Psalm 110
Jesus and Peter both stated that David wrote this psalm (Matt. 22:43; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42; Acts 2:33–35), and, since David was a prophet, he wrote it about the Messiah (Acts 2:30; 2 Sam. 23:2). He certainly did not write about any of his own descendants, for no Jewish king was ever a priest, let alone a priest forever (v. 4; 2 Chron. 26:16–23). Also, no Jewish king ever conquered all the rulers of the whole earth (v. 6). The psalm is quoted or alluded to in the New Testament more than any other psalm, verse 1 at least twenty-five times and verse 4 another five times. Ten of these quotations or allusions are in the book of Hebrews alone. Jesus used verse 1 to prove His deity and silence the Pharisees (Matt. 22:41–46) and also to answer the high priest during His trial (Matt. 26:64). The psalm presents two pictures of Messiah from the past—His exaltation as King (vv. 1–3) and His consecration as Priest (v. 4)—and a third picture from the future, His victory over the enemies of God (vv. 5–7).
The third promise is that Messiah would have a great army assist Him in the final battle against the enemies of the Lord (v. 3). This army is remarkable in three ways: it is made up of willing volunteers; they are dressed in holy garments like priests (Rev. 19:14); and they are a great multitude, like the dew that falls in the early morning (2 Sam. 23:4). Just as the dawn gives birth to the sparkling dew, so the Lord will "give birth" to this vast holy army. You expect kings to be warriors—David is a good example—but you don't expect priests to be warriors. However, Benaiah was a priest (1 Chron. 27:5) who was also a soldier. He was one of David's mighty men (2 Sam. 23:20–23), became captain over the king's bodyguard (1 Chron. 18:17), and eventually was made general over King Solomon's army (1 Kings 2:35). Imagine a huge army of men like Benaiah! The book of Revelation indicates that there will be great battles fought in the end times (see 14:14–20; 16:12–16; 19:11–21; 20:7–10) and that Jesus Christ will defeat the enemy.
Exaltation: Jesus is King (vv. 1–3) "Jehovah says to my Adonai" is the way the psalm opens, and since David was the highest ruler in the kingdom, his Adonai had to be the Lord Himself. It was this fact that Jesus presented to the Pharisees (Matt. 22:41–46), asking them how David's Lord could also be David's son (Messiah). The only answer is by incarnation: the eternal Son of God had to come to earth as a human born into the family of David (Luke 1:26–38). As eternal God, Jesus is the "root [originator] of David" and as man He is "the offspring of David" (Rev. 22:16; 5:5). Had the Pharisees honestly faced this truth, they would have had to confess that Jesus is indeed the Son of God come in the flesh, but they refused to do so.
Consecration: The King Is a Priest (v. 4) This central verse of the psalm announces that Messiah will also be a priest, something unheard of in Old Testament history. This verse is important to the message of the book of Hebrews (Heb. 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:17, 21; see Rom. 8:34) because the present high priestly ministry of Christ in heaven is described in that book. If Jesus were on earth, He could not minister as a priest