Psalms 110:1 - Meaning and Application

Some have called this psalm David’s creed, because it contains almost all the main truths of the Christian faith. The title calls it David’s psalm, because in faith and in his view of the Messiah, David both praised God and found comfort. How much more should we sing it, since what David only saw ahead of time has now been fulfilled and more clearly revealed to us.

Wonderful things are said here about Christ, and they should make us consider how great he is. First, he is David’s Lord. We should notice this especially because Jesus himself pointed it out: “David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him Lord” (Matthew 22:43). Just as the apostle proves Melchizedek’s greatness, and through him Christ’s, by showing that Abraham gave him tithes (Hebrews 7:4), so David’s calling Jesus his Lord proves Jesus’ greatness. The king himself bows to him as a servant to his master.

Some think David calls him his Lord because Christ would come from his family line, his son and yet his Lord. In the same way, Mary called him her Savior (Luke 1:47). Even his own parents were his subjects, because they were people he came to save.

Second, Christ is made sovereign Lord by the will and decree of God himself: “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit at my right hand” (Psalm 110:1). He receives this honor and glory from the Father, who is the source of all honor and power, and he does not take it for himself (2 Peter 1:17). So he is the true and rightful Lord, and his claim cannot be challenged, because what God has spoken cannot be taken back. He is also the everlasting Lord, because what God has said will stand forever. He will surely take and keep the kingdom the Father has given him, and no one can stop him.

Third, Christ is raised to the highest honor and given full rule in heaven and on earth: “Sit at my right hand.” Sitting is a posture of rest, and after his work and suffering, he entered into rest from all his labor. It is also a ruler’s posture, because he sits to give law and judgment. And it is a lasting posture, because he sits like a king forever. To sit at God’s right hand means both honor and authority, the dignity given to him and the power trusted to him by the Father.

All the blessings that come from God to people, and all the service that rises from people to God, pass through his hand. Fourth, all his enemies will in time be made his footstool, and not before then. Even then, he will reign in the glory of the Mediator, that is, the one who stands between God and man, though the work of mediation will in one sense be finished. Christ himself has enemies who fight against his kingdom, his people, and his honor in the world. Some refuse to let him rule over them, and in that they side with Satan, who does not want Christ to rule at all.

These enemies will become his footstool. He will overcome them and triumph over them easily, as easily as a footstool is placed where it belongs. He will do it in a way that brings him honor and leaves them in lasting shame. He will “trample the wicked” (Malachi 4:3). The Father has promised to do it: “I will make your enemies your footstool.” Yet this will not happen at once. Right now his enemies are under restraint, but they are not yet made his footstool. The apostle notices this too: “We do not yet see all things subjected to him” (Hebrews 2:8). Christ himself must wait until his victories and triumphs are complete.

Still, he will wait until it is done, and all their power and hatred will not disturb his rule even a little. His sitting at God’s right hand is a pledge that at last he will place his feet on the necks of all his enemies. Fifth, he will have a kingdom set up in the world, beginning at Jerusalem: “The LORD shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion” (Psalm 110:2). This means his kingdom will be established, supported, and governed by that strong rod.

When the Messiah sits at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, he will still have a church on earth and will care for it. He is King on the holy hill of Zion (Psalm 2:6), in contrast to Mount Sinai, the frightening mountain where the law was given (Hebrews 12:18, Hebrews 12:24; Galatians 4:24-25). Christ’s kingdom began from Zion, the city of David, because he was David’s son and was to receive David’s throne.

By the rod of his strength, or his strong rod, the psalm means his lasting gospel, along with the power of the Holy Spirit working with it, the message of the word and the arm of the Lord with it (Isaiah 53:1; Romans 1:16), the gospel coming “not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:5). Through the word and Spirit of God, people were first to be brought into obedience to God, and then guided according to God’s will. God sent out this strong rod. He poured out the Spirit and gave both the authority and the gifts needed to those who preached the word and served the Spirit (Galatians 3:5).

It was sent out from Zion, because there the Spirit was given, and there the preaching of the gospel to all nations had to begin, at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47, Luke 24:49). “The law” of faith was to go out from Zion too (Isaiah 2:3). The gospel of Christ, since it is sent by God, is powerful through God to do great things (2 Corinthians 10:4). It is the rod of Christ’s strength. Some understand this not only as a ruler’s scepter, showing the glory of Christ in the gospel, but also as a shepherd’s staff, showing Christ’s tender care for his church, for he is both the great Shepherd and the good Shepherd.

Sixth, once his kingdom is set up, it will be maintained in the world despite all the attacks of the powers of darkness. Christ will rule, give laws, and govern his people by them. He will make them mature and bring them peace and joy. He will do his own will, carry out his own plans, and defend his own cause among people. His kingdom is from God, and it will stand. His crown rests firmly on his head, and it will keep shining there.

He will rule “in the midst of his enemies.” In heaven he sits among his friends, and his throne of glory there is surrounded only by faithful worshippers (Revelation 5:11). But on earth he rules among enemies, and his throne of government here is surrounded by people who hate him and fight against him. Christ’s church is a lily among thorns, and his disciples are sent out like sheep among wolves. He knows where they live, even where Satan’s throne is (Revelation 2:13). This brings honor to Christ, because he not only holds his ground but succeeds in his purpose, despite all the wicked plans and powers of hell and earth, which cannot shake the rock on which the church is built. Great is the truth, and it will prevail.

Seventh, he will have a great number of subjects, who will bring him honor and praise (Psalm 110:3).

The point is that these people should be his own, with a clear and unquestionable right to them. The Father gave them to him, the same Father who gave them life and being, and to whom their lives had been forfeited. “They were yours, and you gave them to me” (John 17:6). Christ also redeemed them, buying them for himself as a special people (Titus 2:14). So they belong to him by right, even before they ever consent to follow him. He already had many people in Corinth before they were converted (Acts 18:10).

They should also be a willing people, a people who gladly give themselves to him. This points to servants who choose to serve, not people forced into service. It points to soldiers who volunteer, like the one who says, “Here am I. Send me,” and to sacrifices freely offered, not given out of duty alone. We are to present ourselves as living sacrifices. Christ’s people are willing people. A soul is converted when it becomes willing to belong to Christ, to come under his rule and into his purposes, with full agreement and satisfaction.

They should be willing in the day of his power, when his authority is made effective. Some understand this as the day of his muster, when he is gathering soldiers and finding many volunteers ready to enlist. Once the standard is raised, the Gentiles will come to it (Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 60:3). Others take it as the day of his armies, when the first preachers of the gospel go out as Christ’s army to bring down rebellious people and overthrow the kingdom of rebellious angels. Then all who belong to him will be willing, and that will be the time of setting up his kingdom. The meaning may also be the day of your strength. The gospel carries a public power to all people, because of the authority of its author, the beauty of what it teaches, and the miracles that confirmed it. It also carries the Spirit’s special power to Christ’s own people, making them truly willing. The first leaves sinners without excuse, and the second leaves believers without any reason to boast. If anyone is willing to belong to Christ, it is only the free and mighty grace of God that makes them so.

They should also be willing in the beauty of holiness. This means three things. First, they are drawn to him by the beauty of holiness, won over by the sight of Christ’s own holiness and the holiness of the church, which is his holy nation. Second, they are brought by him into the beauty of holiness, as spiritual priests who serve in his sanctuary, since by the blood of Jesus we have boldness to enter the holy place. Third, they attend him in the lovely clothing of grace and sanctification, the beautiful garment that fits his people. Holiness is the mark of Christ’s family, and it suits his house forever. Christ’s soldiers are all dressed this way, and these are the colors they wear. The armies of heaven follow him in fine linen, clean and white (Revelation 19:14).

He should also have large numbers of people devoted to him. The many people are the honor of a prince, and that will be the honor of this prince. “From the womb of the morning you have the dew of your youth” means a great number of young converts, like the dew that covers the grass on a summer morning. In the early days of the gospel, in the morning of the New Testament, many young people came to Christ, and multitudes believed. They were a remnant like dew from the Lord (Micah 5:7; Isaiah 64:4, 8). Or it may mean this: from the womb of the morning, from their earliest years, Christ has the dew of his people’s youth, meaning their hearts and affections while they are young. It is his youth because it is given to him. This dew of youth is a large, bright, hopeful group of young people coming to Christ, and they are like dew to the earth, making it fruitful. The dew of our youth, even in our early days, should be given to our Lord Jesus.

He should be not only a king, but also a priest (Psalm 110:4). The same Lord who said, “Sit at my right hand,” also swore, “You are a priest,” that is, “Be a priest,” because he was set apart by the word of God’s oath. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a priest. He was appointed to that office and carries it out faithfully. He is ordained for people in matters relating to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin (Hebrews 5:1), to make payment for our sins and to present our services so that God accepts them. He is God’s minister to us, and our advocate before God, so he stands as a mediator, someone who brings two parties together, between us and God.

He is a priest forever. He was chosen for this work in God’s eternal plan, and he was a priest for the Old Testament believers as well as for all believers to the end of time (Hebrews 13:8). He is called a priest forever not only because there will never be another way of grace except through Christ’s priesthood, but also because the blessed results of his priesthood will last forever.

He was made a priest with an oath, and the apostle uses this to show that his priesthood is greater than Aaron’s (Hebrews 7:20, 21). The Lord swore this to show there was no hidden plan to take it back. He would not change his mind, as he did about Eli’s priesthood (1 Samuel 2:30). This was meant to honor Christ and comfort believers. Christ’s priesthood has the highest possible confirmation, so it can be a firm foundation for our faith and hope.

He is a priest, not in Aaron’s line, but in the order of Melchizedek. That order came earlier and, in many ways, was greater than Aaron’s, and it gives a clearer picture of Christ’s priesthood. Melchizedek was both priest and king, and so is Christ (Zechariah 6:13), king of righteousness and king of peace. Melchizedek had no successor, and neither does Christ. His priesthood cannot change. The apostle explains these words at length in Hebrews 7 and builds his teaching on Christ’s priestly office from this very sure prophecy. As the New Testament explains the Old, so the Old Testament confirms the New, and Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end of both.