TheGlory of Messiah Our Priestly King a brief study of Psalm 110, adaptedfrom PCC Prayer Meeting Exhortation on 13 August 2010 Psalm 110 is a very importantand in a way, a rather unique Messianic Psalm. It is one of the 13 psalms thatare commonly regarded as Messianic,[1]and one of the most frequently quoted in the New Testament. However, it is notMessianic in the same way as most of the other Messianic Psalms are. Psalm 22 and 69, which are thetwo most frequently quoted psalms, for example, have Christ as the speaker sothat the first person pronouns in it refer ultimately to Christ. Though Davidwrote these psalms, we are to understand that it is Christ speaking throughthem. So when we sing Psalm 22 or 69,we are singing in union with Christ. However, in Psalm 110, it is obvious thatthe speaker is not Christ. The original speaker is David and Christ is referredto in the 3rd person. “The LORD [Jehovah] said unto myLord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” David is referring to Christ ashis Lord (Adonai). Thus,when we sing Psalm 110, we are individually owning David’s words, and singingto Christ our Lord and to the Father about Christ. Wemay entitle this Psalm: “The Glory of Messiah, our Priestly-King.” Ithas three unequal parts. We may subtitle verses 1-3 as “Christ is our King.”Verse 4 may be subtitled, “Christ is our Priest.” And finally, verses 5-8 maybe subtitled, “Christ our Priest is a Righteous King.” 1. Christis our King 1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sitthou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Thisverse is famous. Rememberthe occasion after the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem when the variousJewish sects tried to trap the Lord? The Herodians came and asked about payingtaxes to Caesar. Our Lord’s answer stumped them. Then the Sadducees came andasked about marriage and the resurrection. Our Lord’s answer stumped them. Thenthe Pharisees came and asked him about the Law. Our Lord gave an answer whichthey could not refute; but before they could respond, our Lord asked them inreturn: “What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?” (Mt 22:42). They answered,“The Son of David,” and our Lord immediately asked them: “How then doth Davidin spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on myright hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?” (v. 44-43). The Lord isquoting from Psalm 110. Yousee, the Pharisees, and indeed all the Jews recognize that Psalm 110 is aboutthe Messiah. But what the Lord is doing is to show them that the Messiah, theSon of David is also God, or David would not call him Lord. So Messiah is notjust the son of man, but the son of God! Now,it is clear that by the LORD, Jehovah, David is referring to God the Father.What does the father say to the Son? “Sitthou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Thisis a remarkable picture, isn’t it? It pictures a prince returning from war. Hehas won the war, but the battles are still raging. Yet the King tells the princeto sit down at his right hand and leave it to him to see to it that the enemieswill be thoroughly destroyed. Theapostle to the Hebrews is probably referring to this same thought when hespeaks of how Christ, having “purged our sins, sat down on the right hand ofthe Majesty on high,” upholding all things by the word of his power (Heb 1:3). Davidwas looking forward to the ascension and enthronement of Christ after he wonthe war over sin. He won the war by crushing the head of the ancient serpent onthe Cross of Calvary. Butthe serpent is thrashing about in his death throes seeking to cause as muchdamage as he can. TheFather assures the son. The victory is secured. I will see to it that all thyenemies are made thy footstool. Howwill it be accomplished? Verse 2— 2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou inthe midst of thine enemies. ByGod’s providence and the ministry of the Holy Spirit who is sent in the name ofthe Son, preachers will be appointed as the heralds of Christ, and the gospelwill go forth, so that Christ will subdue those who were hitherto his enemies. Thenext verse makes it even clearer: 3 Thy people shall be willing inthe day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning:thou hast the dew of thy youth. Whatdoes this mean? Calvin puts it beautifully when he says: “In this verse, the psalmist sets forth thehonours of Christ’s kingdom in relation to the number of his subjects, andtheir prompt and cheerful obedience to his commands.” Throughthe powerful work of the Spirit of Christ in regeneration, God’s elect will bemade willing and holy subjects. Through the new birth, they will emerge out ofdarkness into the marvelous light to see the loveliness of Christ adorned withthe garment of the beauties of holiness. They will see their own naturalugliness of sin and be drawn to Christ irresistibly and will serve Himcheerfully. Inthis way, Christ will have the dew of his youth. What does this mean? Edwardsparaphrases it as “Thy young converts shall be as numerous as the drops ofmorning dew.” Belovedbrethren and children, are you one of the dew drops of Christ willinglyreflecting the glories of Christ your King? ButChrist is not only our King. He is also our Priest. 2.Christ is our Priest 4 The LORD hath sworn, and will notrepent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The apostle to the Hebrews speaks of Christ as theGreat High priest who was tempted at all points like as we are (Heb 4:14-15). Christ must be a priest in order to reconcile hispeople unto God. For it is sin that makes his people the children of God’swrath. Sin must be atoned for if they are to be reconciled to God. But how could Christ be priest when he descended fromDavid? Old Testament priests were to descend from Levi. The kings who tried todo the duties of priests were severely chastised. Think of Saul and Uzziah.God’s answer was to appoint him as priest forever by oath! Indeed he isappointed to an order of priesthood that is higher than the Leviticalpriesthood. The apostle to the Hebrews makes this very clear inHebrews 7 where he not only shows that Christ can be King and Priest at thesame time, but that the Melchizedic priesthood is superior to the Leviticalpriest. He shows this by pointing out that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek.Since the lesser pays tithes to the greater, Melchizedek must be greater thanAbraham. Since Levi descended from Abraham, in a sense Levi paid tithes toMelchizedek, and therefore Melchizedek is greater than all the priests of theOld Testament. He is the Great High Priest! Now, this is very significant because as the GreatHigh Priest, our Lord accomplished what all the Old Testament priests could notaccomplish; and he is doing what the Old Testament priests could not do byreason of death. The Old Testament priests offered sacrifice daily which could not takeaway sin. “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever,sat down on the right hand of God” (Heb 10:12). The Old Testament priests could not continue theirministry as intercessors for the people. “But this man, because he continuethever, hath an unchangeable priesthood” (Heb 7:24). Thank God for Christ Jesus our priest. Were it not forhis sacrifice on our behalf and his continual intercession, we will still bewallowing in sin as the enemies of God and the slaves of Satan. Let us, beloved brethren and children, respond to himwith gratitude and a hatred for sin in our lives. For let us remember that though Christ is our Priestfor our reconciliation, he does not tolerate sin. Indeed, let us be remindedthat… 3. Christ, our Priest is a Righteous King Actually, the name Melchizedek means, “My king isrighteous or just.” Christ is our priestly-king to save us and to represent usbefore God. But let us remember that he is not an unprincipled, indulgent, andcompromising king. So the last part of the psalm reminds us: 5 The Lord atthy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. 6He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the deadbodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. Thesewords are addressed unto the Father. Notice how these words refer to Christseated at the right hand of the throne of God. Bythese words we are acknowledging to the Father that we understand that Christour King and Priest does not in any way dilute the holiness and righteousnessof God though he saves us and makes us his people. In other words, he does notsimply overlook our rebellion against God when he takes us to be his people. Weknow because he will judge all who remain in sin. The apostle John reminds usthat “the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son”(Jn 5:22). And in the day of His wrath, know as the day of wrath of the Lamb(Rev 6:16), He shall pour down judgement upon kings and all who remain inrebellion against the Father. Isn’tthis remarkable? “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever”(Heb 13:8). The Christ who saves us and loves us as our priestly king hates sinso much that he will execute justice against sin in unmitigated wrath! Howis it then, that we can escape so great a judgement when we are sinners withthe rest of mankind? Theanswer is found in the last verse of this psalm: 7 He shall drinkof the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head. Many different meanings have beenassigned to this verse, but perhaps the best way to understand this verse is tolook at the brook as a brook of suffering rather than refreshment. Think ofPsalm 42:7—“Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thywaves and thy billows are gone over me.” OurLord speaks of drinking the cup in the Garden of Gethsemane. But it is not asmall cup of God’s wrath, but rather an entire brook. “The sufferings of theMessiah were unspeakably more and heavier than the sufferings of other men, andthat he should drink up not a small cup, but the whole river or sea of hisFather’s wrath due to our sins” says Matthew Poole. ThoughChrist our Lord would gather a people unto himself, he does not violate justiceand righteousness to accomplish it. Rather he suffered the wrath of God on ourbehalf. In this way, “he shall lift up his head.” He shall be exalted. He shallbe blameless. He shall judge the heathen without hypocrisy. He shall have apeople for all eternity to enjoy his fellowship and love. What a Saviour He is! Conclusion Thisis Psalm 110: A difficult psalm in many ways, but a very instructive andbeautiful one. May God grant us that we may indeed respond unto Him with loveand willingness to serve Christ our Lord! May we adorn the beauty of hisholiness, and seek to magnify him to all who behold us. May we pray that morewill come to know him as their priestly-king rather than as their Judge in theday of wrath. Amen. Ω |
    |