“For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’
The sin of Judas was not only his shame and ruin, but it made a vacancy in the college of the apostles. They were ordained twelve, with an eye to the twelve tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve patriarchs; they were the twelve stars that make up the church's crown (Rev 12:1), and for them twelve thrones were designated, Mat 19:28.
Commenting on Acts 1:15-26
For it is written in the book of Psalms,.... In Psa 69:25. These are the words of Peter, citing the Scripture he had said must be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost, by David, had spoke concerning Judas: let his habitation be desolate.
Verse 20. For it is written, etc. See . This is the prediction, doubtless, to which Peter refers in . The intermediate passage in , is probably a parenthesis; the words of Luke, not of Peter. It is not probable that Peter would introduce a narrative like this, with which they were all familiar, in an address to the disciples, The Hebrew in the Psalm...