"A Psalm of David.
The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion
your mighty sceptre.
Rule in the midst of your enemies!
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.
4 The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest for ever
after the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgement among the nations,
filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs
over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
therefore he will lift up his head."
Psalm 110
The Messiah is not only a King, He is a Priest also. But why is this emphasised here? Could it be that there is a reference to the fact that what is said in 3 is an ideal pic- ture, which is not always realised in experience - and that therefore it is always needful to remember that we need the priestly mediation of Christ to forgive us and cleanse us and renew in us that willing spirit of dedication and commitment. One commentator suggests that David wrote this Psalm after his great sin, when he was made conscious of his need of priestly mediation (Psalm 51: 'Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me', cf also Hebrews 5:5-10; 6:19-7:28).
The description of the successful warfare is continued in 5-7. We should note especially the words in 5 'The Lord at thy right hand', and compare them with what is said in 1 'At My right hand'. The two statements are complementary aspects of the same truth. It is because Christ is at the right hand of the majesty on high, pleading our cause that He by His Holy Spirit is ever at our right hand, to aid us in the strife and make us more than conquerors through His deathless love. The spiritual life is a battle, not a bed of roses; but in the King's army it is a high privilege and honour to serve, and by His grace we fight not for, but from, victory. Derek Kidner's final comment on the Psalm is worth noting: 'But the Psalm, by its very form, recalls us to a situation still in movement. We are left with the picture of the Warrior following up his victory, like Gideon and his three hundred at the Jordan, 'faint yet pursuing' (Judges 8:4), pausing only to renew his strength and press on to complete the rout. Such is the leader, we are to infer, who beckons us to follow.'