I will confine my brief review to Christ’s use of the Psalms as recorded in the four inspired biographies, but I do not mean to imply by this limitation that the rest of the Bible is not equally reliable, even necessary, in revealing the nature and purpose of these songs of the Spirit. When Jesus said that the Scriptures tell us about Him, He was not commending to our search any part of them to the exclusion of other parts. In fact, it might be well to add in this connection that John’s explanation of what Jesus meant when He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19), is just as much the word of Christ in the ultimate sense as are the spoken words of Jesus which John records. Discovering how the Son of man, the Second Adam, the eternal and perfect representative of mankind, quoted and applied psalms is a valuable part, but only a part, of my diligence to present myself approved to God, handling accurately the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15).

Recognizing that the most obvious generalizations are probably also the most important, let me begin by asserting that Jesus included the Psalms in the Scriptures which must be fulfilled and which cannot be broken (John 10:35). The Greek word translated “Scriptures” or “Scripture” in our Bibles occurs 51 times in the New Testament, 24 times in the four gospels. It is used 13 times by Jesus Himself, and at least 6 times involving a quotation from the Book of Psalms. For example, recorded in Matthew 21:33-46, in Mark 12:1-12, and in Luke 20:9-19 is a discourse in which Jesus quoted Psalms both to illustrate and to prove His point. After the chief priests and elders had fallen into the “what’s-your-authority pit” they prepared for Jesus, they listened to the parable of the landowner and his vineyard which began with quotations from Psalm 80 and Isaiah 5 and concluded with the question, “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to these vine-growers?” “Rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers,” was the ready reply, “who will pay him the proceeds.” Jesus then quoted from Psalm 118, “The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner-stone; this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (vv. 22-23). Jesus left no doubt about the application: “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.” Jesus used a psalm as both proof and prophecy.

The term “Scripture” is without exception used to guarantee the truthfulness of what conforms to it and the certainty of the events it predicts. Psalms are included. The same is true of other terms in the biographies of Jesus that designate only parts of the Old Testament Scriptures. An examination of passages quoted indicates that the Law, the Law of Moses, and the Law of the Lord, refer to the Pentateuch, (Genesis through Deuteronomy of our Bibles). The term “Prophets” is narrowly applied to include what we call the historical books, Joshua through Kings, and all of the prophetic books, Isaiah through Malachi, except Daniel, but when used in the expression, “the Law and the Prophets” (as in Matthew 5:17-18: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets”) the term includes all the other books of the Old Testament besides the Pentateuch. Historians tell us that the term “Psalms” was used to refer to all of what we call the poetic books, plus Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel, because the Psalms occurred first in this group of Writings. If that is the case, we need to be careful about too narrow an interpretation of “Psalms” in Luke 24:44, where we find Jesus identifying His words on earth with what was written about Him “in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.” We should search Job and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and all the rest, as well as the Psalms, for the testimony of Jesus.

In this connection I find it interesting to note that quotations from the Psalms are introduced in the New Testament by all three categories of the Scriptures. In John 15:24-25 we read, “But now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they· have done this in order that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their Law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’” We recognize a direct quotation from Psalms 69:4, which reads in the Psalter, “The men that with no cause at all bear hatred unto me,” but also a close reference to Psalm 35:19, “my wrongful enemies,” and, “those whose hate I merit not.” And these words Jesus said are “written in their Law.”

In Matthew 13:35 we read in explanation of Jesus’ parables, “so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world!’” The prophecy referred to is in Psalm 78:2, “My mouth shall speak a parable, the sayings dark of old.”

Then, for a Scripture passage which Jesus specifically identifies as a psalm, we read in Luke 20:42, “For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.”’”

This opening couplet of Psalm 110, “Jehovah to my Lord has said, ‘Sit Thou at My right hand until I make Thy foes a stool whereon Thy feet may stand,’” quoted and expounded and paraphrased more often by New Testament writers than any other words from the Old Testament, serves to introduce perhaps the most significant of my generalizations concerning Christ and the Psalms: He identified Himself with the psalmist. He quoted Psalms that spoke about Him, irrevocably and accurately, but He also used Psalms to express His own experience, yearning, and faith. One such instance we have already cited by noting Jesus’ reference to Psalm 69:4, “They hated Me without a cause.” More words from this Psalm were used by Jesus when He cried, “I am thirsty” (John 19:28), and Matthew’s reference to the context in 27:34 as further fulfillment of prophecy gives special point to the words in Psalm 69:21: “They also gave me bitter gall in all the food I ate; they gave me vinegar to drink the time my thirst was great.”

We read in John 13:18 how Jesus, faced with the betrayal of Judas, identified His experience with the words of David in Psalm 41:9, “And even my familiar friend in whom my trust was real, the one who ate my bread, has turned and lifted up his heel.”

Perhaps the most often recognized and most striking example of Christ’s use of a Psalm to express His feeling was His cry on the cross, “My God, My God, O why have You forsaken Me?” We cannot be sure that, as some like to think, Jesus actually spoke more than the opening words from Psalm 22, but Matthew and John point out three other references to the Savior’s experience in this Psalm: (1) verse 7, “They wag their heads in mockery” (Matt. 27:39); (2) verse 8, the taunt, “He trusts the Lord! Let Him defend and save Him, since He is His friend” (Matt. 27:43); and (3) verse 18, “My clothes among them they divide, and on My robe with dice decide” (John 19:24). Some have noted that the final words of Jesus, “It is finished!” are a translation of the last words of this same Psalm 22, “He has performed it.” In fact, every word in the entire Psalm finds ultimate fulfillment only in Christ. It is Luke (23:46) who records Jesus’ use of the words from Psalm 31, “Into Thy hands I commit My spirit” (v. 5).

Another identification of Christ with the psalmist may be established by my last generalization: Jesus sang Psalms. In both Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26 we read, “And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” Although “after singing a hymn” is only one word in the Greek (literally, hymning), and although it seems almost casual in tone, there is general agreement that the reference is to the singing of the entire Hallel (Psalms 113-118) used to conclude the Passover feast. In fact, the very casualness of the reference may be significant, indicating the repetition of a common practice. In any case, if Jesus sang the words of Psalm 116, “The cords of death on every side encompassed me around; the sorrows of the grave took hold; I grief and trouble found” (v. 3), or, “I’ll pay my vows now to the Lord before His people all” (v. 14), the peculiar appropriateness of the words for Him on this occasion is obvious. Psalm 118 with its “Hosanna!” and its reference to the Head Cornerstone, was once quoted by Jesus (Matt. 23:39) as a solemn warning: “For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” It would certainly be easy for Christ to identify with these and other words of this Psalm from the Hallel, such as, “Though they surrounded me like bees, like thorn fires soon they die, for surely in Jehovah’s name destroy them all will I”(Ps. 118:12).

Christ’s authentication of any book in the Bible is important to us, as is the focus of correct interpretation He enforced upon His apostles and upon us when He said in Luke 24:25-26, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Luke is very explicit in summarizing Jesus’ discourse on that road to Emmaus: “And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” In fact, the listeners were so engrossed in His exposition that they did not even recognize His voice, and, when He left them, what they remembered was their burning hearts “while He was explaining the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27-32).

But Christ’s authentication and use of the Psalms has special importance, because this book is the only collection in the Bible of prayers and songs specifically designed for worship. Knowing that Christ fills and fulfills them keeps every word alive with meaning and every tone a response in the Spirit.

–Charles M. McBurney