The Bible tells us God’s story of the world and the people in it, and there is a coherence to this story which demonstrates God is in ultimate control, working all things together for good. God’s plan of salvation is outlined in the first book (Genesis) and reaches its fulfilment in the last book (Revelation), but in the meantime, Jesus – hinted at, revealed in history and now working through the church – is found in all the other books too! This week, we have started looking at Messianic Psalms, those psalms which give us a foreshadowing of God’s Messiah way before His arrival on earth.
The Messiah, the Christ (in Greek), God’s anointed One, is God’s solution to the problem of sin, whose coming was first announced in Gen 3:15. The Messiah would be set apart for God, just as the priests were anointed for their duties (see Ex 29:7, Lev 21:10) and would also fulfil the role of prophet (see Deut 18:15) and king (see 2 Sam 11:7–16). Quite how this could be in one person was not easy to grasp, and the failure of the religious leaders to understand this can be said to have directly led to their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. We have the benefit of hindsight and fulfilled prophecy, thankfully!
Some of the Messianic psalms clearly refer to situations experienced by the psalmists and also look beyond this experience, whereas others seem to refer to situations outside the psalmists’ experience, pointing directly to the Messiah. There are Messianic references in 25 of the 150 psalms and many of these psalms are also quoted in the New Testament, showing us, as one commentator has said, that ‘Messianic prophecy is at the core of all prophecy.’ Peter tells us, ‘We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Pet 1:19-21) Prophecy enables us to see beyond our present situations to the final act of the story and we can be encouraged by studying these psalms as we realise just how many of these prophecies have already been fulfilled and can draw comfort that the remaining prophecies will also be fulfilled in God’s timing. God is in control of history; His sovereignty is a fundamental fact, as Ps 2:1-3 makes plain, this fact enables us to hold on to His faithfulness as we await the culmination of His majestic works.