Welcome Back to the Psalms
A Re-Intro to the Main Message
For many Christians, historically, the Psalms are one of our most treasured parts of the Bible — and for a good reason! The Psalms are unlike any other part of the Bible. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, the Psalms are “the prayer book of the Bible.” They model for us, very personally, how a human relationship with God looks. The Book of Psalms comprises 150 individual psalms that are a combination of prayers, songs, poems, and declarations, all reflecting on the revelation of God in the Old Testament, especially God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7.
That promise is in the air of every psalm. The individual psalms were written at different times over a long span, and many were written by David when he was king, but the compilation of these psalms into one book, what we call the Book of Psalms, happened while the people of God were in exile, under God’s judgment because of their disobedience. The big question at that time, while they were in exile, ruled by Gentile kings, was whether God would keep his promise to David about the Messiah.
Remembering the Promise
As a little history refresher, remember that during David’s reign, in 2 Samuel 7, God promised David that he would have a son to sit on his throne and reign as king forever. 2 Samuel 7:16, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”
This was a high point in Israel’s history. The kingdom prospered under David and, for about a minute under his son Solomon, but things soon fell apart.
The kings after David forsook Yahweh. They abandoned his law and instruction, so God, in judgment, divided the kingdom: the northern kingdom of Israel later assimilated with other pagan religions (becoming the Samaritans), and the southern kingdom of Judah was taken captive by Babylon and sent into exile. This means there was no longer a son of David ruling as king because the entire people were being ruled by Gentile kings, and that’s where the story gets stuck. By the end of the Old Testament’s historical storyline, the king of Judah, the offspring of David, was literally in prison in Babylon (see 2 Kings 25:27–30).
This is a big problem in the Old Testament. The house of David, the hope of God’s people because of the promised Messiah, had become a house in ruins. So what is God going to do? Is God going to keep his promise to David?
The Book of Psalms overall is obsessed with this promise. The book’s message answers the tension by clarifying that God indeed has a future for the house of David. God is going to fulfill his promise to David by raising up a son of David to reign as king forever.
The Main Message
This hope is always in view. Every individual psalm in its fuller context has something to do with this, which is especially important to remember as we preach Psalms 62–75 this summer.
As helpful and practical as the Psalms are to our lives and faith, the Psalms are not about us. Their first purpose is not to make us feel better.
The first purpose of the Psalms is to show us that genuine faith in God is a focused hope in the Messiah. There are no other paths where we can receive the promises and blessings of God. True faith in God must be through the Messiah Jesus, whom it pleased God to ordain as the mediator between God and man; the Prophet, Priest, and King; head and Savior of His church, the heir of all things, and judge of the world.
That is the message of the whole Bible. That is the message of the Book of Psalms. Welcome back.
