Psalm 110. We began this last time. As I mentioned, we will take our time and then for a number of weeks here working our way through this very important Psalm. Let’s stand together for the reading of God’s Word. Psalm 110. Again, this is a Psalm of David.
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 morning, 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.
Thank you. May be seated.
A dominant theme running through the entire scriptures is God establishing his kingdom on the earth through his appointed king. We meet with that theme immediately in the book of Genesis, chapter 1. Man is created for that purpose, to have dominion over the earth. And of course, as the story unfolds, we get no further than chapter 3 of Genesis, and there’s this massive fail on the part of Adam and Eve. God’s purpose to establish a king, a human king to rule over the earth, seems to be thwarted. But immediately then, you remember in Genesis chapter three, God promises a champion who will come. He will be the seed of the woman, and this champion will come and he will rule, and he’ll defeat the tempter. And that, of course, that promise is unfolded through the Abrahamic promise. We find it reflected in the promise to Judah that it will be his descendant who will have the ruling staff.
We come to a high point in 2 Samuel chapter 7—we’ve referred to that probably a hundred times during this series on the Psalms—and there God makes a promise to David that David’s son will rule on David’s throne forever. And then we find that promise, 2 Samuel chapter 7, is picked up and informed further in various passages in the Psalms and in the Prophets. It is a big theme that David will come to rule, David’s son will rule, God’s kingdom will come, David will stand over his kingdom. It’s a huge, huge theme running through the Scriptures.
In all of that, Psalm 110 is a high point. We saw that a bit last time. It’s a prophecy of David himself about his greater son who will come. We found in, you’ll recall, Psalm 22, David prophesies Messiah’s death. In Psalm 16, David prophesies Messiah’s resurrection. But here in Psalm 110, he prophesies his ascension and his enthronement and his universal rule over all things.
Now last time we noted that the prominence of this Psalm in the New Testament and in Christian theology, we get that from Jesus. He himself picks up Psalm 110. We saw last time in Matthew chapter 22. We’ll see that again today in Matthew chapter 26. Jesus picks up this Psalm, lays claim to it that he’s the one being spoken of here. The apostles, of course, in turn follow in step the early church. This is the psalm then that becomes massive in the New Testament, the most quoted psalm in the New Testament, more than 25 times or something like that in this brief psalm. And the focus of those quotations in the New Testament is always either verse one, “the Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool,” or verse four, “the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Well all these, this psalm and those verses in particular undergird New Testament teaching regarding the person and the work of Christ and his present reign now in particular. And the importance of this psalm in the New Testament and in Christian theology is really disproportionate to its size—just seven verses—but it’s massively important in how it informs other prophecies, and we’ll see some of that this morning.
One of the distinctives of Psalm 110 is that in this psalm, David overhears the Lord speaking to Messiah. That’s verse one. David is overhearing. It’s important that we recognize the superscript. It’s the Psalm of David. And the Lord says to this one whom David calls, “my Lord.” So David overhears the Lord speaking to “my Lord.” And then he says, “sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.”
And so last time we went to Matthew 22 to see how Jesus laid claim to this, and he drew out the implications of it in a profound way. He asks the Pharisees who were opposing him, trying to trip him up, he asks them a question now, and remember he says, “you’ve heard of Messiah, whose son is he?” And of course the answer to that is easy. Messiah is David’s son, David’s descendant. And then Jesus asks the question, “why then,” and he cites Psalm 110 in verse one, “how is it then that David in the spirit calls him Lord? How is he his son if he is his Lord?”
And so we saw here that Jesus has laid his finger on something here, that there are implications that need to be drawn out. Most obviously is the deity of the Messiah, his transcendent nature. He’s not only David’s son, he’s God’s son. He’s David’s Lord. But then once we’ve said that, there are implications at least of the basic elements of Trinitarian theology. The Holy Spirit is not mentioned here, but two persons are. We have then God and his son. And then if we have that, we not only have implications of the deity of Messiah, we not only have implications of the triunity of God, the basic elements of that teaching, but we also have a hint of the incarnation of Christ because God the Son became the Son of David.
And so Jesus lays that to them. Here’s the transcendent nature of David’s son, and yet he’s David’s Lord. He must be God the Son incarnate. And his opponents look at Jesus and they think, “But we don’t know what to say.” But faced with the scriptures and standing in front of the one of whom those scriptures speak, they rejected it all and said, “we’ll have to find another way to get rid of him.” Amazing thing.
Messiah’s Kingship
Well, verses 1 to 3. The first division of the psalm, we have these two quotes, verse one and verse four; those are the two divisions of the psalm. And this first portion of the psalm, verses one to three, concerns Messiah’s kingship. First of all, what we saw last week, verse one, his transcendent nature. He’s not only David’s son, he’s David’s Lord.
Now there’s another point about the kingship of Messiah here that’s emphasized in verse one as well, and we’ll spend our time with that today. Again, verse one: “the Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” Sit at my—that is God’s—right hand. And sitting here is not for relaxation. This is an enthronement scene. Take your place on the throne at my right hand and assume the authority of kingship and throne over the universe.
Now I’ve said before, I said it last time, that we have seen many, many times throughout the Psalter how very often there are glimpses of Jesus, and it’s presented in sometimes very subtle ways. David sort of foreshadows Jesus in so many ways, or the words of David foreshadow the words of Jesus, or things like that. There’s nothing subtle about Psalm 110 at all. This is direct prophecy of David’s greater son. David overhears the Lord speaking to Messiah, and the Lord says to Messiah, “sit here at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” David picks up this idea of his rule and his enthronement in verse two. Here David is speaking now where he says, “the Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter, rule in the midst of your enemies.”
So here he has taken his throne. The right hand here is the place of honor. You’ve seen that in other places in the scriptures as well. Solomon’s mother Bathsheba had the right hand. Who sat at the right hand of Solomon? It was a place of honor, sharing the rule. In Psalm 45, the queen, the king’s wife, sat on his right hand, a place of honor, sharing the rule. You might remember that time in Matthew where James and John, their mother—they had to be embarrassed about this—their mother takes them over to Jesus and says, “when you come in your kingdom, have these two, my sons, sit on your right hand and your left hand.” Ladies, please, don’t be that mother. And Jesus says, “that’s not mine to give you.” But what she’s asking for is not only a place of honor, but a place of rule. “Let these two, my sons, be the administrators of your kingdom when you come in your rule.” That’s the idea here, and that’s the idea in verse one here. It’s more than a place of honor; it’s a place of authority. He is sharing in God’s throne, sharing in God’s rule, the administrator then of God’s kingdom in the earth. He’s at God’s right hand, ruling in his stead.
Now there’s more symbolism here that I think it’s worth pointing out. It’s fascinating to me. All of this was built into the temple and its structure back in the Old Covenant. The right hand here is an allusion to the temple setting in Jerusalem. The temple in Jerusalem was at once the palace and the temple, a place of worship and a place of divine residence. This is where God dwelled with his people. In that inner room, the most holy place behind the curtain, that was the place of God’s residence. In that most holy place behind the curtain was the Ark of the Covenant, this box. Inside the box was the Ten Commandments. Over the top of the box was the mercy seat. That was the throne proper, where God dwells with his people and sits enthroned. And then the mercy seat, you remember, is flanked on either side by the cherubim guarding the throne.
Now the temple also then was a place of the administration of justice in ancient Israel. The temple—now you gotta follow the symbolism here—the temple faced the east. On the right hand, to the south, on the south side of the temple was the portico of justice. We read of that in 1 Kings chapter seven. And there on the portico of justice, the king would administer judgment in his kingdom. Now remember, ancient kings didn’t have three branches of government like we do. All three of them belonged to the king. The king was the executive branch, the judicial branch, the legislative branch—all the king. That’s what it’ll be when Messiah comes as well. I look forward to that. But there he would administer judgment on the south side of the temple. So here he would sit, people would come, cases would be heard, and he would administer justice on the right hand of the temple.
So finish out the symbolism and all of that. Inside the temple is the throne, the Ark of the Covenant. In the Ark of the Covenant is the Ten Commandments, God’s law for his people in the earth. And then on the right hand, the king would administer the justice dictated by God’s law in the most holy place in the Ark of the Covenant. The king of ancient Israel was not a law unto himself. He was a king under God, the great king. And so here, he sits at the right hand of God, administering the law of God in his rule in the earth.
So here in Psalm 110, the same: God is the law giver. Messiah now is at his right hand with universal authority to uphold and to enforce his law in the earth. So we see him then enthroned as king, administering God’s rule in the earth. And then in verse two, as I mentioned, David addresses his greater son. In verse one, he hears God speaking. Verse two, now David himself speaks. He picks up on this theme of enthronement. “The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter.” He says to his son, “rule in the midst of your enemies.” So it’s the messianic king, David’s greater son, who rules, and the Lord himself is wielding the messianic scepter.
Ever since creation, God has maintained his purpose in history to rule over the earth by means of his appointed human king. He established that in Genesis chapter 1. He spoke of it many times over before David. Finally, in a climactic way to David, it will be your son—promised to David that he would have a son who would do it. And here now, in verse one, David overhears the Lord appointing David’s greater son to this place of honor and this place of rule. And now in verse two, David speaks to his greater son and says, “rule.” Carry out the rule that God has given you.
When Will Jesus’ Kingship Be Realized?
All right, so we have a coronation scene. He’s taking his throne. Messiah takes his place at the throne of the universe at the right hand of God. Now the same scene, the same scene is reflected in many different places in scripture. And I’m going to highlight several of them this morning and I think we’ll spend the rest of our time with that. This is a massively important theme when we come to the New Testament. So let’s explore it and see how it is how we can correlate it with some other passages; I think that will help fill in our understanding of it.
Turn back to Psalm 2. Psalm 2. We won’t take the time to read all of it, certainly not time to expound it, but just highlight the psalm here. You’ll remember, verses one and following, in Psalm 2, the nations are in revolt, and they’re refusing God’s rule. The nations are in a rage, they’re plotting in vain against God. They say, “let’s burst his bonds apart, cast away his cords from us, we won’t have God ruling over us.” The nations are in rebellion. In response to that, in verse four, God laughs. He laughs with derision. “You think you’ll pull this off? You think you’re going to succeed in a coup attempt against me?” And then God says in his rage, his wrath, verses 5 and 6, “I’ve set my king on Zion, my holy hill.” There it is again, the enthronement of God’s king. “You think you’re going to succeed in your rebellion against me? I’ve already established my king. And there he is on Zion.” And then in verse 7, Messiah himself speaks and he recalls what God has promised to him. Verse 7, “I will tell of the decree.” This is Messiah speaking. “I’ll tell you the decree. The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have begotten you.'” Again, enthronement language. God has told me that I will be king. And then he says, verse eight, “ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage, the ends of the earth your possession.” So the nations are in a rage. God laughs. He insists, “I’ve established my king on Zion.” Messiah himself then responds, “the Lord has told me that I’ll have the nations.”
All right, look at Daniel chapter seven. Daniel chapter seven. Another famous passage here. Daniel, in apocalyptic vision, sees the nations in a revolt, and the nations are pictured as four great beasts fighting at one another. You remember the lion, and the bear, and the leopard, and this nondescript beast, the fourth one. But this vision is of the nations in a rage. They’re marked by terror and violence, tearing at one another. Finally, verse 11, God breaks into the scene, and thrones are placed, it says, “thrones were placed and the Ancient of Days took his seat,” sat in judgment. And here then the earthly powers are destroyed, the nations are subdued, and we have the climactic arrival of the kingdom of God.
Then verses 13 and 14, we have this mysterious figure called the Son of Man. Verse 13: “I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven”—keep that in mind, we’ll be back to that—”with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away. His kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed.” So here this son of man comes on the clouds, presented before the ancient of days, and receives a kingdom from him. So now he’s enthroned. We have the same scene under different language here with apocalyptic imagery. That’s Psalm 110: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Now we know from all of this that all of it is in reference to Jesus. In many ways we can know that, but primarily we have Jesus’ own word on it. And at that point, let’s look at Matthew chapter 26 to see where Jesus lays claim to this. Matthew 26. Jesus here is at his trial before the high priest. And verse 63: “The high priest said to him, I adjure you by the living God”—so he puts him under oath—”tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Verse 64: “Jesus said to him, you’ve said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man”—that’s Daniel 7—”seated on the right hand of power”—that’s Psalm 110—”and coming on the clouds of heaven”—that’s Daniel 7 again. So Jesus combines those two prophecies, lays claim to it himself, and he’s clearly here laying claim to that title, and the high priest understands him as such; he’s placed him under oath: “tell us if you’re the Christ, the Son of God,” and Jesus says, “you’ve said it.” And the high priest understands, and then verse 64 is interesting, he says, “but I tell you,”—that is, “you’ve said it, now let me tell you myself”—and he affirms it this way: “From now on, you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” So he couches his claim in the language of Psalm 110 and Daniel chapter 7.
Verse 65 then, the high priest tears his clothes. He’s uttered blasphemy; “what further witnesses do we need? He said it himself. We’ve heard his blasphemy, what’s your judgment?” He answered, “he deserves death.” They spit in his face and struck him and some slapped him and said, “prophesy to us, you Christ, who is it that struck you?” The very fact that Jesus was standing there under arrest was proof enough for them that his claim was blasphemy. The idea of a Messiah under arrest is ridiculous. It can’t be that. Jesus here is obviously speaking prospectively in the sense of the “from now on,” the idea in some of your translations it’s translated “henceforth” or “in the future.” The idea is that from here forward you will see me only in my kingly rule. Still, so far as the council is concerned, this is blasphemy, and so in chapter 27 verse 1 and following, they take him to Pilate for official sentencing.
So we have it on Jesus’ own claim, then, that he is David’s Lord, and that he is the one seated at the right hand of God, and then in terms of Daniel 7, coming on the clouds of heaven. By the way, that expression, “coming on the clouds of heaven,” is picked up in Revelation chapter 1 in reference to the return of Christ.
Now that leaves us, then, with the question: when will Jesus’ kingship be realized? When was it realized? Now you’ve heard me enough—you’ve probably heard it a hundred times, you can repeat it in your sleep—that there is most always in these prophecies a “now” and a “not yet.” There’s a present realization of it and yet a full culminating realization of it is to come in the future. Jesus is king today. He advances his kingdom through the gospel. The kingdom of Christ will come to its full climactic culmination in his return as it’s described in the book of Revelation. But what Psalm 110 now envisions is the coronation scene itself. There’s something specific here: the coronation scene itself when Christ takes his throne as the universal king.
And when we come to the New Testament now, that is the significance of Christ’s ascension. That is his enthronement. The Lord Jesus is king now today, but he takes his throne at his ascension after his crosswork and resurrection. Christ’s kingship in the New Testament is his mediatorial rule. He’s God’s mediatorial king ruling over the world. And he takes that throne as something that is achieved, something that he’s accomplished. He’s died, died in place of sinners. He’s defeated sin. He’s dethroned Satan. He’s thrown his rule over humanity. And he’s answering for sin in his death. He’s raised from the dead in vindication for what he has done. And now in his ascension, this is the occasion when he formally receives his rule over all things. It’s his crowning day. Turns to the Father; mission’s been accomplished. And now in the words of Psalm 2, he says to the Father, “you’ve promised me the nations.” And the Lord says to him, “you’ll have it.”
Now, with that in mind, look at over the page, Matthew 28. Familiar passage, the Great Commission, verses 18 and following. Verse 18: “Jesus came and said to them, all authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Notice the ground of the authority that he claims. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore,”—because I have now received this authority—”go and make disciples.” Now in another sense, of course, this is God the Son speaking. In another sense, he has always had all authority. But we’re speaking now in terms of his mediatorial rule, and the context here is all important. This is post-cross, post-resurrection. And now he says, in the wake of all of that, “all authority has been given to me. I’ve earned it. I’ve earned now the right to save. I’ve earned now the right to rule as God’s mediatorial king.” Now he’s done the work. Now he’s able to save. And now, because of that, we can call the nations to submit to him and make disciples of them, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Spirit.
So why do we call people to submit to Jesus in repentance? Why not just go with the pluralistic openness that is so demanded of us today? Why is it we have to call them to Jesus in order to be saved? That is about the greatest sin in terms of our society that you can commit today, to say that Jesus is the only way. On what ground do we say that? Well, it’s because only the Lord Jesus Christ has earned the right to rule. Only Jesus has earned the right to save and to judge.
All right, with that in mind, the next page, historically speaking, Acts chapter one. Acts chapter one. We have Jesus’ ascension. You remember that? Verses six and following, Jesus ascends, commissions the disciples and the apostles to their task. We get to chapter 2. You remember the setting in chapter 2. This is the day of Pentecost. Speaking in tongues, there’s this new rush of the power of the Holy Spirit who has come. It’s a marvelous thing. People are marveling at it. How do you explain it? And Peter explicitly identifies this as the occasion that is envisioned in Psalm 110. Acts 2 verse 34 and following. Notice how Peter reasons: “David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,”—and here he quotes Psalm 110—”‘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.” This Jesus whom you have crucified, God has made him Lord and has made him Christ. This position he has earned through his saving work and now he is installed as King of the Universe.
Jot it down if you’d like: Ephesians 1 verses 19 and following. God raised up Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named. Another passage that is more familiar, Philippians chapter two. We’ll see the Apostle Paul emphasizes this again. Philippians 2 verses 5 through 11, this famous passage of the condescension of Christ and then his exaltation. Philippians 2:5: “have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ 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 man.” Here’s the incarnation, the state of his humiliation. Verse eight: “being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” So there’s his saving mission accomplished. Verse nine: “Therefore.” It’s important. “Therefore, as a consequence of that, 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.” Note the “therefore.” He’s humbled himself, obedient all the way to the cross; therefore, God has exalted him to the throne of the universe and everyone will bow. Consequence of his saving work, he’s made king.
Now one more, Revelation chapters 4 and 5. Revelation chapters 4 and 5. You’re familiar with Revelation chapters six and following, where we have these series of judgments brought on the earth, judgments on rebellious Babylon, this world kingdom, and it culminates in the destruction of Babylon, which is the in-breaking of the kingdom of God in the earth, the destruction of the world kingdom. This is the climactic arrival of the kingdom of God, chapter six and following. Revelation 4 and 5 is the backdrop or the setup for all of that. In chapter 4, we find God enthroned on the throne of the universe in unapproachable holiness. All must bow before him, even the great rulers of heaven, the angelic creatures; they bow before him in reverence. Can’t look on him; they veil their faces. This is God in his ultimate majesty recognized in chapter 4.
And then in chapter 5, the question is, he has a scroll in his right hand. And who’s worthy to open it? It’s got seven seals. And the symbolism there: this is God’s last will and testament, as it were. This is God’s purpose for history. His purpose in salvation and judgment. Who’s worthy to carry this out? Who’s worthy to be king? Who can carry out God’s rule in the earth? And you remember how it goes: there’s weeping, there’s no one found, and then they look, and there’s the lion, and they look again, and it’s the lamb who has been slain, and he’s worthy to take the scroll, and he reaches up, takes the scroll from the father’s hand, and then chapter six and following, he starts undoing the seals, and the judgments come, and so on. In chapter five then what we have is the enthronement scene itself when the slain lamb—that’s Jesus—takes the scroll from the father’s hand and is able then to carry out his purpose in history in salvation and judgment.
Look how the crowd responds in verses nine and 10. Revelation 5:9 and 10: “He’s taken the scroll and they sang a new song saying, ‘worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals. Why? For you were slain. By your blood you have ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God.'” Here is Christ taking the rule. He’s earned that right through his saving work “because you were slain.” And now he takes the throne of the universe and all of that is the backdrop, the setup for chapter six and following when he begins to exercise that rule in human history.
That is Psalm 110. “Sit at my right hand,” he takes his throne, he has the right to rule, administering the law of God in the earth. That is Psalm 2. Messiah returns to the Father and says, “you’ve promised me the nations.” God says, “you’ll have them.” Daniel chapter 7. Son of man ascends on the clouds, receives a kingdom from the ancient of days. When we come to the New Testament, they will unpack this in full, but we have it alluded, or mentioned just briefly in Psalm 110; verses five to seven in particular will sketch out the significance of that rule. Verses two and three in particular, with regard to his rule in this aspect of his kingdom in its inaugurated phase. And then verses five to seven, the climactic unfolding of the kingdom.
Jesus Christ Is King
Well, that is the significance then of verse one. “Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.” The first message of Psalm 110 is that Jesus Christ is king. He’s a divine king, but he’s also a king with earned authority to rule. And that’s the first announcement from the start. He’s seated at God’s right hand, he’s enthroned above the earth, and he rules there today as king-priest. He’s qualified both to save and to judge.
So Psalm 110 then locates Jesus at the very center of God’s purpose for history. He’s the promised Davidic king who will rule, who will bring salvation and judgment to the world and establish the kingdom of God. And as I say, verses two and three here will speak of the advance of his kingdom in this age, the inaugurated phase of his kingdom, and that we find recorded for us first in the book of Acts, the spread of his kingdom. Verses five to seven then will bring that kingdom to its grand climax in the return of Christ and that we read of in the book of Revelation.
So despite all of the rebellion that we see, this stubborn revolt against God and his rule when we see it more and more in our society, despite all of that, the truth remains: he sits at God’s right hand. God has set his king on Zion. Jesus Christ is king over it all. And his kingdom is exactly on schedule. If you are ever tempted to think that things are going awry, remember, Lord Jesus Christ is king, ruling on the throne of God in heaven above it all. Behind all of the great moments of history—how do we define election of presidents, the appointment of kings, the outcomes of wars, fall of the Iron Curtain, and all the great moments of history?—we need to see the king above it all, steering history to the advance of his kingdom.
Verse one just points us briefly to the grand climax of that kingdom. All of his enemies are made his footstool. Verses five to seven will unpack that in more graphic terms. Today, this phase of his kingdom, he offers terms of peace. Verse four, it’s acceptance with God grounded in his priestly work. He offers terms of peace. But this day of patience will not be forever. The message of the church then throughout this age is just this message of Psalm 110: Jesus is Lord. He reigns. He’s king over all. He reigns over all things, directing all the affairs of the universe to the advance of his kingdom.
Today he offers you opportunity to repent, acknowledge his kingship, submit to his rule, and the gracious offer is he’ll have you. This is the driving force of gospel missions. This is the day of opportunity. The king rules. And he’s offering you an opportunity to surrender. He’ll have you if you will. But one day, he’ll break into history, the full manifestation of his kingly rule. At that point, all of his enemies will be made his foes.
This psalm ought to shape our understanding of the world today in large perspective: the purpose of God in history, the nature of this age, our role in it in advancing God’s kingdom through the gospel, but also the outcome of history, the end to it all. It offers a wonderful prospect for the people of God. We see culture in its revolt. We recognize that above it, God is king. God rules through his king that he has set on Zion. And our message is, you will bow before this king. You may do it today, but either way, you certainly will tomorrow. Jesus is king. Amen.