Psalm 110

This prophetic psalm is quoted extensively in the New Testament — Matthew 22:44; Luke 22:69; Acts 2:34-35; Hebrews 1:13, 5:6 and 10:12-13. Well before Jesus’ birth, rabbis had recognized this as a wholly Messianic prophecy. Jesus claimed this as His own. However, we know from more ancient Hebrew culture that this kind of thing bore echoes throughout the history of Israel until that final moment on the Cross when the New Covenant was instituted. Several major figures between David and Christ manifested elements of what is promised here, as God’s way of showing He had not forgotten the core of the promise.

That core promise is cast in terms of Ancient Near Eastern feudal terms, that God the Father would pour out His wrath against sin until no one was left to resist when His Son inherits the domain of Creation. It is the image of an imperial declaration upon the Son’s completion of a grand quest that earned His vestment as heir to the throne.

As you might expect, the Hebrew language in this psalm has been parsed to death, yet often poorly translated. In the first line, David declares that the Lord Jehovah spoke an oracle to His Son, whom David calls his Lord. The oracle was that the Son could take His rightful place of honor until the final completion of the Father’s plans in preparing a worthy inheritance. The standard protocol is to insist that the realm would be pacified first. In the ears of Israelis hearing this psalm, that signifies breaking down even the smallest flicker of resistance to their divine mission of revealing Jehovah. It also carries the subtle warning that if any in the nation resists that mission and calling, they will perish, as well.

That’s because the mission to is the Flaming Sword of Eden. A part of the ancient image of that Sword is that the one who wields it must first fall on its blade himself. He must purge himself with the same fire of truth before he can turn it against the darkness of this world. So the mission and calling of revelation on Israel is also the mission to go out in battle formation with that truth and revelation into all Creation. Jehovah will use His Covenant Army to complete this pacification for His Son’s inheritance.

So David declares that God’s people will most certainly be eager to carry out this pacification. David uses such beautiful language to describe an army of holy warriors assembled in the wee hours of the morning, ready to march at the Lord’s command.

In the meantime, Jehovah declares His Son a priest according to the Order of Melchizedek. The writer of Hebrews expounds on this, imbuing the title with meaning that is not obvious. Jesus would serve as High Priest according to something more ancient than the Covenant of Moses, a timeless primordial covenant that rests on the foundation of Creation itself, a priesthood that stood before Moses and would stand after Moses is closed out.

No human agency has sufficient power or authority to resist this divine commission. No ruler or combination of rulers, or even all the combined political power of the entire human race could resist His sovereign majesty. Who resists will die, plain and simple. And God will not cease this mission. He’ll camp out in the field and drink from His own provision of wild streams in the wilderness as He pursues His enemies. He will “lift up His head” — the image is someone who is altogether content with harsh conditions in the field so long as there is a single soul unconquered. His resolve will never waver.