permitted to continue in the grave long enough to undergo any change : he rose on the third day, as all his Disciples could testify, because they had themselves seen him on that day, and occasionally conversed familiarly with him for forty days after- wards, even to the very hour when in their presence he ascended up to heaven. Moreover he had expressly told them that he would send down the Holy Ghost upon them, in the manner he had done : and therefore it must be HE, and none other but he, that had wrought the miracles which they now saw and heard d.
If they should still be inclined to think that David had had any concern in this miracle, the Apostle called their attention to another prophecy of his, wherein David himself declared, that the person who should be thus invested with power at the right hand of God, was his Lord ; and that the person so exalted, should " make all his foes his footstool e."
It was evident therefore, that, as the Messiah was to rise from the dead, and ascend up to heaven for the purpose of establishing his kingdom upon earth ; and as Jesus had risen and ascended agreeably to those predictions ; there could be no doubt but that it was he who had now sent down the Spirit, according to the promise which he had given them. He had told them, but a few days before, that he would send forth upon them the promise of the Father, and baptize them with the Holy Ghost f; and he had now done it in a way which com- mended itself to the eyes and ears of all the people.]
3. That therefore Jesus must unquestionably be the true Messiah —
[It was not in the power of any creature to work the mira- cles now wrought : nor would the Father work them in order to confirm the claims of an impostor. They must of necessity therefore have been wrought by Jesus, who had thereby proved himself the true Messiah.
On these grounds Peter declared to them, that, as they could not doubt the existence of those prophecies, or the application of them to the Messiah, or the miracle now wrought by Jesus in confirmation of his claim to that office, " the whole house of Israel might know assuredly, that God had made that very Jesus, whom they had crucified, both Lord and Christ."]
Such was the Apostle's reasoning : and from the confident manner in which he expressed himself, we are led to notice,
d ver. 29 — 33. e Compare ver. 34, 35. with Ps. ex. 1.
f Acts i. 4, 5.