Psalm 110 - The Credentials for the Messiah

This psalm both challenges and comforts. We are presented with a prophecy about the Messiah, but instead of the familiar shepherd figure we see a conqueror, a victorious King about to finish the battle. Throughout we are faced with reminders about how we should live in light of Christ’s glorious return to come, and we are left with a reminder that to glorify Christ is our complete aim.

The Lord says to my Lord

The beginning of the psalm is of great importance, and must be read together with the preface ‘Of David.’ With most psalms, the fact they are written by David adds little significance to the words and message, however here the opposite is true- the fact David is writing it adds huge emphasis and weight to what is being said. ‘The Lord says to my lord’, here David, the giant-slaying, God-appointed ruler of Israel calls the Messiah ‘lord’. Bearing in mind that the Messiah was firstly not born yet and, secondly, was to come from David’s line shows that this is no ordinary man.

No ordinary man is recognised as ‘Lord’ by his forefathers. Indeed, this verse is used by Jesus in Matthew 22: 43-45, where he points out that even the mighty David points to him as Lord. As well as being significant from a Messianic-prophecy perspective, this also seems to present a challenge to us. Do we live with Jesus as Lord? It is all too easy to profess that we serve him, when in reality we vastly underestimate the reverence and glory he deserves. This is no ordinary leader to begrudgingly obey, but the one and only rightful and good King. Do we, like David, fully recognise this?

Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet

God’s interaction for the Messiah to ‘Sit’ acts as a helpful reminder to us- the work is done. This instruction to sit seems not in keeping with the rest of the psalm, where God is doing battle, but actually it exposes the truth about God’s kingdom. The work is completed but has not yet been fully realised. Christ has done all that needs to be done, but at the same time we are waiting for his return. This is a useful reminder when considering the mess of the world in which we live.

Christ will return to make things right. However the emphasis here is not so much on the glory of his coming, but the terror of it. Here is not the image of the Lamb, but rather of the Lion, slaying his enemies and trampling them underfoot. Does this inspire our evangelism? How much more urgent would our witness be if we fully understood the gravity of his return? If our fear of the Lord matched what he says about himself then surely the comfortable excuses that choke our evangelism would dissolve.

The Lord will extend your mighty sceptre from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”

Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendour, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb

In these verses the figures of the Father and the Son draw closer together, it is the Father extending the sceptre with which the Son rules, showing that they are one and the same. The beginning of verse 3 seems particularly significant. The psalmist prophesies that Jesus’ troops will be willing on his day of battle, or, in other words, Jesus’ followers are prepared to work for his glory, even when that means battle.

This isn’t a begrudging willingness, but an enthusiastic, whole hearted desire to see Christ glorified. How far do we fall short of this! Our desire to emulate and glorify the Lord should be akin to battle fever, we should have holy bloodlust in our eyes as we seek serve the Lord. Romans 12:1 echoes this, calling us to offer ourselves ‘as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing.’ Glorifying God and living to see his kingdom realised should be the aim of our lives- something we all too easily forget as we go about our daily routines.

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

Here, the psalmist reinforces the promise- making it crystal clear that this will happen. The promise itself is slightly strange- the Messiah will be a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. ‘Forever’ is another confirmation that the coming Messiah is no ordinary man, but one who will reign eternally, but the strangeness lies in the next bit of the verse. Melchizedek is only talked about once in the bible, but his sole appearance has an extraordinary number of parallels with Christ.

Melchizedek features in Genesis 14:18-20, as both the King (of Salem) and ‘priest of God Most High’ (importantly, a priest who is not descended from Aaron) who blesses and receives a tithe from Abraham. His position as both a King and a Priest clearly points to Jesus, the perfect example of one who both reigns forever and makes us eternally right with God. Interestingly, Salem is an ancient name for Jerusalem, making Melchizedek ruler over God’s holy city, something which Jesus will one day fulfil. The fact that Melchizedek blesses Abraham and receives a tithe from him shows the power balance- Melchizedek is Abraham’s superior. In the same way, the father of Judaism is under the Messiah, Jesus came not as a continuation of the Abrahamic covenant but as a fulfilment of it.

The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high.

The psalmist concludes by focusing on the day of the Messiah’s victory. Again, we see the uncomfortable side of this- it is not a bloodless conflict but one in which the proud rulers are humbled. I think this acts as a helpful reminder of the futility of worldly aspirations- these worldly rulers who we aspire to on some level are reduced to nothingness in the face of Christ’s return.

The message is clear- when Jesus comes, make sure you’ve picked the right side. But the psalm doesn’t end here. Instead of an ominous, slightly threatening ending we are left with a picture of Christ lifting his head- of Christ being exalted. This last line seems to sum up the psalm as a whole. Yes, Jesus’ arrival will be terrifying. Yes, his enemies will be obliterated. But to what end? To his glory. Christ’s exaltation is the point of his coming. To glorify Christ is the complete aim, so let’s live like it.