THE PSALMS
[p. 55] THE PSALMS
I mention, for the help of any that may not have been present last time, the line I hope to pursue. My thought in all that I have to say is the testimony. To many minds this presents a very indefinite idea; but it is the thing for the moment. When the church has broken down, as it has done, the testimony is the rallying-point for saints — the thing which will hold them together in a day like the present. None of us looks for the restoration of the church down here, no such thought is presented in Scripture; its failure and decay are shown. Christianity has assumed a form never intended by God, it has been taken captive by the world and has been used in a way for the world’s purpose. This is what we see around, and our position is that we stand apart from the great systems into which Christianity has dropped. The church has got down to Babylon, Christ and Christianity are identified with the course of this world, and that must be false. You may be confident from the fact of what Christ is, the Son of God, begotten into the world, that He must be the beginning of another system — a world that is going to displace the existing world. Christ is the Head of “all things”, not as they are now, but as according to God. What I understand by the testimony is Christ in relation to “all things” on the basis of redemption. Christ occupies that position by divine appointment, and that is the testimony for the moment, which is the time appointed for it. If that be the case the testimony ought to be of supreme interest to every one of us. The gospel is the testimony and the testimony is the gospel.
[p. 56] I have previously made one remark in regard to the testimony, that it is of that which God is going to display. I believe that to be the principle that prevails through Scripture. “Surely the Lord will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets”. A very important principle too, for it connects itself with the responsibility of man. Man is bound to listen to that which God has to say, and before God interferes in a public way He gives testimony. The responsibility of man at the present time is intimately bound up with the gospel. God makes Christ known in the way of glad tidings, in that which may be believed, and the glad tidings are a very important element indeed in the responsibility of man. The great question at the present time is not of detail. In the day of judgment the detail of people’s conduct will come out, but at the present time the question is not of detail, but of what men think of Christ. Christ is the great question in which man’s responsibility is involved. God has set Christ in relation to man, and therefore every man is responsible in regard to Christ.
I refer again to the point that testimony invariably refers to that which God purposes to display, and in that connection touch on another point that I brought under your attention, that the testimony of God is comprehended in one name, that is, Christ. Not Christ as Christ first came, but Christ as Christ will be when set forth in glory, that is, as the Head and Centre of “all things”. God has made known to us the mystery of His will to head up in one “all things” in Christ; it is that which is to be displayed, that is the testimony of God. It is the burden in all Scripture, not simply in the New Testament, but in the Old, and in every part of the Old. The Lord said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. But the Scriptures testify of what Christ will be when displayed in the glory of God.
I spoke last time of the three great divisions of scripture, that is, Moses and the Psalms and the prophets. There are subsidiary parts, but the three main divisions of scripture are these. My point in taking up each part (of course, it can only be done rapidly and cursorily) was and is to show how in all the testimony of Christ is evident. We had before us last time that which I ventured to speak of as the most important chapter in the whole of the Pentateuch, Exodus 25, giving the description in detail of the furniture of the tabernacle, and for the reason that that which the tabernacle contained was a figurative representation of Christ in relation to “all things”. It brings before us the great thought that the moment is coming when God intends to fill the universe. But not only does it give that general idea, but the more particular idea of that by which God will fill the universe. Hence I took up some detail, that is, the ark of the covenant, the mercy seat, and then the candlestick, and the golden table and the altar of burnt offering. I touched on these as showing us the means by which God will fill the universe. We are waiting here, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ”. Christ has been set “far above all principality and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come”. There is a universe which God purposes shall be filled not with confusion like the present world, but with order and blessing and light.
Now we come to the Psalms. I want to run rapidly through the Psalms, or rather to touch on some few of them to point out the way in which [p. 58] the testimony of Christ is presented. You cannot have anything clearer than what we have already had, that is, the presentation of the testimony of the Christ in the tabernacle, when we understand the typical meaning of it; but we have not in the Psalms figurative representation; we come to what is more precise, and speaks more definitely of Christ. There are many things which I shall pass over, because in the course of an hour it is entirely impossible, even if one had the ability, to go into all that is presented to us in the Psalms. One can only touch on a few points to convey a general idea. Many here are aware that the Psalms consist of five books. This is rather important, for each book has its own distinctive character, and the Psalms are not really understood unless you see the division. But I do not want to try to give you understanding of the Psalms; my point is to attempt to show the very distinct way in which the Psalms give to us the testimony of the Christ. There is a great deal in the Psalms beside that, for many of them furnish detail of experience and exercise on the part of saints; but evidently the main point in the Psalms are the things concerning Christ, in that which Christ will be when He is set forth in glory. That is the subject of the testimony. You see this in Psalm 2: 7, 8 and Psalm 118: 25 - 27. The Psalms, properly speaking, close with Psalm 119, which, in a way, corresponds to Psalm 1. Psalm 1 describes and looks for the godly man, and in Psalm 119 the godly man is found. Psalm 118 corresponds to Psalm 2. Psalm 2 celebrates the coming of the Son of God into the world, “I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee”. That clearly refers to the incarnation of Christ, His coming into the world. He was immediately claimed by Jehovah as His Son. That comes out [p. 59] in the announcement of the angel to the virgin Mary, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee”. He was not born according to nature, but by the power of the Spirit of God, and for that reason He was to be called the Son of God. That is prophetically spoken of in Psalm 2. He was begotten by the Spirit of God in time. Well now, in Psalm 118 we get His coming again into the world. When the Lord was in Jerusalem for the last time He said, “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 23: 39). The Lord quoted Psalm 118, which is evidently to be fulfilled at the coming again of Christ. Thus in the beginning of the Psalms we have the first coming of Christ, His incarnation celebrated, and in the last of the Psalms, with the exception of one, that is, Psalm 119, His coming again to His people is celebrated. They will say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord”; they did not say it when the Lord came into Jerusalem the first time; but the time will come when it will be said. So we get what may be called the testimony, the celebration of Christ prophetically not only in incarnation, but in His coming again into Jerusalem.
I have referred to that in order to show the scope of the Psalms, that is, that they properly embrace a period from the first coming to the second coming of the Lord. Now in Psalm 8 we find the “all things” which are put under the Son of man. In John 1: 48 - 51 Nathanael recognised Christ according to Psalm 2, that is, the Son of God and the King of Israel; but the Lord Jesus speaks of “greater things”, that is, the “all things” that are spoken of in Psalm 8 — the “all things” that are put under the Son of man.
[p. 60] The great importance of that psalm to my mind is as showing that the thoughts of God have reference not simply to the earth, but to heaven, that is, to “all things”.
I pass on to Psalm 22: 22. Here we get another great point. Psalm 2 is the introduction of Christ in incarnation. In Psalm 8 we have seen “all things” put under the Son of man, the greater things to which the Lord refers in John 1. Now in Psalm 22 we get the idea of the revelation of God, the declaration of the Father’s name. We find that fulfilled in John 20. The Lord in resurrection declares His name; and it is a great principle in regard of Christ, that in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; that means, so far as I understand it, that in Christ God is brought into contact with man.
I pass on to Psalm 40:6-9. All I have spoken of so far in regard to Christ is what one may call introductory. Now, we have that which corresponds with what was before us last time; we get here the true ark of the covenant. You could not conceive anything more vitally important than the ark of the covenant, that in which everything is secured for God and for man. The covenant is the disposition of God toward men; and until the rights of God are recognised by man nothing can possibly be right. Now God has taken His own means to secure that; everything is secured for God in the ark of the covenant. When the Lord became Man all the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in Him bodily; but there was another point in connection with Him, that is, the law of God was in His heart, as the tables of stone were placed in the ark. The ark typified Christ; when He became Man the law of God was in His heart, that He might make that law to be the law of the universe. The meaning and force of God’s covenant is that man may answer [p. 61] to God. As regards the law no one but One who is love could command love; the fact of God commanding man to love his neighbour as himself proved that God was love. God is love, and therefore has the right to demand love. His righteousness is that He has the right to demand it. But to demand love is one thing, to secure it another. The mind of God is that He is to be loved, and that man shall love his neighbour as himself, and God intends to have that mind effectuated; He has taken His own means to bring it about, and His means is seen in the ark of the covenant. Christ has come in to meet the transgressions under the first covenant, but also to make the law of God to be the law of the moral universe: that is, that men may love God with all their heart and their neighbour as themselves. This is verified in Christians at the present time. The righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in them “who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit”. One word as to how that is carried into effect. I should speak of a covenant as an expression of disposition, very much like a man’s will. In a will a man makes known his disposition; if he be a man of property he does this in the disposition of his property. But if a man has property to leave he should have those to whom to leave it; therefore, in a sense, you get two parties to the covenant — the heirs and the testator. Christ is testator. Another point comes in: suppose a man to be possessed of large property, with many people to come into it, what would be wanted in human things would be a capable lawyer who should have everything in his hands, and possess the confidence of those who should inherit the property; that gives me the idea of the mediator — one perfectly conversant with the property and the mind of the testator, and at the same time knowing those who are to come into the property so that he [p. 62] can properly represent them. That is what we get in Christ. On the one hand Christ is conversant with the mind of God, because of what He is, and with all that into which man is to come according to the thought of God; but He is also Mediator, in the sense that He can represent those who are to come into the property. The covenant in that way is established in Christ. He not only represents God, “In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”, but He represents the heirs and has the ability to conform those to Himself. That is what we see in Christ. He is the Ark of the covenant and at the same time the Mediator, and hence it is that God really has everything in His own hands. In that way God is able to carry out His purpose to fill the universe. The Ark of the covenant is the great instrument in the hand of God to effectuate all His will. I cannot conceive anything much more important than to see how God has established and effectuated the covenant in Christ Himself; the law of God is in His heart with capability to make that law to be the law of the universe. That is what we get, I take it, brought before us in Psalm 40, “I come to do thy will”.
We will pass on now to a psalm in the second book, Psalm 68: 18, 19. Any one with intelligence can see the connection of this psalm with that of which I have already spoken. This psalm brings before us the great subjugating power. Christ first descended into the lower parts of the earth, as in Psalm 16. Here it is, “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts in man”. He has taken captivity out of the hand of the enemy; but not that alone, He has received gifts in order that He might confer gifts on man, and gifts are connected with the subduing power which resides in Christ. I trust we all are subdued to Christ, and if so it is [p. 63] through the agency of the gifts. So you get a reference of the gifts here to Israel, for the rebellious also, to what end? That the Lord God may dwell among them. As before said, in Psalm 8 we have the thought of “all things”, the greater things of which the Lord speaks in John 1, all in the heavens and the earth put under the Son of man according to the divine will; then we have all the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in Christ bodily; then the true Ark of the covenant by whom God will effectuate everything; now we get here the subjugating power, the Spirit, which Christ has received in order that He may confer it on man, so that men may be subdued to Himself. When here on earth Christ subdued by the influence He exercised; now He subdues by the Spirit. So in the world to come, the Lord God will dwell in the universe because all is subdued to Christ, and the Spirit is the power for that.
Now pass on to a psalm in the third book, Psalm 78: 67 - 72. The importance of this passage may not be seen at first sight, it is in that you get the ark of the covenant identified with Mount Zion. Nothing can be more vitally important than that. We read in Hebrews 12, “Ye are come unto mount Zion”. This refers to what took place in connection with David. One thing which David did was to bring the ark to Mount Zion. God had allowed the ark to be taken by the Philistines, Israel’s glory was delivered into the enemy’s hands, it was a dark day for Israel. “Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation”. The widows died too — it was a day of death and darkness; the priesthood had entirely failed; Eli died, the ark was taken, and every link with God broken. It pointed on to that which really took place in the crucifixion of Christ; every link with God, so to speak, was broken by the crucifixion of Christ, but [p. 64] God was behind all. He gave the enemies no peace. Mount Zion represents a most important principle connected with the ark of the covenant that “His mercy endureth for ever”. It is the principle of the sovereignty of mercy. I look upon Mount Zion as representing a risen Christ. Men lost Christ and everything connected with Him when they crucified Him, but God gave Christ back in resurrection in the virtue of redemption. I believe that to be the most important principle in connection with the ark of the covenant, and it is the way by which we come in. Christ is the true Ark, the law of God is within His heart, and He has subjugating power; but a door must be opened for man, and God has opened that door for man by Mount Zion. Hence “the grace of God which bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men”, Jew or Gentile.
We pass on now to Psalm 101: 1 - 8; also Psalm 102: 23 - 28. In Psalm 101 I take it we have Christ, as the true David, coming into David’s house and David’s city. Having established the principle of Mount Zion, Christ comes in to take possession, and, as a principle of God’s government, lawlessness will not be tolerated. He takes away the sin of the world. The psalm brings before us the principles of His government. He has loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore He is anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows. When He comes into David’s city there is no longer the toleration of wickedness or slander. Then in Psalm 102 we have, at the close, the recognition of the suffering and humiliated One as being essentially God. He is “the same”. This is a remarkable expression employed in Scripture; everything else may pass away. The heavens may be rolled up, and the earth pass away; but He is the same, and His years have no end.
I refer to two psalms in the fifth book; Psalm 110: 1 - 4,
[p. 65] and in that connection Psalm 118: 26. I was alluding last time to a very important point for us, that is, that in Christ the priest has touched the ark of the covenant, a thing that was entirely impossible in the days of Israel. The high priest would not have dared for a moment to touch the ark of the covenant. But Christ is not only the ark of the covenant, He is the priest, after the order of Melchisedec, who has entered in. I want you to apprehend the force of that morally, approach is equal to revelation. In the mercy seat we get the revelation of God’s disposition, and approach is equal to that because the priest is as great as the ark. Jehovah has said to David’s Lord, “Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalm 110: 1). There it is He is saluted as priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Believers are, by the Spirit, kindred to the High Priest. “Through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father”.
All closes in the great climax, which is the coming of Christ, and His being received with acclamation in the very place where He was rejected. In that place they will say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”, and the meaning of that is, to carry out the purpose of God to dwell in all. That is the reason for which Christ comes out, to accomplish and display the universe of bliss, in which God is to dwell, and where all will be blessed according to God. That is the testimony in the Psalms. It was foreshadowed in the tabernacle of the testimony, it is not difficult to see the thought, like a golden thread, running through these books of psalms. What I have said is imperfect enough, but it will give you the idea, and I trust it will tend to establish you in the faith. It is wonderful to see a book written by a great number of persons, in different countries and times, intended for every [p. 66] class of people, for every time, and every part of the world; such a compilation as it is, yet the testimony of God pervading it, and when you know what the testimony of God means, then you have the key to every part of the Scriptures. You can understand the Pentateuch, the Psalms, and the Prophets, “they are they which testify of me”. It is a very poor sketch I have given you, but do not let it pass by, let these things occupy your attention. You have the Bible in your hands, fill up the thought for yourself. But above all, the one thing which I would like to leave on every mind here is, that Christianity is vitality, and access now to God is as perfect as revelation. I have very often said there are two principles which constitute us worshippers: one is purgation, but the fuller qualification for worship is the appreciation of Christ; if it says “through him” it involves the appreciation of Christ. We are kindred to the High Priest and can approach. May God impress all our hearts with the testimony of the Christ.