Psalm 110:1–7 (ESV):
1 The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion
your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your enemies!
3 Your people will offer themselves freely
on the day of your power,
in holy garments;
from the womb of the morning,
the dew of your youth will be yours.
4 The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs
over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
therefore he will lift up his head.
This psalm is a revelation that David had that there is a power and authority greater than any influence or position anyone can hold on Earth. He starts off by expressing, ‘the Lord says to my lord’, this indicates that David, even as a king, is in submission to someone higher, his 'lord'. David accepted and enjoyed that fact. For he knew that no matter how powerful, rich or renowned he may get, there is another greater than him in heaven. God revealed to David that there is a lord of the Lord. This is Jesus.
I think it is amazing how God reveals himself to us. David dld not have the knowledge or understanding of what God had planned. He only had Old Testament scriptures to read to find out anything about God. So when God chose to speak to David the words of these psalm, it must have seemed incredible. David could not fully grasp what was being told to him, but we know can see that God spoke to David about His Son Jesus. God did not explicitly reveal what was to come, but he gave David indicators of what the future would hold. These things would have been strange to the ancient Israelite mind, however when David had this revelation of a lord of the Lord, he knew that this information was inspired by God and of importance so he wrote it down. Even though David could not fully understand it himself, he realised that what God was showing him was significant enough to make the effort to record it. This lord, God revealed, was to be a ruler, have power, be holy, bring judgement, be a priest ‘after the order of Melchizedek’ and sit at God’s side, yet drink water like the rest of humanity does. This revelation showed this lord’s humanity, humility and holiness, and Jesus fulfils each of these.
What a revelation that David had! Here we are thousands of years later, reading in awe that God has been revealing his Son for thousands of years - even to people who cannot fully grasp what it means! David wrote this about one thousand years before Jesus was even born. Then, during his ministry, Jesus confirms these exact words brought to David - that he, Jesus, is the lord of the Lord, (documented in Matthew 22). Isn’t that incredible?! This writing was kept safe for that length of time, Jesus knew it, and we still get to read it 3,000 years later, plus we now understand it and can see how it points to Jesus!
God has been revealing himself since the beginning of time and God speaks to His people. David, influenced by the Holy Spirit, wrote down this vision of the promised messiah. I am sure that most of what David wrote probably did not make much sense to Him. A lord of the Lord, people freely giving themselves to God, and being clothed in holiness. This would have been difficult for David and those of his time to imagine how this could be possible. For they lived at a time when Israel alone was the holy nation, the only people set apart for God, they alone were His people. So how can any person who chooses to; give themselves to God, become holy, and be one of His people? The Levites, the set apart priests were the holiest people you could get. Yet they had to go through rituals of cleansing to be sanctified, and that just lasted for a short time in order to perform their duties. So, how can there be people ‘in holy garments’ just because they ‘offer themselves freely’? This was so far beyond David’s experience and the Israelites that it must have brought confused hope as well as an awe of God. I bet those that read or heard these words at the time wondered how any of this could be possible.
How privileged are we that we now live in those foretold days. We can approach God freely, no animal blood required, no cleansing rituals, no set appointments, dates, festivals, times or places. You can offer yourself freely today into the hands of God. You do not have to be from a particular background, culture or nation, or even particularly good, you can freely come into the presence of God and be made holy! For ‘The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind’! The promise that God made to David, was that Jesus would come, and that people can come to him of their own accord and be made holy. You can do that today. You are invited and welcomed into His presence, always and whenever you like, because Jesus has made you holy. God has been planning and preparing for millennia that people like you and I can become holy, without sin, and become His family. Isn’t that awesome?!