13:22 “And when [God] had removed [Saul], 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 mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” This verse shows us the reason God chooses a man. God chooses a man whose heart is set on accomplishing all of His will. The Lord removed Saul because he did not have such a heart. The Apostle Paul, under divine inspiration, is blending parts of three

Old Testament verses together as he quotes God's testimony of David:

• Psalm 89:20 - “I have found David...” (Spoken to Samuel - Psalm 89:19)

• 1 Samuel 13:14 - “a man after his own heart...”

• 1 Samuel 2:35 - “that shall do according to that which is in mine heart.”

Paul was a master craftsman in his use of the Sword of the Word. From his youth, Paul had memorized both the Hebrew and Greek versions of the Scriptures. He knew both by heart and could quote them verbatim. In his epistles and in his sermons in the synagogues, most of his quotes from the Old Testament were from the Greek version (the Septuagint). This would be only logical since the majority of his listeners were Greek-speaking and were better acquainted with the Greek version of the Bible more than Hebrew. Only occasionally does he quote from the Hebrew text, but virtually all of his quotes are from memory.

And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose. Jesus, the seed of David, is the promised Savior. When John introduced Him he deflected all glory and all attention away from himself. He always pointed to Christ which is the hallmark of someone who is true. Of John it says that he “fulfilled his course.” This cannot be said of every believer. It is so important to fulfill our course or task in life. Many believers go to their graves with unfulfilled

calls and unfulfilled promises. Let us not be slack but diligent to fulfill our ministry (cf. Col. 4:17). [i. e. this message is to Jew and Gentile alike].

Spiritual blindness is terrible. It is the result of a heart that has been hardened by pride and sin. What a horrible delusion when people read the Scriptures about God, talk about God, pray to God, and then murder Him when He visits. This is precisely what Israel did when God became a man. Before his conversion, Paul's mind was blinded. There was a veil over his understanding when he read the Old Testament, but then when he met Christ the veil was taken away (cf. 2 Cor. 3:13-17).

The cornerstone of the Gospel is the truth of the resurrection. After the resurrection Jesus was “seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.” Seen many days refers to those forty days in which the resurrected Christ revealed Himself to his apostles and followers. These witnesses were all Galileans, but Paul was not one of them. Paul had a personal visitation

from the resurrected Christ on the Damascus road four years later in A.D. 34.

The Resurrection Foretold by the Prophets

“The sure mercies of David” involves an everlasting covenant that God made with David. In this covenant God promised to watch over all of David's children (therefore, his inheritance), and to establish his throne. See Isaiah 55:3, 2 Samuel 7:15-16, 1 Chronicles 17:11-14, and Psalm 89:27-37. Paul applies this truth to David's greatest Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God would protect David's seed and his throne. Therefore, He would resurrect David's greatest Son to sit upon the throne. In Isaiah 55:3, God promises to establish this same covenant of mercy with us as well. He will watch over our children in our absence, and will continue to do so when we have passed from this earth.

Through the death and resurrection of Christ the Messiah, our debt has been paid. God died for us! Everyone who believes in Him can be justified and cleared from all sins and trespasses. The old covenant could never offer this blessing.

The blood of animals could never take away sin and it could never deal with the corrupt nature of sin or remove guilt. There was always guilt (cf. Heb.10:2,3), but the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin and also from a defiled conscience (Heb. 9:14, 10:22).

Here Paul warns the audience of the consequences of rejecting this message of pardon. To despise this message means we will “perish.” Paul is quoting Habakkuk 1:5 from the Septuagint (or Greek) version. He usually quotes from the Greek version and this explains why it differs a little from the way we read it in our Bible.