Psalm 110

Intro:

Our family had the opportunity to go to the mountains this past week

It’s one of my most favorite places to visit

Something about sitting out on the porch in the mornings drinking coffee overlooking mountains is just breath taking

Maybe it’s because I’m a florida boy and any change of elevation is a big deal but I love it

It was raining a lot and overcast and there are times when you’re driving and just sitting looking over the mountains where it’s really foggy and kinda dark

And you can kind of barely make out what you’re really looking at

You can see the outline and because I know I’m in the mountains I know that’s what I’m looking at

But none of the details are clear until the sun comes out and the fog clears

And what was once a shadow now becomes this amazing beautiful masterpiece

You can see all the trees and rocks, the tip of the mountains and the valley

Everything becomes clear

In our Psalm today, David is going to tell of a Messiah to come

He is going to describe Him and tell of what he will be like

And there have been others before Him that have paved the way but they were merely a shadow of the real thing

For when this Messiah comes, when the fog clears, and you really set your eyes on Him, you will see clearly what was once in darkness

Psalm 110 NIV

Of David. A psalm. 1 The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 2 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!” 3 Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb. 4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” 5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. 7 He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high.

pray

Psalm 110 is the most quoted Psalm in the NT

Verse 1 appears 25 times

Verse 4 appears 5 times

The author David plays the role of a poetic prophet casting vision to the coming Messiah.

One of the most powerful uses of this Psalm in the NT happens in all 3 gospels but we will look at Matt 22:42-46 where Jesus is confronted with the Pharisees

And he uses this psalm to turn the tables on them

Matthew 22:42–46 NIV

42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, 44 “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’ 45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

So, just in this one instance, by using Psalm 110 Jesus affirms Davidic authorship, affirms the inspiration of the HS in Scripture, and makes clear that the Messiah, although a human descendant of David, would be more than just a man.

So, let’s make no mistake this morning:

Psalm 110 is a purely messianic, prophetic psalm with Yahweh as the speaker

The language and themes are so exalted and magnificent they could not apply to any mere human

Many a men have marveled at the beauty of this Psalm

Allen Ross has said “Psalm 110 is one of the most fascinating psalms in the entire collection”

Luther was so taken by it he wrote 120 pages of commentary on it.

James Boice sums it up this way

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 101–150 The Great King-Priest of Psalm 110

Psalm 110 is entirely about a divine King who has been installed at the right hand of God in heaven and who is presently engaged in extending his spiritual rule throughout the whole earth. It tells us that this divine Messiah is also a priest, performing priestly functions, and that additionally he is a judge who at the end of time will execute a final judgment on the nations and rulers of this earth. (Psalms 107–150, 892–93)

The psalm naturally and easily divides into two sections,

The pattern in both are the same: a promise and a result

Section one focuses on the kingship of the messiah. A great king

Section two exalts the messiah as a great priest after the order of the mysterious Melchizedek

So, crowned as king in vs 1-3, consecrated as priest in vs 4-7

So, let’s break those two sections down with king and priest at the forefront of our minds

Section one sings of Yahweh and his chosen king.

It may kind of read a little strange so if you read this and were a little confused at what’s going on you’re not alone

It’s a little strange because although David is writing, it’s not him speaking

David overhears a heavenly conversation between the Lord (Yahweh) and David’s Lord (adonai), between the Father and his Messiah Son

And we see the Father make three promises to his Son:

Vs 1: I will defeat your enemies

Vs: 2: I will extend your kingdom

Vs 3: I will give you a great army

As noted earlier, verse 1 in particular plays a significant role in the NT. because it makes plain Jesus’s identity as the Messiah.

We see Jesus himself cite this verse to prove that the Messiah is more than a mere physical descendant of David.

Peter quotes it on the day of Pentecost to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah-Lord.

The writer of Hebrews quotes it to argue that the Messiah is greater than the angels.

NT writers cite the verse in order to show that since Jesus’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, he is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven

There are many other hyperlinks used here for different reasons but one specifically significant to the author himself, David, is that in this Psalm God clarifies and makes plain just how he will fulfill his great promise to David in 2 Sam 7. That he would establish the throne of his kingdom forever through David’s son

Patrick Reardon asks this concerning Psalm 110’s opening phrase:

In all the Psalter, is there a line more precious and beloved than this?

In this one statement we see that Yahweh and Adonai, that Father and Son stand as one against those who are enemies of both!

So, to oppose God’s King-Priest is to oppose God himself

This Messiah is placed at the right hand of God, a place of honor, authority, and power

God grants the Messiah-King his power and authority because of who he is (king) and what he does (priest)

His enemies will become a footstool which is a symbol of complete and total victory

NT writers apply this specific promise to the risen Christ no less than seven times

In vs 2 He is empowered by the Lord

Men may reject Jesus as Lord, but in doing so they oppose God himself.

And the world’s evaluation of this King-Priest is turned on its head by heaven

The Scepter is a symbol of the king’s domination, strength, power, and authority.

It extends from Zion, but it does not stop until all his enemies are his footstool and he rules in their midst!

The verb rule here is imperative: meaning the Messiah WILL sit with his feet on his enemies necks, and He WILL rule as king

Vs 3 affirms that Jesus will have volunteers who freely join him in the day of battle

Cheerfully and promptly they will obey the messiah’s commands

These volunteers have realized his greatness and acknowledge his superiority.

They gladly surrender everything to anything he would ask

Nothing is too great for them to do or to give for this King.

And holy splendor is their reward

a kingdom of priests who share in his reign and service

Walter Chantry writes a warning when considering verses 1-3

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 101–150 He Is Empowered by the Lord (110:2–3)

Anyone who has caught a glimpse of the heavenly splendor and sovereign might of Christ would do well to imitate the saints of ages past. It is only appropriate to worship him with deep reverence. You may pour out great love in recognition of your personal relationship with him. He is your Lord. You are his and he is yours. However, you are not pals. He is Lord and Master. You are servant and disciple. He is infinitely above you in the scale of being. His throne holds sway over you for your present life and for assigning your eternal reward. A king is to be honored, confessed, obeyed and worshiped. (Praises for the King of Kings, 59)

Section 2: Messiah King in section 1 and now Messiah Priest in section 2 but there is a distinction that needs to be made

The union of those 2 offices (king and priest) never actualizes in the OT era.

It is prophesied of and anticipated but never fulfilled in the OT

These 2 roles were completely separate in the OT

But, the coming Messiah will have both of these roles

The one who rules God’s people and the one who intercedes between God and man will be the same person!

When you drive in Florida, normally every road you get on is fairly straight, right.

You want to get from point A to B, the road does that in the least amount of miles as possible

This week, driving in the mountains the roads aren’t like that, you can’t drive through the middle of a mountain so easily so you take a lot of winding roads

And there were times where we would be riding and we would have to make a real big turn around the mountain

And almost without fail, a kid in the back would yell out, “why are we turning around.”

And we would have to explain, we aren’t turning around, we just have to turn back a little to continue going forward

Well here in verse 4 there is an unexpected twist made.

And if you weren’t really paying attention you might think David has taken a wrong turn.

To unite the office of king and priest was not even on the Hebrew radar screen

So, how can you even make that turn, how can you even make that statement

Well, David uses an example of a man named Melchizedek who was also a King-Priest from Salem (jerusalem before it was Jerusalem) mentioned in Gen 14:18-20.

He kind of appears out of nowhere and then is gone in a flash.

He’s only ever mentioned 3 times in the Bible (Gen 14, Psalm 110, and Hebrews.)

A more perfect type of Christ is found nowhere else in all of the Bible

So, vs 4 becomes crucial in developing the Christology of the NT.

Here Jesus receives the title of high priest. A title which he did not grasp after but one the author of Hebrews clearly says belongs to him.

Here is why this is important. In the writings of the OT, by being a high priest, specifically after the order of Melchizedek, this Messiah would become mediator and source of salvation for all who believe in him.

So, this means that Psalm 110 is telling us that Jesus is our mediator and source of salvation because He is our high Priest.

And it’s a priesthood unlike any other because of who the priest is and because it is eternal in him and will never end

And the Lord Yahweh makes an oath to the Son where he is promising eternal priesthood. and to reinforce the binding nature of the oath the Lord adds, “I will not change my mind.”

So, this Messiah, (Jesus) would be a priest for all nations, not just Israel.

He would be a king priest, combining the two offices

His reign will be without beginning or end

Then the last 3 verse in this section and chapter transition us from OT and the book of Hebrews into the book of Revelation

Our great high priest is not a wimpy or weak priest

He is a warrior lamb

His sitting at God’s right hand should simultaneously strike terror in his enemies and bring joy to his people

“the day of his wrath” (battle) (power) (anger) tells of the fixed day and time when he will make himself known who who he truly is.

Revelation 6:16-17 calls it the great day of the wrath of the Lamb.

5 affirmations made for what the King-Priest will do to his enemies

“he will crush kings.”

“He will judge nations”

“Heap up the dead” or fill places with dead bodies

“He will crush rulers (leaders) over the entire world”

Lastly, “he will drink from the brook by the road.”

Following his great victory, he is refreshed as he returns to his throne

And “therefore he will lift up his head”

Genesis 3:15 NIV

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Sin enters the world and there are consequences but even then there is a promise of one to come who will crush the head of our enemy

And while the prophecy in Gen fortells of the head of our enemy being crushed by this messiah king priest

The prophecy of Psalm 110 tells of a Messiah King Priest who will assert total and complete domination upon his enemies and when the dust settles, that day comes and goes, he will lift His head

He will be victorious, and his kingdom will go on forever and ever, along with His priesthood of people

So, what do we do?

I want to make this simple and clear this morning.

You have 2 options: sit with him as children of God or be crushed under his feet

Be a part of this royal priesthood or be an enemy of God

For there is no middle ground

There is no, I’ll sit on the outskirts and love and follow Jesus when it’s convenient but then serve myself when that’s what I desire

So you must choose this day, who do you serve?

You are not worthy to serve, only a King is

You cannot save yourself, only a high priest can

And luckily for you and for me, it’s the same person

So on this day, make your choice: child or enemy? for those are your only options