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The Church of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Verse 1 specifically is quoted more or alluded to 
more in the New Testament than any other Old Testament verse. 
So I want to read the psalm and then we're going to look at three 
particulars in this passage. Beginning in verse one, 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. Let us pray. Our blessed 
God and our Holy Father, we come before you now and we ask for 
the ministry of your Spirit. We confess our sins and our transgressions. We want to be covered in the 
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and have anything that would 
darken our understanding washed away. And we pray that you would 
just guide us by the Spirit to cause us to appreciate afresh 
our great Redeemer King, the Blessed One described in this 
psalm, that One who is both Priest and King, who is the One who 
has saved us from our sins. We pray, Our Father, that You 
would cause these things to warm and encourage our hearts, fill 
us with gratitude that we may worship You aright, and grant 
grace to any and all who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ to 
come to Him tonight, realizing that He saves to the uttermost, 
realizing that it's through His blood and through His righteousness 
that anyone will ever enter in to that blessed state. We ask 
our Father that you would be praised in this meeting, and 
we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, there is 
a book that was written, I think, in 2010 by a man named Michael 
Reitelnick. It is The Messianic Hope. Is 
the Bible, or is the Hebrew Bible, really messianic? And one of 
the things that he asserts is that many evangelicals are denying 
that reality. That instead of being a book 
full of prophetic testimony concerning the Messiah to come, That's precisely 
not what the issue is. It's unfortunate that there are 
evangelicals who maintain such a position in light of the overwhelming 
evidence to suggest otherwise. Reitelnick sets forth the affirmation 
of his thesis over against those evangelicals, and one of the 
things he does is cite a man by the name of James Hamilton. 
And James Hamilton says this concerning the Old Testament. 
The Old Testament is a messianic document written from a messianic 
perspective to sustain a messianic hope. And I would heartily agree 
with that. I think Psalm 110 is certainly 
one of the high points in Old Testament literature that indicates 
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. As I've said, some would 
question this whole idea. Look at the superscription. It 
says it's a Psalm of David. Some say it's a psalm to David, 
a psalm concerning David. But the New Testament puts that 
objection to rest very swiftly. For in Matthew chapter 21, our 
Lord, I'm sorry, Matthew 22 verse 41, our Lord in dispute with 
the Pharisees says to them, what do you think about the Christ, 
whose son is he? They said to him, the son of 
David. He said to them, How then does David in the Spirit call 
him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand 
till I make your enemies your footstool. If David then calls 
him Lord, how is he his son? And no one was able to answer 
him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question him 
anymore. Notice that the Pharisees do 
not offer up an alternative interpretation. They accept the messianic application 
of Psalm 110 to the Messiah. Now, of course, they rejected 
that Jesus was that Messiah, but in terms of the interpretation 
of the psalm, they saw it as messianic as well in Acts chapter 
2 and verse 34. The Apostle Peter says, 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. A commentator who is much to 
be preferred over those evangelicals that deny the messianic nature 
of Old Testament prophecy. J. A. Alexander commenting on 
Psalm 110. 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. And I would heartily amen what 
Alexander says in that statement, as would Calvin, as would John 
Gill, as would Spurgeon, as would all the men. that we trace our 
blessed heritage to. Psalm 110 is a messianic prophecy 
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And the psalm breaks down into 
three particulars that I want to look at this evening. In the 
first place, the Messiah as divine king, verses 1 to 3. Secondly, 
the Messiah as priest, in verse 4. And then finally, the Messiah 
as conqueror, in verses 5 to 7. Now notice, in the first place, 
the Messiah as divine king. Two observations here in verses 
1 to 3. Note first his enthronement. 
Yahweh said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your 
enemies your footstool. The parties involved We see Yahweh 
and the Lord. This is Jesus. This is Messiah. This is a promise concerning 
David's greater son. Now there is a link between Psalm 
110 and Psalm 2. Again, Alexander recognizes this 
particular link and he says this is the counterpart of the second 
Psalm, completing the prophetic picture of the conquering Messiah. The book of Hebrews makes this 
connection as well in Hebrews chapter 5 verses 5 and 6. We 
see the same theme in Psalm 2 as we see in Psalm 110. The idea 
is that God the Lord, Yahweh of Israel, has stationed His 
King on His holy hill of Zion. And Yahweh has entrusted to Him 
universal dominion, absolute authority, power, glory, majesty, 
and excellence. That is precisely what we find 
in the second Psalm and we find in Psalm 110. The backdrop, of 
course, is what is called the covenant of redemption. The parties 
of that covenant are the Father and the Son, specifically the 
Father giving and elect people to the Son, the Son covenanting 
to the Father that He would indeed redeem them from their sins. 
We see the application of the historic fulfillment of this 
in Peter's language in Acts 2. It is applied at the ascension 
of our Lord Jesus. It is decreed in history. It 
finds its fulfillment at the time of the ascension of our 
Lord Jesus. Now note again Psalm 110 verse 
1. Yahweh said to my Lord, sit at 
my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. The right 
hand of Yahweh is simply the position of authority and dominion. 
It is that place of regal power. It is that place of glory and 
majesty. It is that place of exaltation. For Yahweh to put someone at 
His right hand indicates something concerning that person at His 
right hand. The rest of the Scriptures indicate 
that this person at the right hand of Yahweh shares the essence 
of Yahweh Himself. He is a divine Messiah. He is the glorious Christ. He 
is the one that rules from heaven. over all things. Now notice, 
he says, till I make your enemies your footstool. The Messiah awaits 
victory over all of his enemies. I love the language that is employed 
here. The footstool imagery, according 
to Gill, is an allusion to the custom of conquerors treading 
upon the necks of the conquered. Again, these are concepts we're 
not very familiar with. If we lived in a situation where 
there was war, where there was battle, where there were bullets 
flying overhead, where there were contending armies with one 
another, this psalm would probably take on a whole new light for 
us. We live in a very, very calm and subdued sort of a climate. And we sometimes miss the reality 
of biblical imagery. In Joshua chapter 10, this image 
is employed. There was a coalition of Amorite 
kings that joined the king of Jerusalem. in their attempt to 
oppose the armies of Israel under Joshua. After Joshua routed the 
enemies of the Lord, actually it was the Lord who routed his 
own enemies, we see these five Amorite kings take up place in 
a cave. So Joshua commands that they 
roll a stone to keep them in that cave while they finish the 
battle. And then the stone is rolled away and Joshua gives 
this particular command to his soldiers. And they drew near 
and put their feet on their necks." It is a blessed picture of the 
victory of our Lord Jesus Christ subduing his enemies under his 
foot. Psalm 47 verse 3, He will subdue 
the peoples under us and the nations under our feet. And we 
ought to hear in this passage, we ought to hear in verse 6 as 
well, as we ought to hear in many, many places in the Old 
Testament and New, Genesis 3.15. That promise of the seed of the 
woman that would crush the serpent himself. And we see that Christ 
lowers his foot upon all of his enemies to bring blessing, joy, 
comfort, and protection to his people. And as well, in this 
statement, we find that Christ's triumph is assured. We mustn't 
ever forget that. I was trying to think of a good 
illustration. It's hard right now, isn't it, 
to imagine a 60 degree day, or what would that be, 15 or 20, 
with rain. Doesn't that sound good? I bet 
our front lawn thinks it sounds very good. Most of us are at 
this particular point. We walk a fine line here, as 
A.W. Pink points out in Sovereignty 
of God. To complain about the weather 
is to murmur against God's sovereignty. So I don't want to complain, 
but I would suggest that in the midst of a heat wave, a 60-degree 
day with showers looks pretty beneficial, looks pretty enjoyable. But you can't even picture it 
right now. You can't even comprehend it right now. You can't even 
sink your teeth into it. because it seems so far removed. When we look at this world around 
us, with immorality being legislated from the highest courts in the 
land, with sodomy being promoted, with abortion continually being 
promoted, and even subsidized by federal funds, it is difficult 
to see that foot of Messiah crush the head of the serpent. It is 
difficult when we are so far removed from a particular reality 
to envision it, to understand it, and to wrap our minds around 
it. But the faithful of Christ have 
always sung Psalm 110 with a hopeful, confident expectation that the 
seed of the woman will crush the serpent himself. He will 
trod down upon him and upon all the enemies of the church of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. This ought to be our battle psalm. This ought to be something we 
never tire of singing. We ought to testify with the 
Psalter. We ought to testify with the 
New Testament. The Lord said to my Lord, sit 
at my right hand till I make your enemies Your footstool. Now notice, specifically, the 
Messiah's government. Under the heading, the Messiah 
as Divine King. His government is given to us 
in verses 2 and 3. The Lord shall send the rod of 
your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies. 
Again, Psalm 2, verse 6. God has placed His Christ on 
His holy hill of Zion. And why does God place His Christ 
on the holy hill of Zion? Because of the mutiny of man. 
Because of the rage of the nations. Because of the people's plot 
of vain thing. Because rebel sinners are raising 
their fist at God and at His Christ. And so how does the calm 
dignity of the throne room of heaven respond? By setting His 
anointed upon His throne. And this is precisely what we 
find in this instance. In Psalm 2, where Yahweh sets 
his king on his holy hill of Zion, verse 6, from whence he 
breaks rebels with a rod of iron and dashes them to pieces like 
a potter's vessel. I love the way Davis captures 
Psalm 2. If you had to do a one-sentence 
description of Psalm 2, he says, the appointed king, verse 7, 
with worldwide sway, verse 8, to be established an overwhelming 
force, verse 9. That is the decree that is controlling 
history. And that is precisely what we 
find in Psalm 110. The Lord shall send the rod of 
your strength out of Zion. Pastor Kim read from Revelation 
19. We need to understand that that 
sword proceeds from the mouth of him who rides the white horse. What is primarily in view is 
the word of the living God. When the law and the gospel are 
preached, the enemies of Christ are subdued. Some are rejected 
and cast off into hell. Others are conquered and brought 
into the fold. We ought to bless and praise 
God for the power of that word that proceeds from the mouth 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. But in the final days, in the 
final aspect, there will be that crushing, there will be that 
bruising, there will be that complete shattering in pieces 
of all those who oppose the Lord of glory. Now notice, verse 2 
describes the rule of Christ in the midst of his enemies. 
But as well, verse 3 describes the rule of Christ with reference 
to His people. Now we often preach Psalm 110 
verse 3, and I don't think it's illegitimate, as an effectual 
call verse. God makes men willing in the 
day of his power. I'm sure you've heard me say 
that many times in this particular pulpit. That is not incorrect. But perhaps the background to 
this statement in the Psalter is Judges 5. In the song of Deborah 
and Barak, the son of Abinoam, after the victory they had, It 
says, they sang on that day saying, when leaders lead in Israel, 
when the people willingly offer themselves, bless the Lord. So perhaps we are to understand 
in Psalm 110.3 something of the effectual call. God does make 
us willing in the day of His power. He doesn't draw us to 
Himself kicking and screaming. He goes in, He changes our hearts. 
He makes us willing. He makes us to see the glory 
of Christ. He makes us to see the wickedness 
of sin. He makes us to see the One, as 
we heard this morning, who is altogether lovely and chief among 
ten thousand. We want to run after Him. We 
want to lay a hold of Him. We want to hold on tight to Him 
and never let Him go. But as well, as the servants 
of Christ, what will we be? We will be volunteers in the 
day of His power, so that when He goes conquering and to conquer, 
we go conquering and to conquer. Now this isn't the holy war that 
was waged against Canaan. in the Old Testament situation. 
We need to make sure we understand that. I've said that many times. 
There is a disconnect in terms of the theocratic nation of Israel 
and the new covenant Israel, which is the church. We as Chilliwackians 
are not to go wage war against Abbotsfordians and lay our feet 
upon their necks until they cry Jesus. That is simply inappropriate. But the church and her witness 
The church in her testimony, the church in her conduct, the 
church in her preaching. What does she do but wage the 
battles of Christ the Lord? We need to be about these things. 
We need to be a willing people in the day of His power. And 
instead of kowtowing to the culture around us, we shine as lights 
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. And we do 
so by holding forth the word of truth. And when there is governmental 
coercion, we say we must obey God rather than men. We declare 
the whole counsel of God law gospel. We preach all things 
that the Lord has given to us because we are a willing people 
in the day of His power. And then notice that next clause, 
which I understand to be notoriously difficult Hebrew, says, in the 
beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning, you have 
the due of your youth. Now, many commentators take this 
as a reference to the amount of the number or the multitude 
of those who come under Christ's way. Listen to Calvin. 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 as to the dew. Isn't that beautiful? Again, something we long for, 
isn't it? Dew. What is dew? We haven't seen dew for a long 
time. But does dew just arrive on one 
bush in your yard? No, dew encompasses the entirety 
of your property. Dew comes down all over the place 
and this could perhaps be what David is extolling, the number 
of Christ's elect, the number of those made willing in the 
day of his power. The number of those who by grace 
have been conquered in the effectual call, but those who by grace 
go forth in the name of Christ into a faithful witness and testimony. But there is an intriguing reading 
in what's called the Septuagint, or the Greek translation of the 
Hebrew Old Testament. It says, 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. It could not necessarily 
be referring to the amount of the elect in terms of Christ's 
rule, but rather it could be referring, as does Psalm 2 do, 
to the begottenness of the Son by the Father from before the 
morn. Now, if I was Matthew Henry, 
I would just give you those two positions and say, figure it 
out. I certainly favor that Septuagintal reading because I think it does 
harmonize with what we find in Psalm 2, and I think it does 
further describe for us the Messiah. But be that as it may, let's 
look at verse four under the consideration of the Messiah 
as priest. Again, a very famous, a very 
familiar passage for readers of the New Testament. Notice, 
the Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever 
according to the order of Melchizedek. The oath of God is riding upon 
this. Again, the backdrop is that covenant 
of redemption. that covenant of peace wherein 
Yahweh has purpose to save a great multitude and Christ as surety 
and mediator has taken on their behalf all of the obligations 
of that covenant to fulfill it on their behalf. Notice in Hebrews 
7, 20, 21 it says, and inasmuch 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, You see, the priestly office 
of Christ, the mediatorial reign of Christ, the messiahship of 
Christ, His rule not only over foes, but over friends, is not 
up for grabs. It is not willy-nilly. Brethren, 
you can hang your soul upon a statement like this. The Lord is sworn. 
There is nothing higher than God. When God goes into the courtroom, 
He doesn't put His hand on the Bible. He swears by Himself. 
Because there is nothing higher or superior to God. He has sworn 
an oath, according to Hebrews 6. And this is unchanging. It is lasting. It is immutable. God is impassable. He doesn't 
change. Tomorrow, He is always the same. Yesterday, today, and forever. Notice, the Lord has sworn and 
will not relent. Now as we proceed through the 
sermon, and I promise you it's not going to be an hour tonight, 
I want to love you as I love myself. I want to treat you as 
I would like for you to treat me. I do not want to butcher 
you with heat, but I want to present to you what this passage 
says concerning this blessed priest king. We are not in the 
hand of fate. We are not in the hand of luck. We are not in the hand of cosmic 
forces that may change when things become contrary. We have the 
oath of God Most High. We have the promise of God that 
He is sworn and that He will not relent. He will not change 
His mind. Gil says, what follows was said. And this oath was made in the 
Council of Peace, the covenant of redemption. when Christ was 
called to this office and he accepted of it. And of this the 
Lord never repented as he never does of any acts of his acts 
of grace." Now notice the office of priest. The Lord is sworn 
and will not relent. You are a priest forever according 
to the order of Melchizedek. Isn't that beautiful? The kings 
in Israel didn't serve in a priestly capacity. And certainly Saul 
tried to, but what happened? Did Samuel say, good on you, 
Saul? No, Samuel upbraided him. Saul 
should have waited for Samuel before he offered burnt sacrifice. He should have never undertaken 
on behalf of Yahweh to offer up this sacrifice. We learn in 
that particular instance that though our motives may seem to 
be pious, that though our motives may seem to be I mean, after 
all, all Saul wanted to do was offer sacrifice to God. That 
can't be wrong, can it? It can't be wrong that I have 
a hankering to do the will of the Lord. It is wrong when we 
undertake in a way or manner that God the Lord Himself has 
not commanded. Remember last week in our study 
of the second word, the first word describes or sets forth 
to us the object of worship. The second word specifies the 
manner of worship. So it is sin to worship the wrong 
God, but it is also sin to worship the right God in the wrong way. Saul was condemned as a result 
of undertaking in a position that he was never charged with. 
But in this instance, this glorious king, this vice-regent, this 
Messiah, seated at the right hand of Yahweh, is not only king 
of kings and lord of lords, is not only the one who shatters 
his enemies to pieces, but he is the priest of his people. 
He is both priest and sacrifice in a glorious and wondrous combination. Notice the reference to Melchizedek. 
You can look him up later in Genesis chapter 14. And you can 
see exposition or amplification in Hebrews chapter 6 and 7. Perhaps 
the idea that is most primary is the reality that Melchizedek 
was a king and a priest. He was a king and a priest, and 
Christ likewise, not a son of Aaron, from the tribe of Judah, 
nevertheless of the order of Melchizedek in order to function 
in this kingly, priestly capacity for the good of his people. Interesting, 
the prophet Zechariah refers to this one in Zechariah 6, 12 
and 13. And he also links him with the 
branch, that branch that is specified throughout the prophetic literature. 
He says, Behold, the man whose name is 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 counsel of peace shall be between 
them both. The glorious Christ will bear 
the glory. What does that mean? When anybody 
looks upon Christ, what is He doing? He is bearing the glory. 
It's like when you just wash your car. It looks good. It looks 
nice. Now this is a bad analogy to 
be sure, but it's shining and it's gleaming and it reflects 
something of the value and the import of that particular unit. 
Christ sitting upon the throne at the right hand of the Father. 
What does He do? He bears glory. He manifests 
glory. He radiates glory. He demonstrates 
glory. Pink highlights the significance 
of these two offices in the one blessed person. He is priest 
with royal authority and a king with priestly tenderness. Isn't 
that beautiful? Sometimes you wish there was 
something you wrote yourself. Actually, I don't. I don't care. 
I can just tweet it and get all the joy out of it I want. He 
is a priest with royal authority and a king with priestly tenderness. 
Doesn't God answer to our needs specifically? Doesn't God deal 
with us in great mercy and kindness? Isn't this precisely the priest 
we need? He has royal authority. Isn't 
this precisely the king that we need? He has priestly tenderness. This is the one for his people. Now notice thirdly and finally, 
the Messiah as conqueror. The Messiah as conqueror. Verses 
5 to 7, the Lord is at your right hand. Again, I think this is 
language. that is speaking of Christ at the right hand of Yahweh. The Lord is at your right hand. Now notice the extent of His 
judgment. I like the New King James marginal 
readings better than what we find in the text. Notice in verse 
5, He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. Literally, 
in verse 5, He breaks kings in pieces. Again, for an excellent 
essay on Genesis 3.15, may I suggest The Skull-Crushing Seed of the 
Woman by James Hamilton Jr. He will show you in so many places 
in the Old Testament Scriptures this allusion to or direct quotation 
of this concept of the victor of God, the Christ of God, the 
seed of the woman crushing the skull of the serpent. This is 
probably in the backdrop in this passage. He will break kings 
in pieces. The next statement in verse 6, 
He shall execute the heads of many countries. He shall break 
in pieces the heads of many countries. The serpent and his seed will 
be destroyed by the Lord Christ himself. Notice the extent of 
his judgment. The Messiah shall shatter in 
pieces kings in the day of his wrath. The Messiah shall judge 
among the nations. The Messiah shall fill the places 
with dead bodies. And the Messiah shall shatter 
in pieces the heads of many countries. Now again, we don't live in a 
martial climate. We don't walk out tonight wearing 
flak vests. We're not strapped because of 
the threat of enemy invaders that may approach us when we 
go out to our car tonight. I know there's crackheads, and 
I know there's druggies, and I know there's all those sorts 
of things. But I'm talking about combat-ready soldiers. We do 
not see such things. And such language strikes us 
as a bit violent. The imagery is a bit harsh for 
us in our delicate sensitivities. Those readers of McShane's calendar 
recently have read Isaiah the Prophet, chapter 63. If you haven't 
read this lately, you can turn there and notice verses 1 to 
6, a description of Messiah. Isaiah 63, verse 1, Who is this 
who comes from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah, this one 
who is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of 
his strength? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 
Why is your apparel red and your garments like one who treads 
in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress 
alone, and from the peoples no one was with me. For I have trodden 
them in my anger, and trampled them in my fury. Their blood 
is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my robes. 
For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of the 
redeemed has come. I looked, but there was no one 
to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold. Therefore, 
my own arm brought salvation for me, and my own fury It sustained 
me. I have trodden down the peoples 
in my anger, made them drunk in my fury, and brought down 
their strength to the earth." Now having not been a part of 
a martial climate, we miss something of the imagery that is used here. 
When we read that Messiah shall fill the places with dead bodies, 
what does that indicate? For us and our delicate sensitivities, 
it indicates a bit of a smelly mess. But if we were in a martial 
climate, it would indicate victory. It would indicate conquest. It 
would indicate that our leader, our Lord, our Christ has subjugated 
his enemies. We need to capture this mindset 
with reference to the conquering Jesus. I love what Ralph Davis 
says concerning Christ. This is in his commentary on 
the book of 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, in righteousness. He says this, 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. Michael 
Reitelnick in his book, The Messianic Hope, quotes the essayist, the 
author, rather, Dorothy Sayers. And she said, 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. We have tamed the lion of the 
tribe of Judah. We don't read this language and 
say, praise God Almighty. We get embarrassed. We start 
getting apologetic. We start trying to reinterpret 
because we don't want to offend God-hating rebels that their 
ultimate lot, should they fail to come to the one alone who 
gives life everlasting, is to be shattered into pieces. And 
just think about this mindset. We get a little bit bothered, 
a little bit irritated, a little bit freaked out, if you will, 
at the thought of him filling the places with dead bodies and 
shattering the heads of many countries. Think of the doctrine 
of hell. You know, as much as this is 
descriptive, using very violent imagery, it doesn't begin to 
touch the realities of eternal punishment. It doesn't begin 
to touch the realities of conscious, everlasting punishment away from 
the glory of God Most High in that place where there is weeping 
and wailing and gnashing. I have never understood the evangelical 
mindset that stumbles over teaching or preaching or interpreting 
properly these military martial images and then affirming hell. It just doesn't make sense. Perhaps 
if we understood these passages and we weren't afraid of these 
passages, sinners might see that the justice of hell is necessary 
because the justice of God is about crushing his opposition. We notice. in this passage, the 
total destruction, the total subjugation of all of the enemies 
of Jesus. And then the last statement, 
the refreshment of the king. Notice in verse 7, he shall drink 
of the brook by the wayside, therefore he shall lift up the 
head. The battle, there's two views, 
the battle rages on and he stops long enough just to get a drink 
of water. Or the idea is that conquest 
is over, subjugation is concluded. And now he goes for refreshment. And now he takes a drink. Now 
he finds that blessed reprieve. And the last statement, therefore 
he shall lift up the head, that is a reference to conquest. That 
is a reference to victory. What has he done to the heads 
of the many countries? He has shattered them. He has 
broken them in pieces. They can't lift the head. When 
Messiah's foot is upon their neck, the last thing they can 
do is lift up the head. The contrast is stark. The contrast 
is sharp. Their heads are shattered in 
pieces, and Messiah lifts up His. In faithful obedience to 
His Father, in executing the messianic task of redeeming His 
people from their sins. And thus concludes the exposition 
quickly. Quickly. In the first place, 
we need to understand the reality facing Christ's people. The reality 
facing Christ's people. From the ascension to the consummation, 
Christ rules. From the ascension to the consummation, 
Christ is subduing his enemies. But that also teaches us something. That until the consummation, 
Christ has enemies on this earth. And hence the church herself 
will have enemies. You see, we need to understand 
things that happen in this world. There is an antithesis. There 
is a God-imposed antithesis according to Genesis 3.15. God says, I 
will put enmity between you and the seed of the woman. I will 
do this. We ought not to be shocked when the Supreme Court rules 
in favor of sodomite marriage. We ought not to be shocked that 
Canada was the fourth country in the world to vote that into 
law 10 years ago. We ought to be grieved. We ought 
to say with the psalmist, rivers of waters run down from my eyes 
because men do not keep your law. But shocked? No. What does Jesus teach in Matthew 
16? I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not 
prevail against it. Christ will be victorious. That is assured. That is underscored. But there will be this attempt 
by the gates of Hades to try and stop the advancement of Christ's 
kingdom. That is a legitimate application 
that we derive from this passage. 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. It is 
the reality for us. We are facing formidable enemies. We are facing those who oppose 
Jesus and who oppose his church. In the second place, we ought 
to be encouraged. We ought to be, as Brother Dr. Renahan says, encouraged. C.H. Spurgeon says, while we see our 
Lord and representatives sitting in quiet expectancy, we too may 
sit in the attitude of peaceful assurance and with confidence 
await the great outcome of all events. So we need to be a weeping 
people with the psalmist. We need to be a praying people 
with the entirety of God's Word. We need to be a preaching people, 
a testifying people, a witnessing people, a godly people. But as 
well we ought to be a hope-filled people because the foot of Messiah 
is going to stand upon the neck of all of his enemies. Spurgeon 
says again in his Treasury of David, 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. Pope and priest must fall 
with Mohammed and other deceivers who are now heads of the people. Jesus must reign and they must 
perish. I think I shared with you recently 
a quote that I saw on a brother's blog. Something to the effect 
that in the early church, these men from the government say to 
some presbyters, some elders of the church, They said, we 
are going to destroy the church. We are going to brutalize it. 
We are going to decimate it. We are going to bring it to an 
end. And the presbyters and the elders said, look, sir, if we 
haven't been able to do it with our sin and pettiness, then we 
do not trust that you shall be able to do it either. Christ 
is building his church. How many times as believers do 
we forget that? How many times as believers do 
we forget the reality of Matthew 28? All authority in heaven and 
on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and disciple the 
nations, baptize them, teach them all that I have commanded 
you. And he underscores it with his 
presence. He says, and lo, I am with you 
always, even to the end of the age. Brethren, there is great 
cause for encouragement for the people of God Most High. There 
are enemies. There are foes. There are mahatmatins, 
as Spurgeon would call them, as Gill would say. But they will 
be ruined. They will be crushed. They will 
be dashed to pieces. The dogma of Rome will not continue 
into the eschaton. The abortion clinics will not 
continue into the eschaton. The so-called gay marriage will 
not continue into the eschaton. Brethren would say, oh, you're 
preaching hate. I'm not preaching hate. We ought to love people. We ought to love image bearers. 
But we ought to preach to them the truth as it is in Jesus. 
When we don't define sin properly, men don't see their need. When 
men have a faulty understanding of God's law and a faulty understanding 
of sin itself, they will ultimately have a faulty understanding of 
Jesus the Lord. That is from Bunyan, by the way. 
The church has great cause to be encouraged. Matthew Henry 
said, Christ sitting at the right hand of God speaks as much terror 
to his enemies as happiness to his people. The third place, 
we learn of the total subjugation of Christ's enemies. We need 
to realize there is no peace ultimately in the ultimate sense 
until all enemies are abolished. That's just reality. When they 
went into Canaan, notice specifically in Joshua 21, 44. Joshua 21 and 
verse 44, which by the way, 21 to 45 gives 
us an overview of the whole book. But if you notice in verse 44 
in Joshua 21, 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. There could be no rest in Canaan. 
With Canaanites there? There could be no rest in the 
New Jerusalem with abortion clinics there. Isn't this precisely how 
John describes the New Jerusalem? Which comes down out of heaven 
adorned as a bride for the bridegroom. In Revelation 21.8 he 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. Doesn't verse 8 describe the 
headline news on CNN or Fox or whatever place you find your 
news? Isn't it all about the cowardly, the unbelieving, the 
abominable, the murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, 
idolaters, and all liars? Isn't that precisely what we 
see all around us? Well, rest assured in the New 
Jerusalem, they're not there. Rest assured, in the New Jerusalem, 
all the enemies of Christ are vanquished. In the New Jerusalem, 
all the enemies of God are excluded. Notice in Revelation 21-27, 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 in 22-15, But outside, are dogs, and sorcerers, and 
sexually immoral, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves 
and practices a lie. We need to understand that king 
that proceeds on the white horse, faithful and true, in righteousness 
he judges and he makes war. He will bring his foot to bear 
on the necks of all of his enemies. He will subdue all of his enemies 
before us. They will be excluded. from that 
new Jerusalem. And in the final place, we ought 
to observe the glory of the priest-king. That a king would be a priest 
is amazing, isn't it? I mean, think about your job 
right now. It's probably a difficult job. 
You've got a lot of responsibility, you've got a lot of hands on 
your time, you've got a lot of persons under you, persons around 
you. It's tough to do one job well, 
isn't it? I mean, the job of a king, especially, 
to govern a universal empire. The fact that he is not only 
king but priest is absolutely amazing. But the fact that he 
is king and priest and sacrifice is doubly amazing. You see, this 
priest who reigns forever according to the order of Melchizedek is 
both priest or offerer and the offered. And in an interesting 
sort of juxtaposition of the language of Genesis 3.15, he 
will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel. What does 
the prophet Isaiah indicate to us concerning the nature of the 
servant of the Lord? You can turn to the 53rd chapter 
of Isaiah. We've used the language of shattering 
in pieces. synonymous with bruising, synonymous 
with crushing, synonymous with the subjugation of the enemies 
of Messiah. Notice the nature of this priest 
king also identified as the servant of Yahweh. in the servant songs 
in the prophet Isaiah. Notice in 53 verse 4, "...surely 
he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed 
him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted, but he was wounded 
for our transgressions." He was bruised or crushed for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace 
was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep 
have gone astray. We have turned everyone to His 
own way. And Yahweh has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 
Notice in verse 10, Yet it pleased Yahweh to crush Him. He has put 
Him to grief. When you make His soul an offering 
for sin, He shall see His seed. He shall prolong His days, and 
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. The way 
ultimately that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent 
himself is by being crushed himself on Golgotha by suffering in his 
own person the wrath and fury of the Father for all those whom 
God had given to him. It was penal substitution. The 
chastisement for Arpes was laid upon him. The Lord Christ is 
not only king. He is priest, and he's not only 
priest, but he's victim. He is sacrifice. He is the one 
offered. And according to the book of 
Hebrews, for such a high priest was fitting for us, who is holy, 
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become 
higher than the heavens, who does not need daily as those 
high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins and then 
for the people's, For this he did once for all when he offered 
up himself." Notice, he does not make an offering for himself, 
but he makes an offering of himself for all those whom the Father 
had given to him. This priestly king laid down 
his life for us. This priestly king was subjugated 
under the wrath and fury of his father for us. This priestly 
king bore that wrath in our place, in our stead. Brethren, as we 
were reminded this morning, we need to do this in remembrance 
of him. Let us pray. Our father, we thank 
you for your word and we thank you for the Psalter and for the 
entire testimony of the word of God to the glory of Christ 
the Lord. We thank you that he sits enthroned 
at your right hand, where he must reign till all his enemies 
are made his footstool. We thank you that he is coming 
again to judge the living and the dead. I pray that each and 
every one in this room, that all of us, by grace, would make 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and that we would 
be able to stand on that day, that we would be able to extol 
the King who bears glory, that we would see Him as He is, and 
we would see Him in all of His beauty and majesty. God, be merciful. Reach down and save sinners. 
And God, strengthen and encourage us as individuals. Cause us to 
see that Christ's victory Christ's conquest is indeed total, that 
all false religion, that all wickedness and ungodliness, that 
all wretchedness and evil will ultimately be put down, that 
in the new Jerusalem only righteousness will dwell, only the people who 
have been blood-bought will dwell with the Father, with the Son, 
and with the Holy Spirit. We thank you for this great encouragement. We pray now that you would guide 
our thoughts as we remember Jesus, specifically in his dying and 
in his rising on our behalf. And we pray in Christ's name. 
Amen.