here, properly, the body separate from the soul; the dead body.

Shall rest. Shall rest or repose in the grave, free from corruption.

In hope. In confident expectation of a resurrection. The Hebrew word rather expresses confidence than hope. The passage means, My body will I commit to the grave, with a confident expectation of the future, that is, with a firm belief that it will not see corruption, but be raised up." It thus expresses the feelings of the dying Messiah; the assured confidence which he had that his repose in the grave would not be long, and would certainly come to an end. The death of Christians is also, in the New Testament, represented as a sleep, and as repose, (Acts 7:60, 1Cor 15:6,18, 1Thes 4:13,15, 2Pet 3:4) and they may also, after the example of their Lord, commit their bodies to the dust, in hope. They shall lie in the grave under the assurance of a happy resurrection; and though their bodies, unlike his, shall moulder to their native dust, yet this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, 1Cor 15:53. Verse 27. Thou wilt not leave my soul. The word soul, with us, means the thinking, the immortal part of man, and is applied to it whether existing in connexion with the body, or whether separate from it. The Hebrew word translated soul here-- naphsli however, may mean, My spirit, my mind, my life; and may denote here nothing more than me, or myself. It means, properly, breath; then life, or the vital principle, a living being; then the soul, the spirit, the thinking part. Instances where it is put for the individual himself, meaning "me," or "myself," may be seen in Ps 11:1, 35:3,7, Job 9:21. There is no clear instance in which it is applied to the soul in its separate state, or disjoined from the body. In this place it must be explained in part by the meaning of the word hell. If that means grave, then this word probably means "me;" thou wilt not leave me in the grave. The meaning probably is, "Thou wilt not leave me in sheol, neither," etc. The word leave here means, "Thou wilt not resign me to, or wilt not give me over to it, to be held under its power.

In hell. ειςαδου. The word hell, in English, now commonly denotes the place of the future eternal punishment of the wicked. This sense it has acquired by long usage. It is a Saxon word, derived from helan, to cover; and denotes, literally, a covered or deep place, (Webster;) then the dark and dismal abode of departed spirits; and then the place of torment. As the word is used now by us, it by no means expresses the force of the original; and if with this idea we read a passage like the one before us, it would convey an erroneous meaning altogether; although formally the English word perhaps expressed no more than the original. The Greek word hades means, literally, a place devoid of light; a dark, obscure abode; and in Greek writers was applied to the dark and obscure regions where disembodied spirits were supposed to dwell. It occurs but eleven times in the New Testament. In this place it is the translation of the Hebrew, sheol. In Rev 20:13,14, it is connected with death. "And death and hell (hades) delivered up the dead which were in them." "And death and hell (hades) were cast into the lake of fire.' See also Rev 6:8, 1:18, "I have the keys of hell and of death." In 1Cor 15:55, it means the grave. "O grave (hades), where is thy victory?" In Mt 11:23 it means a deep, profound place, opposed to an exalted one; a condition of calamity and degradation opposed to former great prosperity. "Thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell, (hades.) In Lk 16:23, it is applied to the place where the rich man was after death, in a state of punishment: "In hell (hades) he lifted up his eyes, being in torments." In this place it is connected with the idea of suffering; and undoubtedly denotes a place of punishment. The Septuagint has used this word commonly to translate the word sheol. Once it is used as a translation of the phrase, "the stones of the pit, (Isa 14:19); twice to express silence, particularly the silence of the grave, (Ps 94:17; 115:17); once to express the Hebrew for "the shadow of death," (Job 38:17;) and sixty times to translate the word sheol. It is remarkable that it is never used in the Old Testament to denote the word keber, which properly denotes a grave or sepulchre. The idea which was conveyed by the word sheol, or hades, was not properly a grave or sepulchre, but that dark, unknown state, including the grave, which constituted the dominions of the dead. What idea the Hebrews had of the future world, it is now difficult to explain, and is not necessary in the case before us. The word originally denoting simply the state of the dead, the insatiable demands of the grave, came at last to be extended in its meaning, in proportion as they received new revelations, or formed new opinions about the future world. Perhaps the following may be the process of thought by which the word came to have the peculiar meanings which it is found to have in the Old Testament.

(1.) The word death, and the grave, (keber,) would express the abode of a deceased body in the earth.

(2.) Man has a soul, a thinking principle; and the inquiry must arise, what will be its state? Will it die also? The Hebrews never appear to have believed that. Will it ascend to heaven at once? On that subject they had at first no knowledge. Will it go at once to a place of torment? Of that also they had no information at first. Yet they supposed it would live; and the word sheol expressed just this state--the dark, unknown regions of the dead; the abode of spirits, whether good or bad; the residence of departed men, whether fixed in a permanent habitation, or whether wandering about. As they were ignorant of the size and spherical structure of the earth, they seem to have supposed this region to be situated in the earth, far below us; and hence it is put in opposition to heaven. Ps 139:8: "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, (sheol,) behold, thou art there." Amos 9:2. The most common meaning of the word is, therefore, to express those dark regions, the lower world, the regions of ghosts, etc. Instances of this, almost without number, might be given. See a most striking and sublime instance of this in Isa 14:9: "Hell from beneath is moved for thee," etc.; where the assembled dead are represented as being agitated in all their vast regions at the death of the king of Babylon.

(3.) The inquiry could not but arise, whether all these beings were happy? This point revelation decided; and it was decided in the Old Testament. Yet this word would better express the state of the wicked dead, than the righteous. It conveyed the idea of darkness, gloom, wandering; the idea of a sad and unfixed abode, unlike heaven. Hence the word sometimes expresses the idea of a place of punishment. Ps 9:17: "The wicked shall be turned into hell," etc.; Prov 15:11; 23:14, 17:20, Job 26:6, While, therefore, the word does not mean properly a grave or a sepulchre, yet it does mean often the state of the dead, without designating whether in happiness or woe, but implying the continued existence of the soul. In this sense it is often used in the Old Testament, where the Hebrew word is sheol, and the Greek hades. Gen 37:35: "I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning." I will go down to the dead, to death, to my son, still there existing. Gen 42:38, 44:29: "Ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave;" Nu 16:30,33, 1Kgs 2:6,9, etc., etc. In the place before us, therefore, the meaning is simply, thou wilt not leave me AMONG THE DEAD. This conveys all the idea. It does not mean literally the grave or the sepulchre; that relates only to the body. This expression refers to the deceased Messiah. Thou wilt not leave him among the dead; thou wilt raise him up. It is from this Message, perhaps, aided by two others, (Rom 10:7, 1Pet 3:19) the doctrine originated, that Christ "descended," as it is expressed in the creed, "into hell;" and many have invented strange opinions about his going among lost spirits. The doctrine of the Roman Catholic church has been, that he went to purgatory, to deliver the spirits confined there. But if the interpretation now given be correct, then it will follow,

(1.) that nothing is affirmed here about the destination of the human soul of Christ after his death. That he went to the region of the dead is implied, but nothing further.

(2.) It may be remarked, that the Scriptures affirm nothing about the state of his soul in that time which intervened between his death and resurrection. The only intimation which occurs on the subject is such as to leave us to suppose that he was in a state of happiness. To the dying thief Jesus said, "To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise," Lk 23:43. When Jesus died he said, "It is finished ;" and he doubtless meant by that, that his sufferings and toils for man's redemption were at an end. All suppositions of any toils or pains after his death are fables, and without the slightest warrant in the New Testament.

Thine Holy One. The word in the Hebrew which is translated here holy one, properly denotes one who is tenderly and piously devoted to another; and answers to the expression used in the New Testament, "my beloved Son." It is also used as it is here by the Septuagint, and by Peter, to denote one that is holy, that is set apart to God. In this sense it is applied to Christ, either as being set apart to this office, or as so pure as to make it proper to designate him by way of eminence the Holy One, or the Holy One of God. It is several times used as the well-known designation of the Messiah. Mk 1:24: "I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." Lk 4:34 Acts 3:14: "But ye denied the Holy One and the Just," etc. See also Lk 1:35: "That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

To see corruption. To see corruption is to experience it, to be made partakers of it. The Hebrews often expressed the idea of experiencing anything by the use of words pertaining to the senses; as, to taste of death, to see death, etc. Corruption here means putrefaction in the grave. The word which is used in the Psalm----shahath, is thus used in Job 17:14: "I have said to corruption, Thou art my father," etc. The Greek word thus used properly denotes this. Thus it is used in Acts 13:34-37. This meaning would be properly suggested by the Hebrew word; and thus the ancient versions understood it. The meaning implied in the expression is, that he of whom the Psalm was written should be restored to life again; and this meaning Peter proceeds to show that the words must have. Verse 28. Thou hast made known, etc. The Hebrew is, "Thou wilt make known to me," etc. In relation to the Messiah, it means, Thou wilt restore me to life.

The ways of life. This properly means the path to life; as we say, the road to preferment or honour; the path to happiness; the highway to ruin, etc. See Prov 7:25,27. It means, Thou wilt make known to me life itself, i.e. thou wilt restore me to life. The expressions in the Psalm are capable of this interpretation without doing any violence to the text; and if the preceding verses refer to the death and burial of the Messiah, then the natural and proper meaning of this is, that he would be restored to life again.

Thou shalt make me full of joy. This expresses the feelings of the Messiah in view of the favour that would thus be showed him; the resurrection from the dead, and the elevation to the right hand of God. It was this which is represented as sustaining him--the prospect of the joy that was before him, in heaven, Heb 12:2, Eph 1:20-22.

With thy countenance. Literally, "with thy face," that is, in thy presence. The words countenance and presence mean the same thing; and denote favour, or the honour and happiness provided by being admitted to the presence of God. The prospect of the honour that would be bestowed on the Messiah, was that which sustained him. And this proves that the person contemplated in the Psalm expected to be raised from the dead, and exalted to the presence of God. That expectation is now fulfilled; and the Messiah is now filled with joy in his exaltation to the throne of the universe. He has "ascended to his Father and our Father;" he is "seated at the right hand of God ;" he has entered on that "joy which was set before him;" he is "crowned with glory and honour;" and all things are put under his feet." In view of this, we may remark,

(1.) that the Messiah had full and confident expectation that he would rise from the dead. This the Lord Jesus always evinced, and often declared it to his disciples.

(2.) If the Saviour rejoiced in view of the glories before him, we should also. We should anticipate with joy an everlasting dwelling in the presence of God, and the high honour of sitting "with him on his throne, as he overcame, and is set down with the Father on his throne."

(3.) The prospect of this should sustain us, as it did him, in the midst of persecution, calamity, and trials. They will soon be ended; and if we are his friends, we shall "overcome," as he did, and be admitted to "the fulness of joy" above, and to the "right hand" of God, where "are pleasures for evermore."

(*) "countenance", or "Presence"