Discovering Christ in the Psalms:

The Rejected Savior

Psalm 118:19-29 (ESV)

Open to me the gates of righteousness,

that I may enter through them

and give thanks to the Lord.

[20] This is the gate of the Lord;

the righteous shall enter through it.

[21] I thank you that you have answered me

and have become my salvation.

[22] The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

[23] This is the Lord’s doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

[24] This is the day that the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

[25] Save us, we pray, O Lord!

O Lord, we pray, give us success!

[26] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

We bless you from the house of the Lord.

[27] The Lord is God,

and he has made his light to shine upon us.

Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,

up to the horns of the altar!

[28] You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

you are my God; I will extol you.

[29] Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

As Jesus traveled throughout the lands preaching and healing the sick some became followers.  Many believed and became His disciples.  Some left their families and professions to follow Him.  Some left riches and property and followed Him.  In comparison to the whole population however, the numbers were relatively few.

Most of those in and around ancient Palestine rejected Jesus.  He was rejected by His hometown of Nazareth, He was rejected by the surrounding villages of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, He was rejected by many of His initial followers, He was rejected by the Sanhedrin, by the scribes, by the Pharisees and others. Continue Reading

Resurrection Prophecy

Psalm 16:1-11 (ESV)

A Miktam of David.

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

[2] I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you.”

[3] As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

in whom is all my delight.

[4] The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

or take their names on my lips.

[5] The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

you hold my lot.

[6] The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

[7] I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

[8] I have set the Lord always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

[9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

[10] For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

or let your holy one see corruption.

[11] You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

So far in our series Discovering Christ in the Psalms, we’ve seen Jesus’ incarnation, perfection, and crucifixion.  Today, we’ll look to Psalm 16 for a prophecy concerning Jesus’ resurrection.

The idea of a resurrection from the dead was not new to Old Testament people.  Even as far back as the Book of Job we have Job declaring his faith in God that even in his current dilemma, he trusted in the fact that death would not be the end.

Job 19:25-27 (ESV)

For I know that my Redeemer lives, Continue Reading

It is Finished!

Psalm 22:22-31 (ESV)

I will tell of your name to my brothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

[23] You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

[24] For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he cried to him.

[25] From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

[26] The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts live forever!

[27] All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

[28] For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

[29] All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not keep himself alive.

[30] Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

[31] they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

that he has done it.

Last week we spent most of the sermon in the dark.  The three hours of darkness during the crucifixion when God’s wrath was being poured out on His beloved Son for the sin of His people.  We began this time with the opening words of the Psalm, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? And we ended with the cry that still reverberates down through the centuries to fill our ear, It is finished!  We entered into the darkness as we heard the cries and the prayer of Jesus to the Father.  As God turned His back on sin and His Son, He still had His mind on His Son.  God always and forever loves His Son.

Part 2 of Psalm 22, moves from a forsaken Savior to a triumphant Savior.  From a prayer of the Son that seems as if it’s not being heard, to a Gospel message that will be heard.  The transition is so amazing that as we read it our hearts soar to heaven as we begin to see the foretelling not only of a crucified triumphant Savior but of a triumphant Gospel through the sacrifice of the Son.  The extent of the atonement is proclaimed centuries before anyone has even heard the gospel.

What is the Gospel Call? Continue Reading

The Psalm of the Cross

Psalm 22:1-21 (ESV)

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

[1] My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

[2] O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

[3] Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

[4] In you our fathers trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them.

[5] To you they cried and were rescued;

in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

[6] But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

[7] All who see me mock me;

they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

[8] “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

[9] Yet you are he who took me from the womb;

you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.

[10] On you was I cast from my birth,

and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

[11] Be not far from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is none to help.

[12] Many bulls encompass me;

strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

[13] they open wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and roaring lion.

[14] I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax;

it is melted within my breast;

[15] my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

[16] For dogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet—

[17] I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

[18] they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

[19] But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

[20] Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dog!

[21] Save me from the mouth of the lion!

You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

Most all of OT Scripture experienced partial prophetic fulfillment during the time it was written and then final fulfillment in the life of Christ.  It seems that Psalm 22 is different.  Most scholars agree that there was no corresponding time in David’s life when these verses would apply.

No incident recorded of David can begin to account for this…The language of the Psalm defies a naturalistic explanation; the best account is in the terms used by Peter concerning another Psalm of David: Being therefore a prophet,…he foresaw and spoke of…the Christ (Acts 2:30)—Quoted from Boice’s Commentary, Boice quoting Derek Kidner Continue Reading