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CHRIST IN THE PSALMS "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me." (Luke 24:44) Here are some of the stronger references to Christ from the Psalms . . . Psalm 2:7: “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” This is an obvious reference to Jesus, and it has two fulfillments. Jesus was begotten when He was born physically (Heb. 1:5-6), and He was begotten when He arose from the dead (Acts 13:33).Psalm 8:5-6: “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:” Christ will be crowned with glory and honour, and He will have dominion over the works of God’s hands since all things will be put under His feet (I Cor. 15:25).Psalm 16:9-11: “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” The passage is speaking on the resurrection of Christ, according to Peter’s comments in Acts 2:25-32.Psalm 19:4-6: “Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” Christ is the “bridegroom,” and He is like the sun in the Scriptures (Mal. 4:2; Rev. 1:16).Psalm 22:1: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” The reference is to Christ on the cross in Matthew 27:46.Psalm 22:16-18: “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” The “dogs” are the unsaved and unclean sinners that assembled together against Jesus. The words “they pierced my hands and my feet” speak of His crucifixion, a Roman death, as opposed to a Jewish stoning. This is because a stoning would have broken some bones, and a perfect sacrifice could have no broken bones (Exo. 12:46). Consequently, the passage says, “I may tell all my bones.” That is, none were broken or unaccounted for. As verse eighteen says, they also gambled over Jesus’ garment (John 19:24).Psalm 22:30-31: “A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.” The “seed” would be you and I. It’s a regenerated seed, an “incorruptible” seed (I Pet. 1:23) that gives to us the new birth. Jesus even rebuked Nicodemus for not knowing “these things” in John 3:10.Psalm 23:1: “The LORD is my shepherd . . .” This shepherd is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11) Hebrews 13:20 and I Peter 5:4 are also good references.Psalm 35:14: “I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.” The reference is to Jesus treating Judas as a “friend,” which He did: “And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.” (Mat. 26:50)Psalm 40:2: “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” This is New Testament salvation, if you ever saw it, and the “rock” that our feet have been set upon is none other than Jesus Christ (Mat. 7:24; I Cor. 3:11).Psalm 45:6: “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” The passage refers to Christ, according to Hebrews 1:8-9. He has been anointed by the Father to sit on His throne and rule in righteousness (Isa. 32:1).Psalm 48:2: “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.” The “great King,” of course, is Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus makes reference to this verse in Matthew 5:35: “Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.”Psalm 55:12-14: “For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.” The reference is obviously to Judas, the betrayer that Jesus called “friend” (Mat. 26:50)Psalm 61:2: “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” The “rock” obviously refers to Christ, as the traditional hymn says.Psalm 68:1-2: “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.” The passage is a Second Coming reference. The wording originated in Numbers 10:35 where Moses said, “Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.” This will happen when Jesus returns.Psalm 68:18: “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.” The reference is to the work of Christ at Calvary. See Ephesians 4:8-9.Psalm 69:8-9: “I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.” The passage is quoted by John and applied to Jesus in John 2:17.Psalm 69:21: “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” The reference is obviously to Christ on the cross (Mat. 27:34).Psalm 72:10-11: “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.” The gifts that the wise men brought to Jesus at His First Coming (Mat. 2:11) were only a small glimpse of the many gifts that will be brought to Him in His kingdom.Psalm 75:8: “For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.” This is the “cup” that Jesus drank of at Calvary, the cup of God’s wrath on sin (Mat. 20:22-23; 26:39, 42). Those who reject Christ will get to drink of this cup themselves.Psalm 78:65: “Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.” The verse points to the Second Coming when Jesus will “awake” to judge the world (Psa. 59:4-5).Psalm 80:7: “Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.” Israel will be saved when she receives Christ as her Messiah in the Great Tribulation.Psalm 86:9: “All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.” Obviously, this refers to the Millennial Kingdom of Christ. See Zechariah 14:14-16.Psalm 89:3-4: “I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.” So is the case with Christ the Son of David. His throne and His seed will endure forever.Psalm 91: The whole Psalm deals with Christ’s faithfulness to the Father and His victory over Satan. Satan quotes verses 11 and 12 to Jesus in Matthew 4:6, but he is careful to not quote verse 13: “Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.” As the reader can readily see, the verse speaks of Satan’s coming defeat by Jesus Christ.Psalm 99:9: “Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.” His “holy hill” is the “holy hill of Zion” according to Psalm 2:6. This is where people will come to “kiss the Son” (Psa. 2:12) in His coming kingdom. See Zechariah 14:14-16.Psalm 102:13: “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come” Christ will arise (Psa. 68:1) at the Second Coming, and He will show favor to Zion.Psalm 109:4-5: “For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.” Jesus showed unmerited love toward men throughout His earthly ministry, yet they rewarded “evil for good” by becoming His adversaries and crucifying Him.Psalm 110: The whole Psalm is messianic. Verse one is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 22:44, and verse four is quoted in Hebrews 7:17. The Psalm as a whole points to the Second Coming and the Millennium.Psalm 114:7: “Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.” This is obviously a Second Coming reference when the earth will literally “tremble” (Jer. 10:10; Joel. 2:10; Isa. 2:19-21)Psalm 118:22: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” The rejected “stone” is Jesus Christ, according to Peter (I Pet. 2:7) and according to Jesus (Mat. 21:42). A good illustration of this is the thirteen layer pyramid on the dollar bill that has the separated capstone. The Jews and the Gentiles have rejected Christ and are ready to receive the Antichrist, typified by the capstone with the all-seeing eye of the Illuminati. Meanwhile, the true and rejected stone (Gen. 49:24) has been cast aside to become a stumblingstone for unbelievers (Rom. 9:32-33).Psalm 121:1: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” Two hills come to mind, Mt. Calvary and Mt. Zion. We get help for the soul when we come to the cross of Calvary, and we get help for our vile bodies when we come to the heavenly Mt. Zion in our new incorruptible bodies.Psalm 129:3: “The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.” The reference is to the scourging that Christ received at Calvary (John 19:1). Some writers claim that this beating involved thirty-nine stripes in all, thirteen on the front and twenty-six on the back.Psalm 138:4-5: “All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.” The kings of the earth are certainly not praising God today, but they will in the Millennial Kingdom when Christ the King of Kings rules and the earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9).Psalm 143:3: “For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.” The enemy in the verse is Satan who smote Jesus down to the ground and had him buried in darkness, believing that would be the end of the story. Unfortunately for him, it was only the beginning.