Jesus in the Psalms
I’d like to take you on part of my journey through Psalms. I’ve examined it with a microscope for more than a year. I was recently in Ps. 144. We know David wrote it. Let’s marvel at this together: Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust;… (Ps. 144:1-2a) We all agree and cheer with David as the Lord is also our goodness, fortress, high tower, deliverer, shield and the one we trust in. (Those sentiments would make a great praise song.) But the sentence goes on… who subdueth my people under me. (Ps. 144:2b) What do you do with that? If you’re just reading and not studying, you likely skip that part because it doesn’t apply to you.
You have to bring your mind back from the sparkling inspiration that these verses are to the historical context. It seems David is giving the Lord credit for subduing his (David’s) people under him. But I will say, watch as a hologram picture of Jesus fades into focus. You know what I’m talking about. You think you’re reading one thing, and God slips Jesus into the scene, and then eventually goes back to the original narrative.
How do I know this is the case here? Because look at the next verse. The hologram picture of Jesus gets a little clearer. Ps. 144:3, LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him! I won’t quote it here, but this very verse is repeated in the New Testament in Heb. 2:5-6, and it clearly states that this son of man whom God is mindful of is Jesus.
Now that Jesus is clearly in focus here in Ps. 144, you are going to love what David prays prophetically in verses 5 and 6. Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them. What is he talking about!? You are looking at the second coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation in the Psalms! It lines up with Habakkuk 3:10-11.
The Psalm soon turns back to an obvious prayer of David. But I will point out that not only do you see Jesus in this Psalm written by king David, this highlights the fact that David was more than a king. He was a poet. And he was a prophet. A prophet? Peter said so in the book of Acts. Speaking of David, he said in Acts 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.
I encourage you to read and study through the Psalms, as I have taken more than a year to do. You have already well discovered the praise and encouragement of the book, but you will also find a lot of promised help for the Jews during the coming tribulation and Jesus ruling and reigning in the Millennium. And just as a teaser, Psalm 149 prophesies of the Millennial rule of Christ, and verses 5-9 tell us what we as saints who return with Jesus to rule and reign with Him will be doing.
R&J Shee