Psalm 110 is one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament, and it gives us a powerful picture of who Jesus really is. In this study of Psalm 110, we’ll see how David points forward to a Messiah who is both King and Priest, seated at God’s right hand and destined to conquer every enemy.
We’ll also trace how Jesus and the apostles use this psalm to explain His identity and mission, and how that helps us understand what we are truly celebrating at Christmas. By the end, you’ll be able to connect this “unusual” Christmas psalm to your worship, your hope, and your daily life.
What We Celebrate at Christmas
Psalm 110 may not sound like a traditional Christmas text. There is no manger, no shepherds, no angels singing. Yet this ancient psalm, written about a thousand years before Jesus was born, helps us answer one of the most important questions of the season: As Christians, what are we celebrating at Christmas?
Are we celebrating the birth of a wise teacher who told us how to be kind and love one another? Or are we celebrating something far greater and someone far greater?
Psalm 110 shows us that the baby in the manger is not just a child of promise. He is the king who will conquer every enemy and the priest who brings us back to God once and for all. That is what we will explore today.
Psalm 110 is Messianic
Psalm 110 is what scholars call a messianic psalm. It points us forward to the coming of the Christ, or the Messiah. But this psalm does not point to his birth. It points to his mission, his power, and his eternal reign.
If Christmas marks the moment the Messiah entered the world, Psalm 110 helps us understand why he came and who he really is.
We are going to look at the psalm and then go to the New Testament to see how the New Testament authors understand it. It is short. Let me read all seven verses.
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Psa 110:2 The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!
Psa 110:3 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.
Psa 110:4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Psa 110:5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
Psa 110:6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.
Psa 110:7 He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.
Why Authorship Matters
It says it is a Psalm of David, and in many psalms authorship makes no difference. In Psalm 110, authorship matters a lot. Understanding who wrote this psalm is key to understanding what it means. Jesus himself calls attention to the fact that David wrote it. We will come back to that.
David was Israel’s greatest king. He was chosen by God to lead the nation. David lived from approximately 1040 to 970 BC. He became ruler over Israel around 1000 BC, and God promised David that the Messiah would one day come from his family line and rule on his throne forever.
King David wrote this psalm, and here is what he writes.
Who Is ‘My Lord’ in Psalm 110?
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
The first question is who is speaking to whom? We know David is writing, but who is speaking to whom when he says, “The Lord says to my Lord”?
If a servant in the royal household wrote this, we might think, The Lord is speaking to the king. God said something to my lord, the king. That would make sense.
But this is David, the king of Israel, writing. He says, God says to my Lord. That is unexpected. In ancient Israel there was no one above David. Yet he writes, under inspiration, that God is speaking to someone greater than himself.
That tells us David’s Lord cannot be Solomon or any of the kings who followed him. This psalm points to someone unique, someone David calls “my Lord,” and as we will see, that is the Messiah.
Yahweh and Adonai
In English it looks like the same word, Lord, is repeated. In Hebrew they are two different words. In the English Standard Version, the first “Lord” appears in all capital letters. The second has only the initial capital. That is the translators’ way of signaling two different Hebrew words.
When you see LORD in all capital letters, it translates Yahweh, God’s personal name revealed to Moses at the burning bush. The second Lord is Adonai, which means master, lord, or sovereign.
So David is saying, Yahweh says to my Adonai, my master, the one I serve.
Out of reverence, Jewish tradition avoided pronouncing Yahweh aloud and said Adonai instead. Many English translations follow that tradition and render Yahweh as LORD in all caps.
Sometimes people argue we know Jesus is God because he allows people to call him “Lord.” Since “Lord” refers to God many times in the Old Testament, they say the title proves his divinity. I do believe Jesus is God incarnate, but I do not think that is the argument we should use.
Jesus allows people to call him Adonai, which simply means Lord or Sir or Master. It is not a divine name. In Scripture, Adonai is the standard way to refer to someone in authority. So calling Jesus Lord highlights his authority more than it proves his divine nature. To say Jesus is Lord is to say Jesus is King. He is our master, the one we must obey.
That is what David recognizes. He says, God spoke to my Lord, someone greater even than Israel’s greatest king.
Jesus at God’s Right Hand
“What did God say to that person? The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”
The right hand of God is a symbolic way to describe a place of authority. In a throne room, only those seated beside the king share his authority. To sit at God’s right hand is to be honored with power to speak and act on his behalf.
When God says, “Sit at my right hand,” he is granting not a seat in the room, but a place of power and authority. When people respond to this king, they are effectively responding to God.
Then comes the second part: “until I make your enemies your footstool.” God declares to David’s Lord that he will sit at God’s right hand until God subdues his enemies so completely that they become a footstool for his feet. On that day, all rebellion will end, all enemies will be conquered, and his rule will be established beyond dispute.
This is the first of two divine declarations in the psalm.
A Scepter from Zion
Psa 110:2 The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!
Zion is another name for Jerusalem. This king rules from Jerusalem. He sits on the throne of David, but he is greater than David, and God will extend his rule over all his enemies.
David extended Israel’s borders, but he still had to fight. Unlike David, this king will prevail over all his enemies. This is not a small border conflict. This is the Creator declaring that his Messiah will rule over everything. The enemies of this king are the enemies of God.
For now, God tolerates them and gives time to repent. The day is coming when his patience will end and he will fully establish his rule through his chosen king over all creation.
Psalm 110 describes the final battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. Who will prevail? God declares now: no enemy will remain, no opposition will stand. The Messiah will rule, and his rule will be complete.
This is what the New Testament calls the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven. When Jesus began his public ministry, he proclaimed that the kingdom of God is at hand. He was stepping into this story. He is the king David called “my Lord.” He is the one seated at God’s right hand. His rule will extend from Jerusalem over all the earth, and all his enemies will be vanquished.
The kingdom of God is not just a nice idea about a place we might go after we die. It is the declared, promised reign of God’s chosen king. No enemy remains. Every rival power is subdued. Righteousness and justice are fully realized.
Your People Will Offer Themselves Freely
Psa 110:3 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.
The king does not stand alone. His people join him willingly. On the day when the king steps out in might, he will not be alone. His followers rise to join him freely and joyfully. They are clothed in holy garments, set apart for this purpose, eager to stand with their king.
“The womb of the morning” and “the dew of your youth” are vivid but elusive phrases. The image likely evokes dawn giving birth to something new and radiant. The dew suggests youthful vigor and abundance, perhaps picturing the king’s strong, willing people appearing at daybreak like dew across the ground.
Whether the battle is literal or figurative, the point stands: God’s rule through his appointed king will be fully established.
The Second Declaration: A Priest Forever
Psa 110:4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Do not miss the weight here. God has sworn an oath. This decree is final. If you want to know what history is moving toward, this is it.
What has God sworn? The king who sits at God’s right hand is also a priest forever.
This would shock David’s original audience. In ancient Israel, only Levites could serve as priests. The priesthood was Levitical by God’s decree. But David is not writing about a Levite. He is writing about a king from the line of Judah. How can this king also be a priest?
The answer is “after the order of Melchizedek.”
Why a Priest like Melchizedek
To answer that, go back to Genesis 14. After Abram rescued his nephew Lot from a coalition of kings, we read:
“After his return from the defeat of [Chedorlaomer] and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of [Shaveh], that is, the King’s Valley. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” – Genesis 14:17-20
We meet Melchizedek and learn two things: he is king of Salem, and he is priest of God Most High. Salem is the region that would become Jerusalem.
Melchizedek stands outside the Levitical priesthood. This is long before Levi was born. He is a priest appointed by God, not by lineage. Abram recognizes his spiritual authority and gives him a tenth.
Psalm 110 picks this up. The Messiah will not be a priest because of ancestry. He will not follow the order of Levi. He will be a priest like Melchizedek, appointed by God to rule as king and to serve as priest. Unlike any priest before him, his role will be eternal. God has sworn it.
The Day of Wrath and the King’s Calm
Psa 110:5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
Psa 110:6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.
Psa 110:7 He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.
The imagery shifts from the throne room to the battlefield. The king goes out to war, and God stands at the king’s right hand. The outcome is not in question. When the Creator fights at your side, you will not lose.
“The day of his wrath” is the day God steps in to judge his enemies. Every ruler who set themselves against God and his Messiah will be brought low. Kings will be shattered. Nations will be held accountable. All rebellion will end. As the New Testament says, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus, the Messiah, is Lord.
The poetry is gritty and graphic because judgment is sobering. Violence, injustice, and rebellion do not get the final word. The day is coming when God will say, Enough.
“He will drink from the brook by the way” pictures a king so thoroughly winning that he pauses mid-battle to drink, then lifts his head refreshed. He is not hurried or panicked. He is in command.
Summary of the Psalm
Psalm 110 is a prophetic statement from David about someone greater than himself, someone he calls “my Lord.”
God declares two things about this person:
- He will be king, seated at God’s right hand, given authority to rule until every enemy is placed beneath his feet.
- He will be a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek, reconciling his people to God.
Who is this king-priest? David does not name him. The New Testament does.
New Testament Uses of Psalm 110
Jesus in Matthew 22
The first passage is Matthew 22:41-45, a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees.
“Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? They said, 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.” – Matthew 22:41-46
Christ is the Greek word for Messiah, God’s anointed king who would reign forever from David’s throne. Jesus’ question assumes Psalm 110 is about the Messiah.
In their world, the patriarch holds the highest honor. David founded the royal line. Any later king’s significance derives from being a son of David.
Jesus challenges that. Why does David, by the Spirit, call the Messiah “my Lord”? David looks ahead and acknowledges someone greater than himself. The Messiah does not merely carry on David’s legacy. He fulfills and surpasses it. He rules not only Israel but all creation, seated at God’s right hand as both priest and king.
Why Jesus came, a Christmas message
How does Psalm 110 point to Jesus?
Next, Acts 2:32-36. Peter preaches after Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension:
“This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses. 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. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” – Acts 2:32-26
Peter echoes Psalm 110. David was not talking about himself. David did not ascend to God’s right hand. That place belongs to the one David calls “my Lord.” Peter declares that this is Jesus. God has made him both Lord and Christ.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 15
Finally, 1 Corinthians 15. Paul argues for the resurrection:
But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.For God has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when it says all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. – 1 Corinthians 15:23-28
That language echoes Psalm 110. First Jesus rose. Then, at his coming, those who belong to him will rise. Then comes the end, when he destroys every enemy, including death.
All things do not include God himself. Jesus will subdue every rival power and present the restored kingdom to the Father. This is the battle Psalm 110 poetically describes. Creation will be made new. Christ under God, creation under Christ, everything under the will of God. No more sin, no more death.
Jesus is reigning now, seated at the right hand of the Father. What has not happened yet is the final subduing of every enemy. We live in the in-between, waiting for that day.
What Psalm 110 Means for Christmas
Step back and see the whole picture. Jesus Christ is the Messiah, and he is coming back to establish his rule.
God makes two sweeping declarations in Psalm 110:
- The Messiah, greater than David, will be exalted. He will sit at God’s right hand. He will be given all power and authority, and in time every enemy will be beneath his feet.
- This king will be a priest forever. He will reconcile his people to God, solving the problem of our sin once and for all.
When the New Testament declares that Jesus is the Christ, it means this. He is the king seated at God’s right hand. He is the priest who brings us to God, offers forgiveness, and makes peace possible.
So at Christmas we remember more than a silent night or a manger scene. We celebrate the arrival of the Messiah, the one who came to bring peace on earth and reconcile us to God. We celebrate the baby born to be Christ, the one David called “my Lord,” the one God promised would rule and redeem, the one who has been exalted and will return to conquer.
Christmas marks a significant step in the fulfillment of Psalm 110. The long-awaited king has come to earth. The eternal priest has stepped into history. God’s promise has taken on flesh. That is what we are celebrating.
Please listen to the podcast for more detail and explanation.
Series: Christmas
Photo by Laura Seaman on Unsplash
Season 26, Episode 19, bonus
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