January 30
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PSALM 110 IN ANTICIPATION OF THE MESSIAH’S COMING
The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! 3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. 4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek.” 5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth 7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
therefore he will lift up his head. – Psalm 110:1-7
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According to ESV study notes, this psalm anticipates the coming of the Messiah. The Israelites sang this song to celebrate God’s promises to David, to yearn for the day when the Gentiles receive the light through the Messiah and to pledge to be faithful to their calling until that great day.
The opening of this psalm is an oracle from the LORD to the Davidic king. “Sit at my right hand” means it is a position of honor. “Rule in the midst of your enemies” is a promise of protection for the king to remember that God is with him as he rules his people. In verse 3, it shows the loyalty of the people of God to the anointed king and that he has no need to fear. “From the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours”, I would like to quote Mclaren on this verse: “But the reference of the expression is to the army, not to its leader. ‘Youth’ here is a collective noun, equivalent to ‘young men.’ The host of his soldier-subjects is described as a band of young warriors, whom he leads, in their fresh strength and countless numbers and gleaming beauty like the dew of the morning.”
In verse 4, we hear the promise of God to David that he comes from the order of Melchizedek, a priest forever. In Genesis 14, Melchizedek was not merely a worshipper of the true God. He had the honored title priest of the Most High God. The greatness of God magnified the greatness of Melchizedek’s priesthood. Guzik comments on verse 6 as anticipating the slaughter at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16, 19:11-21). Spurgeon comments on verse 7: “His own head shall be lifted high in victory, and his people, in him, shall be upraised also.”
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REFLECTION
• How does this psalm give us a joyful anticipation of the second coming of the Lord? What do we need to picture in this covenant promise of God to his people?