Psalm 110 (part 8)

Psalm 110 (part 8)

Can we please turn in the Scriptures to Psalm 110? We are now up to part 8 in this series on Psalm 110 and how it is used in the New Testament [P]. I hope you are beginning to realize just how much the early church saw contained in this Psalm. What with lock down for a couple of months and people being absent, I thought that it would be useful to do a quick recap to see where we have come. Psalm 110:1 says: [P] [Psalm 110:1 יְ֭הוָה says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”] Jesus was the first one to quote this Psalm in the New Testament, He used just the first five words: [P] “יְ֭הוָה says to my Lord” to prove that the Messiah was more than merely the Son of David, [P] He is in fact the Son of God. Then we saw that the writer to the letter to the Hebrews focused on the word “sit” [P] in this verse – using it to demonstrate that Jesus finished the work given Him to do [P], He completed His mission; which was, the cross. The Son of God descended from heaven to earth, took on human form, died as a man, as a criminal even although He was innocent, sinless. Other writers of the New Testament focused on the phrase: “Sit at My right hand” [P] – and quite a few implications were seen in this statement. Both Peter in Acts 2:34-35 and Paul in Colossians 3:1 saw that this indicated that Jesus ascended [P]. The one who descended from heaven, having finished His work, ascended back to heaven. Jesus again quoted this verse, this time before the Sanhedrin to show that יְ֭הוָה vindicated His Messiah [P] – His resurrection and ascension vindicated the Messiah as righteous, not deserving death. This vindication came by exalting Jesus to the place of highest honour, above all [P]. Jesus, Paul, Peter and the writer of the book of Hebrews all saw this implication in this verse. That exalted position is, as Paul indicates in Colossians 3:1, in the very presence of יְ֭הוָה Himself. [P] Jesus now dwells in that awesome presence of God; furthermore, we who are in Him, dwell there also! Last time I spoke, we looked at what Jesus now does there in the presence of God: we saw that this was the ministry, or service, of intercession [P]. Jesus, as a man, comes between man and God. This role is seen in Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 8:1 – both again quoting Psalm 110:1 to demonstrate this. Intercession is the service of a priest – so this verse indicates Jesus role as High Priest [P]. As prophet, Jesus speaks from יְ֭הוָה to us [P] but as priest we have access through Jesus to יְ֭הוָה [P]. So, there are quite a few implications of “My Lord sitting at יְ֭הוָה’s right hand” [P]. Six that the New Testament records: 1/ Jesus’ ascension; 2/ Jesus’ vindication; 3/ Jesus’ exaltation; 4/ Jesus dwelling in יְ֝הוָה’s presence; 5/ Jesus’ service of intercession; and 6/ Jesus’ role as High Priest. But Psalm 110:1 not only speaks of “sitting at My right hand”; it also speaks of: “making your enemies a footstool for your feet” [P]. What is that talking about? I think the image is fairly evident – just say you have some enemies, if they are under your feet – who has the upper hand? There used to be a song, that some of you may recall: “These boots were made for walking, and that’s just what they’ll do, one of these days these boots are going to walk right over you!” “Walking all over someone” is a familiar expression to us – that is what John does to me if we play tennis. It is an overwhelming victory, an absolute subjugation. That is what it was in Bible times too. Do you remember Joshua (in Joshua chapter 10)? He had led the Israelites into victory against a few Canaanite towns and so the king of Jerusalem, a bloke called Adonizedek, formed a coalition of 5 kings. Their combined armies attacked the Gibionites, with whom the Israelites had made a treaty. The Gibionites appealed to Joshua for help and Israel attacked this coalition of forces and יְ֭הוָה gave them a mighty, supernatural victory – I mean the sun stood still! יְ֭הוָה sent a divine thunderstorm, hailstones killing more people than the army did. The 5 kings fled and hid in a cave. The Israelites sealed them up in this cave while the Israelites finished pursuing their fleeing armies. When they finished routing them, Joshua returned to the cave: [Joshua 10:22–25 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave.” … When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” (they were kings no longer! They were subject to Israel). [P] So they came near and put their feet on their necks (their enemies were a footstool under their feet). Joshua then said to them, “Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus יְ֭הוָה will do to all your enemies with whom you fight.”] That is defeat them, subjugate them. [P] That is the idea of “enemies as a footstool”; they are trodden under foot; you get the picture in: [Isaiah 25:10 For the hand of יְ֭הוָה will rest on this mountain, and Moab will be trodden down in his place as straw is trodden down in the water of a manure pile. ] Or: [Malachi 4:3 “You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the יְ֭הוָה of armies.] This is how Paul understood it when he quotes Psalm 110 in: [P] [1 Corinthians 15:25 For He must reign [P] until He has put all His enemies under His feet. [P] there he is quoting Psalm 110:1] He is talking about Jesus reigning. Let’s read the context, 1 Corinthians 15 is the great chapter on the subject of resurrection. Some were questioning the concept of resurrection but Paul insisted that Jesus has indeed been raised from the dead: [1 Corinthians 15:20–28 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, (Paul is speaking about the resurrection that will come at the end of the age. At that time God establishes His Kingdom – Jesus hands the rule over to His Father) when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, (Jesus is reigning as King) when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. (all opposing rule, power and authority has been vanquished, abolished, His enemies subjugated) For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.] Notice the emphasis on Kingdom and reigning and on subjection [P] (the word occurs six times in just 2 verses) – that is obviously what this Psalm is talking about. That is also what Peter saw this verse saying: [P] [1 Peter 3:20–22 the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (like 1 Corinthians 15, he refers to resurrection) who is at the right hand of God, [P[ (referring to Psalm 110:1) having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had [P] been subjected to Him. ] The verse is speaking about rulers, power and authorities being made subject, about subjugation. [P] This is not something that we like to consider in our nice humanistic thinking. We are nice Christians who are nice and kind to all. But God has enemies! Jesus has enemies! We have enemies! Those who are utterly opposed to us and out to destroy us, if that were possible. But the concept of subjugation doesn’t sit comfortably with us – unless it’s on the rugby field. Now, we live in a monarchy …. Elizabeth is the queen. If she is the queen, then we are her ….what? SUBJECTS! That is, those who are subject to her – supposedly! Because we are not really a monarchy, we are not subject to her – we live as we choose, and she has absolutely no influence on our lives. A true monarchy is not like that! Let me tell you: we have absolutely no idea! We are not a monarchy – a monarchy means one person rules – that is its literal meaning. No, we are a democracy – that means the people rule – literally people power/might/rule. In a Kingdom, the King rules. Those who are His subjects willing subject themselves to His rule. Those who are His enemies are not subject to Him; so, He has to subjugate them in order to make them subject. They still come under His rule; but, unlike His subjects, they do so unwillingly – they are under His feet – subjection comes, but it does so by force. That is what these verses depict: those who are opposed to the Messiah being forcefully subjected to Him. Yet, that goes against the grain with us. The trouble is that we have lived so long under a democracy that we think that is the way things should be. We look down on or condemn any nation that does not have a democratic government. This despite there being no Scriptural support for this form of government. It is quite foreign to the Bible. I believe that it is depicted by the final Kingdom in the vision of Daniel chapter 2 which was a mixture of iron and clay – an attempt to unite the ununitable. Democracy means rule by the people – you know: “we all have our own say”. We have the right to our own opinion; we exercise our “right” to vote. Sorry, a Kingdom is not like that! You have no right to your say. The King rules! He doesn’t have to ask your permission or your opinion. He is Sovereign! Your role is to be subject. Democracy cuts right across the whole principle of Divine rule. We see this principle of the people ruling condemned twice in the lowest point of Israelite history in Judges 17:6 and 21:5 which both say: [P] [Judges 21:25 In those days there was [P] no king in Israel; everyone [P] did what was right in his own eyes. ] People ruling, doing what they thought was right. Living according to their own opinion and will. That is democracy! [P] We think that we all have a right to our own say – let me tell you frankly: that we don’t! We are due to go to the polls in September, to have our say, exercise our “right”. We are so devoted to democracy that I fear that we are not going to welcome the King when He comes! It will be a regime that will cut across all our democratic sensibilities! It will be a shock! We will chafe against it! Let us be careful that we not be found among the resisters, those who make themselves enemy of the king by seeking to rule themselves! Those who are made a footstool for the Messiah’s feet. Psalm 110:1 tells us that the Messiah rules, that those who oppose that rule will be placed as a footstool under His feet. Every knee will bow; but we don’t want to be those that are forced to, with His foot on our neck! Jesus rule is an absolute rule. The Bible is quite clear about that! Are you going to welcome it or resist it? Turn with me to Psalm 2. [P] This is the passage about the Messiah ruling. I am going to read the whole Psalm: [Psalm 2 Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? (they are in an uproar because they are resisting יְ֝הוָה and don’t want His King ruling. It is a “vain thing” that they are devising because it is futile to resist what יְ֝הוָה is going to do!) The kings of the earth take their stand (a stand of resistance to יְ֝הוָה) and the rulers take counsel together (that is the rule of the people uniting – democracy) against יְ֝הוָה and against His Anointed (that is literally “Messiah”, one of the few times you will find the term in the Bible), saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!” (they do not want to submit to that which יְ֝הוָה and His Messiah impose upon them). He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them (יְ֝הוָה laughs because their resistance is laughable, ridiculous. Who is puny man to resist Him?!). Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury, (yes, יְ֝הוָה is not pleased with this rebellion against His rule) saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.” (that is יְ֝הוָה appointing Jesus, the Messiah, as King over the world) “I will surely tell of the decree of יְ֝הוָה: (we have moved from יְ֝הוָה speaking, to His Messiah, Jesus, speaking. He tells what יְ֝הוָה has decreed – and let me tell you that what יְ֝הוָה decrees, is done!) He (that is יְ֝הוָה) said to Me (that is the Messiah, Jesus), ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. (Did Jesus just come into existence then? No, of course not; rather, יְ֝הוָה is saying that the Messiah took up the role of King on that day. The Son ruling as heir on behalf of His Father)‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,(what is יְ֝הוָה’s, He gave to His Son) and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. [P] ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ ” (there is the absolute rule of the Messiah! The subjugation of the whole world. יְ֝הוָה gave Jesus the earth; but the rulers of the earth resisted. So, He brings them into submission, subjection with force! It is futile to resist His power. You will be brought into subjection! Resistance just makes the process more unpleasant. So, the wise thing to do is: submit willingly and not resist) Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; (be wise, don’t be stupid) take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship יְ֝הוָה with reverence and rejoice with trembling. (the wise thing to do is to worship, to submit willingly, because you will submit eventually) Do homage to the Son, (to Jesus) that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. (yes, Jesus’ wrath) How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!] Resistance brings upon you Jesus’ anger and wrath. The best thing to do is to seek your security in Him not fight against Him. His rule is “with a rod of iron” – powerful, forceful, unyielding! – an expression that found resonance with New Testament writers: [P] [Revelation 12:5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, (that is Jesus) who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. Revelation 19:15 (speaking of Jesus) From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. (also Rev 2:27). This forceful vanquishing rule is seen further down in Psalm 110: [Psalm 110:2 יְ֝הוָה will stretch forth Your strong sceptre from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” Psalm 110:5–6 The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.] This not some ruler on a maniacal rampage to assert Himself, off on some insane egotistical campaign. No, the Lord is at His right hand! This is יְ֝הוָה’s will that is being carried out! We have so focused on the mercy and grace of God, the meekness of Jesus that we have forgotten יְ֝הוָה’s extreme anger with the world for its persistent rebellion and rejection of that meekness, mercy and grace. We think that Jesus is gentle, meek and mild; [Revelation 6:15–17 says Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; (they couldn’t bear to face יְ֝הוָה!) and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, (that is יְ֝הוָה) and from the wrath of the Lamb; (that is Jesus) for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?!”] The answer to that question is: NOONE! The Messiah rules as King! That is His role – that is what He is anointed to be. Jesus rules until all His “enemies are put under His feet” – this is absolute rule; the rule with the rod of iron with all in subjection to Him. This rule is on earth, “from Zion” (it said in Psalm 2:6); so, Jesus’ rule entails His return. [Psalm 72:8–9 May he also rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. (Jesus rule is on earth) Let the nomads of the desert bow before him, (subject to Him) and His enemies lick the dust. (a footstool under His feet). Four times Scripture refers to earth as יְ֝הוָה’s footstool. This earth is subjugated to Him. Here are just a few of many verses that speak of this: [P] [Matthew 11:27 All things have been handed over to Me by My Father;… [P] Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth …..” [P] Ephesians 1:22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, [P] Hebrews 2:8–9 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in subjecting all things to Him, He left nothing that is not subject to Him. [P] Philippians 2:9–11 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.] Do you notice something? In all those verses it was not Jesus who took the authority: [P] Matthew 11:27 handed over to Me by My Father; [P] Matthew 28:18 has been given to Me [P] Ephesians 1:22 He put all things in subjection … gave Him as head [P] Hebrews 2:8–9 You have put all things in subjection [P] Philippians 2:9–God highly exalted Him, … bestowed on Him. That is exactly what Psalm 110:1 says: [P] [Psalm 110:1 יְ֭הוָה says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until [P] I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”] It is יְ֝הוָה who makes Jesus enemies a footstool for His feet. He has been told to “sit”; His work is finished; now, the ball is in ְ֝ יְ֝הוָה’s court. Jesus has sat down, the next thing on ְ֝ יְ֝הוָה’s agenda is to subjugate all under Jesus’ feet. There are going to be elections, all the candidates will be out there trying to persuade you to vote for them. There will be manoeuvring and dirty deals to get into power. Each will be promoting themselves. You want to rule; so, you push and pressure, you lobby, canvas, promote, door-knock, shake hands, kiss babies, put yourself in the public eye etc. and do whatever you can to get that position of power. Self-promotion! That is exactly why they are not fit to rule and why Jesus is. He did not exalt Himself; He left the exalting in ְ֝ יְ֝הוָה’s hands. He obeyed, humbly submitted; that is why the Father exalts Him. The world’s way is wrong. We think that to get ahead, get to the top; you have to push, assert, force. But [P] [Psalm 75:6–7 For not from the east, nor from the west, Nor from the desert comes exaltation; But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.] It was exactly the same in Psalm 2 that we read: [: [Psalm 2 as for Me, I have installed My King … He (that is יְ֝הוָה) said to Me (that is the Messiah, Jesus), ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.] It is ְ֝ יְ֝הוָה who give authority; that is what He is going to do. Some misguided Christians think that we have to establish the Kingdom, bring all into subjection, stamp out evil; then Jesus will take the throne when the church is ruling. No, it is ְ֝ יְ֝הוָה who places those opposed to Jesus under His feet. There is a principle there for us also – let God do the exalting, then the exaltation will last. We have recently seen some political self-exaltation that has not lasted very long at all. And this is a political message – a simple message: Jesus reigns. God will subjugate all those who oppose that rule. “Every knee will bow” – some do so willingly others will do so by force, placed under Jesus’ feet. [P] [Philippians 2:9–11 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above [P] every name, so that at the name of Jesus [P] every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that [P] every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.] Submission is inevitable! The question is whether you do it hard, become a footstool; or whether you submit now willingly. Have you ever read the end of the book? Looked to see how it finishes? [Revelation 19:6–7 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”] May we be those who rejoice rather than those who hide in the caves from the wrath of the Lamb. [Revelation 19:11–16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, (that is Jesus!) and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, (consuming all before Him) and on His head are many diadems; (diadems, crowns are on the heads of kings, and He rules over all the nations) and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. (there is the absolute and harsh rule of Jesus) And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”] King over every king, ruling over all – yes, Jesus is coming to rule as King. To reign! And the One who reigns hold the reins – He is in control, directs according to His will, not according to our opinion. Yes, this has political ramifications; but, it is also a spiritual message, because it is the heart of the Gospel. In the Gospels the word “Gospel” occurs 19 times – but what is this “Gospel”? What was the good news all about? Of those 19 times that the word “Gospel” occurs, 6 times it says the “Gospel of… something” – telling you what the Gospel is about – once it is the “Gospel of God” – it is from God and belongs to Him, once it is the “Gospel of Jesus Christ” – the other four times it is the “Gospel of the Kingdom”. The Good News that Jesus preached was the Gospel of the Kingdom. The good news is that Jesus, the Messiah has come to rule! – in true righteousness and justice. Ain’t you sick of human rule?! When John the Baptist and Jesus preached: “Repent and believe the Gospel” and when they preached: “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand” it was virtually synonymous. They were saying the same thing. The Gospel is about the Kingdom – Jesus coming to rule! When Jesus had finished His ministry, died, rose again; what was next? What were the disciples expecting? Just as Jesus was about to return to His Father, there on the Mount of Olives they said: [Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”] That is what they were expecting! They were looking for the Kingdom because that was the message Jesus preached. He was the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed King! They were expecting a Kingdom – that is what the Good News is about! Is the Kingdom of Jesus good news to you? Or would such a change of regime be a shock and inconvenience to you? Would you chafe at the end of democracy? I mean, to be aligned with the concept of Kingdom is a total turnaround from the way we now live! Do you know the word the Bible uses for “total turn around”? – “repent”! This is the message of the Gospel that Jesus preached: [P] [Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.”] Let me proclaim to you that “the Kingdom of God is at hand”! – it is near, very close! We need to lay aside our clinging to ruling ourselves, running our own lives. Because although the implications are political, they are also very personal. Each of us runs our own lives, lives as we decide, as we plan. Jesus’ call for us is to change our way of thinking, turn around; stop going our own way and have our life dependent on the Gospel, on Jesus ruling instead of me. Let me tell you the implications are far-reaching and transformational! [P] [Psalm 145:13 Your Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.]