CCC Livestream - Jesus In The Psalms - Psalm 110
Live Worship Gathering: 5/3/2026
Preaching: Jason Purdy
I invite you to open with me to Psalm 110.
This will be the final sermon in a series I have called “Jesus in the Psalms.”
Where we have looked at particular Psalms that theologians call “Messianic Psalms” because they point so directly to Jesus, his person, nature, and character.
I told you last week that Psalm 2 is used and quoted quite a few times in the New Testament, but our Psalm today, Psalm 110 is the most quoted passage in the New Testament.
Verse one of todays Psalm shows up at least 25 times, and verse 4 shows up at least five times.
If you were to sit down and do a deep dive study into Psalm 110, you would easily create a spider web of connections with all these different passages in the Bible.
We could spend all day going through them all!
So, I hope you are ready to dig into some Bible today.
But, since we did not pack our lunches, would you please pray God grant me wisdom to present the truth of this Psalm in a way that is faithful and helpful to God’s people now, although certainly not exhaustive.
(Pray)
Would you please follow along as I read:
Psalm 110 ESV
A Psalm of David.
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.
1. Jesus Christ Leads His People As King and Priest
This is another kingly Psalm written by King David.
King David is God’s chosen king of Israel who we saw last week received the covenant promise from God that God would establish his throne and his kingdom forever through one from the line of David.
The truth is: you can hang every verse and passage of the Bible on a few key covenants that God makes with man.
A covenant is a commitment guaranteeing promises or obligations undertaken by one or both covenanting parties, sealed with an oath.
It is a committed faithful promise to do what you promise you will do.
It is how God has chosen to relate with man.
He gives us promises, and he is completely faithful to fulfill the promises he has made.
We are Christ Covenant Church because we a centered on the promise of Christ all that means for our lives and eternity.
God promised Abraham that he would make him a great nation and through one of his descendants all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
He then promised David that one of his descendants would sit on the throne of David forever.
In light of these covenant promises: David writes in verse 1: The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Anytime we read the word “LORD” all in caps in the Old Testament, that is referring to the one true Creator God, Yahweh.
So, David says that Yahweh the Creator God and Lord speaks to David’s lord.
Now, hang on.
David was the anointed King of God’s people, so in the peoples’ mind, David was second in command over them and all the earth; second only to Yahweh, the Creator God.
So, who in the world is David referring to when he tells us that he has heard a conversation between the one true Creator God, and his lord?
David is referring to the promised anointed one who is the come, the Messiah, Jesus the Christ.
In the final week of Jesus’ life on earth before his crucifixion, Jesus knew the Pharisees did not believe He was the Christ, so he pointed them to Psalm 110:
Matthew 22:41–46 ESV
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
44 “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?
45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Jesus affirmed in these verses that Psalm 110 was written by David, was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that God’s Christ would be a man but more than a man.
You see, God sent His Son Jesus to earth to be born fully human.
In Jesus’ humanity, he is a son of David.
Born from David’s lineage.
But, Jesus is also fully God, and as God, the son of David is also David’s Lord.
Let me remind us that our statement of faith affirms the doctrine of the trinity when it states:
“The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division or nature, essence, or being.”
The London Baptist Confession states: “God is one in essence and three in persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
And what does the Creator God say to His son who is David’s lord?
He says: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.
In context of the passage, sit at the right hand means to be enthroned, for the seat at the right hand is a place of honor.
It pictures God’s anointed Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ seated on the divine throne with his Father and being a full participant of the divine nature, His kingdom, and His rule.
When Jesus was on trial in Mark 14: he declared that he could see himself, the Son of Man, seated at the right hand of power.
Peter writes of Jesus in:
1 Peter 3:22 ESV
22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
The author of Hebrews writes:
Hebrews 12:2 ESV
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Paul tells us in Romans what Jesus presently does at the Father’s right hand:
Romans 8:34 ESV
34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
So, the resurrected Jesus Christ presently this day sits enthroned at the Father’s right hand always making intercession for us, his saints.
And God the Father told God the Son, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
The picture of making your enemies your footstool is a picture of complete and total victory.
God’s anointed will place his feet firmly on the necks of all his defeated enemies.
The New Testament applies this promise to the risen Jesus time and time again:
Acts 2:32–36 ESV
32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
1 Corinthians 15:25 ESV
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
Hebrews 10:12–13 ESV
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
Verse 2: The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies.
Notice, it is the Lord, the Creator, the Father God who makes all Jesus’ enemies His footstool and who sends forth Christ’s mighty scepter, which is a symbol of Christ’s dominion, strength, power, and authority.
And notice, He sends forth his power and dominion from Zion.
We saw last week that Zion was a citadel taken by King David and ended up being part of the city of David.
So, anytime you read of Zion, you can know Zion connects to King David, and Kind David always connects to the covenant of one to sit on David’s throne as king forever.
So, here is Yahweh God sending forth His son in power and dominion from Zion pointing to the fulfillment of the covenant and He goes to rule in the midst of his enemies.
When Jesus comes again, He will defeat all his enemies and set up his rightful rule from Zion, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and Jesus will be king over all the earth.
He will rule in the midst of his enemies.
Verse 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.
We see in verse 3 when Jesus returns in power against the kingdoms of the world and wins the victory and sits on the throne in Jerusalem, he will not be alone, but his people, his church, his redeemed are with him.
They offer themselves freely in worship and service, and are dressed in holy garments.
Revelation 19 says they go out with him arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, and on white horses.
Revelation says these holy white garments represent the righteous deeds of the saints.
Yet, we know that righteous deeds only come after being clothed in the righteousness of Christ when you repent of your sin and believe the gospel.
And in being clothed in the righteousness of Christ, we live out righteous deeds in our lives.
The last two phrases in verse 3 are a bit debated, but I think the general sense is pretty clear.
It reads: They 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.
Both the womb and the morning give the idea of new birth and a new day.
The dew is on the ground in the morning youth is the beginning of your life.
And so the picture is of the church - believers in Christ - filled with the newness, life, and vigor of youth as they offer themselves freely to their victorious king in worship and service.
These verses align perfectly with what Revelation 19-20 tell us we can expect upon King Jesus’ second coming.
Jesus will be victorious over all his enemies.
He will rule the world from the throne of David in Zion of Jerusalem.
He will rule in the midst of his enemies who will finally be defeated along with Satan after his thousand year reign.
And His people will be with Him in holy garments of righteousness worshipping and serving him with full zeal and vigor separated from sin and death.
Jesus Christ leads His people as King.
Verse 4: The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Now, this is surprising.
Because, in the Old Testament, you could not be a king and a priest.
You were either a king or you were a priest.
Two totally different offices with two totally different functions.
Yet, here: the Christ of God, Jesus, the God-man who is coming again to rule is both king and priest.
You see, there would be no good news of Jesus Christ if he were not both king and priest.
We have already read that the king will come again to take vengeance on all his enemies.
And the Bible tells us we are all sinners against God, no one is righteous, not even one.
We are all dead in our trespasses and sins in hostility against God.
And if you think to yourself, “I’ve never been in hostility against God.”
All you need to do is understand that God created you for His glory and that the first commandment is: you shall have no other gods before me.
Have you ever desired glory for yourself or given glory to something on earth that should have gone to God?
Have you ever wanted something more than God and His glory?
Of course, we all have, and that puts us in a place of hostility against our Creator God.
So, Christ coming as king to take vengeance on his enemies is no good news on its own, for we all find ourselves in the category of enemy.
But, God has sworn and he will not change his mind that not only is His Son King, He is also priest.
The function of the priest is to mediate a relationship between God and man.
Hebrews 5:8–10 ESV
8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Jesus Christ is not only the king who rules and takes vengeance on His enemies, he is also priest, who came and suffered in our place for our sin on the cross, and rose three days later to defeat our sin, death, and hostility.
Jesus mediated all that was necessary between us and God, so that we can be reconciled to God in Christ.
Jesus Christ has become the source of our eternal salvation if we place our faith in him.
He is the High Priest who has mediated a relationship with God from hostile enemies to beloved and peaceful sons and daughters.
And He is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Now, the book of Hebrews chapters 5-7 expose to us all that it means that Jesus is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
See what I mean when I said we could be here all day?
But, we didn’t pack our lunches, so let me summarize.
It is a glorious truth that Jesus Christ is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
God set up the Old Testament priesthood in the second book of the Bible, the book of Exodus.
And the priests were to come from the tribe of Levi.
And they were to mediate a relationship between God and men by teaching the law of God, and by receiving and taking the sacrifices of the people to God.
Yet, these Old Testament priests were sinners themselves, so they had to learn God’s law and offer their own sacrifices for their sins before they could do it for other people.
And of course, they could not be priests forever because they would die and someone else would have to step in and take their place.
Yet, all the way back in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, chapter 14, Abraham is returning to his home after winning a great victory over some other kings who had captured his nephew Lot.
And on the way home, Abraham is met by a man described in this way:
Genesis 14:18–20 ESV
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Let me make a few observations of this mysterious man, Melchizedek.
He is king of Salem (which means peace).
And Salem is Jerusalem before Jerusalem existed.
He was also priest of the most high God.
So, he was both king and priest before God ever set up an Old Testament priesthood.
And the only man in all the Bible officially named both King and Priest except for Jesus.
He feeds Abraham bread and wine (a very important meal in the New Testament church, by the way).
He pronounces a blessing of God over Abraham, and Abraham gives Melchizedek a tithe of all that he has.
This is the only place we see Melchizedek in all the Scripture until his mention in Psalm 110.
Then we receive the exposition in Hebrews 5-7.
I’m not going to preach those three chapters now, but just look at an excerpt:
Hebrews 7:1–3 ESV
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
Some Christians believe that Melchizedek was a pre-incarnate Jesus.
What that means is that Jesus took on human form for a moment in time way back in Abraham’s day to reveal himself to Abraham.
Melchizedek’s name means king of righteousness.
He is king of Salem meaning peace and Jerusalem.
He is without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning or end.
Another way to think about it is, Melchizedek was not the pre-incarnate Jesus, but God in his sovereignty gave Melchizedek all these traits, and when it says he has no beginning and end, no father or mother, means the Bible does not record his birth or death or genealogy, which is extremely rare for the Bible to do.
And God did that in order to teach us something about His Christ who would come.
Either way you take it: Melchizedek’s characteristics and the lack of a birth, death, or genealogy are all meant to point us to this truth: Jesus Christ is not only king but also: a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
If He was just king, we would be in eternal trouble under His wrath.
But, He is not only King of righteousness, He is King of peace, and He has brought us peace as a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
He is a priest who had no beginning and will have no end, because He is God himself, meaning he is perfectly righteous, so he does not ever have to make a sacrifice for his own sin first, because He is the sinless Son of God.
Which qualifies him to be a perfect eternal sacrifice once for all time for sins past, present, and future.
The people had to make new sacrifices to the Levitical priests year after year.
And they had to do it again after every Levitical priest died, because that priest was dead and could no longer mediate their relationship with God.
But Jesus, after the order of Melchizedek has no beginning of days or end of life, so he can make one perfect sacrifice then mediate a perfect relationship between you and God forever and ever without end!
If this could change or be revoked, we could never have eternal confidence of salvation, that’s why the verse begins, the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.
Are you feeling defeated, guilty, weighed down, or cast out due to your remaining sin?
Hear your Creator God swear to you that he will never change his mind: your Lord Jesus Christ is your priest and mediator of a perfect relationship with God forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Are you here today and you have not acknowledged King Jesus by confessing your sin and receiving his priestly sacrifice to place you in a place of peace with God?
Receive the gift of his priestly sacrifice and submit to his kingly rule here and now!
Jesus Christ leads his people as king and priest.
Number 2, and finally:
2. Jesus Christ Leads In Victory And Crushes All Enemies
Verse 5: The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
This repetition of the Lord at your right hand points to the truth Jesus teaches often in the gospels: I and the Father are one. I do nothing apart from him.
No person of the trinity ever goes rogue.
They are always in full concert with one another as the one God.
And on the day of his wrath often referred to in the Scriptures at the Day of the Lord, it is the day when Jesus will come again to gather his people and bring judgment against his enemies.
He will shatter kings.
Kings are the figures symbolizing universal powers of chaos set up against the Lord God and His anointed Christ.
Verse 6: He will execute judgement among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.
You cannot read these verses without connecting to Revelation.
Revelation 19:21 ESV
21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
There are the nations filled with corpses as the birds eat their flesh.
Utter ruin, utter destruction, of all who refused to bow the knee to King Jesus, all who refused His priestly mediation and sacrifice.
Jesus clearing the earth of evil in preparation for His kingdom reign of righteousness and peace.
The word “chiefs” in this verse uses the same original word for the word “head.”
Which is funny to me because as a teenager me and my friends would talk about “busting some heads.”
Don’t worry, I’ve never been in a real fist fight in my life.
But what does the shattering of heads make us think of?
The first instance of the gospel in all of Scripture:
Genesis 3:15 ESV
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
Sure, the world, evil, and Satan bruised the heel of Christ and his people throughout the age of the Old Testament and now throughout the age of the church, but the Lord’s Christ will ultimately crush the head of the serpent and His people all over the wide earth.
Verse 7: He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.
Christ refreshing himself by the brook shows that this conflict will not be long and drawn out.
We read in Revelation that one word from the mouth of Christ is enough to slay all his enemies.
He drinks from the earth that is His by victory, and lifts up his head, the great sign of victory and kingship.
Christ, the head, the ruler of all the earth, is highly lifted up.
It is reminiscent of
Philippians 2:9–11 ESV
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Is your heart set and mindset in this life to highly exalt Jesus Christ, the great King and Priest?
Do you honor him in your heart as Lord?
Do you study and meditate on his word day and night and diligently seek to be not only a hearer but a doer of the word?
As we see in verse 3, when Jesus returns, we will offer ourselves freely to his worship and service as those clothed in his righteousness.
But, we must not wait until that day to do so.
Are you offering your life freely in worship and service to King Jesus through the mission of his church in the world - making disciples of all nations and loving one another in the church?
Do you allow guilt, shame, and remaining sin to keep you from offering yourself fully to King Jesus?
Then lean into your priest-king who has once for all time sacrificed himself in your place, who lives always to make intercession for you, and who will live eternally to uphold your salvation not just for some time, but for all time.
Finally, are you living with an eternal mindset in view of the day Jesus will return to take vengeance on his enemies and cause us to reign with Christ in his kingdom of righteousness and peace?
If so, you will have great confidence and find great peace in the midst of every season and battle you find yourself in now.
He is King. He is Priest. He is all that we need. May we honor Him! May we worship Him! May we offer our lives to his joyful service!
Let’s pray.
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