Seeing & Savoring Christ in the Psalms
Series: Psalms
Speaker: Chris Oswald
Sunday Morning
Date: 8th June 2025
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Luke 24:44-47, “Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
So wherever we are in the bible, our main purpose is to see and savor Christ.
The severity of pain you experience in your next trial will really come down to how precious Jesus is to you.
It would be much better for you if you treasured him before the next trial.
ADVENT
Aseity (complete self-sufficiency, no needs)
Descent (incarnation)
Virtue (his perfect obedience and moral excellence)
Execution (cross)
New Life (resurrection)
Throne (rule and reign)
A = Aseity God is independent of all things. He is perfectly self-sufficient, not depending on anything outside himself for anything, and is therefore the eternal, foundational being, the source of life and sustenance for all other beings. He is self-existent, having life in and of himself (Exodus 3:14; John 5:26), and he existed before all things, and through him alone all things exist (Psalm 90:2; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11). He is the source of everything (Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 45:5–7; 54:16; John 5:26; 1 Corinthians 8:6) and he depends on nothing; all things depend on him (Romans 11:36). He needs nothing, being all-sufficient (Job 22:2–3; Acts 17:25).
John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
Hebrews 1:1-3 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
John - All things were made through him
Hebrews - He upholds the universe by the word of his power.
Colossians 1:15-16 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Aseity in the Psalms
“Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting” (Psalm 93:2)
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2)
“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain” (Psalm 102:25-26)
Psalm 33:4-6, “For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.”
D = Descent
The next letter in our acronym is D for Descent (Incarnation). And it usually connected in the NT to his Aseity. This great God who needed nothing and is over everything took on flesh and walked among us.
John says, “the word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Hebrews says, “God made him a little lower than the angels.”
Philippians 2:6-7 says, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Descent in the Psalms
““The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage’” Psalm 2:7-8
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,” – Psalm 8:3-6
Hebrews 10 tells us that the phrase, “I have come to do your will, O God” from Psalm 40:7-8 is actually Jesus speaking to the Father.
The whole creation, in all its excellency, cannot contribute one mite unto the satisfaction or blessedness of God. He has it all in infinite perfection from himself and in his own nature.How magnificent is the humility of the Son of God in taking on the role of mediator! The divine nature is so perfect and infinitely distant from all creation, and God is so completely self-sufficient in His eternal joy—lacking nothing and needing no addition—that any attention He gives to His creatures is an act of humble condescension from His supreme position. What heart can grasp, or words describe, the glory of the Son’s condescension, when He freely took on our human nature, making it His own, to serve as our mediator and represent us before God? – John Owen (Chris’ Paraphrase)
As Thomas Watson said, “it would be more fitting for God to make all of the angels into worms, than for him to become like a man.”
V = Virtue
Philippians 2:5-8
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient… to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Virtue in the Psalms
Psalm 15, “Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly” (1-2)
Psalm 24:3-4, “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.”
Only Jesus can say Psalm 119:22, “I have kept your testimonies.”
E = Execution
Execution in the Psalms
When you read Psalm 3, “O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” — see Christ first and foremost.
When you read Psalm 6 – “I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.” (6-7), think first and foremost of Christ.
The Great Exchange: How to see Christ in the Psalmist’s sin
Psalm 51, “my sin is ever before me.”
2 Corinthians 5:21, “He who knew no sin became sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Or Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”
“We need righteousness to be acceptable to God. But we don’t have it. What we have is sin. So, God has what we need and don’t deserve — righteousness; and we have what God hates and rejects — sin. What is God’s answer to this situation? His answer is Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died in our place and bore our condemnation. “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he [God] condemned sin in the flesh” Whose flesh bore the condemnation? His. Whose sins were being condemned? Ours. This is the great exchange. – John Piper
N = New Life
New Life in the Psalms
Psalm 3:5-6 – “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.”
The classic resurrection line in the Psalms is Psalm 16:10, “You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption” In the book of Acts, Peter explains to the people that this is a reference to Christ.
Psalm 30:1-3, “I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.”
Psalm 30:5, “weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
T = Throne
Throne in the Psalms
Psalm 110:1, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make all your enemies your footstool.”
Psalm 72:1-11
Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor! May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations! May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth! In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more! May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth! May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!
Psalm 2:6-8, “I have set my King on Zion… Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage” (vv. 6, 8).
How to Handle Zion and other Jewish references
Think of it this way. When the woman at the well asks Jesus, which mountain will we worship God on? This mountain here in Samaria or the one in Jerusalem? Remember what Jesus says, “Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” and then he goes on to say, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” (John 4:21, 23)
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. – Psalm 126:1
May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward! – Psalm 129:5
Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! – Psalm 149:2
So there you have what some theologians call the Christological Arc
He who needed nothing and is above everything, acted out of pure love by becoming a man, living a perfectly righteous life, died as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. His righteousness was so perfect that death could not hold him and so on the third day he was raised. After appearing to many witnesses, he ascended into heaven where he right now rules with perfect authority over the nations. Bringing an end to all his enemies while simultaneously protecting and prospering his people.
