The Lord Jesus Christ in The Psalms

Some Christians argue against singing the whole Book of Psalms by saying that the Lord Jesus Christ’s name is not mentioned in them. But they forget that Christ is found throughout the Psalms. “They are they that testify of me,” Christ himself said, when he affirmed that all the Old Testament Scriptures testified of him (John 5:39). And that includes the Psalms.

We have had the following conversation many times, or something like it:

Anti: How can you have the Lord Jesus Christ at the centre of your worship of God, if you sing the Psalms? The Psalms are for Old Testament Jews, not for New Testament Christians.

Pro: Are you saying that the Psalms are not about Christ?

Anti: Well, the Psalms are mostly not about Christ. And he is not mentioned in the Psalms by name. But, I admit, some of the Psalms are Messianic Psalms. However, Christians do not need to sing them, now that Christ himself has come.

Pro: If we showed you Christ throughout the Psalms, and if we look deeper and we get to know Christ as the Psalms reveal him, would you sing them with us as a Christian?

Anti: No. The Psalms were for the Old Testament people of God, not for New Testament Christians. They are not for me. I would rather sing about the gospel, and I can’t do that if I stick with singing only the Psalms.

Pro: But we do sing the gospel in the Psalms.

The Gospel Is in the Psalms

The salvation of souls is a wonderful revelation from God the Holy Spirit, who is also known as the “Spirit of Christ”. The prophets of the Old Testament and angels both desired to look into the gospel of salvation, longing for the day when their Messiah would come. This certainly included the king David, who was also a prophet (Matthew 22:42-44; Acts 1:16; 2:29-31), and the other writers of the Psalms. The Apostle Peter affirms the following of “the prophets”—which must necessarily include the Book of Psalms: “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into” (1 Peter 1:9-11).

The more familiar you are with both the Book of Psalms and the New Testament, the more you will see that the Psalms are full of Christ. The sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow were indeed testified beforehand in the Psalms.

The Book of Psalms is, in many ways, like a Fifth Gospel—but one that was written before the incarnaton of Christ. Peter says so: this same gospel of the salvation of souls by Christ is both “ministered” by the prophets (some of whom were the psalmists) “unto us”—to Peter and his Christian readers. And this same gospel continues being preached and believed among us to this day.

When we thoughtfully read the Psalms, we very often see Christ as the Antitype of the psalmist himself. The “sweet Psalmist of Israel”, king David (2 Samuel 23:1), is a type of the Messiah, especially in what David wrote by the Spirit of Christ concerning himself in the Psalms. And besides seeing Christ in the Psalms, we also see ourselves in the Psalms, as his people. We see both Christ and ourselves in the psalmist’s own life situations about which he sings.

The New Testament both directly quotes and alludes to the Book of Psalms more than any other Old Testament book. Many of these New Testament references to the Psalms point to the Anointed One (the Messiah; the Christ), while many others point to what we rightly consider as Christian doctrines and the spiritual experiences of Christians in the Psalms. This is because the personal experiences of the Lord’s people are much the same wherever and whenever they live in this world. Seeing that the New Testament scriptures are also focused so much upon the Messiah and upon his kingdom and people, Christians should feel “at home” in the Book of Psalms. When we take up what we lovingly call “our Psalters” or “our Psalm-books” in the congregation, this is what we mean. They are our Psalms: the songs of our life.

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). This “According to the Scriptures” definitely includes “according to the Psalms.”

All The Psalms Are Messianic

There are several short lists of Messianic Psalms in older and recent books and articles. For example, I have seen lists of seven, ten, and sixteen. These lists are partly similar, partly different; so if we combine these lists we can increase this number a little. However, the truth is that there are many more references to the Messiah in Psalms than are found in these short lists.

Following are three examples of how we see the Lord Jesus Christ in the Psalmist’s words. To prevent those who reject Psalm-singing responding by saying we are “Christianising the Psalms”, or “reading Christ into the Psalms but he is not really there”, I have here chosen three eye-openingly obvious examples where even such deniers cannot dispute it. Please consider:

Firstly, while he was hanging on the cross, bearing the full weight of the wrath of God for the sins of his people, Jesus cried aloud to God using his own words, that were given in a Psalm centuries earlier: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1; see Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). In Psalm 22 we have the very thoughts that were in our Saviour’s heart, while he was dying for us, making his substitutionary atonement for our sins.

Secondly, the the apostle Peter affirms that Christ’s resurrection was revealed in Psalm 16 where David, writing about his own experience, was inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak of One greater than himself. He prophesied about the Messiah’s resurrection. Jesus of Nazareth is he “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance” (Acts 2:24-28; from Psalm 16:8-11). These words of king David are in fact the God-breathed, Christ-breathed words that reveal, in prophetic first-person, what would be in Christ’s heart while he was dying on the cross. These words were already in Christ’s own heart from eternity past, before he uttered them though David’s lips and pen.

Thirdly, In Acts 2:34-35, Peter teaches concerning Christ’s ascension to his throne at the right hand of God the Father from Psalm 110: “For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool” (quoting Psalm 110:1). And Paul teaches us concerning Christ’s ascension from Psalm 68: “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)” (Ephesians 4:7-10; quoting Psalm 68:18).

Here are two more examples of how the Christian sees himself or herself united with Christ in the words of the Psalmist. There are very many more examples that I could give than these two; but I give these here because I know that even Christians who disagree with Psalm-singing still sometimes sing these two Psalms. Psalms 23 and 100 are, or have been, the last to fall out of use in the worship songs of evangelical churches of our day.

The LORD’s My Shepherd

Fourthly, Psalm 23 appears in many lists of Messianic Psalms, but it was not in all lists that I discovered. Now, why is Psalm 23 sometimes included as a Messianic Psalm? Where does it mention the Messiah? Now, if you consider this Psalm as someone who has learned something of the New Testament Scriptures, especially the Gospels, then you may understand that this Psalm affirms the deity of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, who has declared himself to be the “Good Shepherd” of his people (compare v.1 with John 10:11, 14 and Hebrews 13:20-21). So, when we sing “The LORD’s my Shepherd” (v.1a, Scottish Metrical Version), we are identifying Christ as one with “the LORD”, Jehovah himself; and in doing so we are affirming the deity of Christ (compare John 8:19; 10:30; 14:6-11). “The LORD is my shepherd”; and he has sent his only begotten Son, the (John 3:16) to be my Good Shepherd.

It should not escape your notice that David, the psalmist, has written this Psalm about his own close relationship with Jehovah. This is a relationship that those who are not the the LORD’s people do not have. What David affirmed in this Psalm was true in his own case: the LORD was indeed personally—very personally, David’s Shepherd; and that therefore in God’s providence, upholding, and protecting, David shall not be in want of anything he needs, whether materially or spiritually; the LORD makes David to lie down, as like a sheep at rest, in thriving green pastures beside peaceful unturbulent waters (v.2). Here the psalmist writes metaphorically and generically about his life experiences; and the people of God in all generations can take David’s words (since they are the Holy Spirit’s words; remember 2 Peter 1:21) and confess these same truths about their own life experiences. Through the way God leads us in his providences that affect us outwardly, and mature us inwardly as Christians, we too see God’s shepherd-like hand graciously working in all things for our good (as Paul says in Roman 8:28).

We see also something of what David knows of our Shepherd’s inward work of saving grace: “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (v.3). In the New Testament, we see that these works of God’s grace in the soul are also known as the new birth (e.g. John 3:16; 1 Peter 1:3) and sanctification (e.g. 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13). And as Psalm 23 continues, believing Psalm-singers are comforted again and again by the reminder of God’s goodness, and of his merciful provision outwardly and inwardly in their souls and hearts, and of his presence with them in every step of their life as they walk with him, including through the “valley of the shadow of death”—and so shall it always be, even while they dwell in the “house of the LORD” in Heaven with God forever (vv.4-6).

Speaking of his own direct communion with God, David says, “For thou art with me” (v.4). For thou art with me. Everything else that he experiences and sings of in this Psalm comes from this—this is the core truth of the covenant of grace. David’s assurance of salvation, protection, upholding, and eternal life in the presence of God forever—is all because the Jehovah is with him. The LORD is his Shepherd, and he is his sheep. This Covenant-keeping God is my God; and therefore I shall always belong to him.

We do not set aside the doctrine of the Trinity when we sing the Psalms. We know that this Psalm is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God with us, our Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). He is the Word of God made flesh, and he has made his dwelling with his people (John 1:14). It is he who is the fulfilment of the glorious personal presence of God who came down and filled the Tabernacle, and the Temple, as the Saviour and Comforter of his people (Exodus 40:34-35; 2 Chronicles 7:1-2; Isaiah 6:1, ch.40; Ezekiel 43:5; John 14:16-18; Matthew 28:20; 1 Corinthians 3:6; 6:19; Revelation 21:3).

When we sing the twenty-third Psalm, we sing both to and about our Lord Jesus Christ. In this Psalm, we see the New Testament believer’s relationship with the LORD in Christ too. Every child of God, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, has all that David had in this Psalm. It is indeed a Messianic Psalm; and we are convinced, it is very much a Christian Psalm too.

We Christians who are Gentiles by birth are also sheep of king David’s Shepherd. For our Lord Jesus Christ came not only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6; John 15:24), but as our Good Shepherd himself said, “…other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10:16). We follow Christ because it is true of us even as he himself said: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). And so we too, with David, shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever: “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one” (vv.28-30).

All People That On Earth Do Dwell

Fifthly, Psalm 100 is also a Messianic Psalm, since it covers many of the same themes as Psalm 23, and more. (However, it is not on any of the lists of Messianic Psalms that I found.) As Christians, we know that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the Word of God, though whom all things were made (John 1:1-3, 14; 10:11, 14). And when we sing Psalm 100—“All people that on earth do dwell, Sing to the LORD with cheerful voice” (v.1, SMV), we sing that “Know that the Lord is God indeed” and our Maker, and that we did not make ourselves in any way (v.3a). And again, we sing of the LORD as our Shepherd, so that “we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (v.3b). Therefore, even though Christ is not mentioned by name in Psalm 100, he is mentioned. But you need, as it were, New Testament eyes to see him.

In singing Psalms 23 and 100 with the understanding given to us by both the Old and New Testament Scriptures, we affirm that these two Psalms are both about the Son of God, and about the people of God—and this includes those who are properly called Christians these days.

Well then, dear Christian who sets aside the Psalms in the worship of God: if you can see that Psalms 23 and 100 are both about Christ and are therefore for Christians, then please look again, and look more deeply, at the whole Book of Psalms. What you yourself are doing when you see Christ in these two Psalms above (namely, bringing in the New Testament Scriptures, and understanding them with the opened heart of the born-again Christian enabled by the Holy Spirit) is what we are doing with all the Psalms.

You must come to see Christ in the Psalms. Keep on studying the Psalms until you get them, as only a Christian can.

This is the same as what the apostle Peter did in his sermon that is recorded in Acts chapter 2, where he preaches Christ’s resurrection and ascension from the Psalms; and the same as Paul does repeatedly in his Epistles; and the same as our Lord and Saviour himself did.

We Psalm-singers believe that the more time you, Christian, spend in the Book of Psalms, understanding and meditating upon them and singing them, then the more of your Lord Jesus Christ you will see there. You would do very well to make the Psalms the songs of your life.

Here’s something for you to think upon. I said above that the Psalms are the most quoted and alluded-to Old Testament Book in the New Testament Scriptures. But do you know which Psalm is the most quoted and alluded to? Do you know him whom that Psalm is all about? Have you studied how the New Testament authors expound that Psalm? And do you know how the Lord Jesus Christ made use of that Psalm?

---

Appendix

From John Brown of Haddington’s Self-Interpreting Bible (1791) (converted from Roman to Arabic numerals):

PSALM 16. v.5.—The Lord and his fulness, answerable to every need, every desire, is represented as a lot or portion, in allusion to the shares of Canaan, which were divided by lot, Numbers 34; and to the shares of liquor in cups at feasts; importing how permanent, unalterable, refreshing, and strengthening he is to the enjoyers. v.10. Hell, with respect to David or Christ, cannot signify the place of the damned; for thither they never went: but it may include great distress of spirit, the grave, and the state of the dead.
REFLECTIONS UPON PSALM 16.—Trust in God does not merit, but it secures divine preservation, as God cannot disappoint one who believes his word, or rests on his new covenant characters. Our holiness cannot profit God, but it marks us his, and tends to our advantage; and, next to fellowship with God, that with ourselves [i.e. Christians in fellowship] is the most excellent and useful. But the more a believer advances in holiness, the more humble thoughts he will have of himself, in view of the pure and all-sufficient JEHOVAH. They who delight in God will delight in those who bear his image, as the most excellent on earth. Such as have Jesus Christ as their atonement, and God in him, need no idols or other sacrifices. And if we want to banish idolatry, the most distant appearances of it ought to be avoided and abhorred. But happy are they who have God as their portion, their wealth and comfort, by his own gospel grant! This secures against want, as well as against ruin. This secures direction in time, comfort in death, and glory through eternity. And oh, how pleasant death and eternity appear, when Christ is considered as our way, as our forerunner, and God in him as our everlasting ALL IN ALL!

REFLECTIONS UPON PSALM 22.—How fearful is the nature of sin, which drew such tremendous desertion and wrath upon God’s only begotten Son, when it was but imputed to him! With the most holy resignation ought God’s hidings and frowns to be endured, when they are sanctified by Jesus Christ’s bearing them as our forerunner; and should be attended with kind thoughts of God, trust in him, and fervent prayers for deliverance. What earnest supplications are occasioned by a deep sense of need! But it is happy, in great distress, to have our covenant relation to God, and our own and others’ experience of former deliverances, encourage us to hope and wait for what we now need. What sinners before the Lord exceedingly were these dogs, these bulls, these wicked men, who with devils thus raged against the great God our Saviour! But oh, what a debt of love and of praise the redeemed owe to their Lord, who so bare their sins, their griefs! And what ought they not cheerfully to suffer for his sake! What tidings—what supplies—what conquests—what continuance—what glories of grace—issue from the sufferings of our great IMMANUEL! Himself opens the triumphant song, and exhibits his experience for the comfort of his distressed brethren; and with joy declares his adherence to all his covenant engagements. Sweet is the entertainment of his flesh and blood—yea, of all the fulness of God, which he has prepared for the poor, the afflicted, and meek! Precious and lasting is their life who by faith feed upon him! He goes forth conquering the nations, high and low, to the obedience of faith. Let, then, his cause be oppressed as it may, in every age will prove triumphant.

REFLECTIONS UPON PSALM 23.—Oh the advantages, the pleasures, of experimental godliness! God, whose knowledge and care are infinite—God, who is ALL, and giveth all—is his people’s Shepherd! What can they then want, when all the fulness of God is opened for their supply! He makes them to rest and feed in the pastures of his ordinances and promises; and leads them, for their refreshment, to the still waters of his gospel truth, gracious influence, redeeming blood, and everlasting love. He restores their souls when under disease or decay, and, moved by his own sovereign grace, leads them in Jesus and his word as their way, and enables them to perfect holiness in his fear. Amidst all the pains and the fears of death, his gracious presence, his drawing and sealing influence, and his supporting promises, are their sufficient encouragement. Amidst their unnumbered enemies of lusts, of devils, and of men, not only necessaries, but even abundant comforts are allowed them. The mercy and goodness of God, in streams of spiritual and temporal blessings, inseparably attend them, till at last they are for ever filled with all the fulness of God in his heavenly temple.

REFLECTIONS UPON PSALM 100.—What joyful praise, what grateful thanksgivings, what cheerful and hearty service, do we Gentiles owe to the Lord!—to him who is JEHOVAH, the infinite ALL!—to him who forms us both in nature and in grace!—to him who is our high Proprietor and Redeemer, our kind Shepherd, Leader, Provider, and Provision!—to him who is good in himself, and whose mercy and truth are for ever exerted in the fulfilment of gracious and new covenant promises to ransomed men!

John Brown of Haddington, Self-Interpreting Bible (1791), Preface to the Book of Psalms (converted from Roman to Arabic numerals, and dense paragraphs split into lists):

THE BOOK OF PSALMS

The Book of Psalms is one of the most extensive and useful in Holy Scripture, as it is everywhere suited to the case of the saints. It is at first much mired with complaints and supplications, and at last issues in pure and lasting praise. That Heman composed Psalm 88, Ethan Psalm 89, and Moses Psalm 90, is certain. But whether those under the name of Asaph were mostly penned by him, or only assigned to be sung by him as a master of the temple music, as others were to Jeduthun, or to the sons of Korah, or other chief musicians, we cannot determine. Some, as Psalm 74, 79, 126, and 137, appear to have been composed after the captivity to Babylon was begun; but by whom we know not. The rest, including those two marked with the name of Solomon, might be composed by David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel.

Twenty-five of the Palms have no title at all; and whether the titles of the rest are of divine authority is not altogether agreed. But when it is considered that these titles everywhere appear in the Hebrew originals, and how often they serve as a key to the psalm, and are sometimes connected with it by the accentuating points, there is no real ground to suspect their authenticity. Nor are interpreters agreed with respect to the signification of some of the Hebrew words standing in these titles. We think that

• MASCHIL always signifies that the psalm is designed for instruction, Psalms 32, 42, 43, 45, 52, 53, 54, 55, 74, 78, 83, 89.
• MICHTAM denotes the precious or golden nature of the psalm, as 16, 56-60.
• ALTASCHITH, that the scope of the psalm is to deprecate destruction, 57, 58, 59.
• MUTH-LABBEN, that the psalm was composed on the occasion of the death of his son, or of Goliath the duellist, Psalm 9.
• AIJELETH SHAHAR, that its subject is Jesus Christ, the hind of the morning, Psalm 22.
• JONATH-ELEM-REHOKIM, that David is therein represented as a mute dove among foreigners, Psalm 56.
• SHOSHANNIM, SHOSHANNIM-EDUTH, or SHUSHAN-EDUTH, may either signify that Christ and his people, who are lilies, or lilies of the congregation or testimony, are the subject of it; or that it was sung on an instrument of six strings, Psalms 45, 60, 69, 80,
• as SHEMINITH denotes an instrument of eight strings, Psalms 6, 12.
• MAHALATH may either signify the disease, and MAHALATH-LEANOTH the aflicting disease; or MAHALOTH may signify a wind instrument of music, Psalms 53, 88.
• NEGINATH and NEGINOTH denote stringed instruments of music, Psalms 4, 6, 54, 55, 61, 67, 76.
• NEHILOTH, wind ones, Psalm 5.
• GITTITH, a musical instrument, or tune invented at Gath, Psalms 8, 81, 84.
• ALAMOTH, the virginals, or a song to be sung by the virgins, Psalm 46.
• SHIGGAION of SHIGIONONTH may denote the diversified matter or tune of the psalm, Psalm 7.
• The 120th, and fourteen next following, are called SONGS of DEGREES; perhaps because they were sung on the different steps of the temple stairs; or were sung at certain halts made by David and the Israelites when they brought up the ark of God from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem, 2 Samuel 6; or were sung by the Hebrews at their different rests, when they came up from the country to their three solemn feasts; or were partly sung by the Jews at their different resting-places in their return from Babylon, Leviticus 23; Ezra 2.

The Hebrews divided this book into FIVE, ending with Psalms 41, 72, 89, 106, 150; the first four of which are concluded with AMEN. Interpreters have attempted to arrange or class the Psalms into a variety of different forms. To me it appears not improper to distinguish them into

I. INSTRUCTIVE, which are either
(1) HISTORICAL, relating what God had done for the Psalmist, or for the Jewish nation, etc., as 18, 68, 78, 104, 105, 106, 114, 135, 136. Most of which are also EUCHARISTIC [giving thanks to God for what he has done]; or
(2.) DOCTRINAL, declaring and explaining the principles and duties of religion, as Psalms 1, 14, 15, 19, 36, 37, 49, 50, 53, 64, 76, 77, 78, 81, 82, 90, 101, 102, 119, 122, 131, 132, 139.

II. PROPHETIC, foretelling events relative to Christ or his Church, as Psalms 2, 8, 16, 21, 22, 24, 29, 40, 45, 47, 48, 67, 68, 69, 72, 87, 89, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 110, 117, 132, 159; not a few of which are also EUCHARISTIC.

III. CONSOLATORY, in which the Psalmist comforts himself and others in the promises, perfections, or works of God, as Psalms 4, 11, 23, 27, 31, 37, 46, 56, 73, 91, 121, 125, 128, 129.

IV. PETITIONARY, in which he bewails his own or the church’s condition, and supplicates deliverance, as Psalms 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 17, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 35, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 51, 54, 55, 57, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 70, 71, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 86, 8, 102, 109, 120, 123, 130, 132, 137, 140, 141, 142, 143. Seven of these, in which the Psalmist makes confession of his sin, viz., Psalms 6, 22, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143, are called PENITENTIAL.

V. EUCHARISTIC, in which he stirs up himself and others to praise and thank the Lord for his favours, as Psalms 9, 18, 30, 33, 34, 60, 65-78, 95-100, 103-108, 111, 113, 115-118, 122, 124, 126, 134, 135, 136, 138, 144-148, 149, 150.

But, indeed, historical narratives, doctrinal instructions, prophecies, consolations, supplications, praises, and thanksgivings, are often so pleasantly and profitably connected in the same Psalm, that it is difficult to assign it to one class rather than to another. And what is HISTORICAL, as it relates to David and the Jewish church, is often TYPICAL, and so PROPHETIC, as it relates to Jesus Christ and the gospel church or heavenly state. Many, too, of the SUPPLICATIONS respecting deliverances from, or the destruction of enemies, are to be considered as real PREDICTIONS of the events, they being dictated by the inspiration of him who can declare the end from the beginning.