Original Meaning
The Announcement of Victory over Enemies (110:1–3)
THE LORD SAYS TO MY LORD
. In the Hebrew, the opening phrase of verse 1 actually reads, “Utterance of Yahweh [ne’um yhwh] to my lord.” The phrase “utterance of Yahweh” appears frequently in the prophetic literature (cf. Jeremiah; Ezekiel) but nowhere else in the Psalter. In the prophetic literature the phrase appears at the end of an oracle or embedded within the oracle, but in Psalm 110 it appears at the beginning. The unusual placement is merely meant to emphasize that what follows is indeed “a word from the LORD” for the person being addressed as “my lord.” The term “my lord” suggests a hierarchical relationship between the person speaking and the one being addressed. Likely the poet is a court priest or prophet and, based on the remainder of the psalm, the “lord” mentioned in verse 1a refers to a king or political figure particularly given the language and imagery employed throughout the remainder of the psalm.
Sit at my right hand. The actual oracle follows in the remainder of verse 1: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” The king being addressed in verse 1a is invited to sit at the right hand of Yahweh. While the reference to the “right hand” of Yahweh is entirely metaphorical, and as such implies a position of honor, it does connote something of a symbolic world that the psalmist seeks to convey. As scholars have noted, Egyptian iconography frequently depicts the “co-enthronement” of the king with the deity.6
The language of the “right hand” is suggestive of a symbolic world in which the king participates in the rule of Yahweh over the world. Or put differently, the psalmist envisions the king of Zion as a “throne companion” of Yahweh. Yet the psalmist is clear: it is Yahweh who will route the nations and make them a footstool (v. 1c).
The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion. The image and implications of Yahweh and the king as his co-ruler are spelled out in verse 2a. The word “scepter” operates as a synecdoche, a single term that implies a much larger idea (in this instance kingship). Yahweh instructs the king that he will “rule in the midst of the enemies.” The word translated as “rule” (radah) contains a more nuanced meaning than other similar terms. As John Goldingay has explained, radah “indicates a rule imposed on a people even if they resist it.”7
In addition, the term appears frequently in contexts that celebrate the king’s rule over a considerable area (cf. Ps 72:8).
Arrayed in holy splendor. A comparison of various English translations will result in a number of different and quite divergent translations due to the difficult and somewhat unusual imagery employed in Psalm 110:3. The opening phrase literally reads, “your people, freewill offerings, in the day of your power.” Rather than simply making a claim about the voluntary nature of those who will fight for the king, perhaps the psalmist wants to imbue the entire event with a certain sense of sacredness. This sense continues in the second half of verse 3 with the claim that the young people serving the king will be arrayed in holy splendor (hadar). Although a number of translations read “on the holy mountains,” following several manuscripts that have “mountains” (harar) instead of “splendor” (hadar), the NIV should be followed.8
Verse 2 promises that the king will rule over the enemies; verse 3a indicates that the king will not approach the day of battle without sufficient support from his troops.
The final line in verse 3 employs several metaphors (dawn, womb, and dew) in a very tight construction. The syntax of the Hebrew is challenging, as suggested by the various attempts at translation. The text literally reads, “from the womb of the dawn belong to you the dew of your young people.” The phrase “from the womb of the dawn” resembles the imagery and language in Isaiah 14:12, another text associated with kingship. In Isaiah 14 the poet applies the imagery of being a “son of the dawn” to a Babylonian king, thus resulting in a negative assessment of that king. In Psalm 110, however, the imagery possesses a much more positive connotation, implying the rise to power of a great king. As Robert Davidson has correctly suggested, the imagery in verse 3b symbolizes “the dawning light which shatters the darkness of night.”9
To ensure the success of the king, God will grant the king young persons who will come with vigor and vitality (“dew”) to join in subduing the enemies.
Bridging Contexts
DELIVERANCE IN A HOSTILE WORLD. The first royal psalm in the Psalter, Psalm 2, introduced the theme of a hostile world. In that psalm the reader is told that “nations conspire,” that “peoples plot in vain,” and that kings and rulers take their stand in opposition to God and his anointed one (vv. 1–2). The psalmist painted a vivid picture of a world gone awry but, even more, a world at odds with its rightful King. As Gerald Wilson explains, “Since the ‘kings’ and ‘rulers’ of the earth do not acknowledge Yahweh, they have no allegiance to him and are depicted here as fomenting rebellion to cast off his overlordship.”13
In Psalm 2 the psalmist explains that those nations, kings, and rulers who fail to acknowledge the kingship of God will face grave consequences.
Psalm 110, another royal psalm, returns to the theme of God and his anointed in the face of a hostile world. Like many psalms, this poem speaks candidly about enemies and powers that stand in opposition. The apparent threat posed by enemies, kings, and nations (vv. 1–2, 4–5) signified that kings and rulers failed to heed the injunction in Psalm 2 that they should “Serve the LORD with fear.” Their continued opposition suggested that not all was right with the world; they were a constant threat, both literally and theologically. The continued presence of such hostile forces could have thwarted Israel’s theological confession about Yahweh and his reign in the world and perhaps even led them to wonder, “If there are still enemies, then perhaps God is less than we thought.” The psalmist, however, rejected any such claim and instead moved in a very different direction. While he recognized those forces that threaten God’s vision for the world, he also held firmly to the conviction that Yahweh was still king. Israel’s acknowledgment of a hostile world, however, was always countered by the nation’s certainty of the kingship of God. One is as real as the other, but in the end only one prevails.
Psalm 110 and Jesus. The writers of the New Testament quote or allude to Psalm 110 more than any other text in the Old Testament. Without question, the theological claims in this psalm proved important to early Christians in developing a robust theological confession about Jesus. In several instances Psalm 110:1 is quoted directly (Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42–43), and in each case the psalm is used to validate Jesus’ identity as the Messiah. The motif of sitting at the right hand of God (v. 1) appears in Mark (14:62; 16:19) but is found with greater frequency in the epistolary literature of the New Testament (Acts 2:34; cf., Rom 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet 3:22). In each instance the New Testament writer refers to Psalm 110:1 in announcing Jesus’ post-resurrection exaltation to the right hand of God. As in Psalm 110, the reference to Jesus as sitting at the “right hand” reinforces Jesus’ kingship over all creation and, perhaps more importantly, over all foes that may seek to thwart the ways of God (Rom 8:31–39). The writer of Hebrews attempts to connect the messianic role of Jesus with his priestly function by combining Psalm 2:7 (“You are my son, today I have become your father”) with Psalm 110:4 (“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek”). Some may want to understand Psalm 110 and its use in the New Testament within the framework of “promise and fulfillment,” with Psalm 110 functioning as a prophetic witness to the coming of Jesus. Robert Davidson, however, has suggested an alternative interpretive approach. He contends, “We are not asked to see Jesus as the literal fulfillment of the words of this psalm or any psalm. Rather we are invited to look back at this psalm in light of what we know of Jesus and to see how the vision of the psalm is transformed in his life, death and resurrection.”14
As we speak of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, we are saying all that this psalm can say—and even more.
Contemporary Significance
THE LANGUAGE OF KINGS and rulers, nations and enemies, rings strangely odd to our ears as we read Psalm 110 and seek to make sense of it in our contemporary world. To be sure, there are kings and rulers in our world, and any map, whether interactive or paper, reminds us of the plethora of nations that exist. Given the political complexity of our world, it is understandable why some might approach Psalm 110 with a sense of consternation about how best to read, interpret, and even preach such a psalm.
Frank-Lothar Hossfeld and Eric Zenger remind us, however, that this psalm is a “political text that, as a counterproposal to the foreign powers oppressing Israel, asserts that Yahweh’s royal rule will be established.”15
We should not pass too quickly over the word “counterproposal” in their assessment. The psalms, while laden with the language of prayer and petition, root their claims in a decidedly theological commitment that is indeed a counterproposal to the ways of the world, and this rooting is no less true with Psalm 110. In attempting to interpret Psalm 110, we would do well to be reminded that this song is offering a counterproposal in that it redefines both power and hope. Those who stand in opposition to the work of God and who appear to have power in and over this world in fact do not; those powers are not our source of hope.
We would also do well to be reminded that contemporary readers of Scripture are looking for a counterproposal. Most people are awash in a dominant cultural narrative that has little room for serious engagement with faith. “For centuries now, secularism has been defining and constructing the world. It is a world in which the theological order is either discredited or turned into a harmless leisure-time activity of private commitment.”16
Neither of those options will do for the psalmist in Psalm 110. Instead, Psalm 110 calls us to declare our belief in the confession that “the LORD reigns” (cf. Pss 93; 95–99). This confession, however, cannot and should not lead us to devolve into a faith that is a “harmless leisure-time activity of private commitment,” nor should our confession allow us to slip into some form of religious escapism.
The author of Hebrews reminds us that we have great hope as the people of God because we serve the one who endured the cross, scorned its shame, and “sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” And as we consider him, our priest and king, we “will not grow weary and lose heart” (Heb 12:2–3). On the contrary, we will be emboldened by our conviction that, “Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” (Heb 12:28).
Original Meaning
A Priest Like Melchizedek (110:4–7)
IN THE FIRST STROPHE OF THE PSALM (vv. 1–3) the psalmist announces that he has received an oracle from the Lord. The second strophe opens with more emphatic language declaring Yahweh’s faithfulness.
The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind. In 2 Samuel 7 the Lord swore to David that he will establish a kingdom for David, and, despite circumstances that may challenge that promise, Yahweh affirms that he will not change his mind.
You are a priest forever. Following the Babylonian exile and the loss of a monarchy, the community may have wondered about whether another Israelite king would emerge. In verse 4a Yahweh affirms that he has not changed his mind; God would still honor his promise, but perhaps in a way different from before. The oracle in verse 4 claims that the king will be a priest in the order of Melchizedek. The promise invokes the somewhat enigmatic story of Melchizedek, the Jebusite priest-king who ruled in Jerusalem (Gen 14). In many ancient Near Eastern cultures the king exercised certain priestly functions, and while Israel’s king may have led in worship or offered up prayers to Yahweh, the king never appeared to function formally as a priest. The realms of monarchy and priesthood remained relatively separate. But similar to Melchizedek, the king in Psalm 110 will serve as mediator between Yahweh and his people even as he fends off the military aggression of the nations.
The Lord is at your right hand. In verses 5–6 the psalmist refers to the routing of the nations and rulers of the earth. Whereas in verse 1 the king was invited to sit at the right hand of Yahweh, in verse 5 the king is informed that Yahweh will appear at his right hand when he engages in battle. In the former instance, sitting at the right hand of Yahweh is a sign of honor; in the latter instance, Yahweh’s appearance at the right hand of the king implies protection and support. In this role, however, Yahweh is not a passive observer. On the contrary, it is Yahweh who will exact judgment upon the nations and their kings on the day of his wrath (’ap). The same term for “wrath” appears in Psalm 2:5 when Yahweh brings judgment against the kings who plot against him. Hossfeld and Zenger explain the larger sense of wrath suggested in this text. They contend that it “is not an emotional category but a philosophical one signaling YHWH’s action in defending and accomplishing the world order he has established, above all against kings and rulers who flout this universal order of justice.”10
This theme is reinforced with the opening verb in Psalm 110:6, din, “to execute judgment.” In the ancient world, the true king is the one who executes judgment (din) over his empire and against those who would dare to thwart royal rule. By standing at the right hand of the king, Yahweh will do more than simply support the king in battle—Yahweh will act as the universal king. He will vanquish those who resist his vision for a rightly ordered creation, and he will prepare the way for his king to establish God’s rule over the whole earth (v. 6b).
He will drink from a brook. In the final verse the subject appears to shift. Although Yahweh has been the primary actor in verses 5b–6, the king now appears in view in verse 7. Miriam von Nordheim interprets the final verse in the light of the honor-shame continuum. She contends that drinking “from a brook along the way” implies the victors are “drinking foreign water,” and such an act would be considered a hostile and provocative move meant to indicate the superiority of one group over another.11
For von Nordheim, then, “lift high his head” is a sign of the final triumph over the defeated foes.12
With this action the king signals that he is the beneficiary of Yahweh’s judgment against the nations.
Bridging Contexts
DELIVERANCE IN A HOSTILE WORLD. The first royal psalm in the Psalter, Psalm 2, introduced the theme of a hostile world. In that psalm the reader is told that “nations conspire,” that “peoples plot in vain,” and that kings and rulers take their stand in opposition to God and his anointed one (vv. 1–2). The psalmist painted a vivid picture of a world gone awry but, even more, a world at odds with its rightful King. As Gerald Wilson explains, “Since the ‘kings’ and ‘rulers’ of the earth do not acknowledge Yahweh, they have no allegiance to him and are depicted here as fomenting rebellion to cast off his overlordship.”13
In Psalm 2 the psalmist explains that those nations, kings, and rulers who fail to acknowledge the kingship of God will face grave consequences.
Psalm 110, another royal psalm, returns to the theme of God and his anointed in the face of a hostile world. Like many psalms, this poem speaks candidly about enemies and powers that stand in opposition. The apparent threat posed by enemies, kings, and nations (vv. 1–2, 4–5) signified that kings and rulers failed to heed the injunction in Psalm 2 that they should “Serve the LORD with fear.” Their continued opposition suggested that not all was right with the world; they were a constant threat, both literally and theologically. The continued presence of such hostile forces could have thwarted Israel’s theological confession about Yahweh and his reign in the world and perhaps even led them to wonder, “If there are still enemies, then perhaps God is less than we thought.” The psalmist, however, rejected any such claim and instead moved in a very different direction. While he recognized those forces that threaten God’s vision for the world, he also held firmly to the conviction that Yahweh was still king. Israel’s acknowledgment of a hostile world, however, was always countered by the nation’s certainty of the kingship of God. One is as real as the other, but in the end only one prevails.
Psalm 110 and Jesus. The writers of the New Testament quote or allude to Psalm 110 more than any other text in the Old Testament. Without question, the theological claims in this psalm proved important to early Christians in developing a robust theological confession about Jesus. In several instances Psalm 110:1 is quoted directly (Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42–43), and in each case the psalm is used to validate Jesus’ identity as the Messiah. The motif of sitting at the right hand of God (v. 1) appears in Mark (14:62; 16:19) but is found with greater frequency in the epistolary literature of the New Testament (Acts 2:34; cf., Rom 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet 3:22). In each instance the New Testament writer refers to Psalm 110:1 in announcing Jesus’ post-resurrection exaltation to the right hand of God. As in Psalm 110, the reference to Jesus as sitting at the “right hand” reinforces Jesus’ kingship over all creation and, perhaps more importantly, over all foes that may seek to thwart the ways of God (Rom 8:31–39). The writer of Hebrews attempts to connect the messianic role of Jesus with his priestly function by combining Psalm 2:7 (“You are my son, today I have become your father”) with Psalm 110:4 (“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek”). Some may want to understand Psalm 110 and its use in the New Testament within the framework of “promise and fulfillment,” with Psalm 110 functioning as a prophetic witness to the coming of Jesus. Robert Davidson, however, has suggested an alternative interpretive approach. He contends, “We are not asked to see Jesus as the literal fulfillment of the words of this psalm or any psalm. Rather we are invited to look back at this psalm in light of what we know of Jesus and to see how the vision of the psalm is transformed in his life, death and resurrection.”14
As we speak of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, we are saying all that this psalm can say—and even more.
Contemporary Significance
THE LANGUAGE OF KINGS and rulers, nations and enemies, rings strangely odd to our ears as we read Psalm 110 and seek to make sense of it in our contemporary world. To be sure, there are kings and rulers in our world, and any map, whether interactive or paper, reminds us of the plethora of nations that exist. Given the political complexity of our world, it is understandable why some might approach Psalm 110 with a sense of consternation about how best to read, interpret, and even preach such a psalm.
Frank-Lothar Hossfeld and Eric Zenger remind us, however, that this psalm is a “political text that, as a counterproposal to the foreign powers oppressing Israel, asserts that Yahweh’s royal rule will be established.”15
We should not pass too quickly over the word “counterproposal” in their assessment. The psalms, while laden with the language of prayer and petition, root their claims in a decidedly theological commitment that is indeed a counterproposal to the ways of the world, and this rooting is no less true with Psalm 110. In attempting to interpret Psalm 110, we would do well to be reminded that this song is offering a counterproposal in that it redefines both power and hope. Those who stand in opposition to the work of God and who appear to have power in and over this world in fact do not; those powers are not our source of hope.
We would also do well to be reminded that contemporary readers of Scripture are looking for a counterproposal. Most people are awash in a dominant cultural narrative that has little room for serious engagement with faith. “For centuries now, secularism has been defining and constructing the world. It is a world in which the theological order is either discredited or turned into a harmless leisure-time activity of private commitment.”16
Neither of those options will do for the psalmist in Psalm 110. Instead, Psalm 110 calls us to declare our belief in the confession that “the LORD reigns” (cf. Pss 93; 95–99). This confession, however, cannot and should not lead us to devolve into a faith that is a “harmless leisure-time activity of private commitment,” nor should our confession allow us to slip into some form of religious escapism.
The author of Hebrews reminds us that we have great hope as the people of God because we serve the one who endured the cross, scorned its shame, and “sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” And as we consider him, our priest and king, we “will not grow weary and lose heart” (Heb 12:2–3). On the contrary, we will be emboldened by our conviction that, “Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” (Heb 12:28).
