This is a paper which was submitted for a class on the Psalter.

“The Psalter is the jewel-case from which the saints of God obtain rare and precious gems of thought and spiritual strength to comfort and stimulate them on their journey along life’s pathway.” This consideration by Aaron Kligerman, while true for those who read the psalms today is also applicable to those who wrote and read the psalms during the day of the ancients. As one of the most oft quoted texts in the New Testament, the Psalms regularly present to us clear messianic hope. While expressing a joyous celebration or a heartfelt lament, the cries of the psalmist yearn for the anointed of God. Psalm 110 declares The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thy enemies (KJV). The earnest expression through the poetic writing of this Psalm typified the longing to see the Lord rule in Zion. Even though enemies are on every side, the Lord will conquer and rule in their midst. The Israelites looked to the Psalter as a means of hope and destiny as well as confirmation that there would indeed be a day when the messiah would vanquish their enemies and rule as King triumphant. The psalmist’s prophetic voice gave the children of Israel as well as Christian believers’ hopeful anticipation of a mighty messiah who would live, die, rise and return again. This hope extended through the mosaic community, the Old Testament and the Psalter and is illustrated in Psalm 2 and Psalm 110.

Messianic Hope in the Mosaic Community

Walter Brueggemann in The Prophetic Imagination describes biblical prophecy as seen in the Psalms drawing its paradigm from the covenantal tradition expressed by Moses and embraced by the children of Israel. Moses, while adopted into the Egyptian royal family, shattered the imperialist consciousness lived out by the Israelites during the slavery to Pharaoh. For this newly freed nation, Moses was the mouthpiece from man to God and God to man. What he gave the Israelites was the antithesis of what was offered in the provinces of Pharaoh. It was this radical departure from the imperial reality of Egypt that Brueggemann refers to the re-birth of prophecy during the exodus having a consequential impact upon the Israelites and the modern believer.

While the Exodus was long before the writing of the Psalter, it does lay the framework from which the prophetic cries of the psalmist for messiah become reality. While in the captivity of Egypt the Israelites were subjected to the gods and pagan rituals of their taskmasters. Now, having been delivered by the mighty hand of Yahweh, they have been first hand witnesses to the miraculous plagues, the pillar of fire by day, the pillar of cloud by night, and have walked on the dry Red Sea bed. Here the awareness of their God is in striking contrast to what they have known while in the bondage of Egypt. In Egypt, the gods served the purposes of the Pharaoh and expanded his dominion over the people. Moses as the mouthpiece of the true God “dismantles the politics of oppression and exploitation by countering it with a politics of justice and compassion.” It was here that the taste for messiah touched the hearts of those chosen to hold the oracles of God.

It is indeed this thirst for messianic rule that informs the psalmist’s poetic discourses. While the Israelite deliverance from the Egyptians presented an immediate visible blow to the god of social injustice, the implications of this deliverance reverberated to Israel’s own royal era. Now written on the phylacteries of the heart was the indelible proclamation that “Yahweh makes possible and requires an alternative theology and an alternative sociology” as well as the notion that “Prophecy begins in discerning how genuinely alternative he [Yahweh] is.” This understanding, while acknowledging Israel’s future rejection of Yahweh’s political and social order, gives us insight into why their very heart would come to yearn for messiah.

Messianic Hope in The Old Testament

To the Christian reader and student of the New Testament, the messianic hope of the Old Testament is clearly evident. It is for many seen as the ultimate unifying element of the Scriptures. While the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament have been the subject of much scholarly debate, it is clear that the Hebrew mindset insisted upon a redeemer messiah. It is noteworthy that the New Testament church was engaged in a polemic with the Jews that foundationally accepted there would be a messiah. The question then was not “Is messiah coming?” but “Is Jesus that messiah?”

Apart from the Writings, the Prophets give us the clearest glimpse into the hope of the Hebrew race for a redeemer King. In the book of Isaiah we see the birth of the messiah and His reign in the political and socio-economic spheres of existence.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore the zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

The prophet Isaiah places within the heart of the Hebrew nation a desire for a ruler who will bring peace, justice and righteousness to those who have been plagued with oppression. John Walvoord mentions this passage as signifying the desire of Israel for a redemptive earthly kingdom. However, entering the scholarly debate, he asserts that there is most likely a dual meaning in this particular prophecy. First, that which has been fulfilled. Christ came as a babe and was literally born into the Israelite community. Second, that which has yet to be fulfilled. Christ has yet to establish His literal government –although the argument is made that it has been spiritually established already.

The magnificence of this passage cannot be understated. God has divinely ruled that the messiah will come and will return all things to the glory of the beginning. Even to the reader who is not learned in the Scriptures (as certainly was not the case for the average Hebrew child) this passage elicits a hope which can only be described as marvelous. To the Israelite schooled in the ways of Judaism the purpose and intent of this passage becomes not only futuristic anticipation of a political system, but finally a righteous judgment on the wicked and the re-establishment of the golden age of Davidic rule.

Again the cry for messiah comes to us through the prophet Jeremiah.

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the LORD is our righteousness.”

Here again we find the messiah to be the hope for troubled Israel. Speaking of the glorious throne of David, the prophetic illustration is so clearly portrayed. Yahweh loves His people, not because they offer Him joy, but because He rejoices in them. This passage reminds the reader that though the fulfillment of the Word of the Lord may tarry, it will be fulfilled. Referencing those things which He has spoken about the coming Redeemer, He reminds the student of Scripture that His Word is true and will be fulfilled.

One final application in the prophetic writings can be found in the words of Ezekiel regarding the coming of messiah. “Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken.” Here again we see the messianic fulfillment being rooted in the age of the Davidic kingdom. David, who is consistently acknowledged as a fallible man who earnestly sought the infallible God, will be replaced by one who will be the true Prince of God. This Divine Servant will provide and protect as the good shepherd providing for his sheep.

It is noteworthy that many of the prophetic writings within the prophetic books are centered on a spiritual return to the kingdom of David. David, who himself expressed messianic hope through his poetic writings, becomes the key earthly figure whereby Scripture illustrates God’s divine plan. The messiah will be of the root and seed of David. Like David, He will execute judgment on the enemies of Israel and thus the enemies of God. He will prosper His people and they will dwell in the land in peace and safety. A theocratic kingdom will be established that will subjugate all peoples, nations and tongues to its rule and at its helm will stand the messiah.

Messianic Debate in the Psalms

Within modern scholarship there has been much debate as to the proper form for interpretation of the messianic Psalter. Some have suggested that the message originally penned anticipated an earthly messiah who would sit upon a traditional throne. However, as the centuries have passed by, the Holy Spirit has interpreted that message in different manners according to those who were spiritually able to receive. Walter Kaiser Jr. quotes Prosper Grech as stating:

The Holy Spirit is not only the author of the written word, but also of its interpretation. Earle Ellis remarks [Paul's Use of the OT (London:1957), 25ff] rightly that although all Scripture is the work of the Spirit, if it is not interpreted according to the Spirit, it remains gramma, not graphē.

While this manner seems somewhat selective, to many it does have merit. It allows for the continual elucidation of Scripture according to the influence of the Holy Spirit. However, the difficulty is encountered, as Kaiser rightly notes, that seemingly only those who are “spiritually prepared” can receive the contemporary interpretation.

Especially in modern society where Pentecostal and Charismatic theology has impacted much of modern evangelical scholarship this concept does hold some merit. Nevertheless, this line of reasoning must always guard against the tendency to return to the pre-reformation period where only a few were learned or reasoned enough to interpret the Scriptures. Since the Holy Scripture is God breathed one must be careful not to limit God to place and time. While God interacts with humanity in the realm of the clock, He is not bound by it. Understanding this, the Word of God becomes relevant to all places and times interpreted by the Divine Paraclete to those who wish to receive.

Others have suggested that when God inspired the authors to write the Psalter He at once gave them a word for their time and culture but also a word for the future. “The literal historical sense and the [future] fulfillment were conceived as one piece. Both were intimate parts of one total whole work of God.” While this viewpoint has merit as well, the tendency is to seek for the culturally relevant meaning at the time of writing rather than relying on the current interaction of the Holy Spirit with the children of God. Hebrews 4:12 states “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” This Scripture points us to the regular interaction between the Word of God and those who choose to encounter it.

In Review and Expositor, John I. Durham advocates the position that in order to truly understand the Psalms, the Christian initially must be willing to separate the inherent wedding of messiah and Jesus Christ. He proffers that what and who the messiah is as seen by the psalmist is essential to understanding the true nature of the Psalter. Since the Psalter was written centuries before the first advent of Christ, Durham –as do others, advocate looking at the original viewpoint of the psalmist. He espouses the concept that messiah in the psalms always refers to the ruling king of Davidic ancestry who was the anointed of Yahweh. In the original context the references to the messiah were not intended to be predictions of Christ Jesus.

After the Exodus, and once the nation of Israel settled in the Promised Land they cried out to be like the other nations. They wanted a king. While this saddened the heart of God he relented and gave them their wish. The earthly king only became a pacifier until the fullness of time would come and the messiah would find its fulfillment in Jesus the Christ. It is this period from the enthronement of the earthly king until the advent of the Heavenly King that tension between hope and reality existed in the nation of Israel. It is similar in merit to the tension of the Christian believer that exists from the first advent to the coming second advent of Jesus Christ. While we fully anticipate a restoration to the spiritual and political system of the Garden of Eden we have yet to fully comprehend what that may look like. Eschatological morsels of Scripture draw our attention in one direction or another, yet in the end we find ourselves seeing through a glass darkly as described by the Apostle Paul.

Durham, acknowledging the tension in Israel, sees the progression for Israel from seeking a human fulfillment of the messianic hope to seeking a Divine Ruler. He states:

…the thinkers of the Old Testament began to shift their emphasis from a human king whose authority is guaranteed by Yahweh to a more-than-human king who is at once an eschatological figure, a deliverer without parallel, who is yet to come, and an anointed one who will be Yahweh’s servant with a loyalty and “status” no human king could ever exemplify.

The rigors of everyday life in the Davidic kingdom presented a paradigmatic strain to the average hearer of the Psalter. On the one hand was the belief that the inspired Word was from Yahweh to His people. On the other hand was the common interpretation of that Word which led the hearer to be disappointed by the reality of the fallible human ruler. Not willing to deny the authority or integrity of the Scriptures the Hebrews began to turn their attention to seeking redemption from political and spiritual oppression in a heavenly messiah.

Nonetheless, it was the very failure of the Davidic royalty and the inauguration of a true messianic hope that begins to lay the framework for an informed Christological interpretation. The royal psalms as designated by Hermann Gunkel, or more distinctly the messianic psalms as designated by others, present to us a picture of the sacral king of Israel who never truly measures up to the standards set by the psalms themselves. Again, it is through this line of thought that the Jewish tradition began to look for the fulfillment of Yahweh’s anointed in someone other than a human king. In fact, the coronation of the messianic ruler in the royal psalms became the hope of Israel. The Anointed of the Lord, while in the lineage of the Davidic rule, would exist in human form yet in the substance of Yahweh. It was this indistinct expectation in Israel that kept hope alive through wicked rulers, civil war, economic strife, merciless captivity and utter destruction.

Messianic Hope in the Psalms

Psalm 2

As part of the gateway into the Psalter, psalm 2 gives us a glimpse into the royal psalms and thus into the messianic hope displayed therein. This particular psalm is referred to as one of the Coronation Psalms. It was a poem articulated for the passing of the Davidic torch from one ruling elite to the next. While psalm 1 deals with the pursuits of the individual, psalm 2 deals with the purpose and desires of peoples and nations. The interpretation of the psalm is dualistic. As a Coronation Psalm, King David is the historical antecedent of all Hebraic royal lines, and thus the earthly focus of this psalm. However, the inference in the psalm points us to a much higher royalty. Affirming Durham’s final interpretation of the messianic Psalter, we see at once a historical meaning as well as an affirmation that the Anointed One does indeed point us to Jesus.

Psalm 2 is eschatologically important as well. Reformation scholars such as Luther and later Wesley see this psalm as anticipating the second advent of Jesus Christ. It is here that the distinction must be made between the Christian student of Scripture and all others. It is the Christian who sees the whole of the Old Testament and more particularly the psalms as pointing to Christ. It is a lens which one cannot remove once touched by the power of the salvific relationship with Jesus. While the argument for the historical interpretation can and should be made, the overarching question of all biblical scholarship is what does this indicate about and how does this inform my relationship with Christ?

It is with this understanding that we look to the interpretation of psalm 2. While there is no title, that this psalm is Davidic in origin cannot be disputed. In Acts 4:25- 26 Peter and John, after their release from being questioned by the Sanhedrin quote this particular psalm and ascribe it to David. This psalm is a dialogue of sorts between the thoughts or wondering of David and answers from the Lord. In the initial verses we see David’s thoughts as he looks at the nations conspiring against the Lord. It is then that the Lord declared His power and judgment over the rulers of the earth. Ending with an exhortation, presumably from David, the rulers of the earth are cautioned to fear the Lord lest they be destroyed.

“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The Kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One. ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say ‘and throw off their fetters.’” The first three verses of this psalm articulate the escalation of the climactic battle between good and evil. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the psalmist sees the vain hopes of the earth to get rid of the Holy rule. The literal analysis here is that the nations are raging or plotting vanity against the Lord. The frequent Hebrew parallelism is revealed in the second verse, yet its subject of the rulers of the earth is more specific than nations and peoples. Then finally in verse three we see the desire which they intend to make reality. “They no longer want to be submissive to God, His King or His Kingdom.”

While in verses four and five the confidence of God as He rebukes the rulers of the earth is clearly evident; verses six through nine have direct messianic implications as it relates to Jesus Christ.

“I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

God has now intervened in the affairs of men. He is not the Clockmaker God of the Intelligent Design camp where He created and then sits and watches from afar. He is the God who has directly and deliberately intruded in the earthly circumstance. The Holy Hill has been established and upon it sits the King of Zion. As Spurgeon proclaimed “God has already done what the enemy seeks to prevent.”

While the case can be made for Davidic implications in these several verses the messianic references to Christ are undeniable. God has spoken. His Son now sits enthroned and will rule with a scepter of Iron. The nations will be subject to Him. As Lussier states “Nothing can be done against an authority which is derived from God.” Kligerman quoting Charles A. Briggs states “Psalm 2 represents the messiah enthroned on Zion at the right hand of God as His Son, citing the divine decree entitling Him to the position, with all the prerogatives of universal and everlasting sovereignty.” This Coronation Psalm has crowned as Ruling Potentate the Lord Jesus Christ who will justly and righteously rule the peoples of the earth.

The final verses of this psalm are a warning message to those who govern upon the earth. “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” The Scriptures affirm that the mercies of the Lord endure forever and indeed in the last verse of Psalm 2 we see the mercy of the Lord evident to the rulers of the earth. “While it is the nations that are in revolt against Christ, it is the nations that are promised to Him.” The imperative to serve the Lord with fear (vs. 11) is the pathway to escape the coming judgment.

Psalm 110

Like Psalm 2, Psalm 110 is seen as a Coronation Psalm as well. The messianic implications of Psalm 110, like others in the Psalter, are the subject of much scholarly debate. The camps divide along the lines of those who interpret the Scriptures from a purely scholarly viewpoint and those who interpret the Scriptures in light of the work of Christ. In the first instance, the Scriptures are interpreted according to original intent. In the second instance the Old Testament Scriptures are interpreted through the medium of the New Covenant. Academic works on Psalm 110 follow this pattern in particular. That this psalm does not have implications of Christological import is dubious since the reference to the priestly order of Melchizedek clearly references Christ in other passages in the Old and New Testaments.

“Psalm 110 is the linchpin psalm of the first seven psalms of Book Five of the Psalter.” Psalm 107- 109 thematically are pleas for deliverance; Psalm 110 introduces us to the God of deliverance and then Psalm 111- 113 express praise for deliverance. With the wide agreement among scholars that this psalm is of Davidic origin it also seemingly expresses a divine oracle with the authority of a prophet. This oracle again points us to the messiah in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Interesting as well is the notion that this psalm provides eschatological inference beyond the coming of messiah to the gathering of His people to join Him in battle.

The first verse of Psalm 110 states: “The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” This verse followed by the next three are quoted extensively in the New Testament (Matt. 22: 41-46; Mark 12: 35-37; Luke 20: 41-44; Heb. 1:13; 5: 6; 7:11-28) and referenced as prophetic utterances pointing to Jesus. When Jesus quoted these verses of Scripture, He was pointing to the incontrovertible fact that the implications of one assuming the messianic role was much more daunting than a human ruler could undertake and it was indeed of a divine order. This, coupled with the fact that the author uses the prophetic formula “The Lord says,” (which is found only in the prophets and nowhere else in the psalms), indicates that this psalm most certainly does not refer to David but to someone who would come after him. Terrance Callan states that “Psalm 110:1…implies the assumption of eschatological sovereignty which gives content to the belief that Jesus is the messiah.”

Jesus uses this passage in the New Testament after He was confronted and questioned by the Pharisees. Luke records in chapter 20: 41-47 a dialogue that happens between Jesus and His questioners. After quoting psalm 110:1 Jesus states: “Therefore David calls Him [the messiah] ‘Lord,’ and how is He his son?” The Pharisees were not able to answer the Lord’s question. With the understanding of the New Testament and the enlightening of the Holy Spirit one is able to see Christ as the son of David through the virgin birth, but also the Lord of David through the Divine prerogative. This clarification by Christ also affirms the prophetic nature of this passage.

The other verses of this psalm establish the position of Christ in Luke’s gospel as well. Referring to the order of Melchizedek in verse 4 it is clear that this is an office the humanly Davidic ruler could never fill. A king serving in the priestly function was clearly forbidden by the Law. King Uzziah was stricken with leprosy for performing tasks reserved for those of the priesthood (2 Chronicles 26: 16-21). This passage does verify however, that there will be a Melchizedekian King-Priest who will rule in Zion. Moreover, the early Christians understood that after the resurrection of Jesus Christ He would assume this position of full sovereignty at some point in the future.

Undoubtedly this particular psalm has great theological and particularly messianic import. “The content of the psalm shows that it is purely messianic, in contrast to many other psalms. Psalm 110 contributes much to the understanding of messianic prophecy by having been recognized by the authors of the New Testament as a messianic psalm.” Kligerman states “the messianic interpretation [of Psalm 110] is sufficiently justified.” The New Testament affirms the messianic interpretation of the passage again in Hebrews 5: 5-6:

So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”; just as He says also in another passage, “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.”

Conclusion

Timothy Smith of Christ’s Church in Jacksonville, Florida shares this illustration:

Several years ago in the Boston marathon there was a woman named Rosie Ruiz who competed…and cheated, by riding a bus, winning the prestigious race. The problem with Rosie is that she completed the marathon faster than anyone had ever done it before. When she finished people stared at her in disbelief. A perceptive TV reporter stuck a microphone in her face and said, “Maam, you are either the fastest woman alive, or you are a fraud.”

The same must be true of Christ. Either He is viewed as the lens by which all of Scripture must be interpreted or He is irrelevant even to the very dialogue. That the messianic psalms, particularly Psalm 2 and 110 point to Christ as the fulfillment of the Messianic King is indisputable to the Christian believer. From the prophetic voice of the mosaic community to the prophets themselves and even to the psalmists, Jesus Christ presents the unifying fulfillment of the prophecies as well as the means and mechanism for interpretation.

From the time of Moses to the time of David, the Hebrew nation was looking for messiah. While the portrait details may not have been clear, nor cultural interpretation exact, what was evident was that they were seeking a messiah who would offer peace, redemption and sovereign rule. The first advent of Christ partially fulfilled that quest of the patriarchs; however there is still fulfillment yet to happen. As believers existing in a world in which the nations have plotted and conspired in vain, in which we patiently seek the scepter from Zion and in which we wait for the judgment of the nations, our hope is in the messianic rule of the Lord as communicated in the Psalter.

Works Cited

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Brueggeman, Walter. The Propetic Imagination. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1978.

Bullock, C. Hassell. An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books. Chicago: Moody Press, 1988.

Callan, Terance. “Psalm 110:1 and the Origin of the Expectation that Jesus Will Come Again.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 44 (1982): 622-636.

Clements, R.E. “The Messianic Hope in the Old Testament.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 43 (1989): 3-19.

Davis, Barry C. “Is Psalm 110 A Messianic Psalm.” Bibliotheca Sacra 157 (2000): 160-173.

Durham, John I. “The King as “messiah” in the Psalms.” Review and Expositor 81 (1984): 425-435.

Harrison, Everett. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Nashville: The Southwestern Company, 1962.

Kaiser Jr., Walter C.. The messiah in the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995.

Kaiser, Jr Walter C.. “The Promise to David in Psalm 16 and its Application in Acts 2: 25-33 and 13: 32-37.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (1980): 219-229.

Kligerman, Aaron Judah. Messianic Prophecy in the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1957.

Lucas, Ernest C. Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Psalms and Wisdom Literature. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2003.

Lussier, Ernest. “New Latin Psalter: An Exegetical Commentary.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 11 (1949): 82-88.

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. The Treasury of David. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997.

Walvoord, John F. “The Kingdom of God in the Old Testament.” Bibliotheca Sacra (1982): 111-128.

Williams, Donald M. The Communicator’s Commentary. Waco: Word Books, 1982.