The Book of Psalms. Written some 1000 years before the birth of Jesus, or 3,000 years before life as we live it today. Can you imagine what it was like? Me neither. Yet, what we now would call “unimaginable” was normal life for them at the time.
Fear of drought or famine that could bring starvation and death. Or the fear of attack from an enemy. What we consider evil today was pretty much a common occurrence for those living during that time. Warfare and killing were not unusual. All too familiar, would be my guess.
The city walls provided some protection — at least until a siege blocked off access to the city. Farmers or other workers outside of the city would have been particularly susceptible to an attack and, when the battles came, would, by necessity, run to the city for refuge. For protection. To not do so would mean losing their lives.
Thus, the city became a stronghold. That place of safety or protection. Some of the larger cities would build a “strong tower” as some additional security and safeguard.
The strong tower not only added an extra layer of defense but also allowed those outside the walls to identify the city’s location more easily.
Of course, this had the downside of allowing the enemy to also identify the location more easily. Thus, it was with Jerusalem in the time of King David.
Indeed, for people of that era, there was much to fear. And for the leaders of that era — such as King David — there was the added dread of having the responsibility for the people, as well as realizing you were yourself a target of every engagement.
Reading the Book of Psalms is quite like reading David’s private journals. As we read the Psalms, David’s fears, troubles, and doubts so often replicate the fears, troubles, and doubts we experience today.
And yet, whenever David expresses those fears and doubts, we always find he turns to his trust in the Lord every time. So often, David can be found shaking his fist at the Lord, asking why or when — then he finishes:
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise — in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? (Psalm 56:3).
Messiah in the Psalms
There are a few quite well-known Psalms that are considered directly prophetic of the coming Messiah: Psalm 2:6-7,12; Psalm 22:1; Psalm 110:1,4 (The author of Hebrews devoted an entire chapter in reference to the verse and to Genesis 14:18-20).
While these and other prophetic Psalms are well known, what is intriguing is how many of David’s Psalms foreshadow mercy and grace — the forgiveness, redemption, eternal life, protection, peace, and joy, which are to be found in Christ. One thousand years before Jesus was born, David foretold the person and work of Christ.
1. Forgiveness
The Law of the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, is awash with references to the sacrifice, the shedding of blood, required for the forgiveness of sins.
It seems the entire old covenant is built on keeping the law, which includes the ritual sacrifices that are to serve to pacify God’s wrath — at least for a short time. But many of the Psalms would seem otherwise.
Psalm 51 was written by King David after his coercive abuse of power toward Bathsheba and the ultimate murder of his friend Uriah. David’s prayer to God is for forgiveness based on David’s penitence — not sacrifice — foreshadowing the forgiveness through Christ.
In Psalm 32, David acknowledges his sin to God, admitting that he had broken God’s laws, which were so important to David. By doing so, he helped to break down the barrier that sin had placed between himself and God. Again, a work accomplished by the sacrifice of Christ.
Psalm 130 reminds us that without God’s forgiveness, we could never measure up. But when we sin and seek his forgiveness, God’s mercy restores our relationship with him. Again, the work was accomplished by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
But perhaps most telling of all, Psalm 103:12 explains to us exactly what Christ was to accomplish on the cross, 1000 years later. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).
2. Guidance
David had spent his youth as a shepherd. He knew the great responsibility that came with that role. In fact, he said as much to King Saul as the armies of Israel faced Goliath (1 Samuel 17:34-36).
Over the years, David never forgot his experience as a shepherd and wrote one of the best-known of all Psalms — Psalm 23.
David saw the Lord God as his shepherd, meaning David was of the flock of believers guided and protected by God, just as David remembered protecting his sheep. “I shall not want” for anything, ever, because “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
The truth of this final verse was finally delivered by the resurrection of Christ — without whom we could not experience eternal life with the Lord.
David could not have known that Jesus would refer to himself as the “good shepherd” (John 10:11-18). “The good shepherd lays down is life for the sheep.”
Jesus described how a hired hand will abandon the sheep and run away, but he is here to be with us and guide us with his rod and his staff.
3. Protection
In Psalm 27:1-2, David makes clear where his strength and confidence come from.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Of whom or what need I fear or be afraid? What evil; what fears or troubles or doubts could possibly threaten me? None. The Lord is the stronghold of my life, and on him, I depend and trust.
But why? At the time, other than trust, what was the basis for David’s reference to God being his light and his salvation?
The Light of the World
The Gospel of John opens with a description of the Messiah as the Word, through whom the world was made (John 1:1-5).
Later in John’s gospel, we read Jesus’ description of himself and the reason he came:
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
David’s personal journal was prophetic, not only as to the coming Messiah but as to the person and the work of Jesus. Jesus, as the “light of the world,” is rooted in his relationship with the Father — apart from him, we walk in darkness.
Indeed, so many of the Psalms we can take confidence in today. This one I have written down so I can read it. Every day.
The Lord is my light and my salvation. The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
Jesus Christ is my light and my salvation, the stronghold of my life. Who or what do I ever have to fear as long as I trust in Him? Not a darned thing.
For further reading:
How Will Light Shine on All Your Ways?
What Is the Power of God’s Light Over Darkness?
What Does it Mean That ‘Salvation Is Found in No One Else’?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/bruev
Greg doesn’t pretend to be a pastor, a theologian, or a Bible expert, but offers the perspective of an everyday guy on the same journey as everyone else – in pursuit of truth.
Greg can be reached by email or on Facebook @ Greg Grandchamp - Author.
