Amen. You can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 110 for our meditation this evening. Psalm 110, I mentioned this morning how this sort of dovetails with the passage that we looked at this morning and with the reality that today is the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church. Just to highlight and focus upon the triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ in Psalm 110.
Beginning in verse one, I'll read a Psalm of David. 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.
Our Father, we thank You for this, Your Word, and we pray now that You would guide our thoughts by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We pray again that You would forgive us of our sin and anything that would darken our understanding and cause us to reflect upon the glory of Christ as He so clearly revealed in this psalm. How we thank You for this One who is both King and Priest, as well as Prophet. How we thank You for the sureness of His triumph, the reality that the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
And our God in heaven, we give you praise and glory that even now, Jesus Christ has universal dominion, absolute sovereignty. He said that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto him. And in this, the church greatly rejoices. In this, we find great comfort and stability.
And even now, Lord God, again, encourage our hearts collectively as we reflect upon the blessed Savior of sinners. And we ask this in his most glorious name. Amen.
Introduction
Well, there are some who think that this psalm is about David. Notice the superscription, it says, a psalm of David. It was certainly composed by David, but it's about David's greater son. It's about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 22, 41 to 46, Acts chapter 2, 34, make this abundantly clear. In the language of J. A. Alexander, he says the repeated, explicit, and emphatic application of this psalm in the New Testament to Jesus Christ is so far from being arbitrary or at variance with the obvious import of the psalm itself that any other application is ridiculous.
In other words, it is specifically and absolutely attributable to our Lord Jesus Christ. Michael Reitelnick explains that the theme of the psalm is that the Lord has granted universal dominion to the messianic priest-king. And that is precisely what we find in these seven brief verses. So we saw last Sunday morning where Christ said, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
He promises both the triumph of the church and the continual opposition against the church. And then this morning we saw how at the very beginning of Acts chapter 12, the passage starts off with the death of James and the imprisonment of Peter. Peter is ultimately released, Herod is ultimately struck dead, and the Word of God triumphs. It is increasing, it is multiplying, it is growing in its efficacy, or in its effect, rather, among people in the then-known world.
So tonight I want to reflect on the glory of Christ, the triumph of Christ, under three considerations. First, the Messiah as divine King in verses 1 to 3. Secondly, the Messiah as a merciful priest in verse 4. And then finally, the Messiah as triumphant conqueror in verses 5 to 7.
Messiah as Divine King
Now notice the enthronement. This is, in fact, an enthronement psalm, and it is consistent with what we see in Psalm 2. Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 go together. Again, Alexander says, this is the counterpart of the second psalm, completing the prophetic picture of the conquering Messiah.
Now, Paul in Hebrews makes this connection as well in Hebrews chapter 5, verses 5 and 6. He appeals to Psalm 2 and he appeals to Psalm 110. In fact, much of Hebrews is exposition of Psalm 110. You've probably heard me say it many, many times that Psalm 110.1 is the most quoted or most alluded to Old Testament passage in the New Testament.
It says simply, the Lord, Yahweh, said to my Lord, Adonai, or Jesus, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. And the fact that this was most oft quoted or alluded to in the early church ought to tell us something. They were under oppression. They suffered affliction.
They knew tribulation. They knew the hostility of unbelieving Israel, and they knew the hostility of the Roman state. They knew what it was to see martyrdom. They knew what it was to see imprisonment.
They knew what it was to see the dispossession of their goods. They knew what that suffering was, and yet they never shrunk back from declaring, The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. This is something the church today must recapture. The church today, more often than not, assumes this defensive position, this sort of feeble and weak position.
I'm not speaking about triumphalism on the part of the church. I'm not suggesting that we are to be arrogant, but rather we are to be confident in the rulership of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we have two persons here, the Lord, Yahweh, said to my Lord, the Hebrew is Adonai. We know that this is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ.
These are two of the three persons of the Trinity, and probably behind the scenes is what's called the covenant of redemption, that intra-Trinitarian pre-temporal agreement between the persons of the Trinity to save God's people from their sins. So Yahweh says to Adonai, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. The right hand of Yahweh is a position of authority and dominion in the heavenly throne room. Now, in terms of when this was enacted, as I said, the covenant of redemption, but historically, it comes to pass at the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You can turn to the book of Acts in Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2 shows us or indicates for us when the fulfillment of this takes place in history. Though it was already in the plan, the mind, the purpose of God, we see the historical fulfillment in Acts 2 with reference to the Ascension. Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost concerning the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, highlights the humanity of Jesus in verse 22.
He highlights the death of Jesus in verse 23, the resurrection of Jesus in verses 24 to 32, and then the exaltation of Jesus. And notice in verse 33, he says, therefore being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this which you now see in here. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.
So the historical fulfillment of this pre-temporal intra-trinitarian covenant between the persons of the Godhead takes place at the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. Going back to the psalm, when he says, Now this footstool is an allusion to the custom of conquerors treading upon the necks of the conquered. And Joshua 10.24 is a wonderful display or description of that. It says, and they drew near and put their feet on their necks.
Now in the context, it was the defeat of the Amorite kings. And this is the way they manifested their victory over these Amorite kings. And this is precisely the imagery that is used here. It is picked up in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul.
Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, just to see this imagery applied on a cosmic scale with reference to all things under Christ in presentation ultimately or delivered up to the Father. 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 20. 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 that is coming. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when 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 is 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 the idea is, is the conquering, triumphant King, the one enthroned at the right hand of Yahweh, will most assuredly gain victory, will most assuredly see the travail of his soul and be satisfied.
Christ's Rule Over His Enemies
Back to the psalm, we see the Messiah as divine king, and then the psalmist tells us in verses two and three, something of the nature of his rule, first over his enemies and then over his friends. Notice in verse 2, it says, the Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion, rule in the midst of your enemies. Again, Psalm 2, 6 tells us Yahweh sets his king on his holy hill of Zion. And from that place, he wields this rod of iron and he dashes into pieces the nations that rebel against him.
Ralph Davis, on Psalm 2, basically explains it this way. The appointed king, in verse 7, with worldwide sway, in verse 8, to be established an overwhelming force, verse 9, that is the decree that is controlling history. Now, all of this, I would suggest, is very encouraging to us, because at times, we don't always see it as evidently as it is in black and white on the pages of Holy Scripture. In other words, Christ presently is stationed at the right hand of the Father.
Christ presently is lowering his foot upon all of his enemies. And yet abortion continues. Euthanasia continues. All this Soji stuff continues.
And it might cause the people of God some perplexity at times, because Christ is King, and yet all of these miserable things obtained on the face of the earth. Well, brethren, what does Paul tell us with reference to our walk? We walk by faith and not by sight. One of the encouraging things, I hope, that has been understood in our studies in the book of Genesis is that when God makes promises, He doesn't always answer the next day.
He doesn't always deliver by the end of duty on that particular day. There are long periods of time where the people of God walk expectantly and confidently and hopefully without yet having received the blessings that He has promised. We need, as the church of Jesus Christ, to see the reality, to see what the text of scripture specifies, and to understand that Yahweh said to Jesus, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Now, not only does he rule over his enemies, but he rules over his people.
Christ's Rule Over His People
Notice in verse 3. 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. Now the second or the latter clause is difficult. There's a couple of options.
I don't want to go into that right now. I simply want to focus on the former clause. Notice in verse 3, your people shall be volunteers in the day of your power. I think the reality behind this, I think it's a great illustration of what we call effectual or irresistible grace, the reality that God makes his people willing in the day of his power.
We are dead in our trespasses and sins. We are bound by Satan. We are in an abysmal situation and condition. But God, speaking that effectual word unto us, is able to awaken us and to make us willing in the day of His power to respond favorably to that call, to believe on Him, to repent from our sins.
But likely within this particular context, the idea is simply this, the willingness of the King's people to come to Him and to battle for Him. Now it's probably here that I should remind us, when I say battle, I remind us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. The Lord God doesn't say take up arms and march against Ottawa and bring down this civil society. He never calls us to strap on a C4 vest and tell sinners we'll see him on the other side.
He does not call us to engage in that particular manner. But he does call us to serve alongside of Christ, using prayer, using preaching, being faithful, being salt, being light, and being willing to submit happily to the master as he engages in this triumph and in this conquest. There's a parallel passage, or at least a thematic parallel, in the book of Judges, in Deborah's song, in Judges chapter 5. She speaks concerning the willingness of God's people.
And in Judges 5, 2, it says, when leaders lead in Israel, when the people willingly offer themselves, bless the Lord. You see, that's the reality behind it. We have a great leader. We have the Lord Jesus Christ.
The reality is, is that we don't always willingly serve him. We don't always jump into the fray. We don't always engage alongside of the savior with reference to the particular battles that he is waging. Brethren, at least by prayer or certainly by prayer and by other means, we need to enter into the blessed position of serving alongside of our master, serving alongside of our leader and doing the things that he calls us to.
Your people shall be volunteers in the day of your power. This concept or this idea where people grumble or they moan or they whine or they sort of snivel or complain when God calls them to something is something contrary to Holy Scripture. When we sign up with the master, we sign up with the master. Imagine, if you will, some young man today signing up for military service, and he gets posted at a particular place, and his commanding officer gives him an order, and he says, but I don't want to do that. and he snivels, and he whines, and he cries, and he complains.
Do you think the commanding officer is going to say, well, that's okay, junior. You go ahead and just lay in your cot, and we will all fall down around you and serve you. No, that's absolutely positively not what happens. And yet a lot of people come to the Savior, and then the Savior places demands on them in terms of discipleship, and says, wait a minute, I didn't sign up for this.
You most certainly did. You absolutely, positively did. I remember being in the military, if one whined about where they were going to be posted, the response was always the same. The needs of the Air Force dictate.
It doesn't matter what you want. It doesn't matter what you desire. It doesn't matter if you want to go to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. We need you in Thule, Greenland.
That's the reality behind it. And yet, when it comes to the Christian church, we all want to sort of barter, bargain, or tell Jesus what it is we're going to and not going to do. Now, it could be an act of service. It could be something as simple as showing up at church or Bible study.
It could be something as simple as reading scripture on a given day or praying. These are not things by which we earn our way to heaven. This is the natural outflow of those who have been conquered by sovereign grace. And yet today, it's almost like works righteousness and legalism for you ever to tell people to do something that they're supposed to do.
Wait a minute, if they're supposed to do it, then perhaps they need some gentle reminders and some chiding along the way. But the Lord Jesus Christ, His people shall be volunteers in the day of His power. That's the Messiah as divine King, verses 1 to 3.
Messiah as Merciful Priest
But then notice, secondly, the Messiah as merciful priest. Isn't it beautiful? Our blessed Savior is both priest and king, and we know prophet as well, but this psalm highlights those two offices of the three. As mediator, Christ fulfills those roles before God and with reference to men.
He is the prophet, the priest, and the king. The prophet, remember, comes on behalf of God to speak to the people. The priest goes from the people to God to speak for them, to intercede for them, and to present sacrifice on their behalf. And, of course, a king rules and reigns and watches over and defends his people.
So the psalmist here is highlighting these twin aspects of Christ's mediatorial role. He is both king and priest, and with reference to priest, notice how he occupies this position. Verse 4 says, Yahweh has sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Christ became a priest by virtue of the oath of God Almighty. This is drawn out in great detail in the book of Hebrews, specifically in Hebrews chapter 7. Remember that Jesus was not a Levite. He did not come from the tribe of Levi.
He came from the tribe of Judah. And that caused some people to wonder, well, how in the world could he be high priest? How could he be a priest if he wasn't Levitical? Well, the apostle in the book of Hebrews connects the priestly office of Jesus to this man called Melchizedek.
Melchizedek was as well both king of Salem and a priest. He's the one that Abraham met after battle in Genesis chapter 14. And so this is the link that is provided in scripture to validate, highlight, confirm, or affirm the priestly office of Jesus. So in Hebrews 7, 20 and 21, we read, 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.
So we have this oath. The Levitical priests did not occupy the office by oath. They occupied the office by birth. They were born Levites, they were born in that particular tribe, and therefore they were guaranteed succession in this particular sphere or capacity.
Not so with our Christ. And just to take a step back for a moment and focus upon this verse in the context of redemptive history. Now, the temple was standing at the time that David penned this. The temple was engaged, or there was the engagement of sacrifice in the temple at this particular time.
There was a priesthood. There was a high priest. There was all of the things associated with Old Covenant worship happening at this particular juncture. And yet David, by the power and in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, prophesies of a time coming when there will be another priest orchestrating a sacrifice governing over the people of God.
So Israel was always taught not only the kingly office of the Messiah, but as well the priestly office of Messiah. This was no new thing when we get to the New Testament, But as I said, the book of Hebrews shows us specifically how Jesus answers to what David pens in Psalm 110 by the power of the Holy Spirit. So it says, the Lord has sworn and will not relent. He will not repent.
He will not change his mind. And to this we can ascribe or attribute the blessed perfection of divine immutability and divine impassibility. God doesn't relent. He doesn't change his mind.
He doesn't say, for a time Jesus will serve, but then I will remove him from that particular office. No, Yahweh has sworn and will not relent. John Gill says, what follows was said, and this oath was made, in the Council of Peace, when Christ was called to this office, and He accepted of it, and of this the Lord never repented, as He never does any of His acts of grace. It's a beautiful thing.
This is why in Hebrews chapter 7 and in Romans chapter 8, we learn that Jesus always lives to make intercession for us. He's not going anywhere. As long as there is a need for his priestly mediation, we will have it as the people of God. He intercedes for us and he is an advocate with the Father. 1 John 2, my little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. Now in terms of the office of priest, notice what it says. The Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews chapter 6 and 7 specifically speak concerning Melchizedek and the reference to the order of Melchizedek is primarily seen in the combination of the two offices. Remember that in the Old Testament, the kings of Judah and Israel, they were not priests. The couple of times that kings tried to engage in priestly service was not received well or favorably. But Christ as Messiah is unique in this particular capacity.
He functions both as king and as priest, and again, certainly as a prophet to his people. The prophet Zechariah refers to the Lord Jesus in Zechariah 6, 12 and 13, and there he links him with the branch that appears often in the prophets. Notice what the prophet Zechariah says, 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. See that? We have a priest on the throne.
We have a king that's a priest and a priest that's a king. We have everything that is necessary in terms of power and dominion and glory, and everything that is necessary in terms of mercy and compassion and kindness. Turn to Hebrews 4, where there is some practical sort of implication drawn out concerning this reality, that Christ is this for his people. Hebrews chapter 4 at the very end, specifically at verse 14.
Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. You see what his argument is?
Because he is this merciful, omnipotent one, therefore we come to the throne of grace to fetch out help in our time of need. It's a beautiful statement concerning the power of Christ and the availability of Christ and the compassion of Christ to give us what we stand in need of. A.W. Pink says it this way,
Priest with Royal Authority
he is a priest with royal authority and a king with priestly tenderness. I think that's beautiful. He is a priest with royal authority and a king with priestly tenderness. And then drop down a little bit to chapter 5, verse 5.
So also Christ did not glorify himself to become my priest, but it was he who said to him, you are my son, today I have begotten you. As he also says in another place, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and was heard because of his godly fear, though he was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. And having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Isn't that a beautiful thing?
It's eternal salvation. The concept or the idea that somebody could be saved and then lost flies contrary to what the scripture says. The salvation wrought by Christ, applied to His people by the Spirit, received by faith, is an eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest, according to the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have much to say and hard to explain, since you have become dull, of hearing.
Messiah as Triumphant Conqueror
But back to Psalm 110, we see the Messiah as divine king in verses 1 to 3, the Messiah as a priest in verse 4, and then finally the Messiah as triumphant conqueror in verses 5 to 7. As I mentioned this morning, some of this language I think shocks the people of God in the 21st century. We sometimes wonder, can we say that? Can we sing this?
Can we pray like this? These are things that seem so contrary and seem so foreign. I mean, even that appeal to Joshua 10, where Joshua and the captains of the armies of Israel are putting their heads on the necks of those Amorite kings, that just almost seems so antiquated and so barbaric and so bloodthirsty. Well, brethren, as we come to Psalm 110, verses 5 to 7, that same imagery is employed.
Notice in verse 5, 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. I'm gonna qualify this one more time, because this is the kind of stuff that ends up on the internet, and somebody says, that cult leader was rousing his people to go out and blow people up.
I am not doing that, okay? I am not suggesting that our service to Christ means to utilize carnal weapons. I am not suggesting that we all need to be, you know, look up on the internet on how to build bombs so we can advance the kingdom of God. I am not saying that.
Unequivocally, our service to Christ We utilize the spiritual weaponry that He has provided to us. We utilize those resources gifted to us by the Divine Son. We are not to take unto ourselves arms to advance the Kingdom of God Almighty. Now, when he, however, operates in a way that is like he does with Herod Agrippa I, that we saw this morning in Acts chapter 12, that's his prerogative.
That is his right. He is the sovereign. He is the universal Lord. He has absolute and comprehensive authority.
And for anybody to say, well, that doesn't seem right or that doesn't seem fair, Who are we, oh man, to question God? Who are we to ever call into question the rule and the reign of the righteous Lord Jesus Christ? He exercises dominion, and primarily through those spiritual means. But once in a while, a hair at a grip of the first rises up in opposition to Christ, and Christ lowers his foot on him in a public spectacle, showing him. showing his futility for all to see.
So the Messiah shall shatter in pieces kings in the day of his wrath. Literally, breaks kings in pieces. The Messiah shall judge among the nations. The Messiah shall fill the places with dead bodies.
The Messiah shall shatter in pieces the heads of many countries. Now in terms of the violent imagery, if this is shocking to you or you find some discomfort singing some of the Psalms, we haven't even sang Psalm 94 yet. One day we're going to sing Psalm 94 and I guarantee you some of you are going to go, are we okay to do this? Is this legit?
Every Psalm in the Psalter is ours to sing. They are the prayers of Jesus Christ. Certainly Christians ought to be able to join in along with our Savior as he prays the songs of Zion. So brethren, this is legit.
This is authorized. We see this in the New Testament. We see Psalms that are of an imprecatory nature quoted by apostles and by our Lord Jesus Christ himself. But as I said this morning, it is common and not altogether incorrect to highlight the spiritual nature of such language, as well to highlight that its triumph comes through the preaching of the gospel.
But we need to remember the Roman Empire is no more. We need to remember that Herod Agrippa I lost it in a most powerful way or demonstration of Jesus power. I want to quote two persons that refer to how we have domesticated or attempted to domesticate God.
Against a Domesticated Christology
One is Dorothy Sayers. She was an English crime writer and a poet in 1893 to 1957. She says, We have very efficiently paired the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him meek and mild, and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies." She ain't wrong. Again, I'm not suggesting that we are to go out with bandoleros and guns blazing.
But brethren, we need to trust in this Christ. not the Christ that is preached in many places, the effeminate Christ, the Christ that stands outside the door of your heart and knocks. Brethren, if we understand what Scripture says concerning the effectual call, Jesus doesn't stand at the door of your heart and knock. Jesus takes a battering ram and blasts in and saves you by his grace and for his glory. That statement in the book of Revelation, I stand at the door and knock, is not individual salvation.
It is corporate in nature. It is to the church in Laodicea. If you're going to continue to be lukewarm, If you're going to continue in this particular pattern, I will have no truck with you. I will spew you out of my mouth, but I stand at the door and knock.
If any, within the context of the church, want to renew that fellowship, Christ is there for us. That text has been yanked out of context, and then been made to be a personal invitation text, and then yield that terrible picture. You know, last week I mentioned pictures of Jesus reflect the theology of those who make the pictures. Perhaps you've seen it.
If you have, get it out of your head because it's so bad. But Jesus, this effeminate-looking ancient Near Eastern man, is knocking on a door. And of course, there's no handle. There's no doorknob on his side.
That is Arminianism altogether highlighted. The door handle is on your side. It's up to you to let Jesus in. It's up to you to open the door.
It's up to you to invite him into your heart. Doesn't that go along with Arminian preaching? You need to accept Jesus into your heart. The glory of the gospel isn't that you or I ever accept Jesus into our heart.
It's that God in Christ is reconciling the world to Himself. It's that we are accepted in the Beloved. That's the emphasis in Scripture. The other quote is Ralph Davis in his commentary on Joshua.
He says, the popular image of Jesus is that he is not only kind and tender, but also soft and prissy, as though Jesus comes to us reeking of hand cream. Such a Jesus can hardly steal the soul that is daily assaulted by the enemy. We need to learn the catechism of Psalm 24. Question, who is the king of glory?
Answer, Yahweh, strong and mighty. Yahweh, mighty in battle. We must catch the vision of the faithful and true sitting on the white horse, the one who judges and makes war and righteousness. 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. See, perhaps we have this conception of Jesus as soft, as prissy, as reeking of hand cream, as one who is utterly dependent upon the creature to open up for him because we've neglected the Psalms. because we've neglected the Old Testament, because we've neglected a large swath of revelation about who our Christ is. Brethren, there is no excuse for that conception of Jesus in pulpits today or in the minds of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ. He must reign, in the language of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, until all of his enemies are made his footstool.
That is biblical reality, and as Dale Ralph Davis says, this is what steals the soul. It is this that helps us to triumph in the muck of life.
The Proto-Gospel and Violent Imagery
And I would suggest that when we see some of this military, martial language, this violent imagery, we ought to thank Genesis 3.15. Genesis 3.15 is the first promise of the gospel where the Father says, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. How many enemies of Yahweh in the Old Testament suffer lethal head blows?
There are plenty of them. It is to amplify, to further along, to comment on that promise in Genesis 3.15. The Psalter is filled with allusions to Genesis 3.15. We oftentimes, and I hope we do, as we read the New Testament, we highlight where Old Testament texts are quoted.
That's a good endeavor. In fact, most of our Bibles, I would probably imagine every English Bible that is put together nowadays offsets Old Testament quotes in the New Testament. But do you realize that within the context of the Old Testament itself, there's a lot of intertextuality, there's a lot of connection among the prophets, there's a lot of reference back to the law of Moses, there's a lot of building on previous revelation and adding to it, amplifying it, furthering it. Fleshing it out?
Well, this is one of those areas. It is commentary on the reality that the soul-crushing, seed-crushing, skull-crushing seed of the woman is going to have triumph over his enemies. And then that last bit, verse 7, I think responds or rather reflects on the refreshment of the king. It really does show us the military or the martial imagery involved.
Verse 5, 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. This takes effort, doesn't it? This takes the exertion of energy. So verse 7, he shall drink of the brook by the wayside, therefore he shall lift up the head.
Remember when Samson dispatches those 1,000 Philistines by using the jawbone of an ass. What does Samson then need? He needs water, and he needs it desperately. Now, of course, Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, so this is an obvious allusion to, or reference to, Christ according to his humanity.
But it's the reality that in battle, in conquering, in this sort of mixing it up with the enemies, there is this necessity that he shall drink of the brook by the wayside, and then it says, therefore, he shall lift up the head. The lifting up the head there is the sign of the conqueror. The heads of many countries have been shattered to pieces. The head of Christ is lifted up after he has the refreshing water, having dispatched his enemies the way that Samson does when he deals with those thousand Philistines.
Application and Closing Observations
Well thus, the psalm, let us make a couple of observations and then we'll close. In the first place, As we saw this morning, the reality facing the church, the same thing is told us here. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. That doesn't immediately vanquish all of the enemies.
There's battle to be engaged in. There's warfare to be conducted. That's what verses 5 to 7 indicate. And the same is true with reference to us.
Calvin says at the same time, with reference to the reality of the triumph of the church, Calvin says at the same time, he intimates that the kingdom of Christ would never enjoy tranquility until he had conquered his numerous and formidable enemies. So that is the reality facing us.
Encouragement for the Church
Secondly, the encouragement for the church. And basically I want to quote Spurgeon and Matthew Henry. Spurgeon says with reference to this psalm, while we see our Lord and representative sitting in quiet expectancy, we too may sit in the attitude of peaceful assurance and with confidence await the grand outcome of all events. Psalm 110.1 ought to provide for us security and stability and enable us to be composed.
We ought never to lose it, we ought never to freak out, we ought never to abandon the faith. Christ is at the right hand of the Father where he must reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool. Spurgeon again said, all nations shall feel his power and either yield to it joyfully or be crushed before it. He goes on to say, 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.
He says, Pope and priest must fall with Muhammad and other deceivers who are now heads of the people. Jesus must reign and they must perish. Again, this might be a bit awkward for some of us in the 21st century church because we don't sing the Psalms like we should. We don't read the Psalms like we should.
We don't pray the Psalms like we should. But men like Spurgeon, men like Matthew Henry, men like John Calvin had the stuff of the Psalter in their hearts, in their minds, in their souls. Matthew Henry says, Christ's sitting at the right hand of God speaks as much terror to his enemies as happiness to his people. That is a beautiful statement, brethren, and one that we ought to heartily amen.
Total Subjugation of Christ's Enemies
A third observation is the total subjugation of Christ's enemies. He must reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool. Turn to the book of Revelation for a moment. We're going to bring this to a close soon.
But look at the book of Revelation. There are three places where something is highlighted that I think we need to be reminded of. Revelation chapter 21. John describes the new heaven and the new earth, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
After having explained the beauty, the glory, the majesty of this new Jerusalem, in verse 8 it says, but the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death." They are excluded from the New Jerusalem. Now, cowards there doesn't mean you're afraid of snakes or spiders or bears. Perhaps you should be afraid of snakes or spiders or bears, especially a bear that's running after you and there's a snake waiting for you. That would be a very scary thing.
Coward in this context means those who do not overcome. Each of the letters written in the seven churches of Asia Minor in chapters 2 and 3 end on that note, he who overcomes, he who overcomes, he who overcomes. So cowardly here means those who defect, those who make a confession or a profession and then they fall away, those who are apostate, But the point is, is that the wicked are excluded from the New Jerusalem. And then notice in chapter 21 at verse 27, But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
And then 22, 15. 2215, but outside are dogs, and sorcerers, and sexually immoral, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. Now go way back to the book of Joshua, all the way back to Joshua chapter 21. We're going to draw out a principle concerning the total subjection or subjugation of Christ's enemies. Joshua chapter 21, verses 43 to 45 is the outline of the book.
If you want to know what the book of Joshua is about, understand Joshua 21, 43 to 45. Verse 43 encompasses or summarizes chapters 13 to 21. Verse 44 summarizes chapters 1 to 12. And then verse 45 encompasses the whole book.
But in verse 44, notice what it says. The Lord gave them rest all around according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them. The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.
Now here's the point with reference to the total subjugation of Christ's enemies. It isn't complete until they're all gone. In other words, the New Jerusalem is blessed because all wickedness is external. All wickedness is capped out.
The highest and most blessed beatitude for the people of God is to be in that place wherein righteousness dwells. To be in the presence of Jesus Christ, the one who has subjugated all of his enemies for the glory of his Father and for the good of his people. And so when we look at a Psalm 110, for instance, and it talks about the glory and the triumph of the Messiah in terms of conquest, that ought not to make us go, well, that seems odd. That's language that's a bit offensive.
That's language that might land us in jail today. It ought to steal the soul against the enemies or within the context of the enemies of Christ. Brethren, we ultimately win is the testimony of Psalm 110. And I hope that this is an encouragement and I hope that this will indeed bless and strengthen us so that we'll walk in confident faith, hope and expectation, not because we're good, but because the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.
Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for the Lord Jesus Christ and for His position of sovereignty and power and universal dominion at the right hand of God Almighty, and how we praise You that He must reign till all of His enemies are made His footstool, and how we praise You that one day in that new Jerusalem, all things that offend the law of God, the holiness of God, the people of God, will be excluded from that place. Lord, encourage us and help us as we walk in the muck of life even now. Help us to walk by faith and not by sight. Help us to trust in these promises, and help us to be well-versed in the Psalter, and help us to be well-versed in biblical religion, so that we may indeed serve you in a manner that is consistent with what is revealed in the Scripture.
And we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.