THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - December 1, 2014 - Day 110 - Psalm 110

There seems to be this thought that a Christian need not be a theologian but if the definition of theology is simply the systematic and rational study of God then why would we not desire to be theologians? The most basic tenet of theology for the Christian is to understand is who God is. Since as Christians we choose to follow Christ and be his disciples then we must also understand that Jesus is not just a great teacher and a nice loving person as the new agers like to call Him but that He is God. He shares the same attributes as the Father as does the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. Psalm 110 is a micro lesson on the theology of Christ. It is the most quoted of all the psalms in the New Testament.

Psalm 110:1
A PSALM OF DAVID. The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."

Though David is the author of this psalm it is a beautiful example of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in David’s writings. David has recorded a conversation between Jehovah, which speaks of God the Father and Adonai, which speaks of God the Son. Take a moment to grasp the concept that the Holy Spirit is allowing us to eavesdrop on this conversation.

Psalm 110:2
The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!

The word scepter also translated as rod reminds of God’s power. Think back to how Moses was empowered by God through the rod by which he was able to perform the miracles against the pharaoh and then by which the Red Sea was parted and Israel escaped their captivity. It was the rod which Moses held up to bring victory over the Amalekites. Now it is Jesus who holds the rod that represents the power of God. He rules in the midst of our enemies.

Psalm 110:3
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.

We the people, the church, are God’s hands and feet. We are called to give up ourselves in service to God. We are God’s army in this day, serving as priests in the battles of this age. 2 Corinthians 10:4 reminds us of the battle saying that “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” 

Psalm 110:4
The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."

Before Christ there was an order of priests called the Levites who were called to the work of the priesthood. But that was merely a shadow of the coming Messiah. The significance of Melchizedek is that it was not possible for a priest to also be a king in the Old Testament law but when Christ came He is the true Melchizedek. Jesus is the great high priest and the king.

Psalm 110:5-6
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.

Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for us. We need to stop for a bit and take hold of that. Jesus is right now interceding in prayer for you and for me with God the Father. This is why I say we must be theologians. We must understand what is happening right now in the Heavens. We mess up every day and we sin against God. But Jesus, the creator and sustainer of this entire universe is talking to God the Father about us personally. He is talking to the Father about us by name. He is securing our position for all eternity.  Listen to the words of Paul from the letter to the Romans.

Romans 8:33-35
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

If you are Christ’s then your salvation is secure. It is not based on one single thing you and I do or say or even think. It is based on what Jesus did on the cross. If Jesus is interceding for us and the Father has given Him the title of eternal priest then how could that ever be lost by us?

Romans 8:37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 110 closes with an interesting statement about Jesus.

 Psalm 110:7
He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.

Jesus is coming back and when He comes we know from the scriptures He will come with judgment. But until then we live in the age of grace. I think this verse speaks of the humility of Christ who came down from the glory of heaven to “drink from the brook”. He came and He lived as a man which provides us the comfort of taking hold of the fact that everything we face He has faced as well. Our God is not some distant god who rules like a king hidden in his castle but He is a God who dwells with us and is willing to stop and drink from a brook alongside us.

Philippians 2:4-11 is the New Testament exposition of this verse.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

That, my friends, is a simple theology of who Jesus is. You don’t need seminary degrees to understand it. You just need Jesus and the Holy Spirit to put it in your heart and in your mind. Thanks and praise to God who loved us so much, in spite of our rebellious nature, that He sent His Son, our Melchizedek, to die for us and to be both our King and our Priest forever.