Psa. 3 title

Or, Happy.

The word in vv. 6-8 is actually the word of Christ, as quoted by Paul in Heb. 10:5-7. The prophecy in vv. 6-8 is one of the greatest revelations concerning the all-inclusive Christ in the commission that God committed to Christ in His first coming through incarnation, which was to put away the animal sacrifices of the old covenant and to establish Himself, in His body, as the sacrifice of the new covenant (see note Heb. 10:7^2b and note Heb. 10:9¹). This is to terminate God’s Old Testament economy and to initiate God’s New Testament economy, in which Christ replaces all the offerings as well as all things, all matters, and all persons (cf. Matt. 17:4-8; Col. 2:16-17; 3:10-11).

The prophecy in vv. 6-8 concerning Christ is the goal and destination of the revelation of Christ in Psalms 2, 8, 16, and 22—24. In this prophecy Christ comes through His incarnation to terminate God’s old economy and initiate God’s new economy, His New Testament economy, by replacing the animal sacrifices and establishing Himself as the unique sacrifice of the new covenant. As such a sacrifice, Christ is the factor that enacts God’s New Testament economy (Matt. 26:28) that He may be its centrality and universality for the producing and building up of the church as His organic Body, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem. Hence, Christ has changed the age for the consummating of God’s new creation out of God’s old creation (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15). His changing of the age is greater than the creation of the universe mentioned in Gen. 1.

A sacrifice is for sin and sins before God, and an offering is for fellowship with God. These two things were the elements upon which the old covenant was established, and the old covenant was the centrality and universality of God’s economy in the Old Testament. God’s not delighting in and not requiring sacrifice and offering points to the termination of His economy in the Old Testament. This is the importance and the greatness of this prophecy.

Lit., bored my ears. This was quoted by the apostle Paul in Heb. 10:5 as “a body You have prepared for Me.” The boring of the slave’s ears indicates that the master required the slave’s obedience (Exo. 21:6). It signifies that God required obedience of Christ, who in His humanity was God’s slave (Phil. 2:7). This obedience, spoken of by Paul in Phil. 2:8, was for Him to do the will of God by being the sacrifice and the offering in His crucifixion in the flesh, the body (Col. 1:22; Heb. 10:7-10). Based on this, Paul interpreted the boring of the ears as the preparing of a body, in which Christ offered Himself to God as the sacrifice and the offering to replace the sacrifice and the offering of animals in the Old Testament.

Indicating Christ’s first coming through His incarnation for the establishing of the new testament (covenant) by Himself as the enacting sacrifice and offering (Matt. 26:28).

The mentioning of the scroll indicates that Christ would do God’s will for the accomplishing of God’s New Testament economy according to the Old Testament prophecies concerning Him (Luke 24:27, 44, 46; John 5:39, 46).