Psalm 110 explained: A King Seated Beside God

Seated at God's right hand (v. 1)

A speaker reports what the LORD, God's personal name, says to "my lord," an ordinary title of respect, most likely for the king: sit in the place of highest honor beside God. Ancient kings were pictured with defeated enemies under their feet, so a "footstool" of enemies means total victory, which God promises to bring about.

Ruling from Zion (vv. 2-3)

Zion is the hill of Jerusalem, and the scepter is the rod a king held as a sign of power, so God will stretch the king's rule out into enemy territory. Verse 3 is very hard to translate, but it seems to picture eager volunteers rallying to the king, young and plentiful like morning dew.

A priest like Melchizedek (v. 4)

Melchizedek was the king and priest of Salem, probably early Jerusalem, who blessed Abraham long before Israel had priests. God's oath gives Jerusalem's king a priestly role through a solemn promise rather than family line, and Christians read this verse and verse 1 as pointing to Jesus, as the New Testament does.

Victory and judgment (vv. 5-6)

Who stands at whose right hand here is debated: it may be God fighting beside the king, or the king, seated at God's right hand as in verse 1, crushing rival rulers. Either way the imagery is openly violent, with the dead piled up across the land, reflecting how ancient peoples pictured God defending their king in war.

Drinking from the brook (v. 7)

The meaning is uncertain, and so is who "he" is, though most take it to be the king. It may picture him stopping to drink during a pursuit and rising refreshed and triumphant, or it may echo a ritual at a spring connected with crowning a king.

Key verse: Psalm 110:1

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether this psalm was first written about a human king of David's line and later understood as pointing to Jesus, or whether it spoke directly and only about the Messiah from the start.

Something to think about

When people claim a leader has been chosen or backed by God, what would make that claim seem trustworthy to you, and what would make it seem dangerous?