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Scripture Reading: Psa. 18:6, 22, 18:43-44, 50; 17:15; 20:6, 9; 21:3-5; 22:1-22
After Psalm 8 we have Psalm 16 as a continuation of the psalms about Christ. Then after Psalm 16, we have no more until Psalm 22. What about the psalms between Psalm 16 and 22 — Psalms 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21? By reading them carefully, we may realize that in these psalms there is a certain kind of improvement. These psalms are unlike Psalms 3 through 7 or 9 through 15. We may extend our little sketch to include these psalms and to show the spiritual level and progression:
Psalms 17 through 21 are down from the level of Psalm 16, but they are not as far down as Psalm 3 through 7 and 9 through 15. Later, following Psalm 24, we will see more and more improvement, till finally, when we reach the last book of the Psalms, there will be no further declining. At the end of the Psalms, we have improvement to the uttermost, and the normal level is attained.
Here, in Psalms 17 through 21, we have the first stage of improvement. We may define these psalms as follows: The saints’ prayers first take the righteousness of the law as a base but later turn to God’s anointed One, Christ, as the center. Do you see the improvement? The writers of these psalms also appreciate the house of God (see 18:6 and 20:2). They realize that God hears their voices from His temple, that God sends them help from the sanctuary and strengthens them out of Zion. To this extent they appreciate God’s dwelling place.
Psalm 19, as an insertion in this section, shows that the righteousness upon which the saints rely is of two kinds of testimony — the testimony of creation and the testimony of the law. But when we come to Psalms 20 and 21, God’s anointed One becomes God’s testimony. The three great testimonies that God has toward man are creation, the law, and Christ. Christ is the last and greatest. For this reason there is the improvement. By this time the psalmists came to realize something concerning Christ as God’s Anointed. They said that the king answers when they call (20:9). When they cry, God answers, and the king answers also. They put the king on the same level as God. This is a real improvement.
In Psalms 17 through 21 the concept changes from the law to God’s Anointed; it is gradually shifted from one line to another. Let us read all these verses referring to God’s Anointed.
Psalm 17:15 says, “As for me, in righteousness I will behold Your face; / When I awake, I will be satisfied with Your likeness.” This is apparently the word of David, but if we read it again and again, we will see that it is in reality the word of Christ. While David was uttering something, the Spirit of Christ spoke within his utterance. This is the utterance of the Anointed. “As for me, in righteousness I will behold Your face; / When I awake, I will be satisfied with Your likeness.” Many Bible students believe this expresses the desire of Christ during the three days between His crucifixion and resurrection. “When I awake [meaning “when I arise”] I will be satisfied with Your likeness,” with the likeness of the Father. This was Christ’s desire while He was dead those three days. This is the desire of resurrection.
Now let us read Psalm 18:43-44: “You rescued me from the strivings of the people; / You have made me the head of the nations.” This, of course, does not refer to David; David was not the head of the nations, but Christ. These were the words of David, but within David’s words was the utterance of Christ. David was indeed God’s anointed king, but now Christ uttered something within David’s utterance. “A people whom I had not known serves me. At the mere hearing of a report, they obey me; / Foreigners come cringing to me.” This must be Christ. Now verse 50 says, “It is He who magnifies salvation to His king / And executes lovingkindness to His anointed, / To David and to his seed forever.” Seed here is singular, not plural. The seed is Christ. You see, the concept of the Psalms has been shifted from the law to the Anointed. This is indeed an improvement.
Now let us go on to Psalm 20:6, 9: “Now I know / That Jehovah saves His anointed; / He will answer him from His holy heaven / With mighty acts of salvation from His right hand.” No doubt the king, the anointed, is Christ. “Save, O Jehovah! / May the king answer us when we call.” This is a wonderful verse. Who is the king? Christ is the King, the Anointed.
Psalm 21:3-5 says, “You meet him with blessings of goodness; / You have set a crown of refined gold on his head. / He asked life of You; You granted it to him: / Length of days forever and ever.” This verse is just like Revelation 1:18, which says, “I am living forever and ever.” Psalm 21:5 says, “His glory is great in Your salvation; / You have laid majesty and splendor upon him.” Here we have one with glory, majesty, splendor, and length of days. Who is this one? Undoubtedly, it is Christ. The concept of the psalmist has totally changed; so, I say, there is an improvement. We could not see this kind of improvement in Psalms 3 through 7 or 9 through 15; it did not appear until after Psalm 16.
Now we come to Psalm 22. In order to understand this psalm, we must realize that it is one of a group of three psalms concerning Christ — Psalms 22, 23, and 24. What a tremendous improvement these three psalms represent! They predict Christ in an excellent and orderly sequence: first His death, then His resurrection, then His shepherding after His resurrection, and eventually His coming back. Thus, there are four items in these three psalms: the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the shepherding of Christ, and the return of Christ as the King. It is marvelous!
Furthermore, in order to understand these three psalms, we must keep in mind all the preceding psalms concerning Christ — Psalms 2, 8, and 16. We have seen that Psalm 2 presents a summary concerning Christ in principle. Then Psalm 8 adds something more — His incarnation, ascension, and enthronement. Next, Psalm 16 reveals His life on this earth, how He died and was resurrected, and how He was installed at the right hand of God with pleasures forever. How good it is! But still the account is not so complete and clear. It is given bit by bit, something here and something there; something added, and then something more added. We have Psalm 2, Psalm 8, and then Psalm 16. Now we have Psalms 22, 23, and 24.
I especially encourage all the young ones to memorize all these psalms concerning Christ, not only Psalms 2, 8, and 16 but also Psalms 22, 23, and 24. The older ones can memorize at least the main points of these psalms. This will not put you to death; there is resurrection life within these psalms.
Psalm 22 is divided into two sections: verses 1 through 21 compose the first section, while verse 22 to the end of the psalm is the second. The first part speaks of the crucifixion of Christ, and the second section of His resurrection. It is so clear.
In the entire Bible, not another passage relates the crucifixion of Christ in so much detail as the first section of Psalm 22. The psalm begins, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (v. 1). In Matthew 27:46 we hear Christ speaking these words. These are not only the opening words of this psalm but also the first words of Christ on the cross. Christ spoke seven sentences from the cross, and this one is the first.
Psalm 22:6 says, “I am a worm and not a man, / A reproach of men and one despised by the people.” This was fully fulfilled when Christ was put upon the cross. It was there that people despised Him; it was there that He became a reproach to all the people. Now verse 7 says, “All who see me deride me; / They sneer at me; they shake their heads.” In Matthew 27 and Mark 15 we see the same thing; the fulfillment is there. Then Psalm 22:8 says, “He committed himself to Jehovah; let Him rescue him; / Let Him deliver him since He takes pleasure in him.” This is exactly what took place at the cross. The chief priests mocking Him, with the scribes and elders, said, “He trusts in God; let Him rescue Him now if He wants Him” (Matt. 27:43).
Psalm 22:12 says, “Many bulls surround me; / The mighty bulls of Bashan encompass me.” So many leaders were there around the cross, just like the strong bulls. Verse 13 says, “They open their mouth at me, / Like a ravening and roaring lion.” In verse 14 we see a vivid picture of the crucifixion. At that time Christ cried, “I am poured out like water, / And all my bones are out of joint.” While He was on the cross, the very weight of His body caused all His bones to be out of joint. “My heart is like wax; / It is melted within me.” This is why He said, “I thirst” (John 19:28). Psalm 22:15 says, “My strength is dried up like a shard, / And my tongue is stuck to my jaws; / You have put me in the dust of death.” He was “burnt”; He was consumed by the holy fire of God on the cross. Verse 16 says, “Dogs surround me; / A company of evildoers encloses me; / They pierce my hands and feet.” This was exactly enacted on the cross. Now verses 17 and 18 say, “I count all my bones; / They look, they stare at me. / They divide my garments to themselves, / And for my clothing they cast lots.” Matthew 27, Mark 15, and John 19 record the fulfillment of all these things. Finally, Psalm 22:20 and 21 say, “Deliver my soul from the sword, / My precious life from the power of the dog; / Save me from the mouth of the lion; / Indeed while I am in the horns of wild oxen, answer me.” Undoubtedly, this was the cry of Christ unto the Father; and this cry was answered. We will see the answer in the next chapter: He was resurrected; He was delivered out of death.
Now you may see how Psalms 2, 8, 16, and 22 unfold little by little the Christ of God. There is no other book in the Old Testament which presents the things of Christ in so much detail as the Psalms. When we have completed the entire book, you will have a full picture of Christ, a picture which is even more clear and complete than the New Testament.
Oh, how much we need to see Christ in the Psalms! This is just the beginning; later, after the first book, we will see the preciousness, the sweetness, and the enjoyment of the house of God through the real experiences of Christ.
