Hello everyone, my name is Benjamin Sternick and I’m one of the elders here at North Hills. I’m really excited and honored to be able to go through this Summer in the Psalms series with you.
For those of you who may not know me well, I am not a seminarian. I am an engineer by trade, so I hope my sermon today can be a reminder that God’s word is accessible to all of us, not just those who have a theology degree. So I want to take a moment now and ask God to give me strength and help me get through this without flubbing too bad.
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for this opportunity to open your word with the body. I’m so thankful for this technology that you’ve given us that reaches across space to connect us in ways that we haven’t had the opportunity in the past. I ask that you give my word strength and meaning, and that everything I say today brings glory to your name. In Jesus’s name, amen.
When Peter first pitched the idea of doing a summer in Psalms, I began to think about which psalm I wanted to dive into with you guys. Given the fact that the psalms are songs, I started to think, “Okay, we have a top 100 psalms. Which would be the chart toppers? Which psalms get the most play time in the Bible?”
I did some research and looked at the references and the quotations throughout the Bible. I have compiled for you a list of the top five hottest Psalms for this summer, and I’ll be opening up number one with you. Before we get to number one, let’s walk through the runners up.
Coming in at number five—by King David, frequent chart topper—is Psalm 22. For those choir masters at home, you can put on “The Doe of Dawn,” to which it is set.
Coming in at number four is Psalm 118, “the stone that the builders rejected” psalm. This Psalm is referenced about a dozen times.
Number three is my personal favorite on this list: Psalm 69. It’s another song of David and is set to Lilies.
Number two, “always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” is Psalm 2, with almost 20 references in the Bible.
Finally, the number one most quoted psalm in the Bible: Psalm 110. This is the psalm I’ve chosen to unpack with you today.
I’ve found that when I’m reading God’s word and he chooses to repeat a theme, a word, a phrase— it’s usually a good time to slow down and pay attention. With over 30 references and allusions and direct quotes, Psalm 110 takes the top spot.
This was surprising to me because Psalm 110 was not on my short list. It’s not a psalm I expected to be more significant than others in the Bible. There are certainly psalms that I find meaningful that didn’t make the list, or even chart.
There are psalms that are more beloved in the modern day, like Psalm 23. So why Psalm 110? I’ll shine some light on this, I hope, but before that, I want to go back and look at Psalm 110 in the context of the other four runners up.
Have you noticed what these five psalms have in common? It’s not an author or tune or style, it’s not tone. It’s that each one of these five psalms is about Jesus. Jesus’s presence permeates the Psalms.
Over and over the psalmists raise their voices in praise or joy or sorrow for their Messiah. Whatever else I manage to convey today, I hope that you remember that the psalmists teach us by example: The most common songs on our lips and in our hearts are meant for Jesus.
So what does Psalm 110 have to say about Jesus? Let’s read it together and find out.
“The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the mourning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’ The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head” (Psalm 110).
I’d like to take a minute and introduce the two lords in this psalm. Look again at verse 1:
“The Lord says to my Lord…”
In English, it can be a little confusing because the “Lord” word is the same. But in Hebrew, the first Lord is Jehovah (or God), and the second Lord is a more general word, “Adon.” So if the first Lord is Jehovah, who’s the second Lord?
King David, the writer of this psalm, is indicating that this second person is above him in the royal pecking order. He knew his place was below him. He called him “my lord.”
With the benefit of hindsight, we can say this person was the Messiah, King Jesus. But remember though, when Jesus walked the earth, the religious leaders of the day were not expecting the promised Messiah to be a divine figure with supernatural authority. They were expecting a descendant of David, an earthly king.
In our series through Matthew, we’re about to reach the passage in chapter 22, where Jesus references this very psalm:
“Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”‘” If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?’ And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions” (Matthew 22:41-46).
Jesus challenged the religious leaders to answer how the Messiah could be David’s son and David’s Lord. They dared not answer. We get to. In Revelation 22:16, Jesus says,
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star” (Revelation 22:16).
The Messiah can be David’s son and David’s Lord by being fully man and fully God. Only by being God, born into a human body, could the Messiah be both from David and over David. Philippians 2 reiterates that,
“Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).
So we’ve established who David is referring to. We’re one verse in, and we’ve already learned something very important about David’s Lord: he’s fully man, he’s fully God. What does this passage have to say about Jesus?
First thing,
Jesus reigns.
Not only does he reign, he reigns legitimately. Look at verse 1 again:
“The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool’” (Psalm 110:1).
Jesus reigns as a gift from his Father and through the power of his Father. That passage in Philippians 2 I quoted earlier goes on to say of Jesus,
“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
Jesus reigns legitimately. He also reigns eternally. See verse 4:
“The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek’” (Psalm 110:4).
We’ll come back to the priest piece in a minute, but for now let’s focus on the word “forever.” Listen again to Revelation 22:3-5.
“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it [meaning heaven, the New Jerusalem], and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:3-5).
What a beautiful visual.
Remember how I said I’d come back to the priest? Here we are: Jesus reigns spiritually and sinlessly.
“You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4b).
Who’s Melchizedek? If you had the opportunity a few weeks ago to hear Ryan take us through Hebrews, you have a good idea. If not, Melchizedek is a fascinating character from the Old Testament who deserves a sermon all his own. In the interest of time, I’ll leave it at this:
Abraham, considered to be the father of the Jewish faith, paid a tithe to a priestly king named Melchizedek. This places him (Melchizedek) in a position of honor above the priestly tribe of Levi (since they were descended from Abraham). By calling the Messiah of the order of Melchizedek, David is saying that he has a special place, a spiritual authority, greater than other religious figures.
The author of Hebrews has a lot to say about this, with rich and powerful language. Listen to this from chapter seven: such a high priest (Jesus) truly meets our need. One who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day (first for his own sins, then for the sins of the people). He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints, as high priests, men in all their weakness. But the oath which came after the law appointed the Son who has been made perfect forever. Only Jesus could reign as our perfect high priest.
To recap, Jesus reigns legitimately, eternally, spiritually, and sinlessly. Finally, Jesus reins for God’s glory. To understand this, I’d like you to look at verse seven of our psalm:
“He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head” (Psalm 110:7).
This can be viewed as an allusion to Gideon. In the book of Judges, God promised Gideon that he would use him to defeat Israel’s occupying force at the time (the Midianites). Gideon gathered an army, but God told him to trim his forces. It was too many. If he won that way, the people would boast over God saying, “My own hand has saved me.” God wanted his people to give him the glory of the victory.
The final division that God used to trim his forces was for Gideon to watch his troops as they drank from a brook. Those who put their faces to the water became the 300 soldiers who defeated Midian in an overwhelming victory and saved the people of Israel from their enemies.
By calling back to this story, God is reminding us that it is his power that brings victory. Our victories, like Jesus’s, are for God’s glory.
So I’ve established that Jesus reigns legitimately, eternally, spiritually, sinlessly, and for God’s glory. What does that mean for us? What’s our posture to Jesus on his throne? Simply this: kneeling is non-negotiable. Kneeling is non-negotiable.
There are two potential responses you can take before the throne of Jesus.
1. Footstool
In verse 1, God declares he will make Jesus’s enemies his footstool. This posture is involuntary humiliation.
2. Follower
The second potential posture is that of a follower. Verse 3 says,
“Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments.”
We do not get to decide if we bow before Jesus or not. There is no neutral third option. You can gladly kneel before the throne of God in white robes or you can cower as a footstool. Jesus reigns and kneeling before him is non-negotiable.
Jesus’s kingdom
The final point I want to make has to do with Jesus’s kingdom, and then I’m going to move on to some application.
Jesus’s kingdom is not remote. He does not rule at a comfortable distance in a faraway land. Verse two shows us his rule is in the midst of his enemies. This is a confrontational kingdom. Perhaps the most sobering part of this psalm, look again at verses 5 and 6:
“The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth” (Psalm 110:5-6).
Jesus’s kingdom cannot peacefully coexist with his enemies. Jesus’s kingdom comes with judgment and with overwhelming power. We make ourselves the enemy of Jesus at our own peril.
There should be a picture coming up on the screen here in a moment. This is a picture that I sketched while I studied this passage. It’s the image I want you to keep in your mind as I ask, how do we respond to what we just read about Jesus?
I want to challenge you with several questions and ask you to choose one to consider over the coming week. Share it with your life group or a friend, or I would love it if you emailed me and shared it with me. My email is on the “Meet the Elders” page of our website if you’d like to send me your response.
The first question is about trust.
Do I trust God to fulfill his promises to me?
Jesus knew he was destined to rule. He had the right. Despite that, he humbled himself, even to the point of humiliation and death on a cross, so that at the right time, he could die for the ungodly. He didn’t seize his birthright. He trusted God to elevate him. Ask yourself, can I do the same? Where am I tempted to seize what is rightfully mine instead of trusting God?
The second question you could consider is,
What keeps me from offering myself freely and without reservation at Jesus’s throne?
All of us, myself included, can be tempted to keep a little of our kingdoms back for ourselves. The rationales can sound quite pious in our heads. The result is pitiful. Jesus doesn’t reign over half of our lives. He reigns over all of it. What is keeping us from freely offering ourselves (and without reservation) before Jesus’s throne?
The final question is the one I’ll answer because I wrestle with it in my own heart. It goes like this:
Do I believe that God is good if his judgment comes violently?
I love the imagery we saw earlier in Revelation of the Almighty and the Lamb reigning eternally in the New Jerusalem. I love imagining how beautiful it will be for God to be the only source of light that we need.
It’s hard for me to imagine that picture I shared with you earlier: God filling the nations with corpses on the day of his judgment. Let me rephrase: It’s easy for me to imagine, I sketched it. What’s hard for me is to imagine it’s the picture of a good and loving God.
In 2006 and 2007, I spent 15 months in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. I had a small taste of how horrible war is, and it deeply affected me. The despair I felt after I returned from deployment was the darkest part of my life.
That darkness and despair is what Jesus saved me from. It’s why I follow him gladly. But now, all these years later, as I read this psalm, I’m still wondering: If God is all-powerful, couldn’t he find another way to bring justice? Were shattered enemies in a corpse-strewn battlefield the only way?
For any of you who also wrestle with this question, I want to share what God is teaching me about it. Ezekiel 33 has a beautiful passage where God reveals his heart towards judgment:
“And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’ Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:10-11)
Again, God’s heart is revealed in 2 Peter 3:9, as Peter explains the seeming delay of God’s judgment.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Peter 3:9-10).
In these passages, God says he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He says he’s patient with them, wishing all should reach repentance. So why didn’t he find another way? This psalm reminded me he did. He sent us Jesus. Judgment does not need to end in violence any longer for Jesus took that violence upon himself.
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is this one from Romans 5:
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Christ Jesus, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:6-11).
Jesus, sitting on his throne in the midst of his enemies on a victorious battlefield, did not exult over us. He did not mock us, his humiliated foes. He gave up his throne for a cross so he could be humiliated and killed on our behalf.
After dying, he rose again, defeating death. Only then did he take his throne. Sitting on his throne, he extends his scepter of mercy to us, no longer his crushed enemies, but the children of his Father. How can we fail to offer ourselves willingly to such a King? Thank you for letting me share. Let’s pray.
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for this opportunity that you’ve given me to open your word. And thank you, God, that your kingdom is not a remote, far-off kingdom, that you are here with us in the midst of our enemies. And even though we were your enemies, God, you saw fit to die on our behalf so that we can kneel before you willingly in white robes, those white robes that were a gift from you. Thank you. In Jesus’s name, amen.
