Many Christians, in their everyday practice, think of the book of Psalms as a prayer book or a book of comfort and hope in difficult times. And this is true. But the book of Psalms is so much more: It’s a book of deep theological thought that served Jesus Christ and the apostles as a wellspring of theological support. Several psalms even offer prophetic insights, and many psalms cannot be understood without knowledge of Israel’s history and theological positions. Jesus Himself, in His discussions with Jewish leadership, quotes more passages from the book of Psalms than from any other book in the Old Testament.
More Than Just Songs
Many symbols in the book of Revelation can be understood only with reference to Old Testament passages, particularly the Psalms. The example given in this week’s study compares Revelation 14:1-5 with the Psalms 15 and 24. Who will stand on God’s holy mountain? The passage in Revelation 14 perfectly mirrors the description of God’s people in the two mentioned psalms: The 144,000 on Mount Zion are victorious; their character is flawless.
The description of Jesus Christ as our high priest in the heavenly sanctuary, as given in Hebrews 9:11-15, cannot be truly appreciated without knowledge of the Israelite sanctuary in the wilderness (later in the temple in Jerusalem), with its daily and yearly services. The faithful Israelites had a strong relationship with the sanctuary, as is shown in Psalm 5 and 122. In fact, the sanctuary is referred to at least 20 times in the book of Psalms.
One could speak of many psalms as “eschatological” texts.
Relevancy for the End of Time
In some sense one could speak of many psalms as “eschatological” texts. Only in the eschaton, the end of time and following eternity,canthe promises of blessing, protection, and justice finally be fulfilled. We should not be surprised to find an eschatological verve in many psalms. Even Psalm 23 produces eschatological hope in its last verse: “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6). Human suffering and injustice will really be overcome on the last day, and then only. Until then, God’s faithful people, or remnant, must experience many disappointments and endure much suffering. But God in His sanctuary will bring victory and peace to all who fear Him. “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children” (Ps. 103:17). Thus, the book of Revelation shows in many respects that God will fulfill all His promises given in His Word. The hopes announced in the book of Psalms will be realized on the last day.
God’s Mercy and Our Duty
This mercy mentioned in Psalm 103 is a typical mark of God’s character and being. Moses, in God’s presence on Mount Horeb, wanted to see and understand God. God’s relationship with Moses (Ex. 33:11) was such that that He could not help acting according to Moses’ longing. And while passing by, God declared His “name” into Moses’ ears: “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth” (Ex. 34:6). To truly understand God, we have to keep in mind His readiness to forgive and to pour His mercies over all who fear Him.
What does it mean to “fear God” (Rev. 14:7)? “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (Prov. 8:13). Evil can be hated only by those who are in God. Before our conversion to God, we are His natural enemies (Rom. 5:10), but God’s promise from the very beginning was to change this: He would put enmity between Satan and man (Gen. 3:15)! So God’s merciful goodness and forgiveness is the source of humanity’s friendship to God!
The most important thing to do when we realize that we have sinned is to confess and ask for God’s forgiveness. This is the story of Psalm 51, the expression of David’s repentance after committing adultery and even murder. In this passage David speaks openly about his sin and guilt and asks for divine mercy and forgiveness. After experiencing God’s cleansing, David commits himself to announcing the news of God’s mercies and grace. This should be a natural reaction of the human heart: free again, we must tell all others about the blessings we have found! We are all forgiven; we live by God’s grace and mercy alone! That’s why we all should be messengers of the Lord! Thus, many others may follow our path and find the same experience: true love and happiness in God.
In the end, that’s what the three angels’ messages are all about. Because we have experienced God’s love, His proximity, His help and assurance, we must tell others. Our God-given duty is to warn every soul on Planet Earth and to show everybody the way toward salvation. God’s forgiveness implies our heralding His grace to everyone. The more we are forgiven, the more we love and tell. Jesus Himself explained it: Out of the abundance of the heart our mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).