Now in Book V, today's Psalm is Psalm 110, a Psalm of David, quoted extensively in the New Testament. This Psalm is Messianic and is quoted by Jesus during Holy Week, Matthew 22:41-45:
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David." He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool" '? "If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"
David, the Psalmist, describes a conversation between the LORD (YHWH), and his Lord (the Messiah):
The LORD said to my Lord,
"Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."
The Lord is invited to rule in the midst of His enemies. The tone is similar to that of Psalm 2:7-9.
Moving on to the middle of the Psalm, another verse quoted by the author of the Letter to the Hebrews:
The LORD has sworn
And will not relent,
"You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek."
So the Messiah is not only a king, but a priest as well, but not a Levitical priest, but of the order of Melchizedek, one of the most mysterious characters of the Old Testament, appearing only in Genesis 14, and elaborated on in Hebrews 7. Jesus, being born of the tribe of Judah, could not have been a Levitical priest, but by His atoning sacrifice has served as a high priest for us regardless.
The Psalm closes with a description of God's judgment on the nations, and it is not a picture of a universalist God. The judgment involves the execution of the kings of the earth. There is no mention of any forgiveness of man's rejection of the Messiah here. Grace has been offered; once rejected, time will run out and judgment will follow.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Posted by joelfuhrmann at December 18, 2003 09:39 PM