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Meditation Psalm 110

Of David. A psalm.

The Lord says to my lord:

‘Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.’

The Lord will extend your mighty sceptre from Zion, saying,
    ‘Rule in the midst of your enemies!’
Your troops will be willing
    on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendour,
    your young men will come to you
    like dew from the morning’s womb.

The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind:
‘You are a priest for ever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.’

The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
He will judge nations, heaping up the dead
    and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
He will drink from a brook along the way;
    and so he will lift his head high.

(Ps. 110:1-7 NIV)

While this Psalm is written about the Davidic king, the fulfilment of the Psalm can only be realised in the Lord Jesus Christ. The king of David’s line was appointed by God to rule. The king was to sit at God’s right hand and the Lord would make his enemies his footstool. The authority of the king was granted by God. As long as the king remained obedient to the Lord and remained in God’s presence, God would deal with all the enemies. The king has a theocratic rule over the people, but this is a rule that is subject to the Lord.

The kingdom would be extended as the Lord would subdue all his enemies. Making the enemy his footstool was a way of saying that the king would have absolute rule and power over the enemy. The NT quotes this verse in a reference to Jesus:

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

(1 Cor. 15:25 NIV)

The Lord gives strength to the king to rule. The Lord extends the king’s mighty sceptre from the sanctuary, and the king will rule in the midst of his enemies. The Lord will so extend the kingdom that all will have to acknowledge the rule of the king. As we pray, ‘Your kingdom come’, we are praying for the kingdom to be extended and for all the enemies of Christ to be subdued. Many will be subdued by salvation, others will be subdued by judgement.

The king has raised a mighty army of young men who are as numerous as the dew of the dawn. They are willing and ready to do battle in the name of the king, they are arrayed in holiness. The parallel to the King of kings can be clearly seen. The Lord is raising a mighty army of those who have been washed in the blood of the lamb, a kingdom of priests who are holy and willing to give service to their Lord and King. We willingly battle each day for our Lord and King and every victory is a foretaste of the ultimate battle and victory when Christ is acknowledged by all to be Lord and King.

There was a clear distinction in the law of the three offices of king, prophet and priest. Here the Davidic king is described as a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was a king priest (Gen 14:18). The writer to the Hebrews describes the Lord Jesus as being a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus is the King Priest and the Psalm finds its ultimate fulfilment in Christ.

The Lord will crush all rule and authority and establish the King Priest’s right to rule. There is a day of accountability when all rulers will give account for how they have ruled. The Prime Minister, the president, the Kings and Queens, every dictator, all must account in the day that the Lord judges the nations.

The king stoops to be refreshed and lifts up his head in victory before his troops.

Prayer
Our Father in heaven, may Your Kingdom come, may Your will on earth be done as it is in heaven. We thank You that Jesus as King priest offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin, and by his death we have been made the children of God. Lord help us to live in the hope of the exaltation of Jesus as Lord because we pray in His name. Amen.