"Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the LORD with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy
(Psalm 33:1-3).
Or:
"Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth"
(Psalm 2:10).
While these psalms sometimes make references to literal events, which are recorded in the historical narrative portions of Scripture (i.e. Genesis-Esther and Matthew-Acts; see Psalm 136), the psalmists also made use of figurative language to paint evocative pictures of God's love, mercy, providence, protection, justice, sovereignty, splendor, majesty, power, eternal nature, and goodness; as well as humanity's complete dependence on Him for life, sustenance, forgiveness, salvation and everything.
Examples of figurative language can be found in Psalm 91 were the psalmist refers to God as a Fortress to describe His strength and power to protect those who trust in Him. In the same poem, the wicked one is referred to as a fowler (bird trapper) to describe those who seek to ensnare others, especially believers, in sin and trouble. Then God is described figuratively as having wings, bringing to mind God's ability to protect and deliver His people, like a mother eagle protecting her little ones. And His truth is described as being a shield and buckler against evil deceptions.
The psalmists employed poetry to express the overflow of their hearts to God in worship. They poured out in words and music their adoration for God, their sorrows in troublesome times, their joys, their petitions, thanksgivings, repentance, and righteous indignation toward wickedness in the world. At times, tucked in among the psalmists praises, pleas, and sorrows, the Holy Spirit gives prophetic glimpses of Christ's own experiences, sorrows, and pains in His earthly life and sacrificial death on the cross for our sin, as well as the glory that, before and forever after, Christ shares with the Father.
The 22nd Psalm is a prime example of this. When Jesus was dying on the cross, He spoke to the heavenly Father, "with a loud voice, saying 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which is translated, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'" (Mark 15:34; also see Matthew 27:46). He was quoting Psalm 22:1.
He felt our estrangement from the Father as He bore our sin upon Himself; as He took our blame. As the poem continues, David described his own troubles with his enemies. And the double meaning - the parallel between David's sufferings and those of Christ becomes even more apparent. There comes a point in the psalm where it says,
"For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots
(Psalm 22:16-18).
The psalmist, David, quotes the enemy as saying,
He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him
(Psalm 22:8).
As a whole, the 22nd Psalm is comparable to Isaiah 53, where the prophet vividly and poetically foretells the rejection of the Messiah by His people, His suffering, death, and resurrection. From Psalm 22:19 through the rest of the poem, David looks forward to being delivered by God from his enemies, as he has prayed; and he expresses hope for the future, and praise to God his Savior. Like Isaiah 53:10-12, this passage also provides a prophetic view of Christ being delivered by the Father who has now raised Him from the dead. And it is a look forward to the salvation that Christ's death and resurrection makes available to all who trust in Christ.
In the book of Psalms, the believer finds a treasure trove of poetry to which he or she can relate personally, through the conflicts - both triumphs and defeats - of life. In these poems we too can find expressions of our own joys, sorrows, hopes in the face of fear, prayers and praises. And in so doing, we can even share spiritually and emotionally in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We come to realize that our living Friend, Jesus Christ, has been through, and knows, and understands what we go through in this fallen, broken world. And we have hope, knowing that just as He was delivered by the Father from death, so we too will be saved; and we will share in His glory, His peace, His joy, and His everlasting life in Paradise (Luke 23:43).
The Lord is our reason to make melody;
It is He who gives us breath to sing.
Without Him we would have nothing;
Had He not made us, we would have no voice,
Nor could we live,
Or even exist at all
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