Embrace the Word for Monday, August 31, 2026

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Psalm 110 is a prophetic Psalm that explicitly points to the Lord Jesus Christ. The superscription simply reads: “A Psalm of David.” Psalm 110 is the third consecutive Davidic Psalm in Book 5 of the Psalter. While Books 1 and 2 pertained to Psalms surrounding the life of David, these three Psalms toward the start of Book 5 suggest that David wrote not simply of his own experiences but also of the king from his line who would come after him. Psalm 110 may be the most explicit Christ-focused Psalm in the Psalter. This focus on Christ is not lost on either Jesus Himself nor the Spirit-directed writers of the New Testament, as Psalm 110 is the most quoted and alluded to passage from the Old Testament used in the New Testament. Psalm 110 has many common links with Psalms 108 and 109, sharing several of the same words and phrases; but it also has links with Psalms 1 and 2. At the end of Book 2 David prays for a Davidic king to rule the world (See Psalm 72); by the end of Book 3 the Psalmist wonders if the LORD has changed His mind about the enduring covenant He swore to David (See Psalm 89:49). Psalm 110 answers decisively: “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind” (110:4a). Psalm 110 begins with a pronouncement of a future Davidic King (110:1-3), then it concludes with a decree that the future Davidic King will also be an eternal High Priest (110:4-7).

Psalm 110 opens with a pronouncement from the LORD: “The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (110:1). David is announcing what the LORD has pronounced. David is speaking about someone he acknowledges to be “my Lord.” David records what the LORD says to his Lord. For the sake of clarity, David is saying that the One True God—the LORD (the One whom we call the Father)—is saying something to One who David describes as his Lord (the One whom we now know is Jesus). By calling him his Lord, David is assigning supreme honor and power to the One that God is speaking about. David is pointing to someone much greater than himself. But how could David speak with such clarity about someone who would not arrive for almost another thousand years? To the skeptical world of unbelief such a suggestion sounds ridiculous. But listen to what Jesus himself says about this Psalm: “And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly” (See Mark 12:35-37; quoting Psalm 110:1). Jesus unequivocally states that what was said in Psalm 110:1 was said by David. But Jesus also without any ambiguity states that what David declared, was done in the Holy Spirit. Psalm 110 is inspired Scripture—it originated right from the mouth of God, and by the direction of the Holy Spirit, David was moved to freely write exactly what he wrote.

Not only did David record that the Father said something to Jesus, his Lord, David was privy to know what was said: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (110:1b). We could call these words an oracle, that is, a record of the exact utterance of what the Father said to Jesus. The Father, the One seated in the heavens, laughing at all who seek His overthrow (see Psalm 2:1-4), invites David’s Lord to sit at His right hand. In other words, the Father invites Jesus to His throne. This is not only in keeping with Psalm 2, it is also in keeping with the Davidic covenant: “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom…And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever” (See 2 Samuel 7:12b,16). Just as the enemies of David’s Lord were warned to be wise and submit to the One whom the LORD would install on the throne (See Psalm 2:10-12), so David hears through the LORD’s oracle that all who oppose the rule of David’s Lord will be trampled or put underfoot. Not only does the imagery of being put underfoot take a near look back to Psalm 108:13, which speaks of treading down the foes, it also takes a further look back to Genesis 3:15, which promises that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent.

David builds on the oracle from the LORD with an expanded prophetic word concerning his Lord: “The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!” (110:2). A scepter symbolizes power and authority. Such power and authority from the LORD would enable David’s Lord to deliver the people to freedom and crush their enemies in defeat. Such a scepter—that is the One who would hold the scepter—was already prophesied as coming through the line of Judah (See Genesis 49:10), and would be a head-crusher: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth” (See Numbers 24:17). From Zion, David’s Lord would rule: “May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth! May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!” (See Psalm 72:8-11). It is important to note that David’s Lord would “rule,” which is the same term assigned to Adam and Eve: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (See Genesis 1:28). The dominion or rule that Adam and Eve were given then forfeited, will be reestablished through David’s Lord. This rule has already been established and yet not completely installed: “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (See 1 Corinthians 15:25). While such a rule is being established, the people of David’s Lord will gladly give themselves in service: “Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours” (110:3). David’s Lord will supply His people all they need.

David has not only been made aware of the Kingly rule of his Lord, he is also privy to an oracle declaring that his Lord will be installed as an eternal high priest: “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (110:4). The imagery surrounding Adam in the garden of Eden suggests both a kingly role as well as a priestly role. Certainly, one of the uniquenesses of Melchizedek was that he was both king and priest (See Genesis 14:17-22). With an emphatic preamble of certainty and unchangeability, the LORD’s oracle is that the priestly order assigned to David’s Lord will not be Levitical, but Melchizedekian. Like Melchizedek himself, his priesthood would be eternal and superior, and unlike the Levitical priesthood, which would prove obsolete and inferior (See Hebrews 5-8). David’s Lord would be a priest and a king (See Zechariah 6:9-14).

The closing words of David’s prophecy provide a vision of the total victory that David’s Lord will realize: “The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head” (110:5-7). David’s Lord—the Priest-King—will conquer the world. David started this Psalm sharing that God invited David’s Lord to sit at His right hand; now the imagery is that God is at the right hand of David’s Lord as he goes into battle. The empowering presence of God upon David’s Lord ensures that all the strength and stability needed for the successful outcome of the mission will be supplied. David’s Lord will be successful in battle as he will “shatter kings” and “chiefs,” executing “judgment on the nations,” for it will be “the day of his wrath.” The imagery is frightening and may even disturb some of our notions of the Lord’s gentleness. But it may be helpful to consider that even though a shepherd really is gentle with his flock, he must be fierce and formidable toward predators and thieves. Such distinction is a necessary component to consider when deciding whether or not it seems desirable to obstinately ignore the shepherd’s voice or to gratefully follow. The outcome of David’s Lord is not in question. Revelation 19 provides further insight to the meaning of “filling them with corpses.” All the while that David’s Lord is securing his victory where he “will lift up his head” in triumph, he is, receiving a constant supply of refreshment as though continually drinking “from the brook by the way.” David’s Lord, as he carries out his mission as priest and king, will be “like a tree planted by streams of water  that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (See Psalm 1:3), for the way of David’s Lord will be “the way of the righteous” (See Psalm 1:6).

As we reflect on Psalm 110, we can consider Jesus as the One who is David’s Lord and the fulfillment of all that David prophesied of in Psalm 110. The Apostle Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, quoted Psalm 110 as he proclaimed that the crucified Jesus is now the risen and ascended Lord: “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ (See Acts 2:33-35; quoting Psalm 110:1). As the Risen Lord, the writer of Hebrews in quoting from Psalm 110, underscores the saving superiority of Jesus: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’” This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (See Hebrew 7:21-25; quoting Psalm 110:4). Not only did Jesus, by one single sacrifice—that being Himself—make a full atonement for His people’s sins (See Hebrews 10:12-14; which also draws from Psalm 110), He now resides at His Father’s right hand continuing to apply His sacrifice of Himself on behalf of His people to ensure that all who belong to Him will get safely home. 

That’s all for Embrace the Word for Monday, August 31, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Wednesday, September 2, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 111.