Psalms that prophetically point to the coming Messiah — either directly (as predictive prophecy) or typologically (through the life of David or another figure who foreshadows the Anointed One). Major messianic psalms: Psalm 2 (the installed Son who will rule the nations), Psalm 16 (resurrection: "you will not abandon my soul to Sheol"), Psalm 22 (crucifixion: "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"), Psalm 45 (royal wedding song), Psalm 72 (Solomonic psalm fulfilled ultimately in Messiah), Psalm 89 (Davidic covenant), Psalm 110 (priest-king after order of Melchizedek), Psalm 118 (the stone the builders rejected), Psalm 132 (David's oath).
The Messianic Psalms are the NT's most-quoted OT texts. Peter preaches Psalm 16 at Pentecost (Acts 2:25-28); Hebrews builds multiple arguments from Psalms 2, 110, and 40 (Hebrews 1-2, 5-10); Jesus Himself identifies Psalm 110 as pointing to Him (Matthew 22:41-46). Several observations. (1) Jesus read the Psalms as about Himself. Luke 24:44 — "everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." The Psalms testify of Christ. (2) Psalm 22 at the cross. Jesus' cry from the cross — "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46) — quoted the first verse of Psalm 22, a deliberate signal to onlookers that what they were witnessing fulfilled that psalm. The psalm's detailed description of crucifixion ("they pierced my hands and feet," 22:16; "they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots," 22:18) was written a thousand years before crucifixion existed as a form of execution. (3) Psalm 110 — most-quoted OT chapter in the NT. "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'" The dual-Lord language (Yahweh addressing the Messiah as Adonai) establishes the Messiah as divine. (4) Christians read the Psalms Christologically. The ancient Church Fathers universally read the Psalter through the lens of Christ. The Reformed tradition agrees: Christ is the true David, the true righteous sufferer, the true King-Priest. His voice can be heard singing through the whole Psalter.