Psalms of the Messiah: An Advent reflection

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44)

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” (John 5:39)

In these passages, along with others, Jesus makes the astounding claim that all of Scripture is about him. This is not an invitation to pore over every verse for hidden allegories about our Lord. Rather, it’s an assertion that everything in the Bible points in some way to Jesus.

As pastor and theologian Bryan Chappell summed up, “Every text is predictive of the work of Christ, preparatory for the work of Christ, reflective of the work of Christ, or resultant of the work of Christ.”

The book of Psalms is especially rich with foreshadows of the promised Messiah. These messianic psalms offer plentiful food for meditation as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of our Lord.

Psalm 2: Anointed Son of God

I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” (Psalm 2:7-9)

The book of Psalms opens with a shout of divine majesty and the first clear picture of the Father and Son as distinct persons within the Godhead. In the face of all human opposition, God asserts his sovereign power and authority, which he shares with his Son, whom he also calls his anointed, or Messiah. In the ancient world, being the son of a king didn’t suggest birth as much as equal position. The New Testament writers pick up on this, connecting the “begotten” imagery to Jesus’ resurrection, the firstborn from the grave (Hebrews 5:5; Acts 13:33). Advent celebrates the Lord’s second coming as much as the first, and this psalm pictures him as the sovereign judge and monarch who will defeat all his enemies.

Psalm 8: Sovereign Son of Man

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet. (Psalm 8:5-6)

This is one of David’s many psalms in which he marvels at God’s cosmic power coupled with his gracious kindness. He wonders how God, who created a universe filled with stars and galaxies, also takes special notice of humans and cares for us. While David spoke of humans in general, the writer to the Hebrews narrows the focus to Jesus, our representative Son of Man (Hebrews 2:5-9). Through that messianic lens, the psalm depicts the Son of God becoming human to the point of death and then rising again to his position of sovereign glory. When the children in the temple shouted praises to Jesus, the Lord quoted another verse from this psalm as predicting that event (Psalm 8:2; Matthew 21:15-16).

Psalm 16: Conqueror over the grave

I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:8-11)

David starts this psalm with a plea for God’s protection, but quickly moves on to expressing his faith in the Lord and delighting in God as his greatest joy. Along the way, David utters a confident statement – that God won’t leave him in the grave or allow him to decay – which can only apply to his messianic descendant rather than to himself. In the book of Acts, both Peter and Paul quote this passage, pointing out that David, long dead and buried, was speaking prophetically about the Messiah (Acts 2:24-31; Acts 13:34-37). As the Son of God, Jesus could neither undergo decay nor be held by the grave; rather, he conquered death through his resurrection from the dead.

Psalm 22: Atoning sacrifice for sin

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? . . . All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” . . . For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet – I can count all my bones – they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. (Psalm 22:1,7-8,16-18)

Together with Isaiah 53, this psalm of David contains the clearest and most sustained descriptions of the Messiah’s suffering and death. When Jesus predicted that he’d be betrayed, arrested, killed and raised to fulfill Scripture, these passages were doubtless at the forefront of his mind. On the cross, he cried the opening words of this messianic psalm to express his agony as he suffered the wrath of his Father for the sins of the world. The rest of the psalm provides a host of details about Jesus’ crucifixion, a millennium before the fact: he would be rejected and mocked by the crowd; he’d be severely dehydrated by his ordeal, his bones dislocated, his hands and feet pierced; the onlookers would divide his clothing and cast lots for it. The psalm even records the words which the jeering crowds would yell at Jesus, as he became the atoning sacrifice for sin (Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19).

Psalm 40: Fulfillment of God’s Word

In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:6-8)

In this psalm, David declares his gratitude for God’s wondrous acts of deliverance, as well as his commitment to tell everyone about them. In the process, he once again writes words that anticipate the coming of his descendant, the Messiah. The writer to the Hebrews cites this passage to illustrate how Jesus came into the world, according to the Word of God, to do his Father’s will, and to offer a superior, eternally effective sacrifice to deal with sin once for all (Hebrews 10:4-10). On numerous occasions, Jesus taught his followers that everything he did was according to the Scriptures and his Father’s will (Luke 24:25-27,44-48; John 5:39; Joh 6:37-40; John 8:28-29).

Psalm 45: Righteous and eternal ruler

Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever. The sceptre of your kingdom is a sceptre of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. (Psalm 45:6-7)

The Sons of Korah wrote this song in honour of the king, probably either David or Solomon, to celebrate his marriage to a beautiful princess. Like David’s messianic psalms, this one digresses into a stanza about God and his Anointed. It also distinguishes between the persons within the Godhead, by speaking of God’s eternal, righteous kingdom being given to him by God. Once again, it’s the writer to the Hebrews who quotes this passage and ascribes it to the Father addressing his Son, Jesus (Hebrews 1:8-9). From beginning to end, the New Testament authors echo the fact that Jesus’ reign will be righteous, absolute and everlasting (Luke 1:30-33; Revelation 11:15).

Psalm 110: Divine priest and king

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” . . . The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:1,4)

David once again takes centre stage with a psalm that unfurls the implications of Messiah’s identity as an equal member of the Godhead, starting with the words, “The Lord says to my Lord.” Jesus presses home these implications to the Pharisees, asking them how David’s descendant could also be his Lord. The answer, while astounding, was not lost on them: the Messiah, while fully human, is also fully divine (Matthew 22:41-46). He’s the ultimate king, under whose feet God will subdue all his enemies (Acts 2:34-36; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Hebrews 10:11-14). He’s also the ultimate high priest after the pattern of Melchizedek, without beginning or end, whose priesthood lasts forever (Hebrews 7).

Psalm 118: Cornerstone of God’s plan

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. . . . Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. (Psalm 118:22-23,26)

This psalm, author unknown, extols God’s deliverance and steadfast love, but also contains a pair of messianic allusions that are picked up by Jesus and the Gospel writers. Jesus uses the cornerstone image to show the religious leaders that they’d misunderstood who he was and what he came to do (Matthew 21:42-46; Mark 12:10-12; Luke 20:17-18), a truth later echoed by Peter and Paul (Acts 4:11-12; Ephesians 2:19-22). According to all four Gospels, the crowd shouted the blessing from this psalm as Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:8-9; Mark 11:8-10; Luke 19:37-38; John 12:12-13). Jesus also quoted it in his lament over the city rejecting him (Matthew 23:37-39; Luke 13:34-35).

The nature of messianic psalms

The incarnation of the Messiah is one of the greatest mysteries of the universe: How can he be fully God but also fully human? The inspiration of the Scriptures is an equal mystery: How can these writings be the product of human minds but also the Word of God? Yet both mysteries are true. Regarding the Scriptures, they were written by individuals using their own words and voices to address their own circumstances, but at the same time, the Holy Spirit led them to write the very words God intended.

This paradox is on full display in the messianic psalms. King David and the other psalmists composed these songs in response to their own situations, praising God for his goodness and asking him for his help. At the same time, by the Spirit’s leading, they were using their poetic skills to record words that pointed to God’s promised Messiah, who would come to earth centuries after their time.

As we anticipate our Lord’s first and second coming during this Advent season, may these psalms inform our minds, warm our hearts, and inspire our imaginations with a renewed sense of wonder and worship for Jesus, our Messiah.

Sources and further reading

Nancy L. deClaisse-Walford, Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth LaNeel Tanner, The Book of Psalms, (New International Commentary on the Old Testament), Eerdmans, 2014.

Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72 and 73-150, (Kidner Classic Commentaries), IVP Academic, 2014.

Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries), IVP Academic, 2014.

Bethany Verrett, “Did you catch these messianic prophecies in the Psalms?” Bible Study Tools, February 20, 2023.

“Which psalms predict the coming of Jesus Christ?” Got Questions, January 4, 2022.