The Psalms not only point to the experience of the believer; they point the believer to Christ. This article shows how the book of Psalms does this, as well as how the New Testament uses the Psalms and how Christ applied them in his life.

Source: Witness, 2014. 8 pages.

Christ and the Psalms

1. Introduction🔗

It goes without saying that the book of Psalms has a special place among the books of the Bible. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, it was the hymn-book for the Old Testament saints as well as for the New. Paul wrote to the Colossians:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Col. 3:16

Psalms, hymns and songs are titles given to the Psalms. They are not only songs but prayers.

Luther stated that in the Psalms we look into the heart of the children of God. Following Augustine, both Luther and Calvin argued that the Psalms are to be used as a touchstone with regard to Christian experience. When we are Christians our joys correspond to the joys of the Psalms and our sorrow to their sorrows.

In the book of Psalms not only the joys and sorrows of the children of God are expressed but also the joys and sorrows of the only begotten Son of God, who became man in the fullness of time. Christ in a very special way is portrayed in the book of Psalms. When Christ explained to His disciples after His resurrection that He should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, He referred explicitly to the Psalms. In Luke 24:44 we read:

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

The books of Psalms (55 times) and Isaiah (47 times) are the books of the Old Testament quoted most often in the New Testament. In both books we find many messianic prophecies. The Lord Jesus Himself when He was on earth prayed in the language of the Psalms and He quite often confirmed His messianic mission and person by quoting the Psalms.

In this article I wish to clarify the relationship between Christ and the Psalms. I will show how Christ is foreshadowed in the Psalms and also how Christ Himself referred to the Psalms in his earthly ministry. There is an overlap between the two topics. Firstly, we go back to the Old Testament dispensation looking forward to the New Testament. When you preach on the Psalms, in what way must you do that? Then we go to the four gospels and examine the text in the gospels where either the Psalms are quoted or where we find an allusion to the Psalter.

2. The Peculiar Character of the Book of Psalms Among the Books of the Bible🔗

The Bible is God’s revelation to man. This revelation is not only the record of God’s actions on behalf of men and the interpretation of these actions, but it is also the record of the reaction of men to God’s actions and words. Man’s response to God which we find in the Bible, is in itself divine revelation. In this way the Lord makes clear how we ought to react to His actions and words.

Athanasius said that the Psalms are not so much God’s Word to us as God’s Word for us. We can also say that the book of Lamentations has in this respect the same character as the Psalms, but Lamentations restricts itself to the reaction of the Lord’s people to the fall of Jerusalem. It is an example of how to react not only personally, but also collectively, after a great disaster has taken place. The scope of the Psalms is broader. Here we find examples which give us words by which to express our sorrow and joy. The Psalms show us under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit what the reaction of God’s children is to all kinds of circumstances.

3. The Royal Psalms🔗

In the Book of Psalms we find different types of Psalms. The Royal Psalms point us to the King of kings. Psalm 72 can be read as a prayer for the reigning king in Israel. But we can use it as a prayer for the government of our country.

Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness and thy poor with judgment. Psalm 72:1-2

It is the task of rulers to promote external righteousness and justice. But they cannot change hearts. The peace and justice promoted by rulers can never be more than an external peace and justice. But what is said about justice in Psalm 72 goes much further. Finally the peace and justice there foretold are all-compassing. That means that they can never be the result of the efforts of a purely human king.

So the king in Psalm 72 is not only a type of future earthly governments, but above all a type of the Messiah who was and remained God and became man. His rule will be a rule of complete righteousness. Those who cleave to Him have been clothed with His imputed righteousness and He renews them by His Holy Spirit so that their lives increasingly are characterised by internal righteousness. The book of Psalms expresses a fervent desire for the coming of Christ and His kingdom. The first coming of Christ is the principal fulfilment of these expectations and His second coming will be the final fulfilment. When He came for the first time to earth Christ laid the foundation of salvation. Redemption was accomplished. When that redemption is fully applied by the Holy Spirit to all who were foreordained by the Father, Christ will come back in glory.

After the final judgment it can be sung: ‘The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness!’ (Ps. 72:3). It is no coincidence that the book of Psalms ends with several Psalms beginning and ending with Hallelujah ie praise the Lord (Ps. 146-150). ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever’. The chief end of man is realised in the new creation in a way that surpasses the first creation. Redeemed humanity will sing unto all eternity, ‘Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb!’ (Rev. 7:10).

4. Psalm 2 as an Introduction to the Whole Book of Psalms🔗

We can say that the book of Psalms is the book of the God of Israel and His King, the Messiah. Zion is a picture and symbol of all the redeemed sinners of the Old Testament and New Testament dispensations. We sing of our King and Saviour:

For the Lord is our defence; and the holy One of Israel is our king. Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him. Ps. 89:18-20

The first two Psalms are an introduction to the rest. The first Psalm speaks about both the righteous and the godless people. This distinction is fundamental. It must have a place in every sermon since we must not suppose that everybody who goes to church is righteous in the sight of God. The second Psalm is about the Messiah: Christ and His rule. Of the King of kings it was said from all eternity by the Father: ‘Thou art my Son; today I have begotten thee’ (Ps. 2:7).

When Christ started His public ministry after His baptism in the river Jordan, the Father alluded to the second Psalm: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Mt. 3:17). In a special way the kingship of Christ was inaugurated when He ascended into heaven. Sitting at the right hand of the Father He reigns from sea to sea, yea to the ends of the earth (Ps. 72). Although the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain and the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, Christ draws sinners from darkness to light (See Ps. 2:1-2). He will continue to do that until He comes back, for it is said of Him: ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Heb. 13:8).

Every Christian, and especially every minister of the gospel, has the task to urge his fellow sinners: ‘Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him’ (Ps. 2:12). Biblical preaching is preaching in which Christ is portrayed in an urgent and affectionate way as the complete Saviour in order to win sinners for Christ, build up His church and glorify God.

5. Psalm 45 and 110: The Coming King more than a Mere Man🔗

Already in Psalm 2 we hear that the coming Messiah is more than a mere man. Alluding to Psalms 2 and 89 we read in Hebrews 1:5: ‘For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?’ One Psalm which clearly reveals that the coming Messiah will truly be God, is Psalm 45. This is both a royal and also a wedding Psalm. We read:

Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre; thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

The relationship between Christ and His church can be compared to a marriage but ultimately it is even more intimate than the relationship between husband and wife. The marriage between Christ and His church will not be dissolved by death. We can also say that here on earth the relationship between Christ and His church has more of the character of a betrothal. The return of Christ will confirm the marriage of Christ to the church. Then the marriage supper of the Lamb and His bride will start but never end. In a veiled way this is already indicated in Psalm 45:14-15:

She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace.

Psalm 110 is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament. Our Lord Himself quoted this Psalm to make clear to the scribes and Pharisees that He as the Messiah was more than the son of David. He is also David’s Lord.

6. Psalm 72: The King and His Subjects🔗

Both in Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 the Messiah’s person is portrayed and also His rule. The Messiah will have complete victory over His enemies (Psalm 110:5-6). Psalm 72 addresses the same topic, but also deals with the subjects of the king who are protected from enemies abroad and at home. The duty of the king in Israel was to do justice especially to his poor and often oppressed subjects (Ps. 72:12-13).

In Christ this Psalm finds its ultimate fulfillment. The subjects of Christ know the fight against the world, the devil and sinful self. They are often found among the poor of this world. Poverty as such does not bring us into the kingdom of God, but wealth can be a great hindrance to our entering into it. In the Beatitudes we find the New Testament portrait of the children of God. In the version given by Matthew the emphasis falls on spiritual poverty and in that in Luke on the material side. In a spiritual sense all the children of the kingdom are poor. In material respects some are rich, but they are willing to lose their wealth for Christ’s sake.

Ministers of Christ have not only the duty to proclaim Christ, but also to make clear who belong to Him by explaining what is the nature of the true believer and giving the marks of a living faith. The Psalms as well as the Beatitudes are very important in this respect (Mt. 5:2-6).

7. What is the Identity of the Speaker in the Psalms?🔗

The subject of all the Psalms (not only of the royal Psalms) is the Messiah. We can say that in the first instance the psalmist himself speaks and prays in the Psalms, but ultimately we must say that in all the Psalms it is the voice of the Messiah. Most of the Psalms were composed by David who is a most important type of the coming Messiah. In fourteen cases the background of the Psalm is stated in the introduction. These are all psalms of David and in most instances the circumstances were sorrowful. The first part of David’s life was a time of suffering. That was the period between his anointing by Samuel and his becoming king after the death of Saul. The second part of David’s life apart from the revolution of Absalom was one of glory. In this way David foreshadowed the ministry of Jesus Christ, the great Son of David. He first suffered and after that entered into glory. The complaints of the psalmists are the complaints of the Messiah and the joys of the psalmist are the joys of the Messiah.

8. The Suffering Messiah and the Glory that Follows: Psalm 22🔗

A very clear example in which the sufferings of the Messiah are prophesied is Psalm 22. Christ Himself, hanging on the cross, quoted this Psalm during the three hours of darkness: ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Ps. 22:1). Christ uttered these words not in Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament, but in Aramaic. Aramaic became the common language of the Jewish people after the exile. To stress the deep impression that these words made, Matthew records them just as they were originally uttered and then gives the Greek translation: ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ (Mt. 27:46).

On the cross Christ was mocked by the crowd and by the Roman soldiers. He was forsaken by His disciples, but above all God the Father turned away His face from His Son, although He still loved Him. As a representative of His bride the church, Jesus drank the cup filled with the wrath of God against human sin. He paid the price as our substitute. In the Psalms we see behind the psalmist Jesus Christ Himself. Even the Psalms of confession for sin can be read as spoken by Christ, when we fully realize that for our sake God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).

A preacher of the gospel must make clear the ugliness of sin. The Psalms are very important here. They show us in the complaints of the psalmist the awful nature of being forsaken by God. We can say that Christ really felt the pains of hell when He was at Calvary. Sinners, who are drawn to Christ, can have a very deep sense of their sin and misery. Saints can go through very deep valleys. I quote the Heidelberg Catechism, Question 44: ‘Why is it added: “He descended into hell”? Answer: ‘That in my greatest temptations I may be assured that Christ my Lord, by His inexpressible anguish, pains and terrors, which He suffered in His soul on the cross and before, has redeemed me from the anguish and torment of hell’. A true Christian realises his sins and shortcomings. He knows that his faith and trust are not perfect. In this way he learns the value of the sufferings and cross of Christ and begins more clearly to understand why Paul said: ‘God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Gal. 6:14). Not only the sufferings of Christ are foretold in Psalm 22, but also His glory. Psalm 22:22 is quoted in Hebrews 2:12. Here we see Christ portrayed as sitting at the right hand of the Father praying for His church and on the Day of Judgment confessing the names of His brothers to the Father (compare Mt. 10:32). In the end of Psalm 22 we see the New Testament dispensation and ultimately the final glory foretold (Ps. 22:27-31).

In this New Testament dispensation the gospel will be proclaimed to all nations and finally in the New Jerusalem there will be ‘a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands’ (Rev. 7:9).

9. The Suffering Messiah and the Glory that Follows🔗

There is a second example of how the sufferings of Christ are foretold in the Psalms. Let us take a look at Psalm 42:5. Christ alluded to this Psalm when he prayed and struggled in the garden of Gethsemane: ‘Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me’ (Mt. 26:38). Reading the Psalm from the perspective of Christ we can say that Christ on earth has felt the same pain when He left heaven and the multitude of angels surrounding him. Because of the fall of Adam all areas of life on earth are stained with sin. More than any psalmist or child of God, could Christ say: ‘I am a stranger in the earth’ (Ps. 119:19). Having accomplished His work on earth, Christ went back to the Father but now as God and man united in one person. Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 are very closely related. The person and work of Christ are the centre and foundation of the Christian faith. Christ is the Mediator given by the Father. He is the only one through whom we can approach God. A living faith in Christ as Saviour is worked in us by the Holy Spirit. Christ paid our debt on Calvary. In Romans 3:25 we read: ‘Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood’. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. Not only Christ’s death on Calvary, but His whole life on earth was the life of the Mediator who came to die and to save sinners.

When we are united to Christ, we are also conformed to His image. Christ is in heaven and we are on earth. We are in this life assailed by the trials and by the temptations of the devil. We must lament that although saved by grace, we have a body of sin and death.

United to Christ we must be willing to suffer for Him and we must remember that Christ is with us in our greatest sufferings. The Psalms are a rich treasure-house both to portray to us Christ and to enable us better to understand the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of believers. The Spirit convinces us of our sins and misery. He opens our eyes to Christ and out of the fullness of Christ we receive ‘grace for grace’ (Jn. 1:16).

10. Christ’s Life was a Life of Praying the Psalms🔗

When we read the gospels we can also see that Christ Himself prayed the Psalms. Two of the seven sayings on the cross were explicitly words from the Psalter. The fourth saying on the cross is: ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Ps. 22:1). When we study the prayers of Jesus we see that He always addressed God as Father with the notable exception of His fourth word from the cross referred to here above.

Then the seventh saying is: ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit’ (Lk. 23:46 from Ps. 31:5). We know that already in the first century this phrase was used in a prayer before going to bed. Parents taught it to their children. We can say that Christ died with complete confidence in His Father. Having finished His work on the cross was for Him the same as a child going to bed. The words of Christ on the cross are a sign that Christ not only sang but also prayed the Psalms. In this He is an example for us.

We know that the life of Christ was a life of prayer: ‘And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray’ (Mt. 14:23). Elsewhere we read, ‘And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray’ (Lk. 9:28). We can presume that Christ when praying used the Psalms extensively as the book of prayer given by His Father and adding, just as we have for example in the last saying on the cross, the word ‘Father’. Christ is the only begotten Son of God. Believers are God’s adopted children. In the New Testament more than in the Old Testament the fatherhood of God is revealed. In the Old Testament there are only a few cases when God is addressed as Father. ‘He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation’ (Ps. 89:26).

Because God is not as a rule addressed as Father in the Psalms we must not draw the conclusion that the Psalms are no longer a model for the life of prayer for the New Testament church. Christ Himself prayed in the words of the Psalms and, just as He did, we may add the word ‘Father’ in the Psalm when we feel an inclination to do so. However, more important than the use of the name of Father, is the fact that we must come to God in childlike trust.

11. Christ’s Teaching Drew from the Psalms🔗

Also in Christ’s teaching we see the importance of the Psalms, eg in the Beatitudes. Just as in the Psalms, the Sermon on the Mount makes explicit that there are two ways, namely a narrow way leading to heaven and a broad way leading to hell. The persons who walk on the narrow way are called the righteous ones in the Psalms. They are people broken in heart who have humbled themselves before the Lord. Jesus sketches the same portrait of the true disciple in the Beatitudes.

When Jesus says in Matthew 5:3, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’, we hear the echo of Psalm 34:18, ‘The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit’. Matthew 5:5, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’ must be connected to Psalm 37:11, ‘But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace’. In Matthew 5:8 we read, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’. We must see that this reflects the words of Psalm 73:1, ‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart’. In Matthew 6:33, ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’ we see an allusion to Psalm 37:3-4.

Also in the teaching given by Jesus in His parables we see the influence of the book of Psalms. This is seen particularly in the two most well-known parables of our Lord, namely the parable of the Prodigal Son and that of the Pharisee and the Publican. In the parable of the Prodigal Son we read that when the son came to himself he said: ‘I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee’ (Luke 15:18). In this confession we hear the language of the Psalms where we read of the confession of sin. A notable example of this is Psalm 51:4. Behind the portrait of the father in this parable we see also a reflection of another Psalm: ‘As a father pitieth his children so the Lord pitieth them that fear him’ (Ps. 103:13). In the confession of the Publican (or tax collector) we have the words: ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ (Lk. 18:13). This is a quotation of Psalm 51:1: ‘Have mercy on me, O God’. In the teaching of Jesus, what is striking is the emphasis that they who appear outwardly righteous can be inwardly unrighteous. The French seventeenth-century scientist Pascal said: ‘On earth there are two kinds of people. The unrighteous ones who think that they are righteous; and the righteous ones who feel themselves unrighteous’.

12. Christ Quotes Psalm 110 when He speaks about His Own Identity🔗

Psalm 110, the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament, is one in which the divine identity of the coming Messiah is clearly revealed. Confronted with the criticism from scribes and Pharisees Jesus asked them, ‘What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David’ (Mt. 22:42). Jesus makes clear in His reply to them that their answer is only partially true. Here was their greatest problem. The Pharisees and scribes could not receive Jesus as the promised Messiah because they expected a Messiah who would be a mere man. Jesus made clear both in His words and acts (including the power to forgive sins) that He was both God and man. Answering the Pharisees He quotes Psalm 110:1:

He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?Mt. 22:43-45

This confrontation with the Pharisees happened in the week of His Passion. When Jesus had cleansed the temple the little children had hailed him with ‘Hosanna’ as the promised Son of David (Mt. 21:15). Hearing the criticism of the priests and scribes Jesus answered with a quotation of Psalm 8:2: ‘And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?’ (Mt. 21:16). Jesus is the Son of man and promised heir of the whole universe as foretold in Psalm 8.

13. The Christ must Suffer and Die before He is Glorified🔗

Jesus referred to Psalm 118, when he told the parable of the wicked husbandmen (Mt. 21:33-46). These husbandmen finally murdered the only son of the owner of the vineyard. Jesus implied to them that they, the scribes, were the wicked husbandmen. The original context of Psalm 118 refers to King David who was once despised, but finally became king of Israel. It can also be seen as pointing to the oppressed people of Israel who were in exile but finally restored by God. Jesus is the representative of the people of God. He suffers and dies in their place for their sin. Those who are united to Christ are also called on to suffer for Him and with Him. Christ, their Head, has not only suffered but has also been glorified. Because He reigns in glory now, they will follow Him into the glory. When Christ comes back all who wait for His coming, shall, as Jesus Himself told us, welcome Him with the words of Psalm 118:26: ‘Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord’ (see Mt. 23:39).

When He was together with His disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem during the Last Supper, Jesus quoted Psalm 69:4: ‘But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: They hated me without a cause’ (Jn. 15:25). If the psalmist could say that He was hated without a cause, it must be even more true of the Son of God. A Christian can also say this in a relative sense with respect to his sufferings as a believer. But the Son of God can say it absolutely. He never did any sin.

We have allusions to Psalm 69 in the gospels, although not from the lips of Jesus himself. In John 2:17 we read with regard to the cleansing of the temple: ‘His disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up’ (Ps. 69:9). When Jesus was nailed on the cross and sour wine offered to him, this was a fulfillment of Psalm 69:21: ‘They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink’.

In Christ the whole Mosaic dispensation with all its sacrifices came to its final fulfillment. Jesus could say: ‘But I say unto you, that in this place is one greater than the temple’ (Mt. 12:6). When the psalmist declares how he longs for the sanctuary, we can say that in this way a believer longs for the felt presence of Christ in his soul and life. This desire will be fulfilled when he will glorify Christ together with all the saints in the New Jerusalem. That will be a city without a temple because the Lamb is its temple.

​14. Praying and Singing the Psalms with Christ🔗

The book of Psalms is of special importance in the life of Christians. Christ is portrayed there. We hear Christ praying to His Father, giving praise to His Father, telling His Father all His needs and sorrows. We are called to pray and sing the Psalms united to Christ in faith. He prayed and sang the Psalms as Saviour, Surety and Mediator. His work as Saviour is unique. We are not called to make addition to it. Faith is resting in the finished work of Christ.

The Lord often uses sufferings and sorrows to draw us near unto Him. In his sufferings and anguish the Christian can feel and experience in a very special way the presence of Christ who suffered for him. Christ as the Head first suffered and is now in glory. His saints on earth are suffering for Him and have communion with Him. In their anguish and sufferings they feel His presence, so that they can be glad even in the midst of sufferings and sorrows.

We praise Him with the words of Psalm 45:1-2:

My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever’; and Psalm 72:17: ‘His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.

In the Psalms we have both a portrait of Christ and of His saints. Let us use the Psalms as a model for our life of prayer. Let us sing the Psalms.

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