The Psalter’s characterization of the suffering and victorious king is somewhat equivocal and, thus, challenging to interpret. In several psalms, the main character declares his great guilt, yet in the same or other psalms he describes himself as righteous, innocent of any wrongdoing. The king’s regular admissions of both guilt and innocence present a challenge to every interpreter. Those who claim the poetic texts directly relate to David must explain how he can claim God has rescued or ought to deliver him on the basis of his righteousness. Those who assert the poetic texts directly relate to the sinless eschatological king must explain how the figure can speak of his own guilt. This paper presents seven reasons the psalms speaking of the sinfulness of the king plausibly apply to Jesus Christ. None of the reasons presented prove the “I am a sinner psalms” relate to Jesus, yet all the reasons demonstrate the plausibility of such a connection.
First, the author aims for the type of accuracy associated with poetry rather than the accuracy demanded in a different type of text. This argument features several examples, including one example connected to discipline for sin, demonstrating that David the author aimed not for “technical accuracy” but for “poetic accuracy.” This section suggests the impropriety of allowing David to meet the standards of “poetic accuracy,” while demanding “technical accuracy” of the eschatological Christ.
Second, solutions presented regarding David in this matter also apply to the eschatological king. Scholars regularly connect certain statements in individual psalms to David, even though those statements do not correspond to David’s life in general. Scholars sometimes connect these statements to David because, they insist, they were true of David at a particular moment. This same argument conceivably applies to the eschatological king. He may be called guilty not because it describes his condition in general but because this description truly fits a particular moment in time. The NT’s use of the Psalter supports this conclusion.
Third, individual psalms speaking of the king’s innocence and guilt at the same time most naturally correspond to the life history of only one person. The history of Jesus recorded in the Gospels demonstrates no exegetical maneuvering is required to apply to him the psalms speaking of the king’s simultaneous guilt and innocence.
Fourth, close context suggests the repentance and consequent deliverance of the king from his sin relates to the salvation of Israel. The psalms focusing upon the sinfulness of the king often include a focus upon a great multitude of people rejoicing in their salvation. These texts possibly signal the king’s deliverance vitally connects to the deliverance and subsequent joy of these people.
Fifth, the Psalms portrays the suffering and victorious royal figure as a Deuteronomy 17 type of king. The king’s confessions of guilt, if they are tied to love for Yahweh and for his people (as the NT indicates), plausibly emphasize his perfect obedience to Yahweh and his impeccable obedience to the laws laid down for the king in Deuteronomy.
Sixth, the NT authors apply to Jesus several psalms in which the king proclaims his guilt. Features of these psalms and interpretive patterns in the NT suggest these authors connect the psalm in its entirety to Jesus.
Seventh, the NT authors connect Jesus to sin and repentance. This section offers two examples demonstrating the NT authors, despite Jesus’s sinless nature, do connect him to sin and curse.
These seven arguments demonstrate that psalms can speak of the sinfulness of the king and still plausibly refer to the eschatological king. The paper concludes with a consideration of the benefits acceptance of this view has for the church.