no more to return to
corruption, he hath spoken on this wise, I will give you the holy and
sure blessings of David. 35 Because he saith also in another psalm,
Thou wilt not give thy Holy One to see corruption. 36 For David, after
he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep,
and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: 37 but he whom God
raised up saw no corruption. 38 Be it known unto you therefore,
brethren, that through this man is proclaimed unto you remission of
sins: 39 and by him every one that believeth is justified from all
things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

1. This sermon Paul preached in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia,
to the assembled Jews and gentiles. Note, he says, "whosoever among
you feareth God." It is a counterpart of the sermon in the preceding
epistle lesson delivered by Peter at Cesarea. Here also the first part
of the sermon is simply a narration of the historical facts of
Christ's resurrection, and designed to prove Christ the true Messiah
promised in the Scriptures. This is sufficiently demonstrated by the
facts in the case that by his own divine power and strength Christ
rescued himself from death and the grave, and rose from the dead and
showed himself alive and talked with men, something no man but Christ
alone had ever done or ever can do. Paul elsewhere (Rom 1, 3-4) says
that this Jesus our Lord was born of the seed of David according to
the flesh, and was declared to be the Son of God with power by the
resurrection from the dead.

2. Not content with a mere narration of the history of the
resurrection, Paul cites Scripture testimony incontestably proving
that Christ necessarily must rise from the dead and set up his
spiritual and eternal kingdom through the Word he commanded the
apostles to publish world-wide. He also discloses the true meaning of
Scripture from revelation itself, showing how to seek and find Christ
therein. The preceding Gospel lesson also spoke of this.

3. Third, as was true of Peter, Paul does not fail to mention what is
of surpassing importance, the use of the historical parts of Scripture
and the blessing and benefit accruing to us from that which Scripture
proclaims and witnesses; also the method of appropriating its power
and blessing. And he concludes with a beautiful utterance of apostolic
power, showing how we are to obtain remission of sins and be saved. He
says: "Through this man is procla