Posted on 04/19/2018 4:30:01 PM PDT by pastorbillrandles
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head. (Psalm 110)
The first two “Lord” designations in this Psalm, are distinct Hebrew nouns,. When translated it reads, “Yahweh said unto my ADONAI…”.
‘Yahweh’ is the covenant name of God. ‘Adonai ‘ is the title which translates “Lord”. Thus we have ,’ The God of Israel said unto my Lord…’ .
We know who the first person is, but who is the second, referred to as ‘my LORD’ ?
The Psalm is a Psalm of David, therefore the second figure,”My Lord” is David’s Lord. David’s Lord is the Messiah. The Psalm is a prophecy of Yahweh speaking to Messiah, who is seated at Yahweh’s right hand in the vision.
The Holy Spirit really desired to make this point for we have none less than three versions of Jesus’ commentary on this passage of the Psalm in the gospels, and Psalm 110 is the most quoted portion of scripture in all of the New Testament!
And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly. (Mark 12:35-37)
This dialogue takes place in the last week of Jesus’ earthly life, when the Scribes and Pharisees were testing him, examining for any theological errors they could then use to condemn him as a false teacher. This religious argument took place in the temple, at the very time when Passover lambs were being examined by Priests, searching for flaws.
In the passage above Jesus turns the tables and asks his examiners a question; “How could Messiah be the Son of David, and yet David called him Lord ?”.
This quandary rests on two unquestionable assumptions which were held by all who were present in the argument that day. First it assumes that David is the human author of the Psalm and second it assumes that the Psalm is Messianic. None questioned either.
All of Jesus’ hearers knew that the Messiah to come, was going to come through the line of David. They were well aware of 2 Samuel 7, the prophecy through Nathan that the LORD would establish the throne of David forever, and that one of his Sons would rule forever…
…Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.(2 Samuel 11b-17)
The solution to the quandary requires that Messiah is much more than a merely human ruler, or a conquering general like any of the Judges of the past. The Messiah is God himself, who came (in the Incarnation) through the line of David and who is coming again.
Everyone knew that the coming Messiah would be a “Son of David”, a human descendant of King David himself, but Jesus expanded the expectation of the Messiah through his teaching on the Psalm.
The prophecy of Psalm 110 shows us Messiah is God, and sat at the right hand of God when David reffered to him as ?My LORD”.
In order for Messiah to be LORD of David, He must be Divine. The fact that Messiah undoubtably is the Son of David, requires the Incarnation.
What we have in the 110th Psalm is no less than a conversation between the Lord God of Israel and the pre-incarnate Messiah of Israel, witnessed by David.
And let’s also ask why Isaiah 53 is not even discussed in synagogues at all. Shall we?
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Thanks for posting this.
Really great post Pastor!
Thank you.
Jew for Judaism interpret the suffering servant to be Israel. The big problem is Isiah 53:12 When is Soul used of the Nation Israel?
“The first two ‘Lord’ designations in this Psalm, are distinct Hebrew nouns,. When translated it reads, ‘Yahweh said unto my ADONAI…’ ‘Yahweh’ is the covenant name of God. ‘Adonai’ is the title which translates ‘Lord’. Thus we have , ‘The God of Israel said unto my Lord…’”
The same is true of verses 2, 4, and 5:
2 The Lord [Yahweh] shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
4 The Lord [Yahweh] has sworn
And will not relent,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord [Adonai] is at Your right hand;
He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.
Non-Christian Jewish teachers today would have us believe that David wrote this about himself. It was for his people to sing about him, supposedly. This would seem to be an oddity and even a bit proud.
Proverbs 27:2
Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth;
A stranger, and not your own lips.
Yes, after David defeated Goliath, the women sang songs praising him. But he did not write them.
But beyond the peculiarity of such an interpretation, it does not match the remainder of the chapter. In what sense did God ever appoint David as a High Priest in addition to his kingly role? And how would this priesthood be forever?
Of course, the New Testament answers these questions. King David is dead (Acts 2:29). When David wrote that “The Lord [Yahweh] will not leave me in the grave... or allow my body to undergo decay...” (in Psalm 16 where David also writes the dialogue of the One who will sit at God’s right hand) he was not speaking of himself, since David’s body DID undergo decay. And David was not raised up, did not ascend into Heaven, and has not sat down at God’s right hand. The book of Hebrews also explains how Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of becoming our eternal High Priest.
John 14:10 answers all questions. Where is the Father NOT at?
Peter said that “God hath made this same Jesus..... both Lord and Christ.”
**And let’s also ask why Isaiah 53 is not even discussed in synagogues at all. Shall we?**
They don’t like to read much of the prophets outside of Moses. Too much testimony about unbelieving Jews, and associated bad behavior.
This psalm is a fascinating example of how the Trinity was perceived in the OT. Thank you for posting it
ZC would be able to give both perspectives
Because it too clearly identifies Jesus as that Messiah.
It does - their King, their Messiah, their Redeemer!
May their eyes be opened soon to that truth!
Maranatha!
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