Introduction
What is your favorite chapter in the Old Testament?
Some of the Psalms may come to mind. Psalms are easy to identify with. According to God's design, many Psalms lack historical reference points that naturally make them prayers for God's people of any age.
Psalm 23. The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.
Psalm 63. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 119. How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
Do you see what I mean? It is not hard to identify where I belong in reference to the text.
Psalm 23. I want for nothing because the Lord is my Shepherd.
Psalm 63. I need to seek the Lord like a thirsty man in the desert.
Psalm 119. I need to guard my heart with God's Word.
The New Testament Writers's Favorite Old Testament Bible Verse
Did you know that the New Testament writers had a favorite Bible verse? Well...they at least had a most repeated verse from the Old Testament. It comes from the Psalms. Psalm 110:1. In fact, this verse is quoted or alluded to over 20 times by various New Testament writers. By virtue of references and allusions, Psalm 110 is the most popular Old Testament chapter in the New Testament.
What was it that made the New Testament writers so excited about Psalm 110?
Psalm 110
A Psalm of David.
It is important to remember this is part of the original Hebrew manuscripts. Jesus believes this is key to interpreting the Psalm (Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, and Luke 20:42). If someone other than David wrote the Psalm, then the meaning is distorted.
1 The LORD says to my Lord:
Our English Bibles distinguish between the words YWH and Adonai in Hebrew with a distinct capitalization of YWH as LORD. Thus, Adonai is translated as Lord, distinguished from LORD.
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
The imagery here is one of conquest and victory. Remember Joshua standing on the necks of the defeated Canaanite Kings in the conquest for the promised land (Joshua 10)?
2 The LORD sends forth from Zion
your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your enemies!
Zion is the mountain that Jerusalem sits on. This foreshadows of the commission given in Acts 1:8. Jesus commissions the disciples to go out from Jerusalem to Judea, to Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. The image of a scepter going forth is one of power going forth. Remember the disciples are to go forth now with the power of the Holy Spirit. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you to be my witnesses. The scepter was a symbol of the king's power. Think of a flag. Two images come to my mind. First is the scene from the movie the Patriot. Remember Mel Gibson's character grabbing the flag from the retreating soldier. He takes the flag and runs forward pushing the renewing the energy of an almost faltered battlefront. Second is the image of the Marines planting the flag on Iwo Jima. The battle was still raging but they took the mountain. They planted the flag. They planted the banner or scepter of power as a symbol of what was to come. American victory. We don't readily understand scepters today. But the image of a countries flag is an image of their power. That's why conquering armies take down the enemy's flag and plant their own as a symbol of power.
The Messiah to come is sent forth out of Jerusalem with a banner of victory. Jesus's banner of victory is the cross. His power is the resurrection.
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.
The freely surrendered people now look to the scepter for deliverance. The people are not conscripted soldiers. They are willing freedom fighters joining the conquest of the warrior-King. The king supplies them with holy garments. As we'll learn from verse 4, the holy garments are supplied from His holy priesthood.
4 The LORD has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.”
Melchizedek appears in Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and in the book of Hebrews (primarily in Hebrews 7). He's a mysterious figure who according to the author of Hebrews is exalted above the Levitical Priesthood for two reasons:
Abraham (in Genesis 14 he's still referred to as Abram) offers Melchizedek tithes from the blunder of his battle.
Melchizedek blesses Abraham.
Since a tithe is given to the one who is greater and since a blessing is alwasy given from one who is greater to the lesser, Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. And by proxy, Melchizedek is greater than Levi. The priesthood of Melchizedek is superior to the priesthood of Levi. This is the priesthood of which the warrior-King will belong. The Messiah cannot be king from the line of Judah and priest from the line of Levi. In the Law of Moses, dual offices of Priest-King were prohibited. But from Genesis 14, we learn that Melchizedek was not only a priest. He was also a king. He was Melkizedek, which means King of Righteousness. He was king of Salem, which means peace. He was a priest of the Most High God.
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.
The remaining verses tell of a day of wrath (vs. 5), a coming judgment (vs. 6), and certain victory (vs. 7).
Conclusion
Where do you belong in the Psalm?
You either come to the warrior-King by virtue of His marvelous mercy and priesthood that is forever or by virtue of his coming wrath that is certain. The warrior-King will come to set things right.
From this side of the cross, we can see that the conquest of Jesus is to reclaim what rightfully belongs to Him. For the believer, the certainty of his priesthood offers hope.
Hebrews 7:22-28,
"22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever."
For the unbeliever, verses 5-7 represent an awful and terrifying reality. May the warning of God in His Word, which is not changing, offer a sobering warning to repent quickly. As Psalm 2:12 says, "12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him."