Chapter 2 , 20 min read
The Psalms and the Glory of Christ
There is a river that runs through the Scriptures, ancient and deep, carrying with it songs of longing, cries of anguish, and bursts of uncontainable joy.
It is the book of Psalms.
At first glance, these songs appear to rise from the hearts of men, shaped by the lives of shepherds, kings, and worshipers who walked through triumph and sorrow alike. Yet beneath the surface, something far greater is unfolding.
These are not merely human expressions reaching upward. They are divine revelations pointing forward.
For within the Psalms, Christ is hidden, and yet revealed. Not always plainly. Not always immediately. But undeniably.
The Psalms do not merely speak about God. They sing of Christ. And like a melody carried across time, what begins as longing finds its resolution in Him.
The Voice Behind the Voice
David writes. Asaph writes. The sons of Korah write. Yet another voice speaks through them.
A greater David. A truer King. A suffering Servant and a reigning Lord.
What appears as devotion is often a declaration. What sounds like prayer is often prophecy.
“All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.”
The Psalms are not scattered reflections. They are a unified witness. Even their opening lines hint at Him:
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly… But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
This righteous Man is not merely an ideal. He is a person. And in Christ, righteousness is no longer described; it is embodied. The voice behind the voice is revealed.
The Suffering Christ Foretold
Long before the cross was lifted, its shadow stretched across the Psalms.
Psalm 22 begins with a cry that would one day rise again a thousand years later, piercing the silence of Golgotha where the cross of Jesus was lifted.
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
There are words in the Psalms that do not rest comfortably in the life of David alone. They reach beyond him. They ache with a deeper voice. They stretch toward a greater suffering found in Christ for us.
This is Christ's voice, carried forward through time. And when He hangs upon the cross, He does not search for words. He fulfills them.
“And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
The cry of the Psalm becomes the cry of the Son. What was written in sorrow is now spoken in sacrifice.
“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head…”
“And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads.”
The mockery is not new. It was written.
“I am poured out like water… my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.”
“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.”
He is poured out. Not figuratively. But fully.
“They pierced my hands and my feet.”
“They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”
Even the smallest detail is not overlooked. Even the garments obey the Scripture.
Reproach and the Vinegar Cup
“Reproach hath broken my heart…”
Rejected, abandoned, surrounded by accusation, the weight of reproach rests fully upon Him.
“Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.”
“They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
“They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall…”
Even His thirst had been foretold.
The Witness of Hyssop
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
David speaks as one who understands that cleansing is not achieved by effort, but received through what God provides. Hyssop, even in his day, was not merely a plant. It was an instrument. It was used where blood was applied. It was present where cleansing was declared. It stood at the intersection of sacrifice and purification.
“And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood… and strike the lintel and the two side posts…”
The blood of the lamb was applied with hyssop, and where that blood was found, judgment did not enter. It passed over. Now, at Golgotha, the image returns. Not in shadow. Not in symbol. But in fulfillment.
“Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.”
In what appears to be a small and passing detail, the Scripture quietly reveals something profound. The same instrument once used to apply the blood of the lamb for covering and protection in Egypt, now appears at the cross, where the true Lamb of God is being offered.
What was once applied to doorposts is now poured out for hearts. What once marked homes for protection now marks souls for redemption.
“Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”
What hyssop once applied in shadow, Christ fulfilled in substance. The blood that once covered for a night now cleanses for eternity.
“Into thine hand I commit my spirit…”
“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the spirit.”
The Psalmist closes in surrender. So does the Son.
The Betrayed Friend
“Yea, mine own familiar friend… hath lifted up his heel against me.”
“It was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.”
This is not distant opposition. This is near betrayal. And when the disciple Judas steps into the night, Scripture is not broken. It is fulfilled.
The Zeal That Consumes
“For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up…”
When Christ enters the temple and overturns the tables, it is not anger without cause. It is love without compromise.
“The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.”
The same One who is mocked will cleanse. The same One who is rejected will restore.
The Perfect Obedient Son
“Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God…”
His life is not shaped by circumstance. It is anchored in obedience. From the wilderness to the garden, from temptation to the cross, one thread remains unbroken: The will of the Father.
And in fulfilling it, He becomes what the Psalms had long anticipated. The righteous Man.
The Righteous King
“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.”
“Thou art my Son…”
This King is not rising. He is established.
“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever…”
The One who suffered now reigns. The meek and humble Lamb who willingly laid down his life is also the King of Kings.
The Shepherd Who Leads
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
The One who rules the nations also walks beside His people. He leads. He restores. He provides.
“We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
This is not metaphor alone. It is invitation. The King becomes Shepherd. The Shepherd lays down His life.
The Light in the Darkness
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”
The Psalms whisper what Christ later declares. He is not only a guide through darkness. He is its end. Where He is present, fear begins to lose its voice.
The Righteous Sufferer Vindicated
“Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”
The grave cannot hold what God has declared. The Holy One will not remain. What was buried rises. What was silenced speaks again. The Psalms that foretold suffering now whisper resurrection.
The Cornerstone
“The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.”
Rejected. Dismissed. Cast aside. Yet established. What men refused, God made central.
The Everlasting Priest
“Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
The order of Melchizedek is a picture of an eternal priesthood. The name itself means King of Righteousness and Peace. These are not just titles. They are identities fulfilled in Christ.
His work does not end at the cross. It continues. He intercedes, stands in the gap before Heaven and Earth on our behalf in continual prayer and communion with the Father. He mediates.
The Exalted Lord and King of Glory
“The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand…”
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates… and the King of glory shall come in.”
“So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.”
“Who being the brightness of his glory… when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
The throne is no longer anticipated. It is occupied. All authority has been brought beneath Him. All powers are subject to Him. All things now stand under His rule.
The One who descended has ascended. The One who suffered now reigns. The King of glory has entered. And He has taken His seat at the right hand of the Father.
The Witness of Heaven
“But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”
The Scriptures declare that He is seated. Yet here, He is seen standing. Not absent. Not distant. But present. The enthroned King rises as His witness stands. He who reigns does not overlook His own.
The Throne Revealed
“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne… stood a Lamb as it had been slain…”
The Lamb. Still bearing the marks of sacrifice. Yet standing in the place of highest authority. Not beneath the throne. But in the midst of it.
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.”
The Song That Never Ends
The Psalms are not relics. They are alive. They continue to draw the heart toward Christ.
Every lament leans toward Him. Every victory anticipates Him. Every cry finds its answer in Him.
He is the melody behind the music. The fulfillment behind the words. The glory behind the song.
And like a river that began long before us and will continue long after us, the Psalms carry us to Him again and again.