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Psalms 110

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The LORD Exalts the Messianic King 1–3

1
Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool. ​
2
Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion: Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. ​
3
Thy people offer themselves willingly In the day of thy power, in holy array: Out of the womb of the morning Thou hast the dew of thy youth. ​

A Priest for Ever after the Order of Melchizedek 4–7

4
Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever After the order of Melchizedek. ​
5
The Lord at thy right hand Will strike through kings in the day of his wrath. ​
6
He will judge among the nations, He will fillthe placeswith dead bodies; He will strike through the head in many countries. ​
7
He will drink of the brook in the way: Therefore will he lift up the head. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 110

Verse 1

The LORD said unto my Lord — Neum, an oracle, the word of 'saith the LORD'; the first name is the divine name, the second adon, master. Christ asked how David 'in spirit' calls his son 'Lord' (Matt 22:43–45), and Peter says David 'is not ascended into the heavens' but spoke it of another (Acts 2:34–35). 'Footstool' is hadom, as in Ps 99:5.

Verse 2

the rod of thy strength — Matteh is a rod or staff of rule, and the LORD sends it 'out of Zion', from which 'shall go forth the law' (Isa 2:3). 'Rule' is radah, to tread down and have dominion, the verb of Gen 1:28 and of Ps 72:8, 'He shall have dominion also from sea to sea'. The rule is exercised 'in the midst of thine enemies'.

Verse 3

Thy people shall be willing — Nedabah is the freewill offering, the word of the 'willing offering' brought for the tabernacle in Ex 35:29; the people come as an offering of their own will. 'Power' is chayil, force or army. 'Beauties of holiness' is hadre qodesh, holy array; compare 'the beauty of holiness' in 1 Chr 16:29.

Verse 4

a priest for ever — The LORD 'hath sworn, and will not repent' (nacham; cf. Num 23:19). Hebrews builds on the oath: the Levitical priests 'were made without an oath', but this one 'with an oath' (Heb 7:20–21). Melchizedek is the king of Salem who was 'the priest of the most high God' (Gen 14:18). 'Order' (dibrah) is a rare word, found nowhere else in the Psalms.

Verse 5

The Lord at thy right hand — In v.1 the king sits at the LORD's right hand; here the Lord is at his. Ps 16:8 says 'he is at my right hand'. 'Strike through' is machats, to smash, the verb of 'wound' in v.6. 'Kings' recalls Ps 2:2, and 'the day of his wrath' is the day when 'the kings of the earth' hide (Rev 6:15–17).

Verse 6

He shall judge among the heathen — Din, to judge or pronounce for; Isa 2:4 has 'he shall judge among the nations'. Christ says the Father 'hath committed all judgment unto the Son' (John 5:22). To 'wound the heads' uses machats again; Ps 68:21 has 'God shall wound the head of his enemies', and Hab 3:13 'thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked'.

Verse 7

drink of the brook in the way — Nachal is a torrent or stream-bed, whose water is taken on the road. Early Christian writers read it as the course of human mortality, which Christ tasted in passing, and so lifted up his head. 'Lift up the head' (rum, rosh) is God's own gift in Ps 3:3, 'my glory, and the lifter up of mine head'.