Theological term
Messianic Psalm
4 sermons · All terms
The Resurrection-Hope of the Righteous One
Psalm 16 is expounded as a Messianic psalm concerning the mind and experience of Christ in his earthly ministry — his earnest petition for divine preservation, his joyful contentment amid sorrow, and his sufficiency rooted in the Father alone. The apostolic witness of Peter in Acts 2 and Paul in Acts 13 establishes that David speaks in this psalm concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, and only secondarily of David and the saints in union with him. The sermon calls believers to follow the pattern of their Savior: praying for preservation, finding sufficiency in God rather than earthly blessings, meditating on Scripture in the night seasons, and navigating trial through a settled confidence in divine providence.
The Suffering and Glory of Christ
Psalm 22 presents the suffering and glory of Christ with a precision and detail that exceeds even the Passion narratives of the four Gospels. The psalm's first half expounds the dereliction Christ endured on the cross — not as a breach of the Trinity or a dissolution of the hypostatic union, but as the penal withdrawal of the Father's sensible favor while the Son bore the curse due to his people's lawbreaking. The second half moves from that suffering to the exaltation of the Redeemer, the adoption of his brethren, the extension of his kingdom to all nations, and the generational advance of his church — all grounded in the finished work of the cross. The sermon calls believers to make much of the Psalms in both private devotion and corporate worship, hearing in them the very voice of Christ.
The Royal Wedding
Psalm 45 presents a royal wedding between the divine King and his bride, the church, composed centuries before the incarnation as a song of love pointing directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. The sermon moves through four sections: the psalmist's overflowing intention, the perfections and divine-human person of the King, the instruction to the bride concerning faith and repentance, and the declaration of the King's eternal glory. Christ is shown to be fairer than all the sons of men, advancing his kingdom through truth, humility, and righteousness rather than deception, while his priestly office — not only his kingly conquest — is pressed upon the hearer as the only ground of hope for sinners. The bride is clothed not in her own righteousness but in the imputed righteousness of Christ, received by faith alone, to be brought with gladness into the King's palace.
The Prayer of the Church
Acts 4:23–31 records the first corporate prayer meeting of the apostolic church, gathered under threat from the Sanhedrin. The sermon traces three movements in the prayer — invocation of God as Creator and sovereign, exposition of Psalm 2 as prophetic preparation for the rage of nations against Christ and His people, and supplication not for the removal of threats but for boldness to preach the Word. The central argument is that a robust theology of creation, scriptural authority, and divine sovereignty is the necessary foundation of faithful prayer, and that the church's primary calling — confirmed by what the early church actually asked of God — is the bold proclamation of the gospel.