Psalms 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells. Psalm 26:8
They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count al My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. Psalm 22:16-18
There is an amazing fact that fills me with awestruck wonder every time I think about it. And that fact is this: David, the prophet (unlike all the other prophets), wrote of the Messiah as if he were writing about himself! That's totally awesome to me. David was so closely identified with Christ that he wrote of Him in the first person! But then I think it is not likely that David could have written prophetically of the Messiah like that unless he was so intimately in love with Him - so connected to Him - so lost in Him that his own identity took a back seat. I think it had to be that way, for, as another prophet would write later, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Revelation 19:10) In any case, I think that David must have been very close to Christ, or how did he know Him so well that he could prophesy events that would take place a thousand years later?
Remember that David was a man after God's own heart. David wanted to know God's heart and do God's will. So I think the chances are good that David had learned some things from Samuel. The Bible tells us that when Samuel was a small boy he was lying down in the tabernacle where the ark of God was, when he heard God speak to him.
And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, Samuel was lying down, that the LORD called Samuel, and he answered, "Here I am." 1 Samuel 3:2-4 italics mine
In Old Testament times the ark of the covenant was God's dwelling place among His people. (see 1 Chronicles 13:7) In other words Samuel's bed was right next to God's dwelling place among men! In that place Samuel heard God's voice, as God had said, "You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat." Exodus 25:21-22 WOW Samuel had been sleeping in that very place, and he heard the voice of God!
David learned some things from Samuel, that much is certain. David and Samuel lived together at Naioth in Ramah for at least a little while. (1 Samuel 19:18) And, in fact, Samuel and David working together had appointed the gatekeepers for the tabernacle. (1Chronicles 9:22)
Just how much Samuel taught David is unknown, but I think he must have taught him a lot. David loved God. So David loved to be in the presence of God, as he said, "LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house, and the place where your glory dwells." "The place where Your glory dwells" would be a reference to the ark. David must have learned that from Samuel. We can only wonder how much time David spent in the tabernacle he had built in Jerusalem, but it must have been a considerable amount of time. He said he wanted to live there. He said, "One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek; That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to enquire in his temple." (Psalm 27:4) italics mine
WOW! But did David know that when he penned those words, he was also writing prophetically of Jesus and His desire to live in the presence of His Father? Yes, Psalm 27 is one of the Messianic Psalms. Everyone knows, or should know that verse 12 of Psalm 27 is about Jesus. "...false witnesses have risen against me..." The rest of the Psalm can be taken as Messianic prophesy also. For example: "When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, My enemies and my foes, they stumbled and fell." (Psalm 27:2 / John 18:6)
Yet, in our study of the Messianic Psalms we should start at the beginning. Psalm 2 is all about Jesus. The key verse is verse 7, "The LORD has said to Me, You are My Son. Today I have begotten You." The leaders of the Early Church understood Psalm two and quoted it in reference to Jesus. (see Acts 4:25-26)
Then there is Psalm 16; one of the most remarkable Messianic Psalms. Here we have Jesus' own personal testimony... "I have set the LORD (Yahweh), always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also shall rest in hope, For You will not leave My soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption." Psalm 16:8-10 (parenthesis mine) How do we know that these words are Jesus' own personal testimony? The Bible says so. See Acts 2:25-28
Psalm 20 speaks of Jesus, "Now I know that God saves His anointed (His Messiah); He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand."
I believe Psalm 21 speaks of Jesus when He was in the garden of Gethsemane. "He asked life from You, and You gave it to him - Length of (everlasting) days forever and ever." Psalm 21:4 (parenthesis mine)
Everyone knows Psalm 22. The whole thing is prophetic of Jesus death on the cross - and subsequent resurrection. Do you want to know what Jesus was thinking as He died for you? Then take a look at this. Here it is:
My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them. They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed. But I am a worm, and no man, A reproach of men, and despised by the people, All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!" But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother's breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother's womb You have been My God. Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help. Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong Bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; I has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me! Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. Save Me from the lion's mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen!
You have answered Me.
I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him all you offspring of Israel! For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard. My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!
All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD'S, And He rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
A Posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the LORD to the next generation, They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born That He has done this.
No further comment is needed.
We go on to Psalm 23. Could that Psalm be prophetic of Jesus as well? Yes, it could. The last verse reads, "And I will dwell in the house of the LORD (Yahweh) forever." But wait a minute! The verb used for "dwell" in this verse is the Hebrew "yashab." That word usually indicates a temporary condition. How could anybody temporarily dwell in the house of the LORD forever? That would be an oxymoron. Another possible translation of the word yashab is "return." Then verse six of Psalm 23 would have to be read this way, "And I will return to the house of Yahweh forever." I favor that translation because in Hebrew there is another word for "dwell" that is not temporary. That word is "shakan." For example: "Depart from evil and do good; and dwell (shakan) forevermore." Psalm 37:27 Compare that with "Let their habitation be desolate and let none dwell (yashab) in their tents." Psalm 69:25
If Psalm 23:6 really should be translated as "I will return to the house of Yahweh forever" then there is only one person in history who could say that, and it is Jesus. Psalm 23 makes sense that way. Jesus is the One who walked through the valley of the shadow of death fearing no evil. He knew that God was with Him. He knew that He was accomplishing God's work of redemption and that God would raise Him from the dead.
That brings up an interesting point. In Psalm 22 Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" But then, in Psalm 23 He says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with Me." Jesus had faith. Although He felt forsaken, He knew that God was still there. We learn from our Messiah.
Now consider the progression of these Psalms. Psalm 21 tells us of Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Psalm 22 is all about His death on the cross. Psalm 23 records the triumph of Jesus' resurrection. What could Psalm 24 be all about?
You guessed it. Psalm 24 is all about Jesus' ascension into heaven. You will see what I mean when you read it. Here it is:
The earth is the LORD'S and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who see Him, Who seek Your face. Selah
Lift up your heads, o you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory.
Of course, it is easy to see that Jesus is the only One in history who really has clean hands and a pure heart. He is the King of glory!