Summery
When one reads the book The Messiah and the Psalms: Preaching Christ from All the Psalms,
by Richard P. Belcher one can find that the understanding and view that Belcher takes is a
Christocentrism view on the Psalms. The beautiful understanding and what others will learn
when reading the text is the comparison on the Psalms in the New Testament alongside the world
we are in today. Belcher helps the reader learn for the first time or continue learning how the
book of Psalms is connected through Christ through the many different genres such as: thanks-
giving, wisdom, lament, imprecatory psalms, and Hymns. Psalms help one see Christ at the cen-
ter according to Belcher, “If one accepts the New Testament witness that Jesus is equal to the Fa-
ther, and therefore is God, then whenever the Psalms speak of God, or use the covenant name
Yahweh, they also speak of the person of Christ.”1 When one learns and grows with the knowl-
edge of Christ and what the true meaning of the Psalms mean one can see for themselves that the
sight of each Psalm no matter what genre the Psalm displays is pointing the reader back to Christ
and to show as Christ in the Trinity as Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. The beautiful read-
ings of the Psalms show that Christ is for us and wants what is best for us each and every day of
our lives.
Strengths/Weaknesses
With each beautiful word that is spoken in the text of the book by Belcher we still find
strength and weaknesses that come across the reading. When we as the reader looks across the
strength of Belcher and his writing and understanding of the Psalms one can one can see that
Belcher shows his thought of the Psalms and the idea of the writing. He states, “The basic thesis
of this book is that all the psalms have a relationship to the person and/or work of Christ, not just
1Richard P. Belcher Jr., The Messiah and the Psalms: Preaching Christ from All the Psalms (Ross-shire,
Scotland: Mentor, 2006), 34.
1
the traditional Messianic psalms. The goal is not to find Christ in every verse, but to understand
how the major concepts and ideas in the Old Testament are foundational for understanding the
person and work of Christ.”2 The understanding of the scriptures shows the Christ is in and out
through the words. Christ shows whether we as the reader want to see it or not He is there and
helping others walk through life here and now. When it comes mentioning Belcher’s I would
mention that I would have liked to have read Belcher’s understanding and thoughts more than
the others. The text struggled at times to let Belcher’s voice be seen and heard, the voices that
were heard the most were the scholars that were chosen for the book by Belcher. According to
Belcher, “mentions that the whole multitude of the disciples praised God with a loud voice for all
the mighty works they had seen.”3 As Christians we are all called to a voice to what we believe
as Christ calls us to use our voice for good and not evil. When all voices are heard rather than
just a few voices we as a community can understand and help and learn from each other and
grow with and through Christ.
Psalm 45
Psalm 45 is a understanding of celebration, to celebrate a wedding. The full knowledge of
this text is according to, “It is a song of praise in honour of a young king and his consort, a
princess ofTyre (v. 12), which was composed and recited by a court poet on the occasion of the
ruler's wedding. Presumably the song was dedicated to a king of the northern kingdom; this view
is perhaps also suggested by some phrases in the psalm which are peculiar from the linguistic
point of view.”4 Many scholars mention that this particular Psalm since it does not mention
names, that different scholars have mentioned that there can be different kings and wives talked
2Ibid.,7.
3Ibid.,191.
4Weiser, Artur.DPsalms-OTL : A Commentary, Westminster John Knox Press, 1962.ProQuest Ebook
Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=3416836.
2
about. On this passage teaching on the bride of Christ is extremely important and needed. Ac-
cording to Weiser, “Psalter. Following the Messianic conception of late Judaism the New Testa-
ment, too, has applied the psalm's statements to Christ (Heb. 1.8 f.), and the ancient Church con-
sidered the relationship between Christ and the Church to be reflected in the relations between
the bridegroom and the bride as they are depicted here.”5 With this meaning of believers of
Christ who will be reunited with Christ in heaven and one day will be together and have the
grand feast. Psalm 45 shows the importance of Christ and how to love and care for our loved
ones and the church through love, grace, justice, redemption, fellowship, honor, and joy.
Through these qualities show light how we need to treat ourselves, others, and our relationship
with God. When we lead with these qualities in our life we have a more understanding of the true
meaning of the Gospel and all the characteristics that Jesus portrayed in His life every single day
is what we as Christians need to look to for our lives every single day..
Psalm 22
Psalm 22 is a prayer to God. According to Psalms - Everyday Bible Commentary, “The word
Messiah (Christ) does not occur in Psalm 22, yet no other psalm speaks so specifically of our
Lord Jesus Christ and His passion. The opening phrase was the cry of the Savior while He hung
on the cross. The vile taunt of verse 8 was on the lips of the thoughtless crowd around Calvary.
Three gospel writers cited verse 18 when the soldiers gambled for His robe. And the author of
Hebrews (2:12) quotes verse 22 and applies it to Christ.”6 Many scholars believe the Psalm 22 is
not a messianic psalm, Most scholars say in Psalm 22 that it is about Davids suffering and hard
trials. Psalm 22 is a Psalm of lament of suffering and hardship. According to Psalms : An Intro-
duction and Commentary, InterVarsity Press, “Psalm 22 is a psalm of lament by a person who
5Ibid., 365.
6Alden, Robert L..DPsalms - Everyday Bible Commentary, Moody Publishers, 2019.ProQuest Ebook
Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5719538.
3
does not feel the presence of God (see in the below) midst of should suffering, not distract but us
rather from experiences the fact that fear the in the psalm face is not of persecution by enemies.
The well-known Christological sense of the psalm a prophecy, but rather a lament which may be
a model prayer for worshippers today who can use this psalm to call on God to make himself
present in the midst of pain.”7 From studying Psalm 22 I have come to learn that this Psalm is a
typology because the writing and understanding and background of what Christ would do for His
people in the history of the time to care and love them. According to The Moody Handbook of
Messianic Prophecy : Studies and Expositions of the Messiah in the Old Testament, “Though
many frequently try to understand the OT through the lens of the NT, this study in OT typology
has shown that the OT illuminates the NT and provides a fuller and more meaningful context for
identifying Jesus as the One of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did indeed write.”8
7Longman, III, Tremper.DPsalms : An Introduction and Commentary, InterVarsity Press, 2014.ProQuest
Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=2033987.
8The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy : Studies and Expositions of the Messiah in the Old Tes-
tament, edited by Michael Rydelnik, and Edwin Blum, Moody Publishers, 2019.DProQuest Ebook Central,
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5920378.
4
Bibliography
Alden, Robert L..DPsalms - Everyday Bible Commentary, Moody Publishers, 2019.ProQuest Ebook
Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5719538.
Longman, III, Tremper.DPsalms : An Introduction and Commentary, InterVarsity Press, 2014.ProQuest
Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=2033987.
Richard P. Belcher Jr., The Messiah and the Psalms: Preaching Christ from All the Psalms (Ross-shire,
Scotland: Mentor, 2006)
The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy : Studies and Expositions of the Messiah in the Old Testa-
ment, edited by Michael Rydelnik, and Edwin Blum, Moody Publishers, 2019.DProQuest Ebook
Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5920378.
Weiser, Artur.DPsalms-OTL : A Commentary, Westminster John Knox Press, 1962.ProQuest Ebook
Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=3416836.
5
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
