Both Man and God!

Psalms 110:1-7

Psalm 110: David's Son and David's Lord

This Psalm of David enjoys the distinction of being quoted or referred to more frequently in the NT than any other passage in the OT. It is quite clearly a Psalm of the Messiah—first as the glorified One at God's right hand, then as the King of glory returning to earth to take the scepter of universal government, and also as the eternal Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

110:1 In the first verse David quotes the LORD as saying to his Lord:

"Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."

The key to understanding this lies in identifying the two distinct persons referred to by the name of "Lord." The first use of the word refers unmistakably to Jehovah. The other word "Lord" is the Hebrew adon and means "master" or "ruler." It was sometimes used as a name of God and sometimes applied to a human master. Although the word itself does not always indicate a Divine Person, the words that follow show that David's Lord (Adon) was equal with God.

One day when Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in Jerusalem, He asked them what they believed concerning the identity of the Messiah. From whom would the Promised One be descended? They answered correctly that He would be the Son of David. But Jesus showed them that according to Psalm 110 (which they acknowledged to be messianic) the Messiah would also be David's Lord. How could He be David's Son and David's Lord at the same time? And how could David, the king, have someone who was his Lord on earth?

The answer of course was that the Messiah would be both God and Man. As God, He would be David's Lord. As Man, He would be David's Son. And Jesus Himself, combining in His Person both deity and humanity, was David's Master and David's Son.

It was the moment of truth for the Pharisees. Yet in spite of all the evidence, they were unwilling to acknowledge Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. So we read:

And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore (Mat 22:41-46; cf. Mar 12:35-37; Luk 20:41-44).

The NT writers leave no room for doubt that the One who is seated at God's right hand is none other than Jesus of Nazareth (Mat 26:64; Mar 14:62; Mar 16:19; Luk 22:69; Act 2:34-35; Act 5:31; Act 7:55-56; Rom 8:34; 1Co 15:24ff; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3, Heb 1:13; Heb 8:1; Heb 10:12-13; Heb 12:2; 1Pe 3:22; Rev 3:21). Therefore verse 1 tells what Jehovah said to the LORD Jesus on the latter's ascension day when He sat down at God's right hand. But He is only there till His enemies are made His footstool.

110:2 Between verses 1 and 2 we have what H. A. Ironside called "the great parenthesis"—the Church Age which extends from the enthronement of Christ to His Second Coming. In verse 2 we see Jehovah sending forth Messiah's royal rod from Zion; in other words, the Lord establishes Christ as King with Jerusalem as His capital. This scepter is the symbol of royal authority. Christ is given authority to reign over all the earth in the midst of His enemies. "Rule in the midst of Your enemies." Prior to this time the Lord Jesus will have destroyed His unreconstructed foes. Here it is not a matter of destroying His foes but of ruling over those foes who have become His friends and who gladly submit to His rule.

110:3 This is confirmed by verse 3. His people offer themselves willingly on the day He leads His army upon the holy mountain. Or as the NKJV states it:

Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness. . . .

Here a willing people greet the King in holy array. "In their lives and conduct," writes Barnes, "they will manifest all the beauty or attractiveness which there is in a holy and pure character."

The last part of verse 3 has been the torture of translators and commentators. Scroggie paraphrases as follows: ". . . as dew is born of its mother the morning, so Thy army shall come to Thee numerous, fresh, bright and powerful."

110:4 One of the extraordinary features of the Kingdom is that the Lord Jesus will combine in His person the dual offices of king and priest. It is a combination that is highly dangerous in the case of mere human rulers; the loud, long cry for separation of church and state has not been without valid cause. But the combination is ideal when Jesus is the Ruler. Uncorrupted kingship and spiritual priesthood will give the world an administration such as it has longed for but has never known.

In verse 4 we learn four things concerning the priesthood of the Messiah:

He was made a priest by the oath of Jehovah.

This appointment was irrevocable.

His priesthood is eternal.

It is according to the order of Melchizedek.

The phrase "according to the order of Melchizedek" is interpreted for us in Hebrews 5-7. There the priesthood of Melchizedek is compared and contrasted with the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood.

Under the law God designated the men of the tribe of Levi and the family of Aaron to be priests. Their priesthood was a matter of parentage and it terminated with their death.

The priesthood of that mysterious personage Melchizedek was by sovereign appointment of God. It was not inherited from his parents ("without father, without mother, without genealogy," Heb 7:3 a) and there is no mention of his priesthood ever beginning or ending ("having neither beginning of days nor end of life," Heb 7:3 b). In these and other ways, the Melchizedekan priesthood was superior to that of Levi. Melchizedek was a prototype of the Lord Jesus. Our Lord's priesthood was not a matter of parentage; He was of the tribe of Judah, not Levi. His priesthood was established by the sovereign eternal decree of God, and since He lives in the power of an endless life, His priesthood will never end.

Another way in which Melchizedek foreshadowed the Messiah is that he was both king and priest. His name and title signify that he was king of righteousness and king of peace (Heb 7:2). He was also priest of God Most High (Gen 14:18).

110:5 The last three verses of the Psalm picture the Lord Jesus as a mighty Conqueror, putting down all lawlessness and rebellion prior to the inauguration of His kingdom. The problem of identifying the personages in these verses is largely solved if we think of them as being addressed to Jehovah and as referring to the Messiah-King. Thus verse 5 would read:

The LORD (Adonai—here the Lord Jesus) is at Your (Jehovah's) right hand; He (Messiah) shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.

110:6 It is the Lord Jesus marching forth against the Gentile nations, as foreseen in Joe 3:9-17; Zec 14:3; and Rev 19:11-21. He executes judgment among the nations, strewing the landscape with their corpses. The further statement "He shall execute the heads of many countries" could also be translated "He shall strike through the head over a wide land." This could be a reference to the doom of the Man of Sin, "whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming" (2Th 2:8).

110:7 As He goes forth to deal with His foes, the King shall drink of the brook by the wayside. Since water is often a type of the Holy Spirit (Joh 7:38-39), this suggests that the Lord is refreshed and reinvigorated by the ministry of the Spirit, and this explains why He subsequently lifts up His head in victory.