[Lesson 49: David & Bathsheba] [Table of Contents] [Lesson 51: More from the Psalms]

Lesson 50

The Prophet David and the Messiah

Psalms 1,2

Peace be with you, listening friends. We greet you in the name of God, the Lord of peace, who wants everyone to understand and submit to the way of righteousness that He has established, and have true peace with Him forever. We are happy to be able to return today to present your program The Way of Righteousness.

In the past four lessons we have been examining the story of the prophet David. We have seen how David was a shepherd, harpist, hymn writer, student of God's Word, hero in battle, king of Israel, and a prophet of God. In our last lesson, we saw that David was also a sinner; that he did something which greatly displeased God. However, we also saw how God forgave David his sins, because David truly turned from his sins with a repentant heart and believed what God had promised concerning the Redeemer who was to come into the world and bear the punishment for the sins of the people of the whole world.

Today we plan to meditate on the wonderful book found in the middle of the Holy Scriptures. Do you know the name of this book? Yes, it is the Psalms {Zabur}. The Book of the Psalms contains one hundred and fifty chapters or hymns. Over a period of hundreds of years, God used several prophets to write the Psalms, including Moses, Solomon, Asaph and the sons of Korah. However, David wrote more of the Psalms than any other prophet. Today we want to immerse ourselves in the first two hymns (or chapters) of the Psalms.

The first hymn shows us the two categories of people that are in the world: Those who walk in the way of righteousness, and those who walk in the way of unrighteousness. In the first Psalm, it is written:

(Psa. 1) ¹Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. ²But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. ³He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. ⁴Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. ⁶For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish!

We see here the way of those who are blessed and the way of those who are perishing. Everyone wants to be blessed. No one wants to perish. God wants everyone to be blessed. But you must come by the way of blessing which God has ordained. What is that way of blessing? This first hymn of the Psalms summarizes it in two thoughts. First: Do not follow in the way of those who mock the Word of God. Second: Meditate upon God's Word with the goal of understanding, believing and receiving the way of salvation that God has established.

If you believe and follow God's way of righteousness, the Scripture says that you will be "like a tree planted by streams of water"; your life will be established in God Himself, yielding "fruit in season" such as love, joy and peace. However, if you do not follow God's way of righteousness, you will perish like "like chaff that the wind blows away."

Now let us move into the second hymn in the Psalms. In this chapter, God inspired David to write about the Redeemer who was to come into the world. Let us listen carefully to the message that God has spoken to us through the pen of His prophet, David. The Scripture says:

(Psa. 2) ¹Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? ²The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One (Messiah). ³"Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." ⁴The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. ⁵Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, ⁶"I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." ⁷I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. ⁸Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. ⁹You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." ¹⁰Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. ¹¹Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. ¹²Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Do you understand what the Lord God has declared in the second chapter of the Psalms? It is extremely important! In this hymn, God makes known three wonderful names of the Redeemer who would come into the world to bring salvation to the children of Adam. Did you hear the three names? They are: The Messiah, the King, and the Son. Let us think a little about these three names by which God refers to the Savior of the world.

1.) First, we see that God calls the Redeemer "the Messiah." Messiah is a Hebrew word meaning the One whom God has selected {Lit. the Anointed One}. With the name Messiah, God was announcing to the children of Adam that everyone must believe and accept the Redeemer who was to come into the world, because He is the One whom God Himself has selected as the Savior and Judge of the world. However, in the first three verses of this hymn, God predicted that most of the children of Adam would reject the Messiah whom God was going to send into the world. Let us read those verses again.

"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One (Messiah). 'Let us break their chains,' they say, 'and throw off their fetters!'" (Psa. 2:1-3)

Why would the people of the world refuse to accept the Messiah whom God sent? They would reject the Messiah because He would be a holy person, unstained by sin, and the Scripture tells us that "everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into it because they fear that their deeds will be exposed." (John 3:20) Thus, God was predicting in these verses how the Jews and the nations of the world would work together to try to destroy the holy Man whom God had selected as the Savior and Judge of the world. But God knew everything which wicked men would attempt to do. God planned to use the evil plans of men to accomplish His righteous plan to redeem sinners. That is why we read: "The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them!" (Psa. 2:4) Thus, the first name that God gave to the Redeemer in this chapter is the Messiah. You might be interested to know that the Hebrew word Messiah is the same as the Greek word Christ. Both mean "the One whom God has selected."

2.) The second name is "the King." The Messiah is also the King. Through that name, God wants everyone to know that the Messiah will, in the end, be the Judge and Ruler of the world even though most people would reject Him. On the great Day of Judgment, everyone will kneel before Him, because He is the One whom God has selected to be the King of kings, the Lord of lords. Consequently, the Messiah will be either your Savior or your Judge-because, like it or not, He is the King whom God has selected to reign forever!

3.) Third, we heard in this chapter another name which God gives the Messiah. It is a name we must consider very carefully. It is "the Son." Before we explain what this name means, perhaps we should remember that everything that David wrote in the Psalms, he wrote with the wisdom that God imparted to him. Also, we must remember that in the Writings of the Prophets there are sometimes things which are difficult to understand, but that does not prevent them from being true! God warns us in His Word saying: "[The Scriptures] contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort…to their own destruction!" (2 Pet. 3:16) Ignorance is a terrible thing, especially when it concerns the Messiah whom God has selected to deliver the children of Adam from eternal destruction! The (Wolof) proverb states it well: "Before you know it, ignorance will kill you!" Let us keep that thought in mind as we think about the third name which God Himself has given to the Messiah.

Now back to Psalm two. In verse seven we read that the Messiah says, "I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." (Psa. 2:7) Did you hear what the Lord says to the Messiah? He said, "You are my Son…I have become your Father." Do you know why God called the Messiah His Son? Do you know what this name means? We hope that all of you know what the name does not mean. It does not mean that God took a wife to have a child by her! Never! Such a thought is blasphemy! God is spirit and He does not beget a son as man begets one.

So then, why did God say to the Messiah, "You are my Son!"? We can thank God, because the Lord God Himself has told us why. We do not have time to go very far into this subject today, but we would like to give you three reasons {Lit. thoughts} from the Writings of the Prophets why God called the Messiah His Son.

First, you must know that God called the Messiah His Son, because the Messiah came from above; from heaven. Everyone who believes the Writings of the Prophets, knows that the Messiah did not come from a man, but from the presence of God. As you know, the Messiah did not have an earthly father. Concerning His earthly existence, He came through the descendants of David, because the Messiah was born of a virgin woman who was a relative of king David. But on His Father's side, the Messiah came forth uniquely from the Spirit of God. That is why God could say to Him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father!"

Second, God called the Messiah His Son because the Scripture says that God and the Messiah share the same holy character. Like father, like son. The promised Redeemer had to be pure and holy just as God is pure and holy. We cannot go far with this now, but when we come to the Gospel record {Injil}, we will see that the Messiah was not like the sons of Adam who are stained with sin! As we have seen, even the greatest of the prophets committed sin. However, the Messiah never sinned. He always did the will of God. It was necessary that the Messiah be without sin since He came into the world to save sinners from their sin! Can those with great debts pay the debts of others? No, they cannot! The Messiah had no debt of sin. The Scripture calls Him the "one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." (Heb. 7:26) Yes, the Redeemer was holy, just as God who sent Him is holy! That is why God was not ashamed to call him His Son.

Third, you should know that God called the Messiah His Son to distinguish Him from all the other prophets. We have already seen how Abraham was called "the friend of God." The prophet Moses was called "the man of God." Of David, God said, "I have found a man after my own heart." But to which prophet did God say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"? That could only be said to the Messiah, because the Messiah is the only one who came from above, who was born of a virgin, and was unstained by sin.

You who are listening today, do you know the Messiah, the King whom God calls His Son? God wants everyone to know Him, listen to Him, believe in Him and receive Him. That is why the prophet David finished this chapter with these words:

"Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him!" (Psa. 2:10-12)

This is where we must stop today. Next time, in the will of God, we will meditate upon another great hymn which the prophet David wrote in the book of Psalms.…

God bless you as you give serious thought to what the prophet David wrote in the Psalms saying:

"Be wise; be warned…Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him!" (Psa. 2:10-12)