Psalm 110:1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

2 The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

4 The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.

7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

MEMORY VERSE: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his foot stool. —Hebrews 10:12-13

CENTRAL THOUGHT: Our Lord Jesus Christ, after He had suffered the death of the cross in obedience to the will of God, was given the position of power at the right hand of God in the heavenly places as our High Priest, to intercede with God on our behalf. He has thus remained and will remain until God calls this world to judgment.

WORD DEFINITIONS

Psalm 110:1 “The Lord said”: from the Hebrew , “An oracle of Jehovah.” An oracle is a special divine statement, decree or announcement, much more serious and weighty than a mere remark or comment. Notice that this Lord is Jehovah, the self-existent or Eternal One, and is the Jewish national name of God. He is the Creator, our heavenly Father. “Unto my Lord”: from the Hebrew word in an emphatic form, “Lord” meaning one who rules as sovereign lord, owner and controller. The Holy Spirit witness reveals this to be Christ Jesus, our Lord, Master and Savior.

Psalm 110:2 The rod of thy strength”: the gospel of His Word backed by the Holy Spirit. This is the rod by which Christ rules in His Church and the influence and force He exerts from out of His Church to the world of humanity. By this He reigns triumphantly before all of His opponents and gainsayers. He allows His enemies to go right on in their pernicious ways as if they were the ones prevailing, but in reality He is prevailing and victorious in the unseen realm of the Spirit, waiting for the day when He will visibly prevail over them to their eternal ruin.

Psalm 110:3 “Willing”: spontaneous; a Hebrew word which means acting in accordance with or resulting from a natural feeling, impulse or tendency, without any external constraint, cause or influence. The influence is there but it has been wrought within the heart and causes a joyful and cheerful response. The people who are His own are free-will offerings, who are happy to present their bodies as living sacrifices unto God. “In the day of thy power”: the Gospel day of His going forth to gain those who will believe in and obey Him. “In the beauties of holiness”: the elevated magnificence of a pure and sinless life obtained through the blood of Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit. “From the womb of the morning”: an endearing expression meaning the compassion and cherished love (as is felt in a mother’s heart for the child of her womb) for Christ and the souls of men. It causes the light to break forth as the dawn and the Daystar to arise In the hearts of those who are sitting in darkness and yearning for the light. “Thou hast the dew of thy youth”: eternal youth, beauty, power, strength and triumphant life which has been given to our blessed Jesus in His glorious resurrection. The entire verse speaks to the early morning of the Church of God, which was established on the day of Pentecost.

Psalm 110:4 “Priest”: one who mediates or intercedes between God and man. “After the order of Melchizedek”: after the manner, suit or style of Melchizedek, who was the priest of Salem in Abraham’s time, to whom Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils he had taken from battle, and of whom he received blessings. Melchizedek was a priest, not because of lineage, as the Levitical priests were, but because of his faithfulness and righteous life before God and man. Thus, Christ was designated to be High Priest after this order, because of His obedience and faithfulness to the will of God.

LESSON BACKGROUND

Psalm 110 is quoted in the New Testament about as much as any one scripture from the Old Testament. It is one of the main supports of the Holy Scriptures of the truth of Christ; however, it is greatly discredited by opponents of Christianity. It is a Psalm of David, who wrote it under weighty inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Jesus quoted from it in Matthew 22:44.

Peter applied it to Christ in Acts 2:34-35. The writer of the book of Hebrews quoted from it and dwelt extensively on the two thoughts contained therein, namely, that of Christ being at the right hand of God, and the priesthood that Christ had been given by God. Paul mentioned it in his writings. Mark 16:19 says, “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” All of this was in accord with and a fulfillment of the 110th Psalm.

The entire Psalm is about Jesus and can be applied directly to His work at the right hand of God. As Intercessor and High Priest He is attending to the needs of His people who are calling upon Him daily. The heavens will hold Him until the Father says, “It is enough. “Then He will come in power and glory, destroy this present earth and heavens and bring mankind to the judgment. Christ fulfilled this prophecy when He ascended up to the right hand of the Father to intercede for the saints until it is time for God to make His enemies His footstool.

—Bro. Leslie Busbee

DISCUSSION:

  1. Who were the two “Lords” mentioned in Psalm 110?
  2. What was Christ to do at the right hand of God?
  3. In what way was He to rule in the midst of His enemies?
  4. What kind of people were to work for Christ?
  5. When will the Father make Christ’s enemies His footstool?

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

The Lord God Almighty spoke in prophecy to His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and commissioned Him to sit at His own right hand in the heavenly places until it was time for His foes to be subjected unto Him. Jesus had been faithful and obedient to the heavenly Father while He was on earth and had offered His body on the cross of Calvary as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Because of His obedience, God rewarded Christ by highly exalting Him and giving Him a name which is above every name in heaven and earth. He gave Him the power to ascend up through the veil that hangs between the realm of earth and the eternal realm of heaven. He ascended up to the side of His Father, Jehovah.

From there Christ was to wield the rod of His strength, His Word and Holy Spirit, to the execution of His will and good pleasure upon all who would believe and follow Him. He was given the authority and power to pour out the Holy Spirit upon His Church and all who would be added to His Church. He would reign at the right hand of God while the world went ahead in its cycle of wickedness and unbelief. He would work with souls to their salvation; or to their destruction if they persisted in their sinful ways. There at the right hand of God He would appear on behalf of all who would come unto God by Him in prayer and supplication.

The day will soon come when His Father will say, “The time has come for Your enemies to be made Your footstool!” Through all of these 2000 years God has lengthened out the day of grace to take in “whosoever will.” However, His day will come, and we who are ready and love His appearing will be gathered together in one mighty throng to live and reign with Christ, our heavenly Bridegroom forever and ever. May we live to be accounted worthy of this royal honor!

—Bro. Leslie Busbee

REFLECTIONS

In this Psalm the writer speaks of Christ having the dew of youth. In Hosea 14:5, God promised that He would be “as the dew unto Israel.” The dew was described by commentator Alexander MacLaren in this way: “Heavy night-clouds that come upon the wings of the south-west wind, to diffuse moisture and freshness over the parched plains, in the very height and fierceness of summer.” How often, in the parched times of our lives, we have experienced the refreshing comfort of Christ’s Spirit, along with His Word, as in Deuteronomy 32:2 we read, “My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.” There is nothing so pure as this distilled liquid shining morning by morning upon every leaf and blade—each droplet like a prism, reflecting its own little rainbow—and reviving the blossoms that, by the end of the hot, weary day, were drooping their heads to the dust!

It is common in Scripture that as a writer describes the characteristics of Christ, the description is carried on to His followers as well; so this beautiful, refreshing quality was also foretold of God’s people: “And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass” (Micah 5:7).

Not only does Christ possess this in Himself, He also imparts His refreshing dew into our lives, and only as we live in Him and by Him can we impart this sweet influence to the world around us. I can only bring life and cheer to others as I am daily refreshed and invigorated by His Word and Spirit.

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck