THE K I N G ' S BUS I NES S
210
June, 1937
The Messianic Psalms*
By W ILL IAM L. PETTINGILL Wilmington, Delaware Illustration by Ransom D. Marvin
N e w T estament quotations reveal the Messianic character of Psalm 16, the third in our series of Messianic Psalms. Verses 8 to 11 are quoted in Acts 2:25-31 and Acts 13:35-37; and in both in stances the language quoted is applied to Messiah, that is, to Christ. The Speaker throughout the Psalm is Christ. Written a thousand year before hand, the Psalm yet describes the medita tions of the Holy One as He trod the path toward the cross of Calvary. The Revised Version is much to be pre ferred here. Let us follow it as we look at the Psalm in detail. In the opening verses we hear the Son of God saying: “ Preserve me, O God; for in thee do I take refuge. O my soul, thou hast said unto Jehovah, Thou art my Lord: I have no good beyond thee” (vs. 1, 2). He found full satisfaction in the Father. The language of Psalm 73:25 might well have originated in His heart: “Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.” Then His thoughts turn toward His re deemed ones: “As for the saints that are in the earth, They are the excellent in whom is all my delight” (v. 3). We cannot ap preciate His love for us. “ Yea, he loveth the people; All his saints are in thy hand” (Deut. 33:3). “When Israel was a child, then I loved him” (Hosea 11:1). And we who were sometime Gentiles have been brought within the circle of His love. He is the One “in whom also we were made a heritage” (Eph. 1:11); and He longs for us to realize what is “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18). Let us therefore join in praise “ unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood” (Rev. 1:5). The Son’s devotion to His Father is abso lute. His dedication is complete. He says: “Their sorrows shall be multiplied that give gifts for another [god]: Their drink- offerings of blood will I not offer, Nor take their names upon my lips. Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot” (Psa. 16:4, 5). He was on His way to Gethsemane and Calvary, and He well knew the agonies awaiting Him there; yet He rested Himself upon His Father, and could therefore say: “My flesh and my heart faileth; But God is the strength [or, the rock] of my heart and my portion for ever” (Psa. 73:26); “Jehovah is my portion, . . . therefore will I hope in him” (Lam. 3:24). His enemies * A ll rights reserved. [ Unless otherwise indicated, the Scrip ture references quoted in this article are from the Standard American Edition of the Revised Version of the Bible .— E ditor ]
and knoweth all things.” God graciously used this scripture to rescue His child from the Slough of Despond into which he had fallen. Of course, it is far better to have our hearts agreeing with God, who, though He often chastises His children, will never condemn them, for “ if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God, And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him” (1 John 3:21, 22, A .V .). In the Psalm under discussion, listen fur ther to the meditations of our Lord as He goes on, His face set as a ‘flint toward Jeru salem and Golgotha: “ I have set Jehovah always before me: Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved” (Psa. 16:8). It was a scripture somewhat similar to this tUat Satan used in seeking to induce Christ to tempt the Lord His G od.' “ If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down [that is, from the pinnacle of the temple]: for it is written, He shall jgive his angels charge concerning thee: and on their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Matt. 4:6). The quotation was from Scripture, but it was a misuse of Scripture, for it omitted the very important condition preceding the promise. The Psalm says: “Because thou hast made the Lord) which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee . . .” (Psa. 91:9-12, A. V .). So here in Psalm 16, it is because the Son could say He had set Jehovah al ways before Him, and because Jehovah was at His right hand, that He should not be moved. The lesson for us is plain; let us carefully heed it. “ Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth” (Psa. 16:9). In the quo tation of this verse in Acts 2:26, we find the word “tongue instead of “glory.” His tongue was His glory, for His words were always God’s words. “My teaching,” said He, “ is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself” (John 7:16, 17). “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak . . . : what soever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak” (John 12:49, 50, A. V .). His tongue, therefore, was His glory, and His tongue could rejoice always. How different it is with us I “My flesh also shall dwell in safety. For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption” (Psa. 16:9,10). “ Sheol” is right, rather than “ hell,” and in the quotation in Acts 2:27, the Revisers are right in render ing it “Hades” instead of “ hell.” Our Lord [i Continued on page 212]
pressed on every hand, and He was per fectly aware of it, but He could say: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies,” and, “My cup runneth over” (Psa. 23:5). Now hear Him: “ The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; Yea, I have a goodly heritage” (Psa. 16:6). Was He now thinking of us as His heritage? We saw a moment ago that we are His heritage and that His delight is in us. How wonderful it is that He could say, while treading in the way of sorrows: “ The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places” ! His pleasure and delight were in doing His Father’s will. He said: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34); “ I delight to do thy will, O my God, Yea, thy law is within my heart” (Psa. 40:8). The sweetest, yea the the most enjoyable thing in the world, is to know and do the “good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1, 2). Hear Him further: “ I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel; Yea, my heart instructeth me in the night seasons” (Psa. 16:7). Happy is he whose heart’s instruc tion agrees with the counsel of God. All too often the eyes of our hearts are unen lightened (Eph.l:18, R.V.), and therefore our hearts may lie to us and contradict the counsel of God. I once listened to a pre cious Christian friend telling me that he believed he was deserted by the Holy Spirit, hopelessly lost and on the way to hell. I knew that this dear brother’s heart was condemning him contrary to the Word of God, and I called his attention to the teach ing of 1 John 3:20 that “ if our heart con demn us, God is greater than our heart,
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