p. 7 | CHRIST IN THE PSALMS by J. E. Evans

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 14, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 40.

CHRIST IN THE PSALMS.

By J. E. Evans

The supposed higher education of the present day is opposed to the Word of God. Criticism of that Word is becoming more and more common every day. Skepticism and actual infidelity are the result, while the ignorance of many religious teachers results in undermining the faith and confidence of those who look to them for help. As long as men feel free to criticise the Word of God, saying that this utterance is inspired and that is not, how can they minister to the wants of those who are longing for something less capricious than the human mind? Even ministers of the Gospel are troubled over the records of incidents in the lives of patriarchs and prophets, and style certain of the psalms of David as imprecatory.

May 31, 1897, a discussion arose in the Ministerial Union of Baltimore concerning the divine and human utterances in the Bible. After a paper had been read by Bishop James A. Latane, on “The Inspiration of the Bible,” Dr. Grammer said:—

The infidel is making capital out of his attacks on the supernatural, and we must meet them. How best shall we account for what he insists are inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and anachronisms? . . . How must we account for the blessings showered upon Jael, after her bloody deed, and for many events that occurred in the history of Elijah?

The imprecatory utterances of the psalms were then taken up. The report continues:—

Several ministers suggested that there were both divine and human utterances in the Bible, and that certain fierce denunciations, and prayers for the destruction of others, were simply manifestations of the human side.

Rev. Samuel A. Wilson then read the 109th Psalm. “I regard the objections raised by many to the Bible as largely due to the imprecatory psalms. We have been bothered by them. The hard places in the Bible had better be passed over by preachers in the pulpit.”

Another speaker, Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Smith, said:—

I do not sympathize with men who are always finding fault with the Bible. We do not attach enough importance to the human side of it, and human imperfections must crop out. Look at the old patriarchs mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. They were the most imperfect set of men, and few of them would now be admitted into the Methodist Episcopal Church, even on probation. . . . The human element comes to the surface, or else how can you square some of David’s utterances with the Sermon on the Mount?

Rev. Dr. Grammer, in making his closing remarks, said:—

David caught the spirit of holy indignation against the wrongdoing of his time, and expressed it sometimes in a human way. We can understand that. The great purpose of Protestant ministers must be to uphold the inspiration of the Scriptures.

Thus we see that these ministers of the Gospel, in attempting to clear up the matter in their own minds, could see only the human side of it all; and the subject became all the more bewildering to those who accepted them as guides in spiritual things. The reason for this lies in the fact that many study the Scriptures as they would a book on some common topic, the author of which was not even supposed to be inspired. While there are more than twenty different Psalms which unmistakably refer to Christ, I will notice only a few of them, and a few other scriptures, to show that our Lord is not only referred to in the Psalms, but is often represented as the speaker.

First, did David speak by inspiration? He says of himself, “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his Word was in my tongue.” 2 Sam. 23:2. Again, “Which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake.” Acts 1:16. And Christ, in speaking of David, says, “For David himself said by the Holy Ghost,” etc. Mark 12:36. Other scriptures might be cited, but these are sufficient to show that the Saviour acknowledged David as speaking by inspiration.

Coming to the subject direct, I first turn to Ps. 2:7: “I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” We find the same words in Acts 13:33: “As it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.”

“For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Ps. 16:10. Peter, speaking upon the day of Pentecost, says of this, “For David speaketh concerning him. . . . Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Acts 2:25–27. Compare also Ps. 22:1; with Matt. 27:46; Ps. 40:7, 8; with Heb. 10:5–10; Ps. 41:9; with John 13:18.

Now I turn to one of the alleged imprecatory psalms—the eighty-ninth. Beginning with the twentieth verse it reads thus:—

“I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him. . . . I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. . . . Also I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth. . . . Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me.”

David was not the first-born, nor does his throne still exist. Therefore this language must apply to some one else, and that is Christ, the Son of David.

We will next consider that psalm which bothered Rev. Samuel A. Wilson so much. It is the 109th. A few words from it will show that Christ, and not David, is the speaker in this particular instance. Verse 8: “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” Verse 25: “I became also a reproach unto them; when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.” Acts 1:20 gives us an inspired interpretation of the first of these verses, in the following words: “For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, . . . and, his bishopric let another take.” By referring to Matt. 27:39, the other is made equally clear: “And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads.” The twenty-second psalm, already referred to, gives the same in nearly the same words.

The above is sufficient to show that Christ is the central figure in the Psalms, as well as all other scriptures. But let me also ask you to read and carefully compare the following texts: Ps. 102:24–28; Heb. 1:10–12; Ps. 110:1; Matt. 22:41–46 and Acts 2:34, 35; Ps. 118:10–24; Matt. 21:42; Ps. 68:18; Eph. 4:8. Then since Christ is so plainly the thought of these scriptures, is it wise to condemn any of these sayings as “the human side”? Rather should we not say of them as did our Lord, in quoting Ps. 82:2, “The Scripture can not be broken”? J. E. EVANS.

New Orleans, La.