The psalms that foretold His person, His work, and His two advents
The Book of Psalms is filled with prophecies about Jesus Christ — His deity, His humanity, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, His priesthood, and His coming kingdom. These prophetic psalms testify that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the King who will reign forever.
Luke 24:44 — "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake 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 prophetic psalms come under two categories:
Luke 24:44 — "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake 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."
After His resurrection, Jesus opened the minds of His disciples to understand that the psalms speak of Him. The Psalms are not merely poetry or songs of worship — they are prophetic revelation of the Messiah.
Psalm 2:7 — "I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee."
Psalm 45:6-7 — "Thy throne, O God, is for ever 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."
Psalm 102:25 — "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands."
Psalm 110:1 — "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool."
Psalm 8:4-6 — "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet."
Psalm 89:3-4, 27, 29 — "I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations... Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth... My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him."
Psalm 22:22, 25 — "I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee... My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him."
Psalm 40:9-10 — "I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation."
Psalm 110:4 — "The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."
Psalms 2, 24 — The King who will reign from Zion and whose kingdom will fill the earth.
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us."
"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."
"Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure."
"Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion."
"I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
"Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."
Psalm 16:10 — "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."
This is a precise statement of Christ's resurrection. Jesus went to Hades (Paradise and Tartarus) after He died. He promised to be in Paradise with the repentant thief, and He preached to the fallen angels in Tartarus. However, Jesus was resurrected from the dead — His body did not see corruption.
Psalm 22 is a prophetic description of crucifixion — written 1,000 years before Christ and centuries before crucifixion was invented as a Roman method of execution.
It should be noted that crucifixion was not a Jewish form of punishment but a Roman one, thus showing the supernatural accuracy of prophecy. David described a method of execution that did not exist in his time.
Here we see that God does not want sacrifice and offering (Isaiah 1:10-15) but the obedient servant comes to make the pure offering.
Psalm 40:7-17 (quoted in Hebrews 10:5-17) — "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart."
Psalm 41:9 — "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me."
John 13:18-19 — "I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he."
Jesus told His disciples in advance that His betrayal was prophesied in Psalm 41, so that when Judas betrayed Him they would believe that Jesus was He who had been prophesied in this psalm.
This psalm, especially from verse 18 onward, shows the complete defeat of the Antichrist's army. We see the return of Israel (v. 21-23) while verses 24-35 show the full blessing of the kingdom age under the personal rule of Christ.
The "handful of corn" in verse 16 is Israel which, by restoration at the Second Advent, commences the spreading of the kingdom over the earth (Zechariah 8:13, 20-23).
That this psalm points to Christ is evident from verse 27: "And I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth"(Isaiah 7:13-15; Isaiah 9:6-7; Micah 5:2).
Psalm 110:1 — "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool."
Psalm 110:4 — "The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."
The psalms bear witness that Jesus Christ is:
All things written in the psalms concerning Christ must be fulfilled. (Luke 24:44)