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Psalm 110, a
"Royal Psalm" sung at
coronation ceremonies for kings descended
from David, begins with these
words:
The LORD (God) says to my lord (the davidic
king): "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for
your feet." (Psalm 110:1, NIV; discussed in Bare Roots
6.6)
This Psalm presents David's heir as God's "right
hand man" -- as the human agent through whom
the Deity rules all nations.
A thousand years later, the Apostle Peter witnessed Jesus' resurrection
and glorious ascension to God's right hand. He therefore proclaimed Jesus
as the ultimate Davidic King:
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are
all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has
received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out
what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet
he said, "The Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make
your
enemies a footstool for
your feet.'"
Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made
this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:32-36)
In another
Psalm -- Psalm
8 -- David praises God for giving humans
dominion over the earth:
When I consider your heavens, the work of your
fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is
man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him
with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts
of the field.... (Psalm 8:3-7, discussed in Bare Roots
13.1)
Early Christians likewise applied this Psalm to
Christ, the "Son of Man" (see, for example, Hebrews 2:5-9, which was
discussed in Bare Roots
13.1).
Note that in Psalm 110 God puts Christ's "enemies" under his
feet, and in Psalm 8 He puts "everything" under his feet. In 1
Corinthians 15, Paul combines these two truths when describing the length
of Christ's kingly reign:
Christ has indeed been raised from the
dead...when he comes [again], those who belong to him [will also be
raised]. Then the end will come, when he hands over the Kingdom to God
the Father after [God] has destroyed all [opposing] dominion, authority,
and power. For [Christ] must reign until [God] has put all [Christ's]
enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is
death. For [God] "has put everything under his feet." Now when
it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this
does not include God Himself, who
put everything under
Christ. When [God] has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject
to Him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in
all. (1 Corinthians
15:20,
23-28)
The ultimate goal of King
Jesus' reign is the destruction of evil, including death itself. The ultimate outcome of
Jesus' reign will be the consummated Kingdom of God, where God becomes "all in
all."
After Jesus' death and resurrection,
he appeared to his disciples and said,
"This is what
I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that
is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the
Psalms
."
Then he opened their minds so they
could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is
written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third
day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name
to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:44-47)
In this series, we have seen how
early Christians used the Psalms alone to testify concerning Christ's
incarnation as a man, the opposition he faced, his
crucifixion at Calvary, the New Covenant established by
his sacrifice, his resurrection from the dead, his
exaltation to God's right hand, and his reign until
death itself "dies" and God becomes "all in all."
Reflect...
-
How does Paul use
Psalms 8 and 110
to undergird his argument in
1 Corinthians 15? What points does he make and how does he
make
them?
-
Read how Jesus uses Psalm 110 in
Matthew 22:41-46. What is your answer to Jesus' question: "If David
calls [the Christ] 'Lord,' how can he be his son?"
-
Read how the writer uses Psalm 110 in Hebrews
chapter 1 (v. 13). What truth about Christ does he express, and how
does he use the Psalm to express it?
-
Which Psalms do New Testament writers use to speak of
Jesus' incarnation, opposition, crucifixion, covenant, resurrection,
exaltation, and reign? Does Jesus "fulfil" these Scriptures, or does he
"fill" them "full" of new meaning? (see Bare Roots
13.1)
Publisher's Note...
This concludes our series on The Savior in the
Psalms. After a brief break, we will launch a series on The New
Jerusalem, beginning during the week of July 22. Thank you for
receiving Bare Roots. |
