ETB Psalm 110:1-7

Session 6: God’s Messiah - p.51

As about using laptop and making the option for Tom and Randall to participate through video streaming

Opening Paragraph in the book:

We live in a fallen world. Both internationally and locally there is constant poverty, strife, injustice, immorality, bloodshed, war, godlessness, and the never-ending foreboding of an escalation of all these things. It seems as if everything is out of control; but it is not. God is in control. [ETB:PSG Sum'25, p. 51]

Whether our circumstances are caused by the weather, other people, or something unknown, we can do little to change the situation.  Emotions run high when our world seems out of control, and we may be tempted to lose hope [LifeWay Adults (2025). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide, Summer 2025]

Ask: Why is hope important? What can cause a person to lose hope?

As believers, we can derive our hope from an eternal source which can therefore never fail. Rejecting this source of hope as much of the world does or replacing it with an earthly substitute creates despair and frustration when it fails. Leading to others to and speaking about the Messiah like our Psalm today does is one way to guide them to lasting hope.

Understand the Context

The Moody Bible Commentary Psalm 110: Deliverance through the King Messiah

Book Five of the Psalter (107–150) opens with seven psalms, 107–113, that have a clear unit of thought. The seven are linked, and

Psalm 110 fits easily into the category of royal psalms. This psalm provided God’s people with a superlative resource for celebrating the kings of Israel in David’s dynasty. It even may have been used at the coronation services for the kings in David’s line, perhaps beginning with Solomon.

Because of the obvious messianic nuances in the psalm, quotes from it appear often in the New Testament. [There are nearly 30 separate quotes or allusions to the Psalm in the New Testament] The most well-known example involved the ministry of Jesus. As He debated the Jewish leaders regarding the identity of the Messiah, He brought up David’s statement about the one he called “Lord” in Psalm 110:1. The Jewish leaders used the statement only to identify the Messiah as David’s son. However, in Matthew 22:45, Jesus told them that David’s statement verified that he referred to the Messiah as his Lord. [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

Hebrews 7:11-28 has a commentary or explanation of several verses which we will look at as we study our passage.

Explore the Text

Psalm 110:1–3 ESV

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.

The Lord says to my Lord

Your Bible is probably like mine in that the two words for Lord in the first verse are printed slightly different helping us understand that there are different words used in the original texts. In the title of the Psalm, we are told this is a Psalm from David.

How many persons of the God head is David acknowledging or directly identifying?

How many are present in this verse?

Kind of a trick question, because technically all 3 three are always present. But in this instance the Holy Spirit is who enabled David to hear and see the conversation between the Father and the Messiah Son.

Sit at my right hand

Does God the Father have a literal “right hand” for Jesus to sit next to?

This phrasing then tells us that this is symbolic for something else.

What does “right hand of God” symbolize?

Along with power and authority, it can be a place of “primary usefulness.” Ever heard the phrase “my right-hand man?” That is the person the boss turns to in order to get things done. Jesus definitely did that as He perfectly accomplish God’s plan on earth while He as here.

In the New Testament, such an honored place belonged only to Jesus as Messiah (Matt. 26:64; Mark 16:19; Luke 22:69; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 1:3). Equally significant, New Testament writers affirmed that God’s pledge to defeat His Messiah’s enemies also pointed to Jesus (Acts 2:33-34; 1 Cor. 15:25; Heb. 1:13).  [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

Sit...until

I like this conjunction. Jesus will sit waiting right next to the Father “until” it is time to act.

When David was seeing this, Christ had not come to earth yet. The rest of the text describes a time still in our future. This conversation that David saw was sometime after the ascension and before Revelation.

Mark 16:19 “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.”

So today, Jesus continues to sit and advocate for His disciples “until That Day.” He is perfectly patient but is not idle in the meantime.

That is encouraging to me that He can help me wait “until” the time is right because He too has had to wait.

What are some things that you are having to wait for “until” God says it’s time?

May God grant us His perspective and perseverance in the wait.

Your enemies a footstool

More symbolic language as God is not going to create a literal footstool from the enemies. It is within His power, but not His intent. We see the literal end of this group later in the text.

Several texts mention that this word for enemies has military connotations instead of spiritual or moral. This lets us know that it is an earthly conquest being discussed. These are the groups that are overcome by the end of the Psalm. The spiritual victory has already been accomplished because His sitting is a sign of the accomplished task.

How should God’s authority shape the way we approach Him?

We need reminders that without God’s gracious works and in imputing Christ’s righteousness upon us, we would be a part of the footstool instead of the court of witnesses.

Lord sends

The NIV Application Commentary on the Bible Psalm 111:1–10

This poem is not spoken to God by the psalmist; instead, it is a psalm spoken about God to the congregation (111:1). In 111:2 the psalmist introduces the theme: the “works of the LORD” (111:3, 4, 6, and 7)

Yahweh sends, Messiah’s rod.

The Messiah’s enemies would not be able to stand against Him because God would strengthen Him. The word picture of an extended scepter portrayed the reach of God’s absolute power. His Messiah would establish His reign over all people. [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

The scepter or rod imagery reminds me of Aaron and Moses taking the “staff of God” and stretching it out to perform God’s miracles on the land. This time however it is not a physical rod or scepter, but the authority and power of it is definitely real and present.

These next two verses show us that when Christ does come, He will be resisted. So much so that He must be commanded to “Rule” and his people “offer themselves” to accomplish this seizing of earthly sovereignty. His rule begins in the “midst” of His enemies, but it does not stay that way.

In the midst of your enemies

As David reigned over Israel, he had to defend his kingdom against enemies who lived nearby. The neighboring nations often attempted to conquer Israel, but they did not succeed during the reigns of David or his son, Solomon (see 2 Sam. 8:1-14).

However, neighboring nations continued to trouble Israel, especially when God’s people rejected Him and followed false gods. After God’s people were exiled to Babylon, Daniel wrote about a vision of the Messiah and the establishment of His perpetual reign over everyone everywhere (Dan. 7:13-14). Centuries later, John wrote about a vision of Jesus returning, establishing His kingdom, and defeating His enemies (Rev. 19:19-21).  [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

Christ has not return to fulfill this verse yet, but we can still see that the enemies of Yahweh still surround the Promised Land of His people. Not only geographically but politically and economically. The stage is set for this “ruling” in the midst of enemies to begin at any time.

Your people will offer themselves freely … in holy garments

This phrase is about the final call to arms by Jesus, but Paul calls us to make this offering sooner.

Romans 12:1–2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The faithful believers who joined the Messiah would not be portrayed as weak, weary soldiers who had lost interest in battle (Rev. 19:19). Instead, they would step into the conflict in holy garments.

However, their attire would not necessarily include literal crowns or robes. Instead, their personal glory would be reflected in their imitation of the Messiah and His holiness. [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

Isaiah 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

the day of your power

Is there any day that Jesus does not have power?

One of the other English translations has “the day Your power is revealed.”

Not everyone acknowledges or sees God’s power now, but on that day, none will be able to escape it.

The Lord assured David that the kings who followed him would come from his family line. He also promised that his dynasty would never end (2 Sam. 7:1-16). Of course, He fulfilled His promise when His Messiah came. The Messiah had a distinct connection with the ancestral line of David (Matt. 1:6-17).

Just as David fought against enemies of the kingdom of Israel, the Messiah would go to war with the enemies of His eternal kingdom. And like David, the Messiah would not demonstrate His power alone. His people would join Him in the fight and follow His leadership (Rev. 19:11-14). [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

Do we have to wait for That Day for God to show His power?

Acts 19:20 “So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.”

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

What about those who have yet to believe in God and His power?

2 Corinthians 13:4 “For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.”

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.

I tried to understand this phrase from looking up cross references and similar language in Scripture, but there really was much to help. Without know ancient Jewish perspectives, I was not going to be able to understand it was a local idiom or literary reference. Once I started reading commentaries, I discovered this phrase was difficult for even the most advanced scholars. One of my study Bibles had the note, “The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.” Then after I read Moody’s comment on the verse I moved on to the rest of my studies.

The Moody Bible Commentary A. Messiah, the Divine King (110:1–3)

The last phrase of v. 3 from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to you as the dew, is virtually unintelligible in the Masoretic Text. Much to be preferred is the LXX reading, “from the womb of the dawn, I have begotten you.” Although some would argue for the MT, following the text critical axiom of taking the harder reading, this is to be rejected. There is a difference between a harder reading and an unintelligible reading.

With that we will move on to the next verse.

Psalm 110:4 ESV

The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

The Lord has sworn

One of the things I noticed in this verse is that three verb tenses are used.

God in eternity past has promised to His Son, and His followers.

God will not into eternity future ever change His mind about this promise.

God declares now, at present, Jesus is a priest. He is declared so and therefore He is. Aaron was not a priest until God deemed it so and created a “lineage of priests” beginning with Him. God can make anyone He wants a priest, but He uses a name that anyone familiar with Genesis would recognize.

Believer’s Bible Commentary Psalm 110: David’s Son and David’s Lord

The phrase “according to the order of Melchizedek” is interpreted for us in

You are… forever

When the Lord led His people out of Egypt and into the wilderness, He commanded Moses to appoint Aaron as the nation’s first high priest. He added that Aaron’s priesthood would pass to his sons (Ex. 28:1; Num. 3:1-3). So, when Aaron died, Moses anointed Aaron’s son, Eleazar, as the new high priest (Deut. 10:6). The succession of high priests through Aaron’s family line continued throughout the Old Testament. [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

The same line of succession happens in the kingly Davidic line when God establishes it. Both priesthood and kingship end when the person dies. Therefore, in order for this person to be a priest and king forever, He cannot die. At least, not once His rule begins. Jesus has already died once on the earth, but when He returns it will be in a physical body that will never again die, or decay and He shall preside as priest and rule as king for the rest of eternity. That is the hope we can trust and lean on while we wait for that time to begin.

Before that happens, Jesus will have to deal with His Father’s enemies.

Psalm 110:5–7 ESV

The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.

The Lord is at your right hand;

Hebrew poetry apparently does not translate accurately into English and hear is an example.

Instead of using titles and pronouns to connect thoughts, the structure of the verses can give the context. There are patterns that are not as apparent in the English that the Hebrew language uses.

“The Lord”, is Adonai. That is the word used in verse one for the second “Lord” in our English.

In verse one, I was Yahweh says to Adonai. Now the pattern is reversed. Adonai sit by “your” - Yahweh’s - right hand. Same statement as verse 1, just a different structure to add emphasis.

The next verse basically restates verse 2 and 3, but this time the conversation is toward David and Israel and declaring what The Son as the Priest-King will accomplish. Verse 2 and 3 we God the Father stating to the Son what the plan was going to be and how it would come about.

In verses 2 and 3 the holy works and people are discussed, in verse 5 and 6 it is the “enemies” or the wicked that are being dealt with and judged. Both are describing the same events, but from opposite sides. Reading Revelation and Daniel would give us 2 more perspectives of these events.

Judgment among the nations

Accountability would not end with utter defeat. It would also include judgment. The Messiah would not return only to crush His enemies, but also to pronounce judgment on their hostile actions and willful rebellion against Him. Nations full of people who turned away from God would not escape His punishment.

Jesus spoke to His disciples about the day of judgment when He taught about the separation of sheep and goats (Matt. 25:31-46). Paul also declared a solemn warning about the day of the Lord’s judgment that would come (Rom. 2:5).  [ETB:ALG Sum'25]

He will shatter kings

This phrase is another military connotation.

A piece of pottery that gets broken might be able to be repaired, one that is shattered however has no hope of reassembly. That is the image here. Once these enemies are destroyed, they will never again be able to assemble in a way to come against the Lord again. This is a military defeat and divine judgement. There is only one place I can think of that can create that eternal separation from God.

The Moody Bible Commentary C. Messiah, the Victorious Warrior (110:5–7)

This phrase (“day of wrath”) occurs in only six verses in Scripture (

He will drink from the brook

This verse is not much easier to interpret than verse 3.

Drinking from the brook in Judges was done as way to “divide” the men, but it does not say whether it a good thing or bad, it was merely a “judgement” to discern which men to use.

Some references in the Old Testament carry the idea of being refreshed or renewed, which may be how some interpreted verse 3 because of the Hebrew parallelism structure.

Other references to “drinking” by the Lord in Scripture include His mentioning the “cup” which the Father gave Him, alluding to the penalty of sin required for our redemption.

Luke 24:26 “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?””

This would fit the structure of the Psalm as the parallelism with verse 1 and would be about Christ being seated by the Father after suffering on the cross and then ascending. This is the exaltation and authority displayed by the “lifting up his head.” Not necessarily His literal head but in reference to authority and power or “headship” over the earth and His church.

Memory verse for this week

Hebrews 4:14–15 ESV

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Knowing that He has that ability to sympathize and empathize without weakness is a tremendous boost to our hope.

Apply the Text

Do any of you know the hymn “What If It Were Today”? I do not remember hearing that song before this week. It would be a great one to learn and sing when those times of doubt and hopelessness grow. It can be that reminder that as believers we will not be a part of that footstool but that we need to prepare for His coming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiOtfme6HUo

Pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing us to live in a country that although does not follow You fully, has laws in place that make it possible for us to freely gather and worship You. Lord Jesus, You hold all authority in and over all creation and nations, may we continue to find ways to worship and honor You. Holy Jesus, as our High Priest, we bring all our needs and desires to You. Holy Spirit, help us to trust and wait on the Lord for those needs to be met. Lord Jesus, please help each of us to be prepared for and proclaim to others of Your promised return.