Psalm 110 - 2009.09.05

The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. — Psalm 110:1

This Psalm is another Psalm of Christ, closely related to the previous psalm. The former is descriptive of the conflict of the Savior; this one of the consequences of His conquest as He returned to glory, welcomed as both Priest and King. Greeting His returning Son the Father said, “Sit Thou at my right hand…” It is reflective of the administrative order of the Godhead. Though equal in glory and power, the Son is subject to the order of the Father. As He himself said before, “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which sent Me [John 5:30].” He carried that spirit of subordination back to glory, and it conveys a great lesson for believers.

Seated, He represents the success of His mission. In John 5:36 the Savior speaks of “the works which the Father hath given me to finish.” From the cross He had cried, “It is finished!” The work assigned to Him is done, and He is seated. The writer to the Hebrews notes it another way: “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified [Heb. 10:11-14].” His ministry as our great High Priest was finished. No further sacrifice is necessary, nothing needs or can be added to effect the sinner’s deliverance. He had accomplished the Father’s will, “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all [Heb. 10:10].”

Nothing remains for us to do but to “shine as lights in a dark place,” announce the good news that Jesus saves, and extend His invitation, “Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

But this posture represents as well His serenity. There is no panic, no anxiety, no apprehension. Everything is under the Father’s control, and He and we can rest quietly “until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”

Two important things are suggested by this remarkable word, “until.” The first is anticipation; the second is assurance. “Until” suggests that the promised eventuality will not be immediate. An interval of unspecified duration is implied. This relates to the question of the critics of the gospel which Peter addresses in his second epistle, “Where is the promise of His coming…?” Assuring that God is in control, the apostle declares, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (II Pet. 3:3-9).” “Until” covers the interval of Christ’s absence. It powerfully represents neither indolence nor indifference, but God’s mercy toward a fallen world. The King of kings and Great High Priest is seated because his work is done. All that remains is for the last of the sheep to be gathered into the fold of the Great Shepherd, and then the evidence of His victory will be made manifest from pole to pole and around this tottering globe for all to see and wonder at. “The Lord hath sworn and will not repent (Ps. 109:4).”

When the “until” arrives, then shall all His enemies be made His footstool. That the reference is, indeed, to Christ, the Holy Spirit makes unmistakably evident in the New Testament, as noted above,“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.“ That day will surely come, and when it does the redeemed will be revealed clothed in the splendor of the righteousness of Christ, and the Redeemer will “…rule…in the midst of [His] enemies (cf. Ps. 110:2).” That is the prospect that awaits Him as He sits in the position of honor at “the right hand of the Majesty on High [Heb. 1:3].”

Let me close, then, with this quotation from the “prince of preachers,” Charles Spurgeon:

“While we see our Lord and representative sitting in quiet expectancy, we, too, may sit in the attitude of peaceful assurance, and with confidence await the grand outcome of all events.…there is no cause for alarm whatever may happen in this lower world; the sight of Jesus enthroned in divine glory is the sure guarantee that all things are moving onward towards ultimate victory.”

For rest in a restless age,

"Pastor" Frasier