Psalm 110 is another Messianic Psalm, prophetic as King David speaks of “my lord”. It is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament. Jesus, Peter, and the author of Hebrews and others quoted it or alluded to it some 2 dozen times to prove that Jesus is the Messiah — both God AND Priest! Let’s dig in…
Psalm 110
Of David. A psalm.
1 The Lord says to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”2 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion (Jerusalem), saying,
“Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
3 Your troops will be willing
on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor,
your young men will come to you
like dew from the morning’s womb.4 The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”5 The Lord is at your right hand;
Psalm 110 NIV
he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
7 He will drink from a brook along the way,
and so he will lift his head high.
Pastor Sandy Adams elaborates…
Remember, David was king, and since only God was superior to the king – who is God addressing? “The LORD said to (David’s) Lord…?”
God has to be talking to God. That’s possible only if this Messiah is both God and man. And that’s exactly what the New Testament says of Jesus.
Psalm 110 is all about the Messiah… His position in the heavens, verses 1-2 – His priesthood in the temple, verses 3-4 – and His purging of the earth, verses 5-7.
Pastor Sandy Adams
Capital “L” Lord or lower case “l” lord? Does it make a difference? I’ve embedded some ineresting podcasts below from 2 Messianic Jewish organizations discussing this very Psalm.
Psalm 110 Quoted in the New Testament
In Matthew:
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
41 Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They replied, “He is the son of David.”
43 Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’45 Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”
46 No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Matthew 22:41-46 NLT (emphasis mine)
Jesus quoted verse 1 to prove His deity to the Pharisees who opposed Him. He made such a good point that no one dared ask Him any more questions! They would have dug their hole deeper. This is also recorded in Luke 20 and Mark 12.
Luke reports that Peter, speaking to the Jews who had come to Jerusalem for Pentecost, used this verse in the Book of Acts as proof that Jesus was the Messiah.
32 “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. 33 Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. 34 For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
35 until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.”’36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
Acts 2:32-36 NLT (emphasis mine)
Related: Who was or is Melchizedek?
In Hebrews
The Son Is Greater Than the Angels
5 For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus:
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.” [Psalm 2:7]God also said,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son.” [2 Samuel 7:14]6 And when he brought his supreme [firstborn] Son into the world, God said,
“Let all of God’s angels worship him.” [Deut 32:43]
7 Regarding the angels, he says,
“He sends his angels like the winds,
his servants like flames of fire.” [Psalm 104:4]8 But to the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever.
You rule with a scepter of justice.
9 You love justice and hate evil.
Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you,
pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.” [Psalm 45:6-710 He also says to the Son,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth
and made the heavens with your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain forever.
They will wear out like old clothing.
12 You will fold them up like a cloak
and discard them like old clothing.
But you are always the same;
you will live forever.” [Psalm 102:25-27]13 And God never said to any of the angels,
“Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.” [Psalm 110:1]14 Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.
Hebrews 1:5-14 (emphasis mine)
You see, Jesus and the Apostles couldn’t teach from the New Testament because it wasn’t written yet. They were writing it as they went doing what the Messiah told them to do — spreading the Gospel…
“And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8b NLT
They taught from the Old Testament Scriptures — to both Jews and Gentiles. Today, we are blessed to have both Testaments to study. Furthermore, we must not only READ the Word of God, but OBEY it! Because as David wrote in this Psalm, Messiah will…
- Humble Israel’s enemies — He’s doing that now to the enemies Hamas and Hezbollah.
- Extend Israel’s Kingdom past Jerusalem (Zion).
- Refresh Israel’s soldiers as they go to war.
- Be a Priest forever in the Order of Melchizedek — both Priest AND King!
- Strike down many kings (or leaders) — doing that now! Hezbollah terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah was eliminated yesterday, Sept. 27, 2024.
- Punish the nations. (It’s a promise: Genesis 12:3!)
- Be victorious. Jesus wins in the end. We can read this in the Book of Revelation.
The Messiah at God’s Right Hand
Where is Jesus now? Stephen, as he was being stoned to death, saw Him…
54 The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 56 And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”
Acts 8:54-56 NLT
Jesus told us…
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
John 14:1-6 NLT
That friends is the Rapture. Jesus wil come back when God tells Him everything is ready for His Bride — His born-again believers. That is our Confident Hope — our assurance — that this world is not all there is! Our Home and citizenship is in Heaven.
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
