Preface:    David has written a large number of psalms, many of which deal with our Lord Jesus Christ and His first and second advents. What we will do in this particular study is examine what David teaches us in his psalms about the two advents of our Lord. In fact, with David’s writings, we would not even require the gospel accounts to determine what happened at the crucifixion.

It is important to note that what is quoted in the New Testament is not always with the same application as is found in David’s psalms. So, not every quotation from a Davidic psalm means that David understood how that passage would be applied in the New Testament. Now, for a long time, I was blissfully unaware of this fact (like most Christians). Then, after I became more and more aware of this fact—and came to realize that we are not just speaking of one or two passages, but of dozens and dozens of passages—the obvious question is, why? I will answer that question within this doctrine.

Then, once we understand why some Old Testament passages are given a different meaning or application in the New Testament, then we will need to go back and determine, what did David actually know? What about the coming Messiah was clear to Old Testament believers?

First Advent

Introduction:        The First Advent is the incarnation, life, crucifixion, and resurrection of our Lord. Some might even include His ministry and function during the Church Age as a part of the First Advent.

As we will see, there are some psalms, like Psalm 22, which may be undeniably associated with the First Advent of Jesus Christ. There are other psalms included below whose application can be understood with a little exegesis, but it is not as obvious. It is also important to note that Jewish scholars at that time also saw certain psalms and certain passages as being Messianic. Later Jewish scholarship would withdraw from some of those positions, as they do not want to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Messiah. I will identify with boldface those psalms which can, for one reason or another, be associated with one of the advents of Jesus Christ.

1.      Psalm 5 is primarily about David.

         a.      One could apply vv. 1–4 to Jesus upon the cross: Give ear to my words, O Jehovah; consider my meditation (groaning in the KJV and NASB). Listen to the voice of my cry, my King and my God; for to You I will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Jehovah; in the morning I will direct my prayer to You, and I will look up. For You are not a God that enjoys wickedness; nor shall evil dwell with You. However, one would do this first, based upon the KJV or the NASB rendering of v. 1 (Consider my groaning) and secondly because of v. 8, which is discussed below.

         b.      Although John the Baptizer roughly quotes Isa. 40:3 in Matt. 3:3 and John 1:23 when crying out in the wilderness, Psalm 5:8 is very similar, and may be reasonably applied to our Lord’s first advent (O Jehovah, lead Me in Your righteousness because of My enemies; make Your way straight before Me. There is nothing true in what they say; their insides are destructive; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue—Psalm 5:8–9; Rom. 3:13; compare 1Thess. 2:5). What we have here, as in many of the psalms, is a dual application. This passage certainly applies to David and God guiding him along his way. However, it also can be applied to our Lord Jesus Christ, Whose humanity was led by God the Holy Spirit.

2.      Psalm 6 is also about David in great suffering or under tremendous discipline. This is clear in the first couple verses.

         a.      However, one may see the pain of the psalmist (v. 3), combined with the pain in his bones (v. 2), combined with a call to rescue his soul (v. 4) along with a mention of death and Sheol (v. 5) to at least suggest the cross and resurrection.

         b.      Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, quotes v. 8a: Depart from Me, all you who do iniquity (Matt. 7:23). The context of this quotation is those who approach Jesus Christ at the Great Judgment Seat and say, “But I have done many great works in Your Name.” The passage above is what Jesus will say to them, prefacing it with “I never knew you.”

         c.      On the other hand, an explanation of the First Advent is probably not the primary purpose of this psalm.

3.      David speaks of his inheritance in Psalm 16. Obviously, such a psalm must at least allude to David’s Greater Son. He says, “You will not abandon my soul in Sheol; You will not allow Your Holy One to become corrupt” (v. 10); which is later applied to our Lord not being left in the earth (Acts 2:27).

         a.      Interestingly enough, I have only seen Bob Thieme teach about the victorious proclamation, at which time our Lord, after His resurrection, announced His victory over death to the saints in Sheol. The booklet is called Victorious Proclamation.

         b.      David applies the first half of v. 10 to himself and the second half to Jesus Christ; in Acts, this was all applied to Jesus Christ. Again, this is one of the man places which the obvious Old Testament interpretation does not precisely match the New Testament interpretation.

4.      Extremely important doctrinal tangent: why is not the New Testament completely in sync with the Old Testament? Why are some passages only in part understood in exactly the same way in the Old and New Testaments; and why do some passages have really a completely different slant on them?

         a.      God the Holy Spirit kept many of the details of our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection secret from Satan. Had Satan known that the cross was God’s way of providing salvation for all man, then he would not have been so quick to help our Lord get to the cross.

         b.      Satan’s freewill actions which involved getting Jesus to the cross actually culminated in our redemption. Apart from the cross, there is no redemption.

         c.      It is the redemption of the cross, the blood of Christ, which breaks the back of Satan.

         d.      Therefore, if Satan was going to, of his own freewill, participate in that which will destroy him, then God cannot let him in on all of the details. For Satan not to recognize or understand all that his actions would accomplish is not a modification of his freewill.

         e.      Therefore, what we must find in the Old Testament are a large number of passages which allude to the cross of Christ—too many to be coincidental. However, they must have an New Testament interpretation which Satan—the most intelligent and learned creature on heaven and earth—would not be able to grasp. Please understand that Satan has studied Scripture; he can quote Scriptures to you. If you had a theological argument with Satan, based upon the Bible, he could shoot you down on almost every point.

         f.       Therefore, when Satan read a passage like, “You will not abandon my soul in Sheol; You will not allow Your Holy One to become corrupt”; he did not understand that this was Jesus Christ (Jehovah Elohim) speaking about His death and His soul going to Sheol. He understood that David would not die and spend eternity in Sheol, something which Satan was already aware of (and would like to prevent). He may have even applied the second half of this verse to the coming Messiah; however, Satan had no clue as to how the Messiah would get into Sheol or why He would go there in rhe first place.

         g.      The end result is, the Old Testament would be filled with passages that, in retrospect, can be clearly applied to Jesus Christ; however, the understanding of these passages would be hidden well enough from Satan so that he would not prevent their fulfillment but actually assist in their fulfillment.

5.      Psalm 22 is one of the most graphic depictions of the crucifixion. We have a better picture of the cross from this psalm than we do from even the gospel accounts.

         a.      We are not told from what time period this psalm came from; this is so we primarily associate it with the crucifixion, and not with some incident in David’s life. David wrote this psalm approximately 1000 years prior to the crucifixion. David possibly wrote this psalm with something particular in mind. However, whatever his motivation or whatever the incident was that he was referring to, it pales in importance to the cross (although, it is obvious that David apparently suffered a great deal). Therefore, in this psalm, as far as we are concerned, there is only one application, and this is to the cross of Christ.

         b.      The psalmist—who is Jesus Christ—calls out to God, “Why have Your forsaken Me!” (Psalm 22:2; Matt. 27:46). This is the humanity of Jesus hanging on the cross, bearing all of our sins.

         c.      Those who watch Him being crucified, make faces, belittling Him: All who see Me sneer at me. They separate with the lip; they wag their head...they open wide their mouth at Me, as a ravening and a roaring lion (Psalm 22:7, 13 Matt. 27:39). Compare Matt. 26:3–4 27:29, 39 Luke 23:11.

         d.      The psalmist says, “Let Him deliver Him,” (v. 8), foreshadowing the one who mocked Jesus on the cross, sneering, “He trusts in God; let Him deliver Him now.” (Matt. 27:43). In other words, the very same men who belittled our Lord on the cross, fulfilled Scripture with their smug comments.

         e.      Jesus Christ says to God the Father, “You have been My God since the womb” (v. 10). David cannot say that because he was conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5). He was born with an old sin nature and he was born with Adam’s imputed sin. God the Father was not his God from the womb; however, Jesus Christ was born without an old sin nature; He did not have the imputation of Adam’s sin; so God the Father was His God from the womb.

         f.       David, speaking for Jesus, writes: I am poured out like water, and all My bones are spread apart; My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My bowels (Psalm 22:14). David describes the intense pain suffered by our Lord while on the cross. This is one of the many verses which the gospel writers could have quoted from Psalm 22, but did not.

         g.      David also writes: My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws (Psalm 22:15). We find a partial fulfillment of that passage in John 19:28: After this, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” We will find this reference again in Psalm 69:21.

         h.      V. 16a: Dogs have surrounded me. A mob has encircled me. This describes the crowds who were there; they were dogs, one of the lowest animals in the ancient world. They were a mob that encircled Jesus in His walk to Golgotha and while He was on the cross.

         i.       V. 16b: They have pierced my hands and feet. Interestingly enough, our Lord’s hands and feet being nailed to the cross are not mentioned in the crucifixion accounts. If these accounts were fictitious, with religious fanatics trying to make these events match the Old Testament, they could (and would) have done a lot better job of it. Many of the passages from Psalm 22 and Isa. 53 could have been quoted verbatim during our Lord’s crucifixion; however, the writers of the gospels either wrote what they saw or what they heard and inserted only some of the relevant Scripture. That our Lord has nails piecing His hands and feet (possibly wrists and feet?) is when doubting Thomas wanted to put his fingers in the nail holes of the hands of our Lord’s resurrected body (Luke 24:39 John 20:25–28). In fact, only by the writing of David do we know our Lord’s feet also had nails driven into them. Luke only implies this in Luke 24:39–40.

         j.       I want you to know, if I was the human author of one of the gospels, my account would have been much different. I would have taken each and every detail of the cross and placed that into one table column, and then matched it up with a quotation from the Old Testament in another column. However, God the Holy Spirit knew that I would do that, along with probably hundreds (or thousands) of other pastor-teachers and exegetes. Therefore, there is no reason for the Holy Spirit to duplicate these efforts. A pastor-teacher or an exegete has the duty to examine Scripture in detail; therefore, God the Holy Spirit allowed this to be one of the many topics which a pastor teacher could examine, and organize a presentation which was not taken word-for-word out of the Bible, but which required a little digging. I can testify as one who has been exegeting Scripture for about a decade now, that the closer you look, the more that is there.

         k.      V. 17a David writes: I can count all my bones. As the Lord hung on the cross, much of his skin peeled off from the scourging, his body stretched and contorted under its own weight on the cross, His individual bones could be seen pushing against His skin, if not protruding.

         l.       Psalm 22:17: People stare. They gloat over me. We find this fulfilled in Luke 23:35: And the people stood watching. And also the rulers with them, scoffing. As we find in the crucifixion accounts, men stared and gloated over our Lord.

                  i.       I write this during the 2004 election year, where George Bush is described by his critics as being divisive; well, our Lord was divisive. There were those in the crowd who hated Him because they hate God. This was a rare thrill to them to watch God feel so much pain and misery. And there were those in the crowd who worshiped Him, even though they did not fully understand what was going on with regards to the cross. Most of them thought this was the end of all they had come to believe in. Jesus Christ throughout time will continue to be a divider of people, as He himself warned: Matt. 10:34–36: Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be those of his own household.

         m.     Psalm 22:18: They divide my clothes among themselves. They throw dice for my clothing. The Roman soldiers fulfilled these lines by gambling over our Lord’s clothing. We read of this being fulfilled in Luke 23:34b: And parting His clothing, they cast lots.

         n.      Much of the rest of the psalm is our Lord Jesus Christ calling to God the Father for deliverance, through the mouth of David.

         o.      Finally, just as our Lord uttered, “It is finished” and bowed His head (John 19:30); the final words of this dramatic psalm are: They will tell people yet to be born about his righteousness—that He has finished it (Psalm 22:31).

6.      Doctrinal tangent: Those who are critical of Scripture suggest that the gospels are fabrications. There is the accusation that those who wrote the gospels wrote them in such a way as to propagate their own religious viewpoints. There are several logical problems with this point of view:

         a.      If a gospel writer, like Matthew or Luke had been interested in fabricating the crucifixion, then they certainly could have done a much better job. That is, for one, they could have quoted even more from Psalm 22 than they did. They were obviously familiar with the psalm, as they quote from it several times; however a much larger portion of the psalm could have been used. In fact, most of the first half of Psalm 22 could have been quoted verbatim in order to drive home their religious viewpoint. But they did not. Nor could they expect the hoi polloi to fill in the blanks, as there were not copies of the Old Testament readily available at that time.

         b.      We have several gospel writers who have all chosen to write essentially the same thing and to spread the same myths. However, they disagree enough for the very same critics who say they fabricated the stories of Christ to also claim that these accounts contradict one another. Since Luke apparently used Matthew and Mark’s gospel, he could have made it come out more in sync with those gospels if, fabrication had been his intention.

         c.      These gospel writers were eyewitnesses to the resurrection—at least Matthew and John were. Why would they choose to lie about some they knew was either true or false, as these lies did not elevate them to some great status, but put their lives in danger. Not one of the disciples enjoyed any sort of status in their day because of who they were. They were persecuted and tortured and killed or banished. Any word from them which would have admitted that the gospels were fabrications would have possibly freed them and the admissions would have been circulated widely in order to prevent the spread of Christianity.

         d.      No writings from the first century exist disputing the facts of the gospels, although there were many eyewitnesses besides the gospel writers.

         e.      Not one of the gospel writers glorifies himself or give himself a grand position in the events he supposedly fabricates. This is not the way human nature is. Matthew or John could have presented themselves as our Lord’s right-hand men; they did not. Mark could have presented Peter as second-in-command to Jesus, but he did not. Remember, these are the same disciples who argued as to who would have the best place in heaven and who was the greatest disciple (Mark 9:34 Luke 9:46 22:24). This is not in line with human nature or with the personality of the disciples as we have observed.

         f.       For all intents and purposes, the disciples come off looking like fools in the gospels. This is not human nature to present yourself as a fool.

         g.      When a person takes the position that the gospels are complete or partial fabrications, this is not a viewpoint which he or she has arrived at by careful consideration and deliberation. They have given this only enough thought to support their negative volition. As you will find, those who have devised arguments against having faith in Jesus Christ are generally very superficial arguments, and do not hold up under careful scrutiny.

7.      Even though the well-known Psalm 23 is not predictive of the First or Second Advents, I would still like to mention it here. In case you don’t think you know Psalm 23, allow me to quote it: The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah forever. Psalm 22 precedes Psalm 23, a psalm of fellowship and blessing, because the cross must precede our relationship with God.

8.      Psalm 30 deals with, in part, the resurrection of Jesus.

         a.      You have lifted me up, and have not allowed my foes to rejoice over me (v. 1b). This can be taken as a reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

         b.      O Lord, You have brought My soul up from Sheol (v. 3a). This verse by itself would not be enough to qualify this as a Messianic psalm. After all, one prayer of the Old Testament saints was not to be left in Sheol for eternity. However, this and v. 9a at least strongly suggest the cross to us.

         c.      What profit is there in My blood if I go down to the pit? (v. 9a).

         d.      Even though the psalm deals primarily with David, it has obvious application of Jesus Christ. And, as has been discussed, the gospel writers and Paul in his epistles could have quoted either of these two passages and applied them to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; however, they did not.

9.      Although Psalm 31 deals primarily with David’s troubles (apparently after Bathsheba), this psalm contains our Lord’s final words: “Into Your hands I commit My Spirit” (Luke 23:46; compare Psalm 31:5).

10.    Psalm 39 deals primarily with David being under discipline; however, vv. 1b–2 read: I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked are before me. I became dumb, keeping still; I was silent, from good; and my pain was stirred (compare Matt. 27:12–14 John 19:9). So, like several of the psalms, this can be applied to the First Advent.

11.    Lest we think that a couple verses here or there do not a Messianic reference make, please examine Psalm 40:6–9a: Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened; burnt offering and sin offering You have not asked. Then I said, Lo, I come, in the volume of the Book it is written of Me; I delight to do Your will, My God; and Your Law is within My heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation. The rest of the psalm is David celebrating because God has delivered him. However, the writer of Hebrews later wrote: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have had no pleasure. Then I said, Lo, I come (in the volume of the Book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God." Above, when He said, "Sacrifice and offering, and burnt offerings and offering for sin You did not desire, neither did You have pleasure in them" (Heb. 10:6–8; Psalm 40:6–8). The writer of Hebrews applies this to our Lord’s sacrifice, as the only sacrifice demanded by God for our deliverance.

         a.      There are other portions of this psalm which might be applied to our Lord’s First Advent, e.g., vv. 1–3a: He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet on a rock, and gave sureness to my steps. And He has put a new song in my mouth, praise to our God; many shall see it and fear, and shall trust in Jehovah. Blessed is the man who makes Jehovah his trust.

         b.      Vv. 9–10: I have preached righteousness in the great congregation; lo, I have not kept back My lips, O Jehovah, You know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within My heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not hidden Your loving-kindness and Your truth from the great congregation.

         c.      Again, a promise of the coming Messiah was not the purpose of Psalm 40; in fact, this was really a psalm written by David concerning his many sins (probably in connection with the Bathsheba incident; see Psalm 40:12). However, God the Holy Spirit including enough information where this could be applied to the First Advent as well.

12.    Like the previous psalm, Psalm 41 is primarily about David; however, in the midst of the psalm, we read: Even a man, my friend, in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me (v. 9). Jesus applies this to Judas in John 13:18–19. Again, the idea is, there must be an overwhelming amount of Old Testament which may be applied to the cross after the fact; but which did not reveal all aspects of the cross prior to its occurrence in history.

13.    One may take some of the sufferings found in Psalm 69 and apply them to the sufferings of our Lord.

         a.      They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink (v. 21). In Matt. 27:34, we read: They gave Him vinegar mixed with gall to drink. And when He had tasted, He would not drink. David endured a lot of suffering in his life, and recorded this suffering in his writings. A thousand years later, these same writings could also be applied to our Lord.

         b.      Although v. 21 is the only verse tied to a New Testament reference, it is not the only pertinent verse; we also have v. 4: They who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; they who would destroy me are mighty, my lying enemies. Then I restored what I did not take away.

         c.      Vv. 7–8: Because for your sake I have borne reproach; dishonor has covered My face. I have become estranged from my brothers and an alien to my mother’s sons. This passage could be applied to the Lord bearing our sins and for the separation between Himself and His half-brothers (a topic not covered in the New Testament, but not an unlikely event). Being born of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ would be an alien to His mother’s sons.

         d.      V. 26a: For they have persecuted him Whom You Yourself have struck down.

         e.      However, this is clearly a psalm about David, as he speaks of the hidden things in him which are wrong (v. 5); he also asks fro God to redeem his soul (v. 18). Again, this is one of the many psalms which had a purpose relative to the time in which is was written, but portions of which could be applied to our Lord’s First Advent.

Second Advent

Introduction:               The Second Advent of our Lord is His triumphal return to planet earth when His feel alight upon the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4) and destroy the armies attacking Israel. The Second Advent also includes the Judgment Seat of Christ, in which He judges all the people, living and death; and His Millennial rule. That Jesus would occupy the throne of David is revealed to us in Luke 1:32: He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David.

It is interesting that we find more verses on the First Advent in the psalms than we do on the Second Advent. For those who are interested, the First Advent and the prophesies pertaining thereto would be accessed more often in retrospect than information on the Second Advent. Therefore, God gave us a great deal of information on the First Advent so that we could, if not ruled by negative volition, look back upon the First Advents and the pertinent Scripture and develop confidence in God’s Word.

1.      Psalm 7 is primarily about David while he was escaping from Saul. Basically, he asks for God to apply His justice to Saul.

         a.      In v. 7, the peoples will be assembled around the Lord.

         b.      David calls for God to judge Saul as God would judge the earth in the future (vv. 8–11).

         c.      Saul is the evil man spoken of in vv. 12–16 (this was covered in great detail in the introduction to our exegesis of Psalm 7).

2.      David speaks of God judging the nations and blotting out the wicked in Psalm 9.

         a.      In vv. 4–8: Jehovah abides forever and He has established His throne of judgment; He will judge the world in righteousness. He rebukes the nations and He destroys the wicked. This, of course, speaks of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

         b.      There is a promise of salvation in v. 10: And those who know Your name will put their trust in you, for You, O Jehovah, have not forsaken those who seek You.

         c.      The nations are judged before God and the wicked and the nations who forget God will return to Sheol (vv. 17–19).

         d.      The bulk of this psalm deals with the final judgment of the nations.

3.      In Psalm 20:9, David asks for Jehovah to deliver; for the King to answer us in the day we call upon Him. Although this can be taken generally; it may also specifically be applied to our Lord’s return. The fact that the Messiah is called the King here properly places the application in the Millennium.

4.      Psalm 53 is a very interesting psalm, primarily for the final line, which reads: Who will give from Zion the salvation of Israel? When God brings back the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad (Psalm 53:6). This is clearly the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, however, during David’s time, the people had not yet been scattered. This occurred several hundred years after David’s death. This would imply that either, this psalm was mistitled; or, more likely, David was able to prophesy about what was to come (that Israel would be scattered was known all the way back to Lev. 26). David, by the way, is identified as a prophet in Matt. 27:35 who spoke by means of the Holy Spirit (Mark 12:36 Acts 1:16 4:25–26).

5.      In Psalm 60:6–13, God promises to help Israel against all of the nations who surround her, even though He has rejected them (v. 10a). Again, this is David writing under the guidance of God the Holy Spirit, knowing that God’s people would reject Him.

6.      Psalm 67, possibly written by David (David wrote most of the psalms on both sides of Psalm 67), deals with all of the nations being blessed by God. Therefore, this would be a Millennial psalm.

7.      In a prayer to God, David speaks of all called nations coming before God and worshiping Him in Psalm 86:9.

8.      Psalm 138:4: All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Jehovah, when they have heard the words of Your mouth. Although this could be applied to any king who heard the words of Jehovah; this also has application to the Millennial rule of Jesus Christ.

         a.      Apart from this Millennial reference, this psalm has several wonderful passages. One is: You have magnified Your Word above all Your name (v. 2b).

         b.      Another is: Jehovah will accomplish what concerns me. Your grace, O Jehovah, is everlasting. Do not forsake the works of Your hands (v. 9).

Advents Mixed

Introduction:      To those ancient Jews who expected the Messiah, there was no First and Second Advent. They knew that God would send a Messiah; some may have even known that the Messiah is God; but the Old Testament did not distinguish between the advents. Had the Jews accepted and believed in Jesus Christ, then there would have been no Church Age. When Jesus came, it was to the Jew. Jesus, on several occasions early in His earthly ministry, tell His disciples not to go to the Samaritans (half-Jews) or to the Gentiles, but to the Jew only (Matt. 10:5). His offer to them of the kingdom was a legitimate offer. However, since the Jews as a whole rejected Him, there was no kingdom for them.

This introduces the Doctrine of Intercalation. This is the insertion of the Church Age into the Age of Israel. That is, the Age of Israel is interrupted, and prior to the Great Tribulation (which is a part of the Jewish Age), we have the Church Age. The Church Age is not predicted in the Old Testament and that God would have a period of time where He offers the gospel to the Gentiles is not spoken of in connection to the Advents of our Lord. Therefore, there are many times where the Advents of Jesus Christ are mentioned, without any sort of space between the First and Second Advents—because had the Jews as a whole believed in Jesus Christ, then there would have theoretically been no Church Age. So, when we find the Advents of the Messiah presented in the Old Testament, it is more like the Advent of the Messiah. Therefore, there will be several places in Scripture where the Coming of Messiah is covered, but there is no real distinguishing between the two advents.

The passages we will look at here are Davidic psalms which make reference to both advents.

However, before we pursue this last portion of this doctrine, let me take a theological side road and discuss the rejecting of Jesus Christ. The man today who rejects Jesus Christ again and again and again not only will not go to heaven (i.e., be face to face with the Lord), but he would not desire to go to heaven. An unbeliever must reject Jesus Christ for his entire life. There must not be one moment in his life where he functions on positive volition toward God and His plan, which is Jesus Christ as that person’s Savior. If there is not a moment in that person’s life of positive volition toward God, why would he choose to spend eternity with God? It is illogical.

1.      Psalm 2 is one of the most powerful psalms with respect to the coming Messiah.

         a.      Psalm 2 begins with the nations in an uproar, plotting vain machinations—these are the nations who stand in opposition to our Lord, both First and Second Advents. The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against Jehovah and His Messiah (v. 2).

         b.      V. 6: “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.” God the Father has installed God the Son as ruler over Israel and over all the earth.

         c.      It identifies the Messiah with the great King (v. 6) and He is called, by God, My Son (v. 7). And, so that we do not confuse this with David, God says, “Ask of Me and I will give the nations [or Gentiles] as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.” (V. 8). God gave David great blessings, but these blessings did not include the Gentile nations.

         d.      Furthermore, His response to those who stand in opposition to Him is horrific: He will shatter them like so many clay pots (v. 9). Vv. 8–9 makes sense together when one realizes that Jesus Christ will destroy those nations who converge on Israel in the Tribulation, but that He will rule over His kingdom in the Millennium, which will include all Jewish and Gentile believers.

         e.      The kings of the earth are implored to worship Him and to take refuge in Him (vv. 10–12). There are two alternatives: Do homage to the Son, so that He does not become angry and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him (v. 12). This passage is more universal, and can be applied to mankind throughout the ages. In fact, it is because of this passage that I have included this with the psalms that make references to both advents.

2.      Psalm 3 is primarily about David, but it can be applied to our Lord.

         a.      Like many of the Davidic psalms, this psalm is first and foremost about David—however, there is a parallel between David’s experiences and those of the Messiah to come. For instance, O Jehovah, how My adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against Me. Many are saying of My soul, ‘’there is no deliverance for Him in God” (Psalm 2:1–2). God the Son saw many men stand up in great opposition to Him. In fact, in a very short time, the Pharisees and Sadducees, two opposing /religious political parties, even banded together against our Lord. On the cross, they ridiculed our Lord, as if God the Father had turned against Him (which, for the judgment of our sins, He did, for all intents and purposes).

         b.      David’s enemies surround him as out Lord’s enemies will surround Him (Psalm 3:6).

         c.      Jesus calls out to God in the First Advent (Psalm 3:4a).

         d.      Our Lord is called upon in His Second Advent (Psalm 3:7).

3.      In Psalm 8, David praises God for what God has chosen to do with man, amazed that God even takes note of man (vv. 1–4).

         a.      However, in Heb. 2, the application is clearly to our Lord Jesus Christ where all things will be subjected to Him in the future (at the Judgement Seat of Christ).

         b.      Jesus Christ is the One made a little lower than the angels (in the humanity of His hypostatic union) according to Heb. 2:6–8, which quotes Psalm 8:4–6, with a few changes (in the psalm, it is man who is made a little lower than the angels).

         c.      Psalm 8:4–6: What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man, that You visit him? For You have made him lack a little from God, and have crowned him with glory and honor. You made him rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet:...

         d.      If we continued with this psalm, it would be clear that the subjection spoken of is the animal kingdom to mankind (Psalm 8:7–8). Of course, Jesus Christ has dominion over the animal kingdom, but this is a trivial doctrine and not really in view in the Old or New Testaments.

         e.      Heb. 2:6–8: But one testified in a certain place, saying, "What is man, that You are mindful of him; or the son of man, that You visit him? You have made Him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of Your hands. You subjected all things under his feet." For in subjecting all things to Him, He did not leave anything not subjected to Him. But now we do not see all things having been subjected to him. What we have here is the incarnation of Jesus Christ, where He is, in His humanity, a little lower than the angels; yet all things are to be placed under Him (the Millennium). You will note that the author of Hebrews made a few changes when quoting Psalm 8.

         f.       Furthermore, Heb. 2:8 (see above) tells us that not all things have been subjected to our Lord yet. This will come at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This should be obvious with the behavior of man in this earth.

         g.      This psalm and its application by the writer of Hebrews is an excellent illustration of intercalation. That is, the Church Age is found intercalated between vv. 5–6. We have in incarnation of Jesus Christ in vv. 4–5a; His glorification in v. 5b (His resurrection and ascension), and the subjugation of all things in v. 6 (Judgment Seat of Christ).

         h.      What we have here is quite common; the psalm has a fairly clear and straightforward application to the time in which is was written (in fact, what David writes can even be seen as universal). However, the writer of Hebrews puts a different spin on this passage. Since God the Holy Spirit inspires both authors, we can rest assured that both applications are reasonable.

4.      Psalm 68 has information on both advents, although they are separated in the psalm.

         a.      Vv. 1–3 speak of the final triumph of Jesus Christ over His enemies: Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; also let those who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, You drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish in the presence of God. But the righteous are glad; they rejoice before God. Yes, let them exceedingly rejoice.

         b.      Paul quotes, and slightly changes Psalm 68:18: You have ascended on high; You have led captive the captives; You have received gifts among men, even among the stubborn as well, that Jehovah God may dwell there. Eph. 4:8 reads: Therefore He says, "When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men."

         c.      Psalm 68:19 can also be applied to the First Advent, and to our Lord’s function after His ascention: Blessed is Jehovah; He daily bears burdens for us, the God of our salvation. Selah.

5.      In Psalm 101, it sounds as though David is making promises to God, very likely early on in the beginning of His rule. However, these promises could have also been applied to our Lord in His various advents; to whit:

         a.      I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart (v. 2b).

         b.      I will destroy whoever secretly slanders his neighbor; I will not endure anyone with a haughty look or any arrogant heart (v. 5).

         c.      My eyes will be on he faithful of he land, that they may live with Me. He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to Me (v. 6).

         d.      He who practices deceit will not live within My house; He who speaks falsehood will not maintain his position before me (v. 7).

         e.      Every morning, I will destroy the wicked out of the land, so as to cut off from the city of Jehovah all those who do iniquity (v. 8).

6.      Psalm 110 takes place during the time that Jesus waits for God the Father to make all of His enemies His footstool. God is simply bringing all things to completion.

         a.      Jehovah says to my Adonai, “Sit at my right hand” until I make Your enemies a footstool for you (v. 1; compare Heb. 1:3, 13 10:12–13).

         b.      Jehovah has sworn and He will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (V. 4; compare Heb. 6:20 7:1–3, 7).

         c.      This psalm primarily deals with our Lord’s ministry now, while we are in the Church Age; and whence returns. The destruction of those who are in opposition to Him can be found in vv. 5–6.

Concluding Remarks

1.      One of the questions which occurs to me is, how much did David know about the Messiah to come and how much in his psalms were purposely

2.      First of all, there is the concept of progressive revelation. We, at this point in time, know most, if not all, of the Church Age doctrines pertinent to our lives.

3.      However, the use of the editorial we no way implies that all of Christendom understands these doctrines. As we see time and time again in church after church; many do not even understand dispensations. Here’s the deal: if you believe that Israel worshiped in the past by offering animal sacrifices, but you do not believe that has a place in our present system of worship, then you are a dispensationalist. The only matter for discussion is degree. You may have hundreds of dispensational concepts mixed up, e.g. thinking the church universal began in Abraham’s tent—but unless you go to a church where goats are routinely sacrificed in front of the podium, you are a dispensationalist. A covenant theologian is simply a very mixed up dispensationalist.

4.      David, on the other hand, knew nothing about the Church Age. Even though Psalm 22 is clear to us as a description of the cross, we do not know exactly how David viewed it.

5.      However, there are things which David knew: He knew that no man was righteous before God. Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight, no man living is righteous (Psalm 143:2). What David possibly did not know is that you and I, who are living, are righteous before God. This is not because we try really really hard to be good; but because we are in Christ Jesus. We are righteous before God right now because He is righteous. We share His righteousness because we are in Him. Now, that is strictly Church Age doctrine, so David would not have known that.

6.      David depended upon the grace of God and that His grace was related to our deliverance, to the blotting out of our transgressions, to a promise of righteousness and to our personal trust in Him (Psalm 17:7 26:3 36:7, 10 40:11 63:3 103:4 138:2). Now, did David clearly know that, when he believed in Jehovah God that God would eventually impute His righteousness to David and save him eternally because Jesus would die on the cross? That is less clear to us, if only with regards to the mechanics. However, I think it is clear that David understood that his faith in Jehovah God did provide him with a relationship with God. Psalm 51:1: Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your graciousness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

7.      I believe that David knew there was a Messiah to come, his greater Son, Who would be King over all. Psalm 

8.      Again, what David perhaps did not fully understand—and I am speculating here—is the exact mechanics; Psalm 22 notwithstanding.