Messianic Psalms

Exerpt from Bible Knowledge Commentary on the Theology of the Psalms:

A.F. Kirkpatrick notes how easily these passages adapt themselves to a hope in the future life, as indicated by later biblical revelation. “Unquestionably these psalms (<a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ps+16-17">Pss. 16-17</a>; <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ps+49">49</a>; <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ps+73">73</a>) do contain the germ and principle of the doctrine of eternal life. It was present to the mind of the Spirit who inspired their authors. The intimate fellowship with God of which they speak as man’s highest good and truest happiness could not, in view of the nature and destiny of man and his relation to God, continue to be regarded as limited to this life and liable to sudden and final interruption. It required but a step forward to realize the truth of its permanence, but whether the psalmists took this step is doubtful” (The Book of Psalms, pp. xxv-xxvi). If they did take such a step, it was by faith.

The same ambiguity applies to the messianic psalms. With the knowledge of full revelation in Jesus Christ, one can look back to the Psalms, in fact to the entire Old Testament, and see that they often speak of Christ (cf. <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Lk+24%3A27">Luke 24:27</a>). Yet to Old Testament believers, the full meanings of these passages were not often evident. On the one hand a psalmist described his own suffering or triumph, and on the other hand those expressions, which may have seemed extravagant for the psalmist’s actual experience, later became true of Jesus Christ. Looking back one can say, with Delitzsch, “For as God the Father molds the history of Jesus Christ in accordance with His own counsel, so His Spirit molds even the utterances of David concerning himself, the type of the Future One, with a view to that history” (“Psalms,” in Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, 5:307).

Typology is thus a form of prophetic statement. It differs from prophecy in that it may be discerned as typological only after its fulfillment is known. Once this antitype is revealed, one may look back and see that certain expressions and images have meanings besides the historical experience. The New Testament writers drew heavily on the Psalms to express many aspects of the person and work of Jesus, the Messiah. As the anointed Davidic King par excellence, Jesus is the great Antitype of the messianic psalms, those psalms that have the king in the foreground. Expositors must exercise caution, however; they must recognize that not all the contents of messianic psalms apply to Christ (i.e., not all the parts are typological). Therefore one must remember that these psalms had a primary meaning in the experience of the authors. The analysis of the historical, contextual, and grammatical meaning of the text should precede the analysis of the New Testament application to Jesus.

Many commentators have made some use of Delitzsch’s five types of messianic psalms (“Psalms,” pp. 68-71).

1. Purely prophetic psalms. This category probably applies to <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ps+110">Psalm 110</a> which refers to a future Davidic King who would be the Lord. The New Testament (<a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Mt+22%3A44">Matt. 22:44</a>) identifies this King as Jesus Christ, not any other Davidic king.

2. Eschatological psalms. <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ps+96-99">Psalms 96-99</a>, the so-called enthronement psalms, among others, describe the coming of the Lord and the consummation of His kingdom. Though they do not refer to a Davidic king, Scripture intimates that they will be fulfilled in the second coming of Christ.

3. Typological-prophetic psalms. In these psalms the writer describes his own experience with language that goes beyond that experience and becomes historically true in Jesus (e.g., <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ps+22">Ps. 22</a>).

4. Indirectly messianic psalms. These psalms were written for a contemporary king or for royal activities in general. But their ultimate fulfillment is in Jesus Christ (<a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ps+2">Pss. 2</a>; <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ps+45">45</a>; <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ps+72">72</a>).

5. Typically messianic psalms. These psalms are less obviously messianic. The psalmist in some way is a type of Christ (cf. <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ps+34%3A20">34:20</a>), but other aspects of the passage do not apply. Perhaps, in this case Jesus and the apostles were applying familiar psalmic expressions to their experiences (e.g., <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ps+109%3A8">109:8</a> in <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Ac+1%3A20">Acts 1:20</a>).

Certainly the language of the Psalms expresses the hopes and the truths of the faith in a most memorable way, not only as they point to Christ but also as they reflect the struggles of the faithful. The Psalms have served God’s people down through the ages as the inspiration for and often the instrument of praise to God. But they have also brought comfort and hope to individual souls in their times of greatest needs, teaching them how to pray, and giving them the confidence of answered prayers and a renewed trust in their Lord. Often the Psalms change dramatically from the pouring out of a lament to a description of the answer, as if it had already happened. This expressed the psalmists’ confidence that God would answer their prayers. So sure were they of God’s answers that they praised the Lord in detail in anticipation of the victories. Only through genuine faith can a believer find assurance of answered prayer while praying. The psalmists had such assurance, for their praising accompanied their praying.