Exploring the Connection Between Matthew 19, the Book of Psalms, and Isaiah 19
Exploring the Connection Between Matthew 19, the Book of Psalms, and Isaiah 19
For Bible in Ten – By DH – 19th May 2026
Yesterday we completed Matthew 19. Nineteen according to E W Bullinger is “a combination of 10 and 9, and would denote the perfection of Divine order connected with judgment.”
During our episodes through Matthew 19, we already learned how “..the words of Chapter 19 span all the dispensations of time.” CG . In Matthew 19 Jesus brought judgments which referenced creation, the law, the insufficiency of human merit, faith and grace, and looking forward to the millennial kingdom. As we will see in this bonus episode we can also find these references in Psalms.
Isaiah 19 also adds a sharper prophetic focus. It lends support to the judgment theme. According to BibleHub “It presents a two-fold prophecy against Egypt, revealing not only a looming divine judgment but also an ultimate transformation and redemption. This dual-nature prophecy exemplifies the complexity of God's plans for nations and His sovereignty over all things.”
In Matthew 19 every false confidence is judged: confidence in legal argument, in religious achievement, in wealth, in status, and confidence in the flesh. In the end, the chapter points to Christ alone.
Consider the following seven sections which trace Matthew 19 as a historical sweep: from creation order and marriage, through law and human hardness, into grace, kingdom promise, final judgment, and the believer’s reward before Christ.
- Innocence and Creation
When answering the Pharisees’ question about breaking up marriage, Jesus does not begin His answer with Moses. He goes further back. He goes to creation:
“Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female?”
Psalms has many Creation references too:
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God…” Psalm 19:1
“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made…” Psalm 33:6
“How many are Your works, LORD! In wisdom You have made them all…” Psalm 104:24
To Him who made the heavens with skill,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
6 To Him who spread out the earth above the waters,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
7 To Him who made the great lights,
For His faithfulness is everlasting:
8 The sun to rule by day,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
9 The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His faithfulness is everlasting. Psalm 136:5–9
3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!
5 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created. Psalm 148:3–5
The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains,
The world, and those who live in it.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the rivers. Psalm 24:1–2
You visit the earth and cause it to overflow;
You greatly enrich it;
The stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their grain, for so You prepare the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You settle its ridges,
You soften it with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with fatness.12 The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the hills encircle themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks
And the valleys are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, yes, they sing Psalm 65:9–13
Man was created for ordered life beneath the Lord. Marriage belongs to that created order. It was established by God at the beginning and Psalm 128 references it in verse 3.
“Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house…” Psalm 128:3
- Law and the Hardness of Heart
The Pharisees then press the matter further:
“Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
Jesus answers:
“Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.”
The law could regulate certain consequences of sin, but it could not cure the heart of man. Moses’ allowance was not the original ideal. It was an accommodation because of hardness of heart.
Psalm 1, Psalm 19, and Psalm 119 all uphold the goodness of the law. The law is not evil. The commandments of the Lord are righteous. The word of God is pure, true, and desirable.
But Psalms also makes clear that man himself is the problem.
Psalm 14:3 says:
“They have all turned aside, together they are corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one. ”
Psalm 143 says:
“And do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For no person living is righteous in Your sight.” verse 2.
Psalm 51 gives the heart of the issue. David does not merely need external correction. He cries:
“Create in me a clean heart, God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me..” verse 10.
The law highlights sin in man but cannot correct man’s fallen state.
Psalms illuminates this powerfully. Psalm 49 says:
“None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.”
That is the heart of the matter. Man cannot redeem himself. Wealth cannot ransom the soul. Moral seriousness cannot purchase eternal life.
Psalm 62 warns:
“If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.”
- Grace through Faith
After this, children are brought to Jesus so that He might place His hands on them and pray. Psalm 131 verse 2 says:
“I have certainly soothed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child resting against his mother, My soul within me is like a weaned child.”
That is the spirit of Matthew 19. The kingdom is not entered through self-confident legal achievement, but through humble dependence.
Psalm 8 also says:
“From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have established strength
Because of Your enemies,
To do away with the enemy and the revengeful.”
Jesus later cites this psalm in Matthew 21. The children, the weak, the dependent, and the seemingly insignificant often perceive what a more mature mind misses. The disciples wrongly rebuke the children. Jesus corrects them.
The Lord is near to the humble, the broken, the dependent, and the trusting. The children become a living illustration of the kind of faith that enters the kingdom.
- The Royal and Millennial Hope
Peter then asks what will be given to the disciples, since they have left all and followed Jesus. Jesus answers:
“You who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
This moves Matthew 19 forward to the millennial kingdom.
Psalm 2 presents the Lord’s Anointed as King:
“Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”
Psalm 72 looks forward to the righteous reign of the King, marked by justice, peace, dominion, and blessing.
Psalm 89 recalls the Davidic covenant and the certainty of God’s promises.
Psalm 110 presents the Messiah seated at the right hand of God until His enemies are made His footstool.
Psalm 122 says:
“For thrones are set there for judgment, the thrones of the house of David.”
- The Dispensational Sweep of Matthew 19
The chapter begins with creation order: male and female, marriage, and God’s original design.
It moves to law: Moses, divorce, hardness of heart, and the insufficiency of legal accommodation.
It then displays grace: the children come to Christ with nothing, and Jesus receives them.
It exposes human inability: the rich young ruler cannot obtain life through personal merit, morality, or wealth.
It reveals divine possibility: with man salvation is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
It then looks forward to the millennial kingdom: the apostles will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- Isaiah 19 and The Great White Throne Judgment
At the Great White Throne, all false confidence is finally exposed. Only those who are in Christ have a righteousness that can stand before God.
Isaiah 19 gives a searching picture of Egypt brought under the judgment of the LORD. Egypt’s idols tremble. Her wisdom fails. Her princes become fools. Her counsellors are unable to give true guidance. The nation that once appeared ancient, powerful, wealthy, and secure is shown to be helpless before God.
This is a stark picture of misplaced confidence.
Matthew 19 teaches the same spiritual lesson. Do not trust law-performance, wealth, status, fleshly advantage, religious seriousness, or human ability. With men this is impossible.
The rich young ruler appears clothed in morality, youth, wealth, and religious seriousness. But when Christ presses the true demand of perfection, the man is exposed. His confidence cannot save him. His possessions have his heart. He goes away sorrowful.
He is like Egypt in Isaiah 19. What seemed wise, strong, and secure is brought to nothing before the LORD.
This points forward to the Great White Throne Judgment, where every person outside of Christ will stand fully exposed before God. The books will be opened. No earthly confidence will remain. No religious appearance will cover the soul. No wealth, status, morality, wisdom, or human achievement can answer the demands of divine righteousness.
Isaiah 19 shows the collapse of national confidence before the LORD. Matthew 19 shows the collapse of personal confidence before Christ. The Great White Throne shows the final collapse of every confidence outside of God’s saving righteousness.
- Matthew 19 and the Judgment of the believer
Matthew 19 ends with the judgment:
“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
In the 19th book of the Bible, Psalms repeatedly shows divine reversal. The proud are brought low. The humble are lifted up. The wicked may flourish temporarily, but they do not endure. The righteous may suffer for a time, but they are finally vindicated.
Psalm 37 says the meek shall inherit the earth.
Psalm 73 shows the prosperous brought to nothing.
Psalm 113 says the Lord raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy out of the ash heap.
Psalm 118 speaks of the rejected stone becoming the chief cornerstone.
Isaiah 19 dramatizes the same reversal negatively. Those who seemed powerful and reliable, Egypt and Cush, are exposed in shame. Their apparent strength becomes humiliation.
So Matthew 19 teaches that the judgment of believers will expose the true value of a life. Some things that looked great on earth will be shown to be small. Some sacrifices that looked foolish or unnoticed will be openly rewarded by Christ.
Life Application
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, the question is not, “Are you saved?” No. The believer’s condemnation has already been dealt with in Christ. The question is rather: “How have you as a saved person followed, served, sacrificed, and valued Christ?”
Let us not measure our life only by what we keep now, but by what Christ will count then.
Lord God, thank You that salvation does not rest upon our merit, wealth, strength, or status. Thank You that what is impossible with man is possible with You. Help us come as children, trust in Christ, and await the kingdom You have promised. For your glory! Amen.
