Well, you can turn in your Bibles to that particular Psalm, Psalm 110. God willing, we'll resume our studies in the Gospel of John, finishing the Upper Room Discourse in two weeks. As Mark said, we have a baptism next week. So this morning, I thought it would be an encouraging word for us to look at Psalm 110 as we enter into a new year.

If you are familiar with Psalm 10, that's good. We just sang it, of course. We sing it a lot in our church. And it is, at least verse one, is one of the most alluded to or quoted verses in all of the New Testament.

So you're probably very familiar with the first verse. We'll look at that, but then the remainder of the verses as well. So I'll read Psalm 110, beginning in verse one, and may God the Lord give us this mindset as we enter into a new year. A Psalm of David.

Declaration of Enthronement

The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people shall be volunteers in the day of your power.

In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, you have the due of your youth. The Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand.

He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations. He shall fill the places with dead bodies. He shall execute the heads of many countries.

He shall drink of the brook by the wayside. Therefore, He shall lift up the head. Amen. Well, let us pray.

Opening Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the Lord's Day. We thank you for the privilege to gather in the house of God with your people. We pray that you would be enthroned upon our praises, that you would be glorified as we gather together, that we would come to the Father through the Son in the Spirit, and that you would be all in all in this place. Do forgive us now for all of our sins.

We pray for the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us and to lead us into truth, And we know the Spirit's ministry, according to our Lord Jesus in John 16, is to glorify Jesus. So we pray that the Spirit who gave us Psalm 110 would shine the light upon the subject of Psalm 110. And we ask this in Christ's holy name. Amen.

Introduction

Well, as we come to this particular Psalm, you'll notice the superscription, a Psalm of David. Now, some have suggested that the Psalm itself is about David. And that is unfortunately not correct. The prophecy contained in Psalm 110 is much bigger than any regular or ordinary kingship.

It applies to the Lord Jesus Christ. Had our brother Mark continued to read in the gospel of Mark in chapter 12, a parallel is in Matthew chapter 21, the next section of Jesus' confrontation with the religious leaders is a question posed by Jesus. So up to that point, you see the Sadducees, you see the Pharisees, you see the scribe, they all confront Jesus with these particular questions. And then Jesus hits them with this question.

He says, whose son is the Christ? And of course they say, the son of David. So then Jesus says, well, why in the spirit does David call him Lord? And of course he's speaking about Psalm 110.

And so what we have in Psalm 110 is a wonderful presentation by way of a prophetic statement concerning the Lord Jesus Christ in his kingly and priestly office. Martin Luther made the observation. He said, this beautiful psalm is the very core and quintessence of the whole scripture. No other psalm prophesies as abundantly and completely about Christ.

It portrays the Lord and his entire kingdom and is full of comfort for Christians. for he is a lovable, comforting king and priest for those poor, miserable, suffering, and plagued Christians on earth." I think he's absolutely spot on. And I, by the way, am not making a prophetic announcement for 2025 that all of us will be poor, miserable, suffering, and plagued. But if things go the way things are going, we ought to expect a degree of oppression and persecution and the sorts of things that our brothers and sisters have faced throughout the entirety of their time on earth. Well,

Enthronement of Christ (vv. 1–3)

I want to look first at the enthronement of Christ in verses 1 to 3, secondly, the priesthood of Christ in verse 4, and then finally, the triumph of Christ in verses 5 to 7. Note first his enthronement. We have a declaration in verse one. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.

Now, I think there's a strong connection between Psalm 110 and Psalm 2. I preached on Psalm 2 within the last several months, and we saw there that the man of Psalm 1 is the king of Psalm 2. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christopher Ashe, who by the way, I'm gonna quote again, if you want to spend some money well, there's a four volume commentary by Christopher Ashe on the Psalms.

And the first volume, he highlights or he argues as to why the Psalms are all about Jesus. I know it's typical for us to find ourselves in the Psalms. And I'm not suggesting we can't learn lessons or there's implications or applications. The Psalter's about Jesus.

When we sing the Psalms, we're singing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Anyways, Christopher Ashe, good book. He makes this observation with reference to links with Psalm 2. It includes the titles Lord and Lord, the verb to sit, hostility to God and His Christ, rod, scepter is used, Zion, verbs for breaking or shattering, God's anger, God's judgment, and then the nations.

All things that you see there in Psalm 2. So if I mention Psalm 2 along the way, you'll understand why. But as well, note the language in verse 1 specifically, the Lord said to my Lord. If you're using the New King James Version or other English translations, you probably have capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D in the first instance of Lord.

And then in the second instance, you have capital L and then lowercase, O-R-D. It's the way the English translations mark off the sacred name of Yahweh. When it's all capitalized, it's referring to Yahweh. So what you have here is that Yahweh said to my Lord, Adonai.

Now the Apostle Peter, when he's preaching on the day of Pentecost, uses Lord twice, but here specifically in the Hebrew you've got Yahweh said to my Adonai. So there are distinct persons involved in this particular situation. And I would suggest the distinct persons involved in this situation is God the Father and God the Son. And we see that God the Son is the one of whom the psalm is spoken, and it's God the Son who wages wars and gets victory over his enemies.

I think what we see in the text is what we've seen in John's gospel. We call it the hypostatic union, the union of two natures in the one person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, Ash says, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David prophesies about a person of infinite greatness who will be his descendant according to his humanity, but his Lord in virtue of his divinity. So when the scribes and the Pharisees answer the question in Matthew's gospel, whose son is he?

And they say, David's. They're not altogether wrong. But they're wrong in understanding the nature of the second person of the Trinity who assumes our humanity, who takes on our humanity. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Ash continues, this greater David will be both king and priest, conquering the world with and for his people. That's the mindset that I think is helpful as we approach a new year. There is difficulty in this present evil age. There is hardship.

There is woe. There is suffering. How do we make it through that? Is it by virtue of how good we are at persevering in the midst of it?

Or is it by virtue of the fact that Christ is enthroned at the right hand of God Most High where he must reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool. I would suggest it's the latter. Keep your mind focused upon the Lord of Glory and upon the emphasis in a psalm like this to get you through the difficulties in this present evil age. We will see when we finish up the Upper Room Discourse in two weeks' time, God willing, this is how Jesus ends the discourse.

These things I have spoken to you, that you may have peace. And then he says, in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. It's going to encourage them with that understanding of his reign and rule from the right hand of the father, of which he had already spoken to them in John 16, that he will return again or go again to his father. Notice, after this declaration, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.

He then underscores or applies it, or rather, I want to apply it specifically. So it says, sit at my right hand. This idea or this meaning is authority and dominion in the heavenly throne. It is authority and dominion.

And I think a specific reference is to the ascension of Christ and to the current session of Christ. We know the ascension of Christ in Acts chapter 2, verses 33 to 36. We looked at that a couple of weeks ago, last time we had a baptism. What does Peter say concerning the Lord Jesus?

That God has highly exalted him. He invokes this particular Psalm, Psalm 110.1. And then he tells us clearly, David himself did not ascend. David is writing about David's greater son and David's Lord.

He's writing about Jesus Christ. The ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ was to the right hand of the authority and power of God Almighty. Not as the second person of the Trinity, but as the second person of the Trinity who assumed our humanity. As the mediator, as the prophet, as the priest, as the king, as the one in whom all blessings flow, it is in that position of authority that Christ has ascended.

And then as well, the current session. So what is Christ doing now as he sits at the right hand of the Father on high?

The Current Session of Christ

Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, specifically in verses 20 to 28. This is commentary or sort of exposition or amplification of what we find here in Psalm 110.1. Notice in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 at verse 20, we've got the Ascension, Acts 2, 33 to 36, and various other passages in the New Testament, as well as various other passages in the Old Testament. Daniel 7, 13, and 14 is an Ascension text concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.

But here we have what's called the current session. If we ask the question, what's Jesus doing right now? We know He ever lives to make intercession for us. We know He's an advocate with the Father.

We know that He is that to us personally, individually, corporately as the church. What is Jesus doing at the right hand in terms of a comprehensive approach to the entirety of the cosmos? Notice in 1520, but now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order. Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's it is coming. Then comes the end.

One of the reasons I'm not a premillennialist. If you are, I don't mean to offend you, don't cancel me, don't get triggered, but note the connection. Christ at His coming, then comes the end. Christ comes, then comes the end.

You don't insert a thousand-year period into this particular passage to serve your eschatology. That's another sermon. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when or even after he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet.

The last enemy that will be destroyed is death, for he has put all things under his feet. But when he says all things are put under him, it is evident that he who put all things under him has accepted. Now, when all things are made subject to him, then the Son himself will also be subject to him, who put all things under him, that God may be all in all. So it refers to the ascension of our Lord Jesus in the current session.

The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. And now he highlights or underscores the glory of this. Note that language. You see it in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, "'Til I make your enemies your footstool." Sometimes the believer thinks that Jesus is going to lose.

Sometimes the believer thinks that everything is going to go badly always. Now brethren, that's not the same as saying there's going to be bad things until the Lord Jesus Christ returns. I agree with that. But to think that we always and only ever lose is not biblical.

Look at the language, till I make your enemies your footstool. Gill says this is an allusion to the custom of conquerors treading upon the necks of the conquered. If you don't like martial imagery and military language, Psalm 110 is probably not for you. Notice in Joshua 10, 24, and they drew near and put their feet on their necks.

That was the execution of the Amorite kings. 1 Kings 5, 3, you know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord is God because of the wars which were fought against him on every side until the Lord put his foes under the soles of his feet. Psalm 47, verse three, he will subdue the peoples under us and the nations under our feet. It is rich, beautiful, biblical language concerning the blessed triumph of this king-priest enthroned at the right hand of Yahweh. That steals the soul of the believer.

That helps the people of God to overcome. That helps the people of God to persevere and be steadfast. It doesn't alleviate the difficulties or the struggles or the hardships or the trials. but it steadies one in the midst of those things such that they can go forward in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Government Over Enemies and Church

He then gets concrete in terms of the application of this government. Notice the government over his enemies in verse two and the government over his church in verse three. The child born, the son given, according to Isaiah 9, 6, will have the government upon his shoulders. And the psalmist is doing the same thing here.

The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. How is that going to affect the enemies? Verse 2. How is that going to affect his church, his friends, his people?

Well, that's verse 3. Note with reference to the enemies, verse 2. The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion, rule in the midst of your enemies. Psalm 2, same sort of thing.

That one, that son of God is appointed upon the holy hill of Zion. And there specifically, he breaks rebels with a rod of iron and dashes the nations to pieces. Davis mentions on Psalm 2, the appointed king, verse 7, with worldwide sway, verse 8, to be established an overwhelming force, verse 9. He says, that is the decree that is controlling history.

Brethren, that's good news. It's not Trudeau that's controlling history. It's not American politics that's controlling history. It's the Lord Christ enthroned at the right hand of the Father that is controlling history.

It doesn't absolve us from the historical issues or problems, but it steadies us in the midst of it when the grind is upon us. This is a good perspective for a coming year. So in the enemies, or with reference to the enemies, rule in the midst of them, but then note with reference to his church in verse three, your people shall be volunteers in the day of your power. In the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning, you have the due of your youth.

That latter half is a little bit difficult. So we'll look at the first half first. It is the battle readiness of the people of God. It is the battle readiness of the people of God.

I know that we usually use this verse as a verse on the effectual call. He will make them willing in the day of his power. That is a biblical truth to be sure. But I think what's in view here is the battle readiness of the people of God to go along with the master and commander in his mighty exploits in history.

In other words, it speaks concerning the people of God who have a confidence in the king-priest that's at the right hand of the father and willingly engage in the battles that are ahead. They don't run and hide. I mean, sometimes they might. They come out of hiding and they stop running and they turn back into the fight.

They do what Christ calls them to do in this world. And what does Christ call us to do in this world? I think Paul summarizes it well in Philippians chapter two. We're to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation, holding forth the word of truth.

We're supposed to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into marvelous light. We have the blessed privilege to gather for Lord's Day worship, to meet with our blessed God. We see in the book of Revelation that Jesus walks in the midst of the lampstands. Now, brethren, I'm not suggesting he doesn't come to you in your private, quiet time, or that he doesn't come to you in your family worship.

But Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. There is something special about the corporate body of Christ's people gathered together, wherein he then walks in the midst of them. That is our privilege and our blessing. You say, well, how does that affect culture?

Well, first and foremost, it obeys God, which is absolutely positively the right response. Secondarily, the best way we can be countercultural is to just be people of the book. We'll look odd, we'll look weird, we'll look bizarre, but that's okay. People that can't tell you what a woman is really don't matter in terms of their assessment concerning your conduct on a Sunday.

Brethren, we are ready to fight the Lord's battles. I'm not advocating physical violence as church. I'm not telling you to take your guns out and go shoot whoever. As church, I'm simply suggesting that we fight the battles of our Lord.

There's a parallel in the song of Deborah in Judges chapter five. When leaders lead in Israel, when the people willingly offer themselves, bless the Lord. That's the idea here. But then that last clause, or that last part of the verse, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning, you have the due of your youth.

One take is that this refers to the multitude of Christ's people. Calvin represents this. David extols the divine favor displayed in increasing the number of Christ's people. And hence, in consequence of their extraordinary increase, he compares the youth or race which would be born to him to the due.

Not a bad interpretation. In other words, by virtue of the fact that the king priest is enthroned on the right hand of the father, and that the king priest in the upper room has said, I will not leave you orphans, I will send another comforter, even the spirit of truth, we have this confidence that there's going to be additions to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. That should be affirmed and confirmed when you get to the book of Revelation, and we have assembled before the throne a great multitude that no man can number. It shouldn't be surprising, based on the promise to Abraham, that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

Look up, Abraham. Can you count the stars? No. Well, your descendants are going to outnumber them.

Look at the sand on the seashore, Abraham. Can you count that? No. Well, your descendants are going to be more numerous than the sand on the seashore.

Brethren, there ought to be an expectation in our hearts that the Christ at the right hand of the Father, from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds along with the Father, is going to bless the proclamation of His truth. Why would we pray, Holy Spirit, bless Your Word, if we didn't believe it? Why would we pray, Holy Spirit, take Your Word, make it effectual to sinners, such that they by grace come out of darkness into marvelous light, if we didn't believe it? Perhaps we need to be more familiar with the promises of the Psalter that terminate on our Lord Jesus Christ and the blessings that flow to his church, and it might give us that battle-ready mindset.

Now, there's another interpretation that I quite like. Based on the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, some early interpreters saw it this way. The text goes this way, "...with thee is dominion in the day of thy power, in the splendors of thy saints. I have begotten thee from the womb before the morning." Of course, those early interpreters saw it as the eternal generation of the sun.

The Son is the Son, not by virtue of creation or by virtue of adoption, but by nature. He is eternally begotten by the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, through whom all things were made. Again, I quite like that. I'd at least like to think that the modern church would know that that's an option for interpretation when it comes to Psalm 110.

Priesthood of Christ (v. 4)

But let's move on to the priesthood. Notice the priesthood of Christ in verse 4. Again, a passage that you should be very familiar with. There's a tell in the text.

If Psalm 110.1 is a surprise to you, and Psalm 110.4 is a surprise to you, your homework assignment for this week is to read the book of Hebrews. Okay? Just read the book of Hebrews. And then you go, oh, that's where it comes from.

Note that statement, Hebrews 5.1. to nine basically is an exposition of Psalm 110.4. And the entirety of the book is not strictly speaking, I'm speaking a bit generally, expositional of Psalm 110.1. But specifically we see Hebrews six and seven deal with the priesthood of Melchizedek. Notice in verse four, the Lord has sworn and will not relent, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

There is an oath involved, Hebrews seven, 20 and 21. And in as much as he was not made priest without an oath, for they have become priests without an oath, but he with an oath by him who said to him, The decree given by God, this swearing by God, underscores the certainty of it. This is not haphazard. It's not lucky that Jesus came and happened to fulfill all these things that was spoken of somebody generally, and he fits the bill.

No. council of the covenant of redemption. Father gives to the son a multitude of miserable sinners to live for, to die for, and to be raised again for. The son willingly takes that to himself. And in the fullness of the time, God sends forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to do what?

To redeem those under the law. Not to just start a new religion or set forth a new view of ethics. but to redeem, to actually save his people from their sins. And what is vital to that saving his people from their sins is priesthood and sacrifice. The old covenant teaches us that.

How does sinful, guilty, dirty Israel enter into the tabernacle and then temple? Is it because they promised to do better next week? Is it because they, you know, had a few things wrong, but the Lord is judging on a curve, so come on in? No, I quite like the way Michael Morales says it.

They were taught that access to the Holy God was through a bloody knife and a smoking altar. The book of Leviticus resolves the tension that is introduced in the book of Exodus. Exodus ends with the tabernacle constructed. Exodus ends with God's glory coming down upon the tabernacle.

Exodus ends with Moses himself not being able to enter into the tabernacle. Why? Because he needed to be cleansed. He needed to be holy.

He needed to be purged. He needed to be washed. That's what Leviticus chapters 1 to 9 answer. Here's the sacrifice.

Here's the priesthood. At the end of chapter 9, they engage in it properly, and the fire of God comes down and consumes the sacrifice, and they rejoice with joy. And of course, in chapter 10, they have to botch it up, and then the fire comes down again, but it destroys Nadab and Abihu. But there must be priesthood.

There must be mediatorship. There must be reconciliation between two parties that are at odds with one another. And that's the emphasis in the book of Hebrews. So we see the Lord has sworn and will not relent.

You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Look back to Psalm 89 for just a moment. I think Psalm 89 is basically the covenant Psalm, and it rehearses the Davidic covenant, 2 Samuel chapter 7. So in Psalm 89, 2 Samuel 7 is sort of in the backdrop.

There's a promise of this one who will come to save his people from their sins. And notice what God says in Psalm 89, verse 30. If his sons forsake my law and do not walk in my judgments, if they break my statutes and do not keep my commandments. Talking about the Davidic line of kings.

Just like 2 Samuel 7 does, but in the Davidic line of Kings, there is this one who is particularly a son of God. There is this one who the rest of the Bible will refer to as the son of David and David's Lord. Notice in verse 32, then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, my loving kindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow my faithfulness to fail.

My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips. Once I have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David. His seed shall endure forever and his throne is the sun before me. It shall be established forever like the moon, even like the faithful witness in the sky.

God swore he will not relent, which as believers, this is great reminder, isn't it? The fact is, is that the priest ordained for us men and for our salvation, again, wasn't haphazard, wasn't a plan B, but was always the purpose and plan of our thrice holy and absolutely sovereign God. but as well for an unbeliever. You got to understand, if God is this invested in the saving of sinners, and you're a sinner to be saved, you can certainly come to this Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, he says as much in John's gospel.

He says, all that the Father gives me will come to me. There's that acknowledgement of divine sovereignty. It's not haphazard. It's not lucky.

It's not rabbit's foot theology, but all that the Father gives me will come to me. And he makes this blessed statement. The one who comes, I will certainly not cast out. This is the best thing you can hear if you're still an unbeliever as you enter into a new year.

But I don't want you to go home and say, well, maybe in February of 2025, I'll come to Lord Jesus Christ. No, Paul says today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to internalize these things. Today is the day to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.

God has sworn. God will not relent. He says, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. The New Testament application, as I said, is definitely Hebrews 6 and 7, surrounding context as well.

But

Melchizedek and Old Testament Type

what's the Old Testament reference? It's Genesis 14. Remember Melchizedek, that king of Salem, that priestly king, comes out to meet Abram? This is that order.

And consider that David is king over Israel at this particular time that he writes. There is a functioning tabernacle. There is a functioning priesthood. But David himself, by the Spirit, knows that that's not permanent.

That's not forever. It's typological, it points forward, it prefigures, it highlights New Covenant reality vis-a-vis the Adonai that is going to be stationed at the right hand of Yahweh after having successfully completed the task given to him such that he reigns and rules and has dominion over all peoples. The reality is that the Old Testament was pointing forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. to go backward in redemptive history and rebuild the temple? to rebuild a tabernacle when the substance has come? I use this illustration with our church.

If you're a visitor here, you might appreciate it. If you're not, you're gonna go this one again. I'm sorry, after 27 years, the repertoire does start to shrivel a bit. You're just stuck with me.

There's certain illustrations for envy, has to do with fishing. But this one in terms of Old Testament typology and New Covenant reality. You know, perhaps you're a grandparent, you're at your children's house, and you're around the grandchildren, and you're there looking at the grandchildren, and you're enjoying the grandchildren. You're seeing them breathe.

You're seeing them move and run. I mean, breathing is pretty easy. The best and brightest of them can even do that. And then your son or your daughter comes and says, well, look at this picture of Junior.

Why would I want to look at the picture? I got Junior right here. I want the picture for when I don't have Junior right here. This backward mobility in some eschatological schemes to go back to temple, to go back to priesthood, to go back to animal atonement, we've got Christ, we've got substance, we've got all those things pointed forward to.

The altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 has come. We've seen his life, his death, his resurrection. We know his ascension in his current session. We know the benefits through his blood.

Why would I go back to a temple? Why would I go back? And I'm talking about Old Covenant Temple. New Covenant Temple is the people of God, the living stones that are the body of Christ.

Brethren, David, writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, understood that what he was living in was not the finality of redemptive privilege. He's speaking of the Lord to come. He's speaking of this order of Melchizedek. And there's a parallel in Zechariah the prophet, chapter six, verses 12 and 13.

Behold, the man whose name is the branch from his place, he shall branch out and he shall build the temple of the Lord. Yes, he shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory and shall sit and rule on his throne. So he shall be a priest on his throne and the council of peace shall be between them both.

The Old Testament portrayed the Messiah as prophet, priest, and king. The Old Testament portrayed Messiah as the divine Son who took on our humanity. For the Jews today to say, well, you know, the Bible doesn't promise that the Messiah would be divine. What do you do with Psalm 110.1?

Well, you do what they did in Matthew's gospel. After Jesus teases out the question, and after Jesus applies it, and Jesus asks, well, how then does he call him Lord? They couldn't answer it. Of course they couldn't answer him.

They rejected him and despised him and hated and loathed him. So of course they're not gonna confess him as the divine son of David. That's just not gonna happen. See, the Old Testament prophesied.

I mean, look at the prophecy of Isaiah 9.6, a son given, a child born, and we'll call him mighty God. As Owen says, there's no way you can comport with that without the hypostatic union, without the two natures in the one person. That the child born is mighty God is explained in John 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In John 1.14, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. See, what we have in the Old Testament are many, several, an abundance of pictures and prefigurements and types and shadows pointing forward to the substance of our Lord Jesus, such that in John 1, 29, when the Baptist says, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, This isn't a surprise to people. They understood what lambs in the old covenant signified.

They understood the reality of sacrifice and priesthood. They understood you just couldn't wander into the presence of a holy God in sin. You had to have atonement. So there was an expectation created in the Old Testament for a prophet, priest, and king that would come from the Lord.

His humanity would be attached to David. We see it expressed through Mary, but his divinity would be from everlasting, from of old. He is eternally begotten by the Father.

Priesthood Applied to Believers

Of course, the implication of this priesthood for believers, encouragement. He always lives to make intercession for us. And He is our advocate with the Father. Brethren, that would be a good thing, too.

Read Hebrews this week. Just kidding. Back to Psalm 110, 1 and 4. But get 1 John 1 and 2 in your heads.

My little children, I write these things so that you may not sin. We only ever hear that, don't we? Man, I'm terrible. I'm miserable.

All I ever do is sin. Yeah, you are terrible with me. You are miserable with me. And all you ever do is sin with me.

Not me particularly, all of us. However, I make it known that that's all of our reality. Why do we stop there? My little children, I write these things so that you may not sin.

Well, probably because there's a legal spirit among many preachers that hammer you with that. Go be better. Do more. Morality isn't the gospel.

The gospel is the gospel. But if anyone does sin, John goes on, we, John 2, John 2, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. That's a good part of the passage to remember. It ought not to promote sin.

Romans 6 speaks against that. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be.

You died, you were buried, you've been raised again with Christ. Brethren, John is not advocating for a licentious life, but John is realistic concerning the Christian life. There's remaining corruption. Romans 7 is in the Bible.

Galatians 5.17 is in the Bible. Peter's in the Bible. David's in the Bible. The best heroes, the champions of Israel had their sins.

So, What was different for them and us? We gotta be perfect? Yeah, but you'll never be. But the perfect one came and lived and died and was raised again, such that whoever believes on him will receive forgiveness and righteousness that avails with God.

That's gospel. I'm not saying there isn't morality that flows out of a conquered sinner. that the ethical imperatives of the New Testament assume that. The ethical imperatives of the New Testament are more law. We need the gospel always.

We need that Psalm 133 and four mindset. If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? He's right, isn't he? If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

Anyone here think they could escape that indictment? Don't raise your hand, please. Yeah, I think so. But, it goes on, there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared.

Relief. The Levitical sacrifice in priesthood to relieve the tension of Exodus 40. God's dwelling here, but we can't go in. How do we go in?

Through a bloody knife and a smoking altar. That's how you go in. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is never designed to promote sin.

But brethren, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. It is glorious news.

Triumph of Christ (vv. 5–7)

Let's finish the triumph of Christ in verses 5 to 7. It speaks of the execution of judgment in verses 5 and 6, and then the refreshment of the king in verse 7. Note this position of universal government or power or sovereignty or authority. The Lord is at your right hand.

He shall execute kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the nations. He shall fill the places with dead bodies. He shall execute the heads of many countries.

A lot of he shalls there with reference to his victory and with reference to his triumph. Again, brethren, I confess at times it's hard to see this. At times in the history of man, it's hard to remember the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. I often have wondered if that's why we see that text so often in the New Testament.

If not directly quoted, at least alluded to. What was going on in the Roman Empire in the first century? Oh, it was beautiful, paradise on earth. Only heterosexuality, no confusion of gender, no any kind of abortion, and they just esteemed everybody.

No, it was a mess. We visited the city of Ephesus when we went to Turkey. And not far from where the library is, and not far from where the School of Tyrannus was, remember the School of Tyrannus, according to Acts 19, Paul rented it for two years so that he could preach and teach all who were in Asia Minor. It's just amazing to stand there and see that, knowing that Paul had been there.

And then there's the street where everybody walked down. I'm sure Paul did too. I gotta think he didn't fly or hover. He had to actually walk.

Well, there's a house of prostitution on that pathway. Our tour guide said, hey, look, this is the first known advertisement. It was carved into the concrete, or they use better stuff than concrete, because those roads are impeccable. Man, Woodbine's got cliff-sized holes in it, but those Romans' roads are still functional.

You could drive tanks on that. Anyways, this advertisement was for the house of prostitution. Paul wasn't wafting around a paradise on earth. The people of God suffered in the first century.

The people of God suffered at the hands of unbelieving Israel. They suffered at the hands of the godless Roman state. These are the beasts of Revelation, by the way, in Revelation 13. The beast from the sea is the Gentile nation.

We've got the beast from the land, which is unbelieving Israel. They suffered. They went to prison. They got martyred.

What did they always keep before that? The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Brethren, Jesus is ruling. Jesus is reigning.

And the language applied to him by David under inspiration of the spirit probably makes 21st century Christians a little squeamish. We're not supposed to talk like that. Well, I take great comfort that the King of Israel, with the Spirit's inspiration, talked like that. The Lord is at your right hand.

He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations. He shall fill the places with dead bodies. He shall execute the heads of many countries.

The Warrior King and His Victory

That violent imagery is not consolidated or rather confined to Psalm 110. Listen to Davis. Davis is a pastor preacher that I quite like, several commentaries, and this is his commentary on Joshua. So different context, but I think it fits this context.

He says, the popular image of Jesus is that he is not only kind and tender, but also soft and prissy. I think he's right. As though Jesus comes to us raking of hand cream. Such a Jesus can hardly steal.

Dudes right now are going, I use hand cream. Maybe that ought to be a resolution for 2025. Just kidding. Just kidding, not getting into the bro wars that we see all over social media.

That's all weird. Such a Jesus can hardly steal the soul that is daily assaulted by the enemy. We need to learn the catechism of Psalm 24. My brother read that at the outset of worship.

Question, who is the king of glory? Answer, Yahweh, strong and mighty. Yahweh, mighty in battle. Psalm 24, eight.

We must catch the vision of the faithful and true sitting on the white throne. The one who judges and makes war and righteousness. Revelation 19, 11 to 16. No mild God or soft Jesus can give his people hope.

It is only as we know the warrior of Israel who fights for us and sometimes without us that we have hope of triumphing in the muck of life. Amen, brother. You're right on. Dorothy Sayers was an English novelist and poet.

She made this observation, we have very efficiently paired the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him meek and mild, and recommend him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies. We're not supposed to do that. He's not tame, but he is good. And he wages and makes war on his enemies.

That last bit, he shall drink of the brook by the wayside, therefore he shall lift up the head. I suspect this indicates that the battle is over and then the king refreshes himself. That lifting up the head is countered by his crushing the heads of his enemies. I think behind all this is Genesis 3.15, and that grand first proto-gospel promise that the seed of the woman is going to crush the serpent.

David is giving us that in a snapshot. David is highlighting that by way of office. He is both king and priest. The rest of scripture tells us he's a prophet as well.

And he is the son of David, according to his humanity, the son of God, according to his divinity.

Application: Persecution and Perseverance

Well, brethren, this passage does promise persecution for the people of God. that Christ needs to make war and wage war against his enemies means that there are still enemies. You get the same bit in Matthew's gospel when Jesus says, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. The gates of Hades are going to try. They're not gonna go willingly to submit to the Lord of glory.

There's going to be that tension. There's going to be that oppression. If you doubt that, come to a prayer meeting sometime on a Sunday morning at 9.30 and take a tour with us around the world, specifically via Voice of the Martyrs and hear what's happening. Our brother Wim has a contact, or our church has a contact with a fellow in Bangladesh.

And he's working on a translation of the Second London Confession of Faith, which is very encouraging. And this week, in a weekly update or check, Wim finds out from this brother, his name is Rubel, that there was a local village where 17 out of 19 houses were burned down while the inhabitants were at church worship services. See, now, if you come back to that, yeah, we gotta rebuild, we gotta get timber, we gotta get money, we gotta get resources, we gotta get, you know, good contractors. I call my son-in-law, my house has been burned down.

But beyond all that, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Or Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, he must reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool. What if you've lost people to death? We all have.

It's hurtful. It's painful. What's the last enemy vanquished by our sovereign Lord according to 1 Corinthians 15? Death itself. there is gonna be persecution and hardship for the people of God.

I would suggest this Psalm holds out encouragement for Christ's people. Listen to Spurgeon, his commentary on the Psalms is also very good to have and get. All nations shall feel his power and either yield to it joyfully or be crushed before it. The monarch of the greatest nation shall not be able to escape the sword of the Lord, nor shall that dread spiritual prince who rules over the children of disobedience be able to escape without a deadly wound.

Pope and priest must fall with Muhammad and other deceivers who are now heads of the people. Jesus must reign and they must perish. That's what David's saying. Or Matthew Henry, Christ's sitting at the right hand of God speaks as much terror to his enemies as happiness to his people.

The enthronement of the Kingpriest and all that is said concerning the Kingpriest speaks as much threat and dread and scary stuff to the enemies of Christ as it speaks peace to his church. Amen, brother, that will preach. Jesus preached it. In this world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer.

I've overcome the world. May God bless us as we enter into another year. May we indeed shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation. May we utilize the blessed privileges that we have to gather together for worship, for prayer, for all kinds of encouragement, such that we can glorify our blessed Lord in this present evil age.

And may indeed God bless you if you are unconverted, an unbeliever, The only response to this sermon and every sermon is to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith. Stop trying to do it on your own. Stop trying to minimize it. Well, I'm not that bad.

What I do, I do because I've got it. It's just a little defect of nature. It ain't a defect of nature. It's the sinfulness of nature.

Defects are if you're born without a digit. Defects are if you're bald. Kidding. Defects are those things that are built in.

See, God made man upright, but they sought out many devices. And in Adam, all die. We all have this sinful bent and sinful nature, but the glory of the gospel is that God has sent his son who took on our humanity to live, to die, and to be raised again so that everybody with that sin can look to him in faith and be forgiven. It really is great.

Your sins are forgiven you. There's no better phrase in the history of the world than that. pronounced by God himself, your sins are forgiven you. And not only does Jesus give us that forgiveness of sins, but it's almost as if he's saying, look, you also need to be cleaned up so that you can stand in my father's presence. So I'm gonna give you my righteousness as well.

I'm gonna cleanse you with my blood. I'm gonna clothe you with my righteousness. I'm gonna fit you for entrance into that blessed place people call heaven. Here and now, there's some hardship.

Here and now, there's some oppression. Here and now, there's some persecution and trial and difficulty, but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world. There's every reason for every sinner here, young or old, to come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father in heaven, thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for all that he accomplished to redeem those under the law. And we praise you that you've made us blessed participants in this wonderful covenant of grace. We pray for the proclamation of your truth throughout the earth.

We pray for the spirit's application of it to needy sinners, and may you cause the saints of Christ to grow in grace and in the knowledge of their beloved Lord. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

Scripture References

• Genesis 3:15; 14
• Joshua 10:24
• Judges 5
• 1 Kings 5:3
• 2 Samuel 7
• Psalm 2; 24:8; 47:3; 89:30-32; 110; 130:4
• Isaiah 9:6
• Zechariah 6:12-13
• Matthew 16:18; 21
• Mark 12
• John 1:14; 1:29; 16
• Acts 2:33-36; 19
• Romans 6; 7
• 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
• Galatians 5:17
• Philippians 2
• Hebrews 5:1-9; 6-7; 7:20-21
• 1 John 1-2
• Revelation 13; 19:11-16