In the New King James translation, a title is given, “Announcement of Messiah’s reign”, whilst the original superscription is simply “A Psalm of David”. Its first verse is quite controversial. It proved so in the life of Jesus, and it continues to be so today, particularly for religious Jews.

A controversial beginning

Speaking of the second verse, the ancient Jewish commentary, Midrash Rabbah, states, “… and ‘thy staff’ alludes to the royal Messiah, as in the verse ‘The staff of thy strength the Lord will send out of Zion’”, whilst the second-century Rabbi, Shimon ben Yochai, asserts, “And the Holy one, blessed be he, will fight for Israel and will say to the Messiah: ‘Sit at my right’.”¹ Yet according to Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz’s attempt to distance the psalm from the Christian high view of Messiah, “… in Hebrew this Psalm starts ‘L’David Mizmor’ which means ‘A psalm of David’. L’David literally means ‘to David’ or concerning him, it does not simply mean ‘composed by David’. This is similar to ‘L’Shlomo’ meaning ‘for Solomon’ in Psalm 72:1. This indicates that David was writing Psalm 110 about himself…. [it] was composed in the third person to be sung by the Levites, and thus reflects their point of view, for they would call their king ‘my master – adoni’. In other words, the Levites are saying that “God spoke to our master [King David]. ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’”^{2 LMLK jar seal (l’melek – belonging to the King)}

Now it is no doubt true that at one time God did make David’s enemies ‘his footstool’, in that they were all subdued (see 1 Kings 5:3-4), but doesn’t it seem quite bizarre, if not blasphemous, to think of David having sat ‘at God’s right hand’ until that was accomplished? And while ‘L’David’ can mean ‘of/about/concerning David’, its normal meaning is ‘of’ in the sense of ‘belonging to’, just as we find in the many ancient governmental and personal seals discovered over many years by archaeologists in Jerusalem, as the pictures show.Personal seal: L’Nathan-Melech Eved HaMelech (Nathan-Melech, servant of the King: 2 Kings 23:11)

This psalm in the gospels

Moreover, when we look at how Jesus regards the text, it’s perfectly clear that David is not only the author, but also that David is not referring to himself at all. So, let’s look at the controversy that occurred almost at the end of the earthly ministry of Jesus. It’s recorded in all the Gospels except John’s, and most fully in Matthew.

Two days or so after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus is in the Temple courts again. Having silenced a group of Sadducees on the matter of resurrection (Matt.22:23-33), a group of questioning Pharisees came to him. Having answered their question about the greatest commandment, Jesus asks them a double-barrelled question: “What do you think about the Christ [i.e. the Messiah]? Whose son is he?” Quickly, they respond, “Son of David”. Back comes a question from Jesus, “How then does David in the Spirit call him ‘Lord’?”, following this by quoting the first verse of Psalm 110. From this we conclude that Jesus sees it as a Spirit-inspired prophecy referring specifically to Messiah, going on to ask, “If David calls him [i.e. Messiah] Lord, how is he his son?” This, Matthew tells us, brought all their questions to an end (22:46): they were stumped!

The Deity of Messiah

The unspoken question that remains is ‘Whom is it that David would call “Lord”?’ And for an answer we go back to the Hebrew word identified by Rabbi Kravitz, ‘adoni’. This word contrasts with the first word of the verse, the tetragrammaton, ‘YHWH’, which yields the English word Jehovah, clearly referring to God Himself. ‘Adoni’ simply means ‘my master’, and can also be translated as ‘sir’, which is the modern Hebrew usage in Israel. Back in about 1,000 BC King David only knew one master, and that was God. Naturally speaking, if Messiah were to be no more than a ‘son of David’, one of his own descendants, he would hold just the same rank as David, or, as a mere descendant of his progenitor, even subordinate. Quite a conundrum! It’s no wonder the Pharisees withdrew from the discussion there and then. There is here a clear intimation of the deity of Messiah.

What a revelation was given to David in Psalm 110! And what a fulfilment in Jesus!

That intimation is clarified by what “YHWH” said to “adoni”: “Sit at my right hand”. God’s ‘right hand’ in the Hebrew Scriptures is often symbolic of his mighty power, his omnipotence (e.g. Ex.15:6; Ps.98:1), but it is also symbolic of position or authority. When Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak for Adonijah, “… the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand” (1 Kings 2:19). Speaking of Solomon, Psalm 45:9 states, “upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir”. Speaking by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, Peter declared that Jesus was “exalted to the right hand of God” (Acts 2:33). Stephen, before his martyrdom, by the Holy Spirit “gazed into Heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God”, whilst Paul states, “It is Christ [Messiah] who has died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God.” (Rom 8:34). What a revelation was given to David in Psalm 110! And what a fulfilment in Jesus!

An image of the Church

Speaking to Messiah, in verse 3 God promises him his own people, made up of volunteers, willing subjects, “in the beauty of holiness”. John Gill’s eighteenth-century commentary states, “this does not design the place where these willing subjects of Christ should appear; either in Zion, beautiful for situation; …. or in the church, the perfection of beauty: but the habit or dress in which they should appear, even in the beautiful garment of Christ's righteousness and holiness; the robe of righteousness, and garments of salvation.”³ What a lovely picture of redeemed saints is this! It’s a picture that cannot in any way be ascribed to David having such a people. Here we have a reminder of God’s abiding purpose, first stated in regard to the first generation of the Old Covenant, “you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex 19:6), and restated in the first generation of the New Covenant by Peter: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. In the past, you were not a people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” (1 Pet 2:9-10). That’s us, too, all those who believe in Yeshua HaMaschiach! Hallelujah!!

A priestly Messiah

Verse 4 expands on Messiah’s role from God’s perspective: “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” This puts another nail in the coffin of David being the subject of this Psalm: how could he possibly have such a role? The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews lays much emphasis on this picture of the Divine Messiah when speaking of the “full assurance of hope” that is the believer’s birthright (Heb.6:12). Using the imagery of the earthly Temple, he says, “This hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” (Heb 6:20) The name ‘Melchizedek’ literally means ‘King-Priest’, a role superior even to that of the High Priest who sacrificially officiated in the Temple in respect of atonement. Hebrews 7:22 emphasises, “by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant”, going on to assure every believing reader, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for us.” (Heb.7:25)

Equal to God

Remarkably, in verse 5 of this psalm, God says of Messiah, “The Lord is at your right hand”! Could this indicate equality of position and authority? Certainly, there are examples in Scripture where it does not, such as in Psalms 16:8 and 109:31, of which Ellicott’s commentary states, “'to stand at the right hand’ was a figure of protecting might”.⁴ Of Psalm 16:8, Barnes says, “The sense here is, that the psalmist felt that God, as his Protector, was always near him; always ready to interpose for his defence.”⁵ Peter actually quotes that verse on the Day of Pentecost, “David says about him: 'I saw the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.’” (Acts 2:25; my emphasis) It is thus probably better in this case not to stress equality, but at the very least to see God as fulfilling this protective function for Messiah. Nonetheless, we know from John’s gospel that following the healing at the Bethesda pool, Jewish leaders sought to kill Jesus because he said “that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God” (5:18), whilst Paul clearly states that Jesus “did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:6).

That status was confirmed long before. In the eighth century BC, during the reign of Ahaz, Isaiah tells us that the Lord (YHWH) “spoke to me with a strong hand” (8:11), including revealing the famous Messianic prophecy in the ninth chapter. There we read of the child who was to be born to receive an everlasting kingdom, by the actions of “the Lord of Hosts”. Amongst Messiah’s prophetic titles is 'Mighty God', in Hebrew, the name 'El Gibbor'. Speaking of the eventual restoration of Israel, God says to Isaiah, “The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God [El Gibbor]” (10:21). Then, in the late-seventh/early-sixth century BC, Jeremiah says, “Nothing is too difficult for you, who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God [El Gibbor], the Lord of Hosts [YHWH Tsaba/Sabaoth].” (32:17-18). Thus, the deity of Messiah is clearly confirmed in the Tanach.

Finally, for our purposes here, let’s turn to events shortly before the birth of Messiah. In the very Jewish setting of burning incense in the Temple in Jerusalem, an angel appeared to the priest, Zacharias, to assure him that prayers for a son would be answered, a son who would turn many “to the Lord their God, … he will also go before him … to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Lk.1:16-17). Then, at the circumcision of the child who would become John the Baptist, the priestly father, filled with the Holy Spirit, declared, “And you, child, will be called ‘the Prophet of the Highest’, for you will go before the face of the Lord, to prepare His ways” (Lk.1:76). The term 'Highest' is a reference to another of God’s ancient Hebrew titles, 'El Elyon', used in describing Melchizedek as “priest of the Most High God”, as well as by Abram in answering him. It is also used by Asaph in recounting God’s faithfulness to rebellious Israel in Psalm 78. Speaking of a period of repentance, he says, “Then they remembered that God was their rock, and El Elyon their Redeemer” (v.35). As John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus, preparing the way for Him, the identification of Messiah Jesus with El Elyon is particularly striking. Here is deity indeed!

What an amazing revelation of awesome truth is this Psalm! And what a precious fact that all those who put their trust in Messiah not only have a priest “after the order of Melchizedek”, but also have the stamp upon us, ‘l’melek’, belonging to the King!

Endnotes
1. Psalm 110 - HaDavar Messianic MinistriesHaDavar Messianic Ministries accessed 15 Dec 2020
2. Jews for Judaism | Psalm 110 - A Jewish Perspective accessed 10 Dec 2020
3. Gill, J. (1763) An Exposition of the Old Testament (6 vols)
4. Ellicott, C.J. (ed) (1897) An Old Testament Commentary for English Readers
5. Barnes, A. (1834) Notes on the Bible