Psalm 45 Publications

In the blessed visions of Isaiah the prophet, we may meet with a coming Messiah more meek and gentle than all men, who will suffer willingly for the redemption of his people (e.g. Isaiah 50:6; 52:13-53:12); but at the same time, we are given glimpses of this same Messiah as a warrior returning from a great slaughter, his robes stained red with the blood of all the enemies upon whom he had been trampling in his fury (Isaiah 63:1-6). From this portrait of the Christ, we may gather that he is uniquely diverse in his altogether excellent attributes, being both humble and approachable to his people, and yet most terrible in the fierceness of his wrath, which he will pour out against all who are not his own; and as we continue in the histories of Joshua, that great type of the Savior, we may see this latter excellency displayed as well in his own biography: for after he had brought his people into the promised land, meekly and humbly passing before them into the waters which flowed from Adam and symbolized the wrath of God, as a type of the Messiah suffering on the cross; then, he showed what terrible things he had in store for all their enemies, when he brought down the walls of mighty Jericho, and spared no one except Rahab the prostitute, but devoted every man, woman, and child beside to utter destruction by the mouth of his terrible sword. Continue Reading

If, as we have seen, Joshua was a notable type of the Savior primarily because he rose up after Moses, and accomplished what even that great leader of the people had been unable to do; and if the one great act which Moses had been insufficient for was to bring the people of Israel across the Jordan and into the land which God had promised to their fathers to give to them; then we may expect to see very many wonderful and instructive signs and types of the Messiah surrounding the time when the typical savior Joshua actually brought the people of Israel into the promised land of Canaan; and in this expectation, we will not at all be disappointed, when we examine the account before us today with the eyes of faith, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, and hoping by the Spirit to see the great redemption of our Lord and Savior most poignantly displayed before our eyes. Continue Reading

It is implied by the very term “savior” that there is an enemy from which the people need to be delivered: if there were no enemy before whom the children of Israel were unable to stand, then they would have no need of a deliverer, or savior. But furthermore, in order to save a people who are in bondage to an enemy stronger than themselves, it is also necessary that the savior be stronger than this enemy, and able to overcome him. So then, it is manifest that, if one is truly a savior to one people, then he must also be a conqueror and destroyer of another, stronger people, to whom the people of his salvation are in subjection. We have already seen that Joshua, the successor to Moses, was a mighty savior of the people, and that he prefigured thereby the great and coming Savior, Jesus Christ; but now, as we continue through the history of Joshua, we will see that, just as he embarked upon his role of saving some, he entered at the same time upon the complementary role of destroying others. In this, as well, he was acting as a type of Jesus, who in saving his people was utterly destroying their fierce enemy, the devil, who was holding them captive to sin and death (Heb. 2:14-15). Continue Reading

If we were forced to choose one word to sum up the significance of the five books of Moses, we could scarcely find a better than the term “foundational”: first of all, because the Pentateuch is of such vital importance to all biblical revelation that should follow; and second, because it is manifestly incomplete and expectant in its character. Its importance should be obvious: there is nothing in the prophets that may not be found in seminal form somewhere in the Pentateuch, nor may there be found anything absolutely new in all the Old Testament writings beside; and in spite of its common designation as the “New” Testament, there is nothing we may find there, either, that does not hark back to the writings of Moses, and complete and fulfill them all. This is why the long-awaited Savior, Jesus the Messiah, reminded his disciples before he sent them out on their mission, “These are my words that I spoke unto you when I was still with you, that all the things written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me must be fulfilled;” and then he went on to explain, “Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance unto the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations.” Continue Reading

Thus far in our reflection on the types and images of the Savior from the pages of the Old Testament, we have spent much time looking at specific events, persons, and occurrences which foreshadowed the Messiah in some particular way. In this way, the Holy Spirit has uncovered before our eyes of faith many rich and precious gems, multi-faceted and many-splendored tessarae, each one worth mountains of gold and more precious than all the wealth of ten thousand worlds. But here the wonder increases many-fold: not one of these precious truths was designed to stand alone, but each takes on a deeper and richer significance by virtue of its relationship with all the other truths surrounding it. We may therefore compare the types of the Old Testament to the design of a masterful mosaic: each piece is chosen for its intrinsic value and beauty, and so arranged that, by its place in the whole work, it functions together with the other pieces to bring out a brilliant scene to the eyes of him who steps back but a few paces, and observes the entire display at once. So, throughout the history of redemption, we meet with many types of Jesus the Redeemer; but when we scan redemptive history from beginning to end, we find that these many, various types work together to form one great type. The stories of God’s works are so many types; and the history of his epoch-work brings those types together into one vast picture. The stories of various persons of God are types, and the story of the people of God is the great type which overshadows the whole, and brings all of God’s redemptive mercies into one mighty redemptive history, which is the display of the character of God, and hence the shadow of the lovely face of Jesus our Savior, in whom God’s glory finds its final expression (2 Corinthians 4:6; John 1:14,18). Continue Reading

We have already noted the marvelous events surrounding the beginning of Elisha’s ministry, how he received the Spirit of Elijah and began to do mighty works, taking away the bitterness of death from the waters of the land, and calling down judgment upon the enemies of God. Now, as we examine the remaining accounts of his life, we may see foreshadowed in many other mighty ways the gospel-truths of the Kingdom of Christ. Let us turn to these accounts now with a hunger to know our Redeemer, and with a prayer for that same Spirit of God to open our eyes to the riches of his eternal word. Continue Reading

Of the Messiah in each of his three offices (that is, his offices of prophet, priest, and king), we encounter in the Old Testament scriptures certain types and foreshadows that stand out from all the others by virtue of the clarity and pre-eminence with which they signify the coming Savior, over and above every other example of their kind. Thus, although the persons and activities of all of the Aaronic priesthood prefigured, in some way, the person and work of Jesus Christ, yet it was the sole priest Melchizedek who served as the ultimate type and example of our great High Priest (see Genesis 14:17-20; Hebrews 6:20-7:28). Although the entire line of Davidic kings looked ahead to the reigning Jesus, it was the golden age under David and Solomon, and most specifically, the lifetime of David himself, in which we find the most notable expressions of Jesus’ life and victory. And, although every true prophet of the Lord called to mind the infallible words and teachings of Jesus, he was pre-eminently to be a prophet “like unto [Moses]” (Deuteronomy 18:15), who spoke with God face-to-face, brought the holy Law of God to the people, and interceded for them with earnestness and effectiveness. Continue Reading

David therefore departed from there, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. – 1 Samuel 22:1-2

Abide with me, fear not: for he that seeks my life seeks your life: but with me you shall be in safeguard.– 1 Samuel 22:23

There can be no doubt that the most outstanding type of the Messiah in all the Old Testament scriptures is King David. At every point in the detailed history of his life, we see shadows of the promised Christ, who would likewise come as a Shepherd and a King, strike an irreversible blow against the great champion of the enemy of God’s people, be despised by his brothers and his kindred; and yet finally win for his people a great victory, make them into a great nation, and reign over them as their true King and Deliverer. And even beyond these striking histories, we encounter in David’s psalms some of the clearest and most poignant descriptions of the trials, temptations, and victories that Christ himself should undergo in his great work of redemption – psalms such as twenty-two, forty, and a great many more like them. Moreover, it was promised to David alone that the One who should reign forever would come from his loins, and sit upon his throne (2 Samuel 7:12-16). For all of these reasons, the title “Son of David” was the preferred title for Christ, when he walked upon the earth (e.g. Matthew 1:1; Matthew12:23; Matthew 21:15-16); and in the prophets, we have the singular example of the Christ being referred to simply as “David,” so compelling and thoroughgoing was the typology (Ezekiel 37:24-25). Continue Reading

In all the sacred histories of the nation of Israel, the reader who loves Christ and is taught by the Spirit is everywhere confronted with beautiful images, types, and foreshadows of the coming Messiah’s person and work. This sacred history as typical history no doubt reaches its peak in the golden era of David and Solomon; but even after their rich and fruitful reigns, there follows much history which is well-suited to instruct one in the gospel-truths of Christ. Perhaps this instructive quality finds its deepest expression in the person and reign of Hezekiah, a notable type of the Redeemer. And of the many ways in which his qualities and actions tend to signify the Savior who would come from his line, the most striking is certainly his re-institution of the Passover; which is the occurrence to which we hope to devote the majority of our time. God, open our eyes! Continue Reading

I have long desired to facilitate the spread of a more fundamentally Christian reading of the Old Testament. As Jesus himself said, the Old Testament scriptures are “they which testify of me” (John 5:39). In the pursuit of this goal, it has been an intention of mine, as soon as I had continued my series of “Images of the Savior” throughout the gospels, to proceed through the entire course of the Old Testament. However, crass reality has forced me to acknowledge that the series through the gospels alone may take a very long time, such as I may not even have left upon this earth. Hence, I have decided, for the present, to leave off where I am in the gospels, and to attempt the same approach at various points in the Old Testament – not from the beginning, at the account of creation, as I had before imagined, but randomly, as the Spirit opens my eyes to Christ from various accounts. The following is the first of these essays, this one from the book of Esther. God grant that this brief meditation, as well as all which should follow, may serve to deepen, if only a little, the reader’s knowledge of and love for Christ our Savior. Continue Reading