Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 62:3 (Sep 2019)
Article: The Shape Of Davidic Psalms As Messianic
Author: Peter C. W. Ho

JETS 62:3 (September 2019) p. 515

The Shape Of Davidic Psalms As Messianic

Peter C. W. Ho*

* Peter C. W. Ho is an Assistant Professor of OT at the Singapore Bible College, 9–15 Adam Road. Singapore 289886. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: Systematic theologians have constructed a Christology that is highly based on NT texts, which, interestingly, supports the anachronistic reading sustained by Psalms scholarship over the last two centuries. In contrast, this paper argues for a forward reading that supports the Psalms as intrinsically messianic. Methodologically, I study the Davidic psalms in five collections, giving emphasis to the superscriptions, structural form, and content. My observations show that the Davidic psalms first trace the establishment of the Davidic kingship, followed by his downfall. Then, remarkably, the Davidic characterization shifts to a royal figure, who is blameless, victorious, and juridically condemned. The final Davidic collection reveals a community of people supplicating patiently before the arrival of a blissful and just society. The paper shows that the NT’s understanding of Jesus fulfilling the messianic hopes in the Psalter is a formidable and reasonable interpretation and need not be anachronistic.

Key words: Psalms, Davidic covenant, messianic hopes, Christology, shape, superscriptions, macrostructure, chiasmus, editing, Gerald Wilson

In June 2017, Christianity Today published a report by Caleb Lindgren that laments the lack of use of the OT by systematic theologians.1 This is based on Rick Brannan’s analysis and ranking of the top one hundred references from 830,000 Bible passages in more than three hundred theological works.2 Among the top hundred references, only nine belong to the OT (eight from Genesis, and one from Isaiah). Lindgren rightly asked “whether the OT is necessary for Christian theology, and whether it should be included in systematic theology more often.”

In the same report, Michael Bird, a lecturer of theology at Ridley College, points out the following:

I found it somewhere between interesting and alarming that the Old Testament features relatively sparsely in most systematic theologies. While one might expect New Testament references to dominate, even so I would have anticipated a decent spattering of the Old Testament precisely because the New Testament is

JETS 62:3 (September 2019) p. 516

saturated with Old Testament allusions and citations. I mean, the Psalms—especially 110, You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
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