It’s hard to imagine Christmas
without the classic carols that begin taking over the airwaves soon after
Thanksgiving. Each of us has our personal favorites—both secular and sacred. “Carol
of the Bells” gets me in the Christmas spirt as does “You’re a Mean One Mr.
Grinch,” “O Holy Night,” and “Sweet Little Jesus Boy.”
Recently, the wildly popular
music-streaming service Spotify released a list of the top 25 most
popular Christmas songs that users from all over the world requested. You can
see the whole list here, but you may be surprised what songs made the
top of the list. Mariah Carey’s 1994 chart-topper “All I Want for Christmas Is
You” took the #1 spot. Followed by the 1984 hit “Last Christmas” by British pop-stars
Wham! and “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grand. Also in the top 10 were Michael Bublé’s
rendition of “It’s Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas,” “Mistletoe” by Justin
Bieber, and Brenda Lee’s toe-tapper, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
Did any of those make your
playlist? As I looked over that list, the thought occurred to me that not one
of those songs mentioned anything about the Christ child, the Nativity or the
Biblical reason for the season. It just goes to show how the secularization of
Christmas is nearly complete. According to recent research done by Pew, today
less than half of Americans (46%) say they celebrate Christmas as a religious
holiday.[2] I am
reminded of a quote from a Scottish preacher of yesteryear named Alexander
Fletcher who understood the power of music to shape people’s thinking, “Let me
write the songs of a nation—I don’t care who writes its laws.”
The world and the Enemy have
done its dirty work of gradually taking Christ out of Christmas. However, there
are a few songs that our Adversary has not been able to corrupt yet. The Psalms
are known as “The Hebrew Hymnbook.” David, Moses, Asaph and a host of other
writers penned these ancient poems, which were meant to be sung to the Lord and
accompanied by music.
Many of the Psalms were prophetic,
meaning that the symbols and lyrics pointed forward to Christ hundreds of years
before His coming. A few years ago, I compiled a list of these “Messianic Psalms”
and come up with at least 16 that prefigured some aspect of Christ’s ministry. Of
course, there could be more that I missed. One discovery that emerged in that
study was how a few of these Psalms picture the Christmas message in surprising
ways.
If you are looking for a
unique angle on the Christmas message, then check out these three psalms and
how they previewed the coming Messiah.
1.
Christ the
Son and His Incarnation
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he
said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you
prepared for me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no
pleasure. 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is
written of me in the scroll of the book.’” Psalm 40:6-8 as quoted in Hebrews
10:5-7
Psalm 40 was written by
David during a time of adversity and great trouble. Whether it was penned while
David was running from the wrath of Saul or Absalom, we cannot be certain.
Either way, David was grateful for God’s delivering hand out the danger that threatened
his life.
In the middle of David’s
declaration of praise, he made a prophetic statement of double fulfillment;
meaning that it not only applied to his current situation, but looked forward
to Christ. A careful student will notice that the writer of Hebrews quotes
David’s words from Psalm 40:6-8 in chapter 10 of his book.
David had spoken it 1,000 years earlier, but Christ in heaven took it so as to
describe His inner dialogue when He came into this world.
The pre-incarnate Son
quoted Psalm 40 as being descriptive of His thoughts when the moment had
finally arrived for Him to take on the limitations of a human body. David
Jeremiah added this insight, “The Psalmist reports a conversation between the
Father and Son where salvation is discussed. I can almost picture Christ
standing on the threshold of this Earth, about to leave heaven’s glories for Mary’s
womb and His humble birth in Bethlehem saying, “Father I am willing to do Your
will. I am ready to take on the body that you have chosen for Me.”
And so, the Creator assumed
a body as one of His creatures. God had an umbilical cord and suckled from a teenage girl. He who was from eternity stepped into time. From the cradle He
moved everyday inexorably towards the Cross. If you ever wondered what Christmas
meant to Christ, then there’s an amazing clue. Jesus came, not as a reluctant
sacrifice pulled at the end of a tether, but as a willing offering to make the
ultimate atonement for sin.
2.
Christ the
Sovereign and His Coronation
7 The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have
begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the
ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and
dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
Psalm 2:7-9
Psalm 2 is a royal song,
also attributed to David by the apostles (Acts 4:24-26). Many believe that this
psalm was recited at David’s coronation when he finally assumed the crown to
rule over Israel. In this psalm we see how the pagan nations scoff and threaten
to overthrow God’s chosen King. Yet the Lord laughs at man’s pride because His king
will never be dethroned.
Of course, this Psalm is
also prophetic of Christ’s coming. There have always been rulers of the earth
taking counsel together against the Lord and His plan. King Herod did it
shortly after the first Christmas by trying to kill the Christ child in a
murderous purge of all Bethlehem’s young boys (Matt. 2). Yet it was Herod whose
kingdom crumbled while Christ lives forevermore.
Like Psalm 40, this psalm
is a conversation within the Trinity as the Father and Son dialogue. In the
middle of this psalm we see a subtle hint at Christmas, especially in verse 7, “today
I have begotten you.” This makes us think of John 3:16 where Jesus echoes a
similar thought, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son . . .” Christ is the unique, one-of-a-kind, Son of God. Jesus isn’t
begotten in the sense that He began at a moment in time, but that He and the
Father have the same essence—eternality, omnipotence, omniscience, etc.
Then notice that the Son is
promised an inheritance upon His coronation—that He would rule over the nations
of the earth. There were several allusions to Jesus' kingship in the Christmas story.
The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that the child growing in her belly would sit
on “…the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob
forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). When the wise
men showed up at Herod’s palace they asked, “Where is he who has been born king
of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him”
(Matt. 2:2). And one of the gifts the magi presented to the Christ child was
gold, symbolic of His claim to sovereign royalty (Matt. 2:12).
Of course, this psalm was
not totally fulfilled at Jesus first coming. He never sat on David’s throne and
never ruled over the nations. He was crowed, but only in mockery with sharp thorns.
This psalm will be fulfilled upon Christ’s second coming when He establishes
His reign on the earth. The question is—do you recognize His kingship? We
didn’t elect Him, and friend, we’ll certainly not impeach Him. You cannot just
tip your hat to Jesus, you must bow your knee—and you will choose how, as either
a willing servant or a conquered foe (Phil. 2:9-11).
3.
Christ the
Savior and His Exaltation
4 Make a joyful noise
to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! 5
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! 6
With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King,
the Lord! Psalm 98:4-6
Psalm 98 is one of many
songs that expresses praise and joy for the Lord’s salvation and promised
judgment. Upon a first read, you would not see any connection to Christmas at
all.
The story goes that a
young Isaac Watts (1675-1748) was challenged by his
pastor father to write a hymn, because Isaac was profoundly bored with the
church music of his time. Instead of feeling defeated, Isaac took up his father’s
challenge. Isaac Watts looked to the Scriptures for inspiration and came upon
Psalm 98. After a few days work, Watts penned the words to what would become
one of the most beloved Christmas hymns of all time—Joy to the World.
Indeed, we see the theme
of joy present in the Christmas story. Mary broke out in a praise-filled song
called “The Magnificat” after she learned from the angel that she would bear
the Son of God (Luke 1:46-56). On the night of Jesus’ birth, the angels broke
out in joyful praise over the Bethlehem skies as bewildered shepherds watched
(Luke 2:13-14). Don’t forget Simeon at the Temple when he shouted for joy upon
finally cradling the Messiah in his arms (Luke 2:27-32).
But here’s the interesting
thing about Joy to the World and Psalm 98. If you notice the lyrics of
the carol, you will see nothing about shepherds, a manger, wise men, angels, or
any other element that we normally associate with the Christmas story. The
reason is that Isaac Watts did not write Joy to the World specifically to
be a Christmas song. Watts correctly recognized that Psalm 98 actually pointed
forward to the universal jubilation which would break out as a result of Christ’s
second coming and Millennial Kingdom! Perhaps, we will sing this hymn one day
in the Millennial Kingdom and every word of it will be literally fulfilled
before our eyes.
Until then we can carry
the joy of Christmas in our hearts every day, knowing that Immanuel has come
and is coming again! -DM
