Psalms 110:5 - Meaning and Application

Here we see our great Redeemer.

He conquers his enemies (Psalm 110:5, Psalm 110:6) so he can make them his footstool, as verse 1 says. Our Lord Jesus will certainly bring down every force that stands against his kingdom, and he will ruin all who keep opposing him. He will be more than enough for anyone who fights against him, against his people, or against the growth of his kingdom among people, whether through persecution or stubborn argument.

Notice first the conqueror: “the Lord,” that is, Adonai, the Lord Jesus, to whom all judgment has been given. He will defend his own cause against his enemies. Some understand “the Lord at your right hand” to mean the Lord is near his people, a present help at their side, ready to strengthen and rescue them. Others take it as a reference to God’s right hand, showing the honor and rule to which Christ has been raised.

Christ sitting at the right hand of God brings terror to his enemies and joy to his people. It tells us that his power is active, near, and ready. If we want Christ to appear for us, we must also be active in the work we have before us.

Next, we see the time set for this victory, “the day of his wrath,” meaning the appointed time, when their sin is full and they are ripe for judgment. When the time of patience ends, the day of wrath begins. Christ has wrath as well as grace, so it matters that we honor the Son, because he can be angry (Psalm 2:12), and Scripture speaks of “the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:16).

There is also a set day of wrath, a fixed time of repayment for Zion’s cause, and a time for the redeemed. The destruction of certain enemies comes at its appointed moment, however unlikely it may seem beforehand. The great day of his wrath will come at the end of time (Revelation 6:17).

The victory is also broad in scope. It will reach high, for he will “strike through kings.” Even the greatest rulers who oppose Christ will fall before him. Though they are kings and rulers, used to forcing their will, they cannot win against Christ, and their attempt only makes them look foolish (Psalm 2:2-5). No matter how harsh their power is, how strong their armies are, or how clever their plans may be, Christ will be too strong for them. Satan is called the prince of this world, death is called the king of terrors, and Scripture speaks of kings who make war with the Lamb, but they will all be brought down.

This victory will also reach far. Christ’s triumphs will be seen among the nations and in many lands, wherever his enemies are found. He will not only see them, he will find them out with his hand as well as his eye (Psalm 21:8), and his judgment will follow them. He will contend with all nations (Joel 3:2).

The victory is also just. “He shall judge among them.” This is not a wild act of destruction, but a judicial one. Before he condemns and destroys, he will judge. He will show that they have brought ruin on themselves, and that they have rolled the stone that falls back on them. In this way he will be shown to be righteous in all he says and does, and heaven will declare his righteousness (Revelation 19:1, Revelation 19:2).

The result will be the complete ruin of his enemies. He will strike them through, giving them a wound that cannot be healed. He will wound the heads, which seems to point back to the first promise about the Messiah, that he would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). He will wound the head of his enemies (Psalm 68:21). Some read this as the one who is head over many lands, whether Satan or Antichrist, whom the Lord will destroy by the breath of his mouth.

He will bring such destruction that the places will be filled with dead bodies. “The slain of the Lord shall be many” (Isaiah 34:3 and following; Ezekiel 39:12, Ezekiel 39:14; Revelation 14:20; Revelation 19:17, Revelation 19:18). If the valleys are filled with dead bodies, as some read it, this may also point to hell, which is sometimes compared to the valley of Hinnom (Isaiah 30:33; Jeremiah 7:32). That will be the fate of all who stay enemies of Christ.

Then we see the Redeemer saving his friends and comforting them (Psalm 110:7). For their sake, he will first be humbled. “He shall drink of the brook in the way,” that bitter cup the Father gave him. He will be so lowered and made poor, and so fully fixed on his work, that he is pictured as drinking muddy water from roadside pools. The wrath of God, flowing through the curse of the law, was the brook in the way of his mission. It had to be passed through, and it stood in the path of our salvation.

Christ drank from this brook when he was made a curse for us. That is why, when he entered his suffering, he went over the brook Kidron (John 18:1). He drank deeply from that dark brook, since Kidron means “black,” and from that bloody brook as well, taking it out of the way of our redemption and salvation.

Because of this, he shall be exalted. “Therefore shall he lift up the head.” When he died, he bowed his head (John 19:30), but he soon lifted it up again by his own power in his resurrection. He lifted up his head as a conqueror, even more than a conqueror. This points not only to his being raised up, but also to his joy and triumph in it. Having stripped the powers of their strength, he made a public show of them (Colossians 2:15).

David spoke of the Messiah as a type of this when he said, “Now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies” (Psalm 27:6). Christ’s exaltation was the reward for his humiliation. Because he humbled himself, God also highly exalted him (Philippians 2:9). Because he drank of the brook in the way, he lifted up his own head, and in doing so he also lifts up the heads of all his faithful followers. If they suffer with him, they will also reign with him.