Psalm 110 Series

Although the Levitical priesthood also typifies Christ’s priestly work, it was limited in portraying the full scope of His priestly ministry. The Melchizedek type is therefore different from the Levitical figure, although both point to Christ in different ways.

vs 5-7 The psalm now breaks out of the quote of Yahweh’s words to Christ, and reverts to David speaking to God.

v5 – “The Lord (Jesus) is at your right hand (that is, Yahweh’s right hand).”

In this verse, Lord is from adonai, who we saw in v1 to be Christ, not Yahweh. “Lord,” then in v5 is the one spoken about in the third-person pronoun “he” the rest of the way to the end of the psalm.

Is David telling God what Christ will do?

No. Psalms are a stylistic method of expression, often very different than a person would use in ordinary communication of information.

vs 5-6 give us good reason to offer ourselves willingly in the day of Christ’s power.

Christ, the gentle, defenseless lamb of Isaiah 53:2 -

…a tender shoot, like a root out of parched ground; having no stately form or majesty that we should look upon him or be attracted to him…despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; like one from whom men hide their face - despised, and we did not esteem him.

This same Jesus:

…will crush kings in the day of his wrath, judge among the nations, heap up dead bodies, and crush the ruler of the whole earth.

Jesus – by his own testimony meek and lowly - will do that?

We are to be Christlike - which of those personality types should we emulate – meek and lowly, or crushing kings? I suggest meek and lowly. Christ will do the king-crushing.

How are the actions of Christ as here described going to happen, or are they happening now? Or does this refer to Christ’s work of combatting his enemies in every age?

Discuss

V7 – “Christ will drink by the brook and lift up his head.”

When and how did this happen?

There are about as many ideas of what this means as there are people holding those views.

Most of them seem strained to me. Like many passages in the psalms, this is highly stylistic language, and more figurative than literal,

The Pulpit Commentary suggests that the action described is that of pausing along the way in the pursuit of enemies for a refreshing drink of water from a brook. As applied to the Messiah, which the context indicates, the refreshing drinks he draws are from the wellspring of same living water he offers to others.

He lifts up his head as being refreshed, and ultimately, victorious.

Discuss