As a pastor, I have witnessed many parents sending their children off to college or into marriage by giving them special, parting words. These words, spoken at graduation ceremonies or weddings, were filled with tender love, future hope, and promised support. In the same way, when God the Father knew He would be sending His Son into this world, He was not going to send Him without instruction and guidance.

As this column begins a series on the different genres one encounters in the Psalms, we would do well to remember the ultimate purpose of these collected songs. We should never forget as we study the Psalms that, before the Father wrote them by His Spirit for His children, He primarily wrote them for His own Son. In the Psalms, we see God’s expression of love and care for His Son and, through Him, His love for us in each type of psalm we encounter.

For example, Psalm 2 is clearly a Messianic psalm, as it speaks of the Anointed One (v. 2) whom God promises to establish as His King in heaven (v. 6). The intention of the Father in having David write these words is that this psalm would eventually be fulfilled in Christ.

The Father knew enemies would be hostile to His Son when He came to earth. He knew that Christ would need words that would enable Him to fulfill His suffering and ministry. In Psalm 2 God gave Him a glorious prayer that would sustain Him when He might be tempted to question if His suffering was worth the price. The Father says, “Ask of Me, and I will give the nations as an inheritance” (Ps. 2:8). With striking clarity, this psalm impresses both the commitment of the Father to His Son as well as the eventual outcome of all things. The Son was able, because of the joy set before Him by His Father in words such as these, to endure the cross (Heb. 12:2).

In this series we will see that other types of psalms—some with references that, on the surface, may seem more obscure than Psalm 2—were also fulfilled in Christ in abundance. The Psalms marked each definitive point of His life. As we hear His Spirit saying in Psalm 40:7-8, “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart” (see also Heb. 10:7). Because the law was deep in our Lord’s heart, every step of His life was guided by the will of the Father.

Thus, you should see in this series such things as Christ quoting an imprecatory psalm when confronting His enemies (Matt. 25:41; Ps. 6:8); thinking of a psalm of praise as He taught His followers (Matt. 6:26; Ps. 147:9); or referencing a psalm of lament when describing His sorrow (Matt. 26:30; Ps. 42:5). A knowledge of different genres of the Psalms, and their use in the life of our Lord, will allow you to enter into the deepest thoughts of Christ found nowhere else in Scripture.

When someone composes a song, they take their innermost thoughts, put them in lyrical form, set them to music, and then hope those words are sung repeatedly until they become a part of others’ meditations. Indeed, that they even become intertwined with another’s very soul. Have you ever thought of how that is the intent of the Psalter? These songs contained in the Book of Psalms were composed first in eternity by the Spirit from the thoughts of the Father for the Son. He then placed them in writing through the life and experience of their human authors, who typified and looked forward to Christ’s coming. Then when Jesus came to the earth, He used them in His travails during His earthly ministry, and they were deep in His soul.

As your Redeemer and King now seated in heaven, Christ desires that these words should be in your heart as well. He wants you to think His thoughts, follow His ways, and be constantly reminded of His love as you experience the eternal life He promised. May Christ’s profession be your own: “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within My heart.”