I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me” (50:15).
That last verse points to another proposition. (6) God has devised a purpose in bestowing His goodness. The psalmists know what will result when God is gracious and giving: “God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him” (67:7). God’s blessing leads also to the joy of His people: “You bless; … Your servant shall be glad” (109:28, NASB); “O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (90:14). Ultimately, our joy results glorifying Him with our praise (for example, 71:22–23).
(7) God has concentrated His goodness in the person and work of the Messianic King. In Psalm 2 God the Father is willing to give a great inheritance to the King (v. 8). We also find God giving to David, the type of the King (18:35). In Psalm 20, which also points from the type to the Messianic King,129 we see a request for God to grant [נתן, nathan] favors (v. 4). Psalm 21 is similar as its description of ultimate victory indicates Christ’s end-time work.130 Here we have an indication of God’s blessings (vv. 3, 6) and of God’s giving (v. 4). In yet another Messianic psalm God’s blessing is upon the King, “fairer than the children of men” (45:2).131 Psalm 72 continues this Messianic trend with God’s blessing of peace: “In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth” (v. 7). It is through the Messiah that God will bless all people (72:17).132
New Testament Echoes
By using Greek equivalents of the six main Hebrew words, the New Testament corroborates the theme of God’s blessing in Psalms. (1) ברך (barak)=εὐλογέω (eulogeō): Paul praises God the Father, “who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). He also says that believers “are blessed with faithful Abraham” (Gal. 3:9). God has called believers to “inherit a blessing [the noun εὐλογία, eulogia]” (1 Pet. 3:9). (2) אַשְׁרֵי (’asherey)=μακάριοϛ (makarios): James declares that “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (1:12). Paul quotes Psalm 32:1 and applies that declaration to Christians: “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” (Rom. 4:7).
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