This is the single most quoted psalm in the entire New Testament — and Jesus Himself used its opening line to ask the Pharisees a question none of them could answer, on the very last day they ever tried to publicly trap Him.
A study in Psalm 110 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 11 min read
The LORD Said Unto My Lord
“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”
Psalm 110:1
Two distinct figures called “Lord” appear in this single verse, one speaking to the other — David, the reigning king of Israel, describing someone he himself calls his own superior. Ancient readers would have found this immediately strange.
How Is He His Son?
“In reply to the statement that Christ was the Son of David, Jesus said, ‘How then doth David in Spirit… call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool? If David then call Him Lord, how is He his son?’ And no man was able to answer Him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask Him any more questions.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 609
This exchange happened on the same day the crowds had shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David” as Jesus rode into Jerusalem — many who used that title, White notes, still did not grasp that the Son of David was also the Son of God. Jesus posed this exact question from Psalm 110 to expose that very gap, and no Pharisee present could answer it. It was, in fact, the last question anyone dared ask Him publicly.
In The Beauties Of Holiness
“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.”
Psalm 110:2-3
“Thy people shall be willing” describes an army unlike any other David had commanded — not conscripted or coerced, but genuinely willing, drawn to serve out of the beauty of holiness itself rather than fear or obligation.
A Priest For Ever After The Order Of Melchizedek
“The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Psalm 110:4
Melchizedek appears only briefly in Genesis 14, a king-priest with no recorded genealogy, predating the entire Levitical priesthood by centuries — the book of Hebrews would later build an entire argument on this single verse, showing that Christ’s priesthood came through an older, higher order than Aaron’s line ever could.
“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.”
Psalm 110:5-6
The same figure just described as an eternal priest, offering mercy, is described here in the language of decisive judgment — the psalm holds both roles together without apparent tension, priesthood and judgment belonging to the same person.
“He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.”
Psalm 110:7
This final, quiet image, a brief pause to drink from a stream along the road, closes a psalm otherwise full of thrones and judgment — even this greatest of kings is pictured needing a moment of simple refreshment before continuing on toward final victory.
