Uphold Me by Your Generous Spirit
Acts 2:25-28
25 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. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. 27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.' NKJV
In our last study we looked into the Name of our Lord and discovered that He is the resurrection and the life. In this study we will look at what that Name meant to David, whom Peter quotes, to show us through the eyes of David, that he foresaw the coming of the Messiah or in his words, “Your Holy One”.
. . . 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face . . .
The only times we will ever hear a word from God is when we face ourselves towards God. This is how David was able to see what the Lord was going to do. David is saying that he set his face towards God to know Him. David had access to all the writings of the fathers and prophets who came before him. He prayed to God to reveal Himself through what the previous fathers and prophets of Israel said about God and His laws concerning Israel. If we are going to make any change in our life, or anyone else’s life, this is what we must do: Repent and put the face of God (the Scriptures) before us to behold.
. . . for He is at my right hand . . .
David is making a very bold statement here. In that culture to be at someone’s right hand meant a position of authority. Therefore, David is making the statement that God is David’s authority, and that what he is declaring, is to be the authoritative word of God, not his own vain imagination. He is putting his confidence, in that the statement, he is making will hold true; because of the authority behind him. God of very God is the power behind his statement. David is making a very real, and very serious, bold proclamation.
. . . that I may not be shaken.
David is saying that because he has put the work into putting God before himself, to know Him, and to understand God’s authority, that nothing can cause him to believe otherwise. In other words, nothing can change his mind about God or His authority. He is saying I know the word of God. Most people, especially those who don’t know God, look upon this as arrogance. They look upon this as “spiritual pride”. Someone who comes along and says, "I know what God is saying", is the first one laughed at and held in contempt. But we would do well to listen carefully to these kinds of people, and examine exactly what it is they are saying, before we hold them in contempt. Now, if the authority they are appealing to is the vain imaginations puffed up in their own mind (Col.2:18), then we would do well to just ignore them, but when they point to God’s revealed Word, listen carefully (Dt.5:1). This is what Peter is doing by quoting David, who was a father and a prophet of the faith. Peter is applying what the Spirit said of old through the prophets and preaching Jesus Christ through them (Col.1:16). There is much to apply here in the way, we pray for and preach to, others to come to faith in Jesus Christ. Let us follow David’s and Peter’s example of bold faith.
. . . Therefore my heart rejoiced . . .
Does your heart rejoice in the authority of the resurrection? The resurrection is the joy of the Christian! David, who was musician, loved to sing psalms about the glory of God and the misery of the world. This world was not David’s home even in 'the promised land' of Israel. David was constantly at war to protect God’s chosen nation and something in him knew that Israel is not the final resting place for man. His spirit yearned for something far greater than this present world. Jesus rose from the grave as the authority of the “Holy One” who can forgive sins, because He was the sinless and spotless sacrifice, and His resurrection sealed it for all who believe, as David did, who was a liar, murderer, adulterer, and idolater in need of the forgiveness of God.
. . . and my tongue was glad . . .
Notice it was his heart that rejoiced first and not his tongue. Before we will ever use our tongue in a way that pleases God our heart must be changed. Our tongue is not what leads us into this joy. Many church going people come and sing about this joy that we have in Christ, but their heart is far from Him.
Mark 7:6 He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.
Yes, get your heart right and your tongue will be glad, also. Praise will spring up within, from a place you knew not was there, because it will be the Holy Spirit giving you the power to change and the praise to sing.
Num 21:17
17 Then Israel sang this song:
"Spring up, O well! All of you sing to it — NKJV
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." NKJV
. . . moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
This joy, that David and Peter have, gives us rest. When David sinned, it was this joy that he cried out to God for, to be restored. He knew that without this rest he would come to nothing.
Ps 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. NKJV
Later in Peter’s sermon he speaks of the “times of refreshing”, which is also synonymous with the “times of restoration” as we studied earlier (Acts 3:21), but it does have a very real application, even now.
Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord . . . NKJV
If we would be in a continuous attitude of repentance we could enjoy this rest, even now, but the reality is, because we still carry the weight of our mortal bodies, the perfection of this rest will not come, until this corruptible puts on incorruption. This is why we cannot say with “integrity” that Christ Himself reigns in the world with the saints. But we can say that as we submit our “corruptible” mind and body to the Holy Spirit we can reign by the authority of the “Holy One” who sits at the Sovereign Father’s right hand.
2 Cor 2:12-13 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, 13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia. NKJV
The Holy Spirit is the one who grants this rest, even Paul, an Apostle did not always have the rest needed to carry out God’s commands. Preaching the gospel is not something we can do by ourselves. We need a “helper” to share the load. Those who reject Christ and His way of salvation will have no rest for all of eternity (Rev.14:11). All the more reason to set our face towards these words, to know if they are true; and when the Sovereign Spirit proves them true, you will be glad, both in your heart and on your lips.
