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Expositor's Bible Commentary Psalm 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Psalm 110:1-7 Does our Lord’s attribution of this psalm to David foreclose the question of its authorship for those who accept His authority? Many, who fully recognise and reverently bow to that authority, think that it does not, and appeal for support of their view to the unquestionable limitations of His earthly knowledge. It is urged that His object in His argument with the Pharisees, in which this psalm is quoted by Him, { Matthew 22:41-46 and parallels} is not to instruct them on the authorship of the psalm, but to argue from its contents; and though He assumes the Davidic authorship, accepted generally at the time, yet the cogency of His argument is unimpaired, so long as it is recognised that the psalm is a Messianic one, and that the august language used in it of the Messiah is not compatible with the position of One who was a mere human son of David (Driver, "Introd.," p. 363, note). So also Dr. Sanday ("Inspiration," p. 420) says that "the Pharisees were taken upon their own ground, and the fallacy of their conclusion was shown on their own premises." But our Lord’s argument is not drawn from the "august language" of the psalm, but from David’s relationship to the Messiah, and crumbles to pieces if he is not the singer. It may freely be admitted that there are instances in our Lord’s references to the Old Testament in which He speaks from the point of view of His hearers in regard to it; but these are cases in which nothing turned on the question whether that point of view was correct or not. Here everything turns on it; and to maintain that, in so important a crisis, He based His arguments on an error comes perilously near to imputing fallibility to Him as our teacher. Most of recent writers who advocate the view in question would recoil from such a consequence; but their position is divided from it by a thin line. Whatever the limitations of our Lord’s human knowledge, they did not affect His authority in regard to what He did teach; and the present writer ventures to believe that He did teach that David in this psalm calls Messiah his Lord. If so, the psalm stands alone, as not having primary reference to an earthly king. It is not, like other Messianic psalms, typical, but directly prophetic of Messiah, and of Him only. We are not warranted in denying the possibility of such direct prophecy; and the picture drawn in this psalm, so far transcending any possible original among the sons of men, has not full justice done to its majestic lines, unless it is recognised as setting forth none other than the personal Messiah. True, it is drawn with colours supplied from earthly experiences, and paints a warrior-monarch. The prophet-psalmist, no doubt, conceived of literal warfare; but a prophet did not always understand the oracles which he spoke. The psalm falls into two parts: the Vision of the Priest-King and His army ( Psalm 110:1-4 ); the King’s Warfare and Victory ( Psalm 110:5-7 ). "The oracle of Jehovah" introduces a fresh utterance of God’s, heard by the psalmist, who thus claims to be the mouthpiece of the Divine will. It is a familiar prophetic phrase, but usually found at the close-not, as here, at the beginning of the utterance to which it refers (see, however, Isaiah 56:8 ; Zechariah 12:1 ). The unusual position makes the Divine origin of the following words more emphatic. "My Lord" is a customary title of respect in addressing a superior, but not in speaking of him. Its use here evidently implies that the psalmist regards Messiah as his king. and the best comment on it is Matthew 22:43 : "How then doth David in spirit call Him Lord?" The substance of the oracle follows. He who is exalted to sit at the right hand of a king is installed there by as his associate in rule. He who is seated by God at His right hand is received into such mystery of participation in Divine authority and power, as cannot be imposed on frail humanity. The rigid monotheism of the Jewish singers makes this tremendous "oracle" the more remarkable. Greek gods might have their assessors from among mortals, but who shall share Jehovah’s throne? "Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king"; { 1 Chronicles 29:23 } but that is no parallel, nor does it show that the oracle of this psalm simply states the dignity of the theocratic king. Solomon’s throne was Jehovah’s, as being established by Him and since he represented Jehovah on earth; but to sit at Jehovah’s right hand means far more than this. That session of Messiah is represented as the prelude to the exercise of Divine power for His triumph over His foes; and that apparent repose, while Jehovah fights for him, is singularly contrasted with his activity as described in Psalm 110:6-7 . The singer speaks riddles about a union of undisturbed tranquility and of warlike strenuousness, which are only solved when we see their fulfilment in Him who sitteth at the right hand of God, and who yet goes with His armies where they go. "He was received up, and sat on the right hand of God the Lord also working with them" { Mark 16:19-20 } The opened heavens showed to Stephen his Master, not sitting, but standing in the posture of readiness to help him dying, and to receive him made more alive by death. His foot shall be on the neck of His foes, as Joshua bade the men of Israel put theirs on the conquered kings’. Opposition shall not only be subdued, but shall become subsidiary to Messiah’s dominion, "a stepping stone to higher things." The Divine oracle is silent, and the strain is taken up by the psalmist himself, who speaks "in the spirit," in the remainder of the psalm, no less than he did when uttering Jehovah’s word. Messiah’s dominion has a definite earthly centre. From Zion is this King to rule. His mighty sceptre, the symbol and instrument of His God-given power, is to stretch thence. How far? No limit is named to the sweep of His sway. But since Jehovah is to extend it, it must be conterminous with the reach of His omnipotence. Psalm 110:2 b may be taken as the words of Jehovah, but more probably they are the loyal exclamation of the psalmist, moved to his heart’s depths by the vision which makes the bliss of his solitude. The word rendered "rule" is found also in Balaam’s prophecy of Messiah { Numbers 24:19 } and in the Messianic Psalm 72:8 . The kingdom is to subsist in the midst of enemies. The normal state of the Church on earth is militant. Yet the enemies are not only a ring of antagonists round a centre of submission, but into their midst His power penetrates, and Messiah dominates them too, for all their embattled hostility. A throne round which storms of rebellion rage is an insecure seat. But this throne is established through enmity, because it is upheld by Jehovah. The kingdom in relation to its subjects is the theme of Psalm 110:3 , which accords with the warlike tone of the whole psalm, by describing them as an army. The period spoken of is "the day of Thy host," or array-the time when the forces are mustered and set in order for battle. The word rendered free-will offerings may possibly mean simply "willingnesses," and the abstract noun may he used as in "I am-prayer" { Psalm 109:4 } -i.e., most willing; but it is better to retain the fuller and more picturesque meaning of glad, spontaneous sacrifices, which corresponds with the priestly character afterwards ascribed to the people, and goes very deep into the essence of Christian service. There are to be no pressed men or mercenaries in that host. As Deborah sang of her warriors, these "offer themselves willingly." Glad consecration of self, issuing in spontaneous enlisting for the wars of the King, is to characterise all His subjects. The army is the nation. These soldiers are to be priests. They are clad in holy attire, "fine linen, clean and white." That representation goes as deep into the nature of the warfare they have to wage and the weapons they have to wield, as the former did into the impulse which sends them to serve under Messiah’s flag. The priestly function is to bring God and man near to one another. Their warfare can only be for the carrying out of their office. Their weapons are sympathy, gentleness, purity. Like the Templars, the Christian soldier must bear the cross on his shield and the hilt of his sword. Another reading of this phrase is "on the holy mountains," which is preferred by many, among whom are Hupfeld and Cheyne. But the great preponderance of evidence is against the change, which obliterates a very striking and profound thought. Psalm 110:3 c, d gives another picture of the host. The usual explanation of the clause takes "youth" as meaning, not the young vigour of the King, but, in a collective sense, the assembled warriors, whom it paints as in the bloom of early manhood. The principal point of comparison of the army with the dew is probably its multitude. { 2 Samuel 17:12 } The warriors have the gift of unaging youth, as all those have who renew their strength by serving Christ. And it is permissible to take other characteristics of the dew than its abundance, and to think of the mystery of its origin, of the tiny mirrors of the sunshine hanging on every cobweb, of its power to refresh, as well as of the myriads of its drops. But this explanation, beautiful and deep as it is, is challenged by many. The word rendered "dawn" is unusual. "Youth" is not found elsewhere in the sense thus assigned to it. "Dew" is thought to be an infelicitous emblem. "From a linguistic point of view" Cheyne pronounces both "dawn" and "dew" to be intolerable. Singularly enough, in the next sentence, he deprecates a previous opinion of his own as premature "until we know something certain of the Hebrew of the Davidic age" (" Orig. of Psalt., " p. 482). But if such certainty is lacking, why should these two words be "intolerable"? He approves Bickell’s conjectural emendation, "From the womb, from the dawn [of life], Thy youthful band is devoted to Thee." Psalm 110:4 again enshrines a Divine utterance, which is presented in an even more solemn manner than that of Psalm 110:1 . The oath of Jehovah by Himself represents the thing sworn as guaranteed by the Divine character. God, as it were, pledges His own name, with its fulness of unchanging power, to the fulfilment of the word; and this irrevocable and omnipotent decree is made still more impressive by the added assurance that He "will not repent." Thus inextricably intertwined with the augustness of God’s nature, the union of the royal and priestly offices in the person of Messiah shall endure forever. Some commentators contend that every theocratic king of Israel was a priest, inasmuch as he was king of a priestly nation. But since the national priestliness did not hinder the appointment of a special order of priests, it is most natural to assume that the special order is here referred to. Why should the singer have gone back into the mists of antiquity, in order to find the type of a priest-king, if the union of offices belonged, by virtue of his kinghood, to every Jewish monarch? Clearly the combination was unexampled; and such an incident as that of Uzziah’s leprosy shows how carefully the two great offices were kept apart. Their opposition has resulted in many tragedies: probably their union would be still more fatal, except in the case of One whose priestly sacrifice of Himself as a willing offering is the basis of His royal sway. The "order of Melchizedek" has received unexpected elucidation from the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, which bring to light, as a correspondent of the Pharaoh, one Ebed-tob, king of Uru-salim (the city of Salim, the god of peace). In one of his letters he says, "Behold, neither my father nor my mother have exalted me in this place; the prophecy [or perhaps, arm] of the mighty King has caused me to enter the house of my father." By the mighty King is meant the god whose sanctuary stood on the summit of Mount Moriah. He was king of Jerusalem, because he was priest of its god (Sayce, "Criticism and the Monuments." p. 175). The psalm lays stress on the eternal duration of the royalty and priesthood of Messiah; and although in other Messianic psalms the promised perpetuity may be taken to refer to the dynasty rather than the individual monarch, that explanation is impossible here, where a person is the theme. Many attempts have been made to fit the language of the psalm to one or other of the kings of Israel; but, not to mention other difficulties, this Psalm 110:4 remains as an insuperable obstacle. In default of Israelite kings, one or other of the Maccabean family has been thought of. Cheyne strongly pronounces for Simon Maccabaeus, and refers, as others have done, to a popular decree in his favour, declaring him "ruler and high priest forever" (" Orig. of Psalt. ," p. 26). On this identification, Baethgen asks if it is probable that the singer should have taken his theme from a popular decree, and have transformed it ( umgestempelt ) into a Divine oath. It may be added that Simon was not a king, and that he was by birth a priest. The second part of the psalm carries the King into the battlefield. He comes forth from the throne, where He sat at Jehovah’s right hand, and now Jehovah stands at His right hand. The word rendered Lord in Psalm 110:5 is never used of any but God, and it is best to take it so here, even though to do so involves the necessity of supposing a change in the subject either in Psalm 110:6 or Psalm 110:7 , which latter verse can only refer to the Messiah. The destructive conflict described is said to take place "in the day of His wrath" - i.e., of Jehovah’s. If this is strictly interpreted, the period intended is not that of "the day of Thine army," when by His priestly warriors the Priest-King wages a warfare among His enemies, which wins them to be His lovers, but that dread hour when He comes forth from His ascended glory to pronounce doom among the nations and to crush all opposition. Such a final apocalypse of the wrath of the Lamb is declared to us in clearer words, which may well be permitted to cast a light back on this psalm. { Revelation 19:11 } "He has crushed kings" is the perfect of prophetic certainty or intuition, the scene being so vividly bodied before the singer that he regards it as accomplished. "He shall judge" or give doom "among the nations,"-the future of pure prediction. Psalm 110:6 b is capable of various renderings. It may be rendered as above, or the verb may be intransitive and the whole clause translated, It becomes full of corpses (so Delitzsch); or the word may be taken as an adjective, in which case the meaning would be the same as if it were an intransitive verb. "The head over a wide land" is also ambiguous. If "head" is taken as a collective noun, it means rulers. But it may be also regarded as referring to a person, the principal antagonist of the Messiah. This is the explanation of many of the older interpreters, who think of Death or "the prince of this world," but is too fanciful to be adopted. Psalm 110:7 is usually taken as depicting the King as pausing in His victorious pursuit of the flying foe to drink, like Gideon’s men, from the brook, and then with renewed vigour pressing on. But is not the idea of the Messiah needing refreshment in that final conflict somewhat harsh?-and may there not be here a certain desertion of the order of sequence, so that we are carried back to the time prior to the enthronement of the King? One is tempted to suggest the possibility of this closing verse being a full parallel with Php 2:7-9 . Christ on the way to His throne drank of "waters of affliction," and precisely therefore is He "highly exalted." The choice for every man is being crushed beneath His foot, or being exalted to sit with Him on His throne. "He that overcometh, to him will I give to sit down with Me on My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father on His throne." It is better to sit on His throne than to be His footstool. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool Psalm 110 The King who is also Priest T. W. Chambers The title ascribes this psalm to David, which is confirmed by its internal character, its laconic energy, its martial tone, its triumphant confidence and its resemblance to other compositions of the son of Jesse. Besides this is the testimony of our Lord ( Matthew 22:43 ; Mark 12:36 ; Luke 20:42 ). Peter at Pentecost expressly quoted it as David's ( Acts 2:34 ). It is a counterpart to the second psalm, completing the prophetic picture of the conquering Messiah. The opening word of this spirited lyric indicates its peculiar character. It is the term almost always used to denote an immediate Divine utterance. The utterance here is an oracular address to David's Lord, i . e . the promised Anointed One on whom his and his people's hopes were centred. Jehovah bids this personage take His seat at His right hand, not merely as a place of honour, but as implying a participation in His power, of which the right hand is a constant symbol. This exalted position, on the same throne with Jehovah, He is to hold till His enemies are made His footstool, i . e . are completely and for ever subjugated. In the next verse the psalmist addresses the Messiah directly. He tells Him that His strong rod, His rod of discipline and correction, by which foes are to be subdued, shall be sent forth by Jehovah out of Zion, considered as His earthly residence, the seat of the theocracy; thus showing clearly that Jehovah acts not only for Him, but in and through Him, for the overthrow of His enemies. Hence, the poet calls on Him to take the dominion and rule, even though hostile powers surround Him and threaten His dethronement. These will prove no obstacle, nor can there be a doubt of the result. The certainty of it is still further secured by the character and number of Messiah's followers. It is not an army of mercenaries. There is no need of a conscription; they stream toward the royal banner from every direction. They are free-will offerings. By a spontaneous movement they come to consecrate themselves to service in the day when the host is put in battle array and mustered for the onset. They come, too, not with coat of mail and battle-axe, but in holy attire, with allusion to the sacerdotal dress. They are clad in sacred vestments, because they are servants of a priestly King, and belong to "a kingdom of priests" ( Exodus 19:6 ). Nor are these few in number or worn with age, but in number and character and vigour resemble "dew-drops which the sun Impearls on every leaf and every flower."From the womb of the dawn there come in perpetual succession youthful warriors who delight to uphold the royal banner. There follows in the next verse the essential point of the whole lyric, the perpetual priesthood of Messiah united with a perpetual kingship, both secured by the oath of Jehovah Himself. This verse is made the subject of elaborate comment in Hebrews 8 , the author of which dwells at length upon the oath which founded the priesthood, upon the perpetuity of the office and upon the want of hierarchical succession. Immediately after the announcement of Messiah's priesthood, the psalm resumes its martial tone. Before, the might of the king and the character of his army were described; now we see the conflict and the victory. The Lord — who in this case is Jehovah — stands on Messiah's right hand as His defender and upholder. The consequence of Jehovah's support is that Messiah crushes not merely ordinary men but kings, and the subjects they represent. He inflicts a mortal blow, one from which there is no recovery. In the 6th verse, by a sudden turn, Messiah is spoken of in the third person. He exercises supreme control, as judge, over nations. If they resist Him they fall in slaughtered heaps over a vast extent of country, heads or princes being overthrown with all the rest. In the closing verse David paints the Conqueror as wearied with the battle and the pursuit, but not suffered to perish through exhaustion. A brook by the way revives Him, and He passes on with uplifted head, continuing His work with new vigour, and pressing forward to a complete and final triumph. The psalm is peculiar in setting forth Messiah as a priest upon His throne. He is s real priest, one that makes atonement, intercedes and blesses, and as such meets all the needs of sinful men, because He is a King, and can give effect to His sacerdotal functions, applying the merits of His sacrifice, and actually bestowing the blessing which He pronounces. And all this for ever. Christ neither has nor needs a successor. He is an unchangeable priesthood. Again, Messiah's followers are like Himself, wearing holy attire — an emblem of their cause and character. It is not a kingdom of this world to which they belong, but one heavenly and divine. They wear its uniform and seek to express its spirit. Nor are they in any sense hirelings, but rather volunteers, eager to obey and glorify Him whom they call Master and Lord. Napoleon truly said, "My armies have forgetten me even while living, but Christ has left the earth, and at this hour millions of men would die for Him." The strength of His cause lies in the character of His followers and the fulness and freeness of their consecration. A host made of such materials cannot be overcome, for it is perpetually renewed from the womb of the dawn. Once more, the final result is sure. Messiah leads forth judgment to victory. All foes are to perish. The appurtenances of ancient warfare, captured kings and slaughtered heaps, only indicate the thoroughness of the conflict and its predetermined result. Forward the royal standards go, and the issue is not uncertain. The priestly King must reign till all enemies are made His footstool, and the whole earth acknowledges His rightful supremacy. ( T. W. Chambers , D.D.) Jesus ascended and exalted W. Hancock, M.A. In this psalm Jesus is set forth to us as — I. KING AND PROPHET (vers. 2, 8). The rod of His strength is His Word, even His preached Gospel, accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit. II. KING AND PRIEST (ver. 4). Here the people of Jesus are directed to look to Him as the ground of their hope. For it is what He has done, and what He is still doing, for them as their Priest, that must ever be most important to them, as long as they are in their present imperfect and polluted state. III. KING AND JUDGE (vers. 5, 6; Psalm 2:9 ; Daniel 2:31-45 ; Revelation 19:11-16 ). ( W. Hancock, M.A. ) Christ sitting at the right hand of God C. Bradley, M.A. I. HIS HEAVENLY EXALTATION. 1. Elevation. 2. Power. II. THE STATE OF OUR WORLD AT THE TIME WHEN CHRIST WAS THUS EXALTED TO BE ITS KING. We are all by nature the enemies of Jesus Christ, as much alienated from Him as we are from His Father. This blessed Jesus was not hated in Jerusalem only where He was crucified, as though there was something peculiar in the men of that place — He was hated wherever He appeared; and had He gone out from Judaea and Galilee into other countries, He would have been hated there also; Rome, with all her boasted admiration of virtue, would have cried out for His destruction, and polished Greece would have cast Him away with scorn. III. THE MEANS EMPLOYED BY JEHOVAH TO OVERCOME THE HOSTILITY OF THE WORLD AGAINST HIS SON (ver. 2). Has the Gospel proved itself the rod of Christ's strength? That something produced a mighty effect on the world soon after our Lord's ascension is quite certain. "Rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies," says the text to Him, and in the midst of His most violent enemies Christ did rule. In the inveterate and lately infuriated Jerusalem, thousands bowed at once to His sceptre, and throughout pagan Greece and Rome His name was called on and adored. And what wrought this change? Preaching — the simple preaching of Christ's Gospel by a few determined, faithful men; holding up Christ on a cross to men, and bidding them look to Him and be saved. IV. THE HAPPY RESULTS OF THIS INTERPOSITION OF JEHOVAH (ver. 3). Here is a description, and a beautiful one, of all Christ's real people in every age of the world. 1. They are a willing people. "Willing," we may say, "for what?" For anything and everything which Christ desires. The language in the original is stronger than in our translation. It is "willingness," the noun for the adjective — a Hebrew way of expressing a thing forcibly. This people are eager to receive Christ as their Prince and Saviour; they feel it to be their delight and joy to come under His dominion. 2. This willing people are to be numerous. In the land where the Scriptures were written, the dew is much more abundant than in our country, but even here the drops of dew as they sparkle on the trees and grass, are sometimes countless. As numerous, this psalm says, shall be the people of Christ. 3. The people of Christ are to be beautiful, and beautiful because holy — "willing in the beauties of holiness." The drops of' the early dew are beautiful. The rising sun not only discovers them, it brightens and gilds them, makes them the glittering ornaments in the early morning of our gardens and fields. And what were the early Christians? Their very enemies were constrained to do them honour. They hated but they admired them. As they led them forth to persecution and to death, they wondered at their lofty and splendid characters. But their graces were not their own. The dew does not sparkle when the sun does not shine on it. Even a Christian man has no beauty, no holiness, but as Christ imparts it to him. And what is his highest beauty and holiness? It is only a faint reflection of his Lord's beauty and holiness — a dew-drop reflecting the sun. But still that dew-drop does reflect the sun; and so does every real believer in Christ Jesus reflect in some measure his Redeemer's likeness. ( C. Bradley, M.A. ) A picture of Christ as the Moral Conqueror of mankind Homilist. I. INVESTED WITH DIVINE AUTHORITY (ver. 1). Christ is represented as God manifest in the flesh, as One with God, as the beloved Son of Jehovah, as sitting down at the right hand of God, as exalted above all dominion and power, as King of kings and Lord of lords. His history when on earth confirms this illustrious distinction. How grand were the doctrines He propounded, how stupendous the miracles He wrought, how unexampled the moral character He exhibited, how unearthly and transcendent the spirit which He breathed. II. ENDOWED WITH DIVINE POWER (ver. 2). This is a far mightier rod than that which Moses wielded, it is a rod that breaks rocky hearts, and makes clear for human souls the way to Canaan. III. POSSESSED OF A SPLENDID ARMY (ver. 3). The words suggest that His army is distinguished — 1. By willingness. "Shall be willing." Their services will not be compulsory, they throw themselves into the spirit of the campaign. 2. By purity. "In the beauty of holiness." They coruscate with holiness. 3. By youthfulness. "Thou hast the dew of Thy youth." They are not old and worn out, they are as fresh as the dew "from the womb of the morning." 4. By abundance, How numerous are drops of "dew." Such is the army of this Hero. Such a Chieftain with such soldiers must win victories the most brilliant. IV. INVESTED WITH A PRIESTLY CHARACTER (ver. 4). He is a Priest by the solemn and unalterable promise of God. Melchizedek was a wonderful priest — original, final, beneficent, and royal. Christ is a Priest-King. As a Priest He is at once the Sacrifice, the Sacrificer, and the Offering. He is the Mediator, He Himself is the Atonement, the Reconciliation. V. ACHIEVES MAGNIFICENT TRIUMPHS (vers. 5, 6). They are won not by force, but by love, they do not destroy or injure the conquered, but bless and save them. ( Homilist. ) The enemies of Christ vanquished R Watson. I. THE PERSON TO WHOM UNIVERSAL DOMINION IS ASSIGNED. II. HIS SOLEMN INAUGURATION TO HIS REGAL DIGNITY (ver.1; Psalm 24:7-10 ). III. THE ENEMIES ARRAYED AGAINST HIS RIGHTFUL CLAIMS (ver. 1). How strange a collocation of words is "enmity against God," and God in Christ! Behold His purity, His meekness, His wisdom, His kind teachings, His generous sufferings for men; the freeness and copiousness of the blessings which He has to bestow upon all who will ask of Him; and say, is there a stigma upon human nature so deep, so dark, as this, — that it is enmity to God! IV. THE MEANS OF THEIR SUBJUGATION. 1. The rod of His power. 2. Granting days of power. 3. The willing co-operation of His people. V. THE GLORIOUS RESULT (ver. 3). 1. Behold this beauty of holiness among the nations. Wars, oppressions, injuries, cease. The earth, tossed and swept for ages by the storms of night, is quiet, imbibes the vivifying dew of Divine influence, and catches the glory of the brightening truth of revelation. 2. Behold it in civil society; in the beautiful order and harmony of pious families; in the charity and kind offices of Christian neighbourhoods; in the reciprocal reverence and confidence of rulers and their subjects. 3. Behold it especially in the Church. There, indeed, it is eminently appropriate; for, "holiness becometh Thine house, O Lord, for ever." It is seen in her ministry; for her Priests are clothed with salvation," and their "lips keep knowledge." In her doctrine; for the compass, the depth, the height, the harmony, of the whole system of the Gospel being understood and professed, errors and partial views are banished. In her members; those are truly elect according to the foreknowledge of God, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. ( R Watson. ) The Lord shall send the rod of Thy strength out of Zion: rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies . Psalm 110:2, 3 Messiah's sceptre and kingdom E. T. Carrier. The kingship of Christ is a twofold kingship. It is essential and it is hereditary. The one belongs to Him as God, the other belongs to Him as Mediator. The first is founded upon the Divinity of His Person, the second upon the dignity of His work. Hence the first is eternal, the second conferred. I. THE SCEPTRE OF CHRIST, THE POWER WHICH WIELDS IT, AND THE PLACE OF ITS APPEARING. 1. The sceptre is the symbol of royalty and is of even greater antiquity than the crown. Homer speaks of it as "that sacred rod of kings." Christ's sceptre is His Gospel. It is the Word of the Lord which is powerful, a Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation, Jehovah's rod of strength, mighty for the pulling down of Satan's strongholds. 2. This sceptre is wielded by no feeble hand. To subdue the will of an alien world required an agency yet more powerful than that which created the universe and will raise the dead. Its sentiments, prejudices, habits, interests, pleasures, sins, form a positive quantity of antagonism. Hence the conversion of a soul from Satan to God is a miracle of miracles. The humanly impossible becomes the Divinely accomplished. The Holy Ghost wields the sceptre. 3. This sceptre was to appear out of Zion, and from thence by gradual conquests extend its influence over the entire earth. On Zion the apostles received their commission to preach; there they remained until power came upon them; there the first Gospel sermon was preached, and at the first swaying of this sceptre three thousand souls were added to the Lord; there the first Gospel Church was founded, almost under the shadow of the recent cross, and from thence this mystical sceptre went forth into all lands. II. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF HIS KINGDOM. The psalmist describes its position and its people. 1. Its position.(1) It is a position of conflict. Rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies. In heaven He rules in the midst of friends. "All the angels of God do worship Him." Here His kingdom is a beleaguered kingdom.(2) It is a position of conquest. He rules. The sceptre has civilized where it has not converted men. It has quickened the conscience and entered into the life of nations. Education, liberty, philanthropy, and the sanctities of domestic life have resulted from its benign rule.(3) It is a position of continuance. The positions thrown up against it are airy fabrics. Reared by vanity, they will be overthrown by time. 2. Its people.(1) Their disposition — willing.(2) Character — holy.(3) Influence. The meaning of the similitude is that the people of Christ, full of a young and ardent vigour, should appear upon the earth in multitudinous number and fertilizing influence as the drops of dew at the dawn of day. ( E. T. Carrier. ) Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power . Psalm 110:3 Christ subdues a people to Himself C. Greig, M. A. The glory of a king consists in the multitude of his people. Messiah is a king, but He is described as ruling in the midst of His enemies. Has He, then, none but these over whom He is to reign — none that willingly do Him service? Was He to spend His labour in vain, His time and strength for that which profiteth nothing? No! He should see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied, and the pleasure of the Lord should prosper in His hand. Jehovah promises to Him, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power." I. THE CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF MESSIAH'S SUBJECTS. They are His people — 1. Because they are given to Him by the Father. 2. Because they are bought with a price, even with His own precious blood. 3. Because they are created anew by His Holy Spirit, and so fitted for His service here, and for the full enjoyment of heaven hereafter. II. THE PREDICTION REGARDING THEM. They "shall be willing." Worldly kingdoms have often been established by violence — they rule over the body only, they govern by fear and terror. In all these respects, Christ's kingdom is not of this world. His people are willing to enter into His kingdom in the way of His own appointment, they are willing to obey the laws of His kingdom, and they are willing to submit to that discipline which His infinite wisdom sees meet for them. III. THE TIME WHEN, AND THE MEANS BY WHICH, THEY SHALL BE MADE WILLING. "In the day of Thy power." The exertion of Messiah's power is requisite to bring the most amiable of the human race cordially to submit to Him as their rightful Lord; and by the exertion of this power, the most hardened rebel may be transformed into a willing subject. ( C. Greig, M. A. ) Christ's triumph and our glory J. B. Donaldson, D.D. I. CHRIST'S TRIUMPH. 1. Christ triumphs through us, manifesting His power to destroy sin in the flesh, and to restore the God-like image. He works in us, enabling us to will and to do His good pleasure. 2. His triumph waits upon us. Because He lives, His people shall live for ever. 3. There will come a day when we shall be willing —(1) To learn of Him. To receive with meekness the truth; to be taught of Him.(2) To suffer with Him. We shall be willing to humble ourselves, and sacrifice every heart's desire and ambition to His glory.(3) To follow Him, in going out after all the lost and erring ones.(4) To do His will, promptly and perfectly as the angels, who stand around the throne, awaiting His bidding. II. OUR GLORY. We have a victorious Leader. Our King will come forth in the beauties of holiness. His reign will be refreshing and quickening as dew, every drop reflecting all heaven. He will lead His people gloriously, while they shout their song of triumph. Christ is also our royal priest, the mystery of His birth and succession being prefigured in the person of Melchizedek. His Word is our battle-axe, which strikes devastating blows in the ranks of the enemy. We read of the triumphal entrance of Pompey into Rome, when for two days the procession moved along the Via Sacra. At the head of the procession were carried the brazen tablets, engraven with the names of the conquered nations, the record of the wealth amassed, and the vast increase in the revenues of the empire. The captives followed the triumphal chariot, and as many trophies were displayed as there had been victories gained, either by Pompey or his officers. But how vastly more magnificent and dazzling will be the procession of the heavenly hosts of the redeemed of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues as they enter the New Jerusalem with their King of kings, to crown Him Lord of all. ( J. B. Donaldson, D.D. ) Soldier priests A. Maclaren, D. D. We have here the very heart of the Christian character set forth as being willing consecration; then we have the work which Christian men have to do, and the spirit in which they are to do it, expressed in that metaphor of their priestly attire; and then we have their refreshing and quickening influence upon the world. I. THE SUBJECTS OF THE PRIEST-KING ARE WILLING SOLDIERS. We are all soldiers, and He only has to determine our work. We are responsible for the spirit of it, He for its success. Again, there are no mercenaries in these ranks, no pressed men. The soldiers are all volunteers. "Thy people shall be willing." Constrained obedience is no obedience. The word here rendered "willing" is employed throughout the Levitical law for "freewill offerings." This glad submission comes from self-consecration and surrender. II. THE SOLDIERS ARE PRIESTS. "The beauties of holiness" is a frequent phrase for the sacerdotal garments, the holy festal attire of the priests of the Lord. So considered, how beautifully it comes in here. The conquering King whom the psalm hymns is a Priest for ever; and He is followed by an army of priests. The soldiers are gathered in the day of the muster, with high courage and willing devotion, ready to fling away their lives; but they are clad not in mail, but in priestly robes, like those who wait before the altar rather than like those who plunge into the fight, like those who encompassed Jericho with the ark for their standard and the trumpets for all their weapons. "The servant of the Lord must not strive." We cannot scold nor dragoon men to love Jesus Christ. We are to be gentle, long-suffering, not doing our work with passion and self-will, but remembering that gentleness is mightiest, and that we shall best adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour when we go among men with the light caught in the inner sanctuary still irradiating our faces, and our hands full of blessings to bestow on our brethren. III. THE SOLDIER-PRIESTS ARE AS DEW UPON THE EARTH. There are two points in this last clause which may occupy us — that picture of the army as a band of youthful warriors; and that lovely emblem of the dew as applied to Christ's servants. As to the former — there are many other words of Scripture which carry the same thought, that he who has fellowship with God, and lives in the constant reception of the supernatural life and grace which come from Jesus Christ, possesses the secret of perpetual youth. If we live near Christ, and draw our life from Him, then we may blend the hopes of youth with the experience and memory of age; be at once calm and joyous, wise and strong, preserving the blessedness of each stage of life into that which follows, and thus at last possessing the sweetness and the good of all at once. We may not only bear fruit in old age, but have blossoms, fruit, and flowers — the varying product and adornment of every stage of life united in our characters. Then, with regard to the other point in this final clause — that emblem of the dew comes into view here, I suppose, mainly for the sake of its effect upon the earth. It is as a symbol of the refreshing which a weary world will receive from the conquests and presence of the King and His host, that they are likened to the glittering morning dew. We are meant to gladden, to adorn, to refresh this parched, prosaic world, with a freshness brought from the chambers of the sunrise. ( A. Maclaren, D. D. ) A willing people and an immutable Leader I. A PROMISE MADE TO CHRIST'S PEOPLE. Here is a promise of time: "in the day of Thy power." Here is a promise of people: "Thy people." Here is a promise of disposition: "Thy people shall be willing." Here is a promise of character: "Thy people shall be willing in the beauties of holiness." And here is a majestic figure to show the manner in which they shall be brought forth. By a very bold metaphor, they are said to come out as mysteriously as the dew-drops from the womb of the morning. We know not how, but they are produced by God. Philosophy has laboured to discover the origin of dew, and perhaps has guessed it; but to the Eastern, one of the greatest riddles was, out of whose womb came the dew? Who is the mother of those pearly drops? Now, so will God's people come mysteriously. It will be said by the bystander, "There was nothing in that man's preaching; I thought I should hear an orator; this man has been made the means of salvation to thousands, and I thought I should hear an eloquent man, but I have heard a great many preachers far more intelligent and intellectual than he; how were these souls converted?" Why, they have come from the womb of the morning, mysterously. Again, the dew-drops — who made them? God speaks; He whispers in the ears of nature, and it weeps for joy at the glad news that the morning is coming. That is how God's people shall be saved; they come forth from the "womb of the morning" divinely called, divinely brought, divinely blessed, divinely numbered, divinely scattered over the entire surface of the globe, divinely refreshing to the world, they proceed from the "womb of the morning." II. A PROMISE MADE TO CHRIST. "Thou hast the dew of Thy youth." Ah! believer, this is the great source of Gospel success, that Christ has the dew of His youth. Jesus Christ, personally, has the dew of His youth. Certain leaders in their young days have led their troops to battle, and by the loudness of their voice, and the strength of their bodies, they have inspired their men with courage; but the old warrior hath his hair sown with grey; he begins to be decrepit, and no longer can lead men to battle. It is not so with Jesus Christ. He has still the dew of His youth. The same Christ who led His troops to battle in His early youth leads them now. The arm which smote the sinner with His Word smites now; it is as unpalsied as it was before. The eye which looked upon His friends with gladness, and upon his foemen with a glance most stern and high — that same eye is regarding us now, undimmed, like that of Moses. He has the dew of His youth. So also doctrinally, Christ hath the dew of His youth. Usually, when a religion starts it is very rampant, but it afterwards decays. Look at the religion of Mahommed. For one hundred years or more it threatened to subvert kingdoms, and overturn the whole world, but where are the blades that flashed then? Where are now the willing hands that smote down the foes of Mahommed? Why, his religion has become an old worn-out thing; no one cares about it; and the Turk, sitting on his divan, with his legs crossed, smoking his pipe, is the best image of the Mahommedan religion — old, infirm, effete. But the Christian religion, — ah, it is as fresh as when it shafted from its cradle at Jerusalem; it is as hale, and hearty, and mighty, as when Paul preached it at Athens, or Peter at Jerusalem. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Christ's people, a willing people T. Boston, D.D. There is here — 1. Something supposed. Namely, that Christ hath a people in the world where He erects His standard, that He hath a special relation to, and interest in. "Thy people," even His people ( Matthew 1:21 ). He hath bought them with His blood ( John 10:15 ). It is supposed also, that He finds these unwilling to submit to Him, as well as the rest of the world. The corruption of the will is common to them with others. 2. Something ensured to the Mediator, respecting this people of His; namely, that these unwilling people shall be willing, Hebrew, "willingnesses"; which imports that they shall submit to Him, and give away themselves to Him; acknowledge the right which Christ hath to them, and be His people by their own consent ( Isaiah 49:18 , and Isaiah 55:5). 3. The time when, and the way how this shall be done. "In the day of Thy power." That is, in a day of the Gospel's coming with power. "For the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation." I. THAT CORRUPTION OF THE WILL, WITH WHICH CHRIST FINDS HIS PEOPLE, AS WELL AS OTHERS, POSSESSED. 1. There is a weakness in their will; they cannot will what is spiritually good and acceptable to God. 2. An aversion to good. 3. A proneness to evil, a woful bent of the will carrying it to sin. 4. A contrariety in the will, to the will of God. 5. Contumacy: the will is wilful or obstinate in evil. II. THE WILLINGNESS OF THE SOUL SUBMITTING TO CHRIST. What makes the change? They are made, they do not make themselves willing. The Lord changes their wills, takes away the evil qualities of their will, and gives new qualities. 1. They are willing to part with sin. 2. They are willing to go out of themselves; to cast off all confidence in their attainments and duties; to come to Christ empty, with nothing in them or on them to recommend them to Him but misery. 3. They are willing to take Christ as their Saviour, and to submit to His righteousness. 4. They are willing to take on the yoke of Christ's commandments. 5. Willing to bear Christ's Cross, to cleave to Him and His ways, and to follow Him through fire and water. 6. Willing to go away with Christ, for altogether, home to His Father's house. III. THE DAY OF POWER. 1. Though the Gospel may be long preached unto a people, yet there are some special seasons that may be looked on as days of power. Days when the Gospel is new to a people, days of persecution, days when there is a spirit of prayer poured out, and times of sealing ordinances, these are more likely than others to be days of power. 2. There is an appointed time for the inbringing of all the elect of God, and that is the particular day of power to them. 3. A dark night usually goes before this day of power. 4. Whenever this day of power comes, the soul is made willing, the fort of the heart is taken, and the King of glory enters in state, turns out the old inhabitants, and puts in new. ( T. Boston, D.D. ) The necessity and claims of the missionary enterprise D. Young. I. THE NATURE OF THE WORK ITSELF. The Gospel is just a voice from heaven calling on the Church to evangelize the world. II. THE NECESSITY OF THIS WORK. Ill. THE PROSPECTS OF THIS WORK. IV. THE RELATION IN WHICH CHRISTIANS STAND TO THIS WORK. ( D. Young. ) The willingness of God's people J. Jones. I. GOD HAS A PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, AND THERE NEVER WAS A PERIOD WHEN HE HAD NOT. II. THERE IS A DAY OF HIS POWER THAT SHALL PASS ON THEM FOR THEIR REGENERATION AND CONVERSION. 1. It is a day, not a natural day of twenty-four hours, that is interrupted by night, but I conceive it means three things — (1) A period destined for the conversion of His people, (2) A period perfectly clear to God, (3) A period limited to time. 2. It is the day of His power. To the perishing sinner the Gospel comes, "not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance." It is an arresting power; it meets the sinner, and stays his mad career, as in the case of Saul of Tarsus. It is a convincing power; it teaches the sinner that he is ruined in every respect, and leads him to cry out, "What shall I do to be saved?" It is a life-giving power; it quickens dead souls, and will eventually bring the dead bodies from their graves. III. THE RESULT; that they shall be brought to Him, made willing to part with all things, and to be His voluntary subjects and followers in the world. The power of God does not do away with the liberty of the will, nor does the liberty of the will render unnecessary the exercise of the power of God. ( J. Jones. ) The law of least resistance H. Macmillan, D.D. I. THE DAY OF CHRIST'S POWER. The day of our Lord's power was the day when, like Samson, He burst the green withes of death, and carried the gates of the grave up the hill of God. The day of His power was proclaimed to all the world when He ascended up on high and sat down at the right hand of God; and the day of Pentecost witnessed, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the assembled thousands, that, the work of Christ was finished and accepted, and had achieved all the mighty results for which it was undertaken. Ever since then, the day of Christ's power has continued. All power on earth and in heaven has been given to Him for the purpose of carrying on His mediatorial work. II. THE WILLINGNESS OF THE PEOPLE IN THE DAY OF THE LORD'S POWER. What a world of meaning is there in that word "willing"! It denotes the condition of one who offers

110:1-7 Christ's kingdom. - Glorious things are here spoken of Christ. Not only he should be superior to all the kings of the earth, but he then existed in glory as the eternal Son of God. Sitting is a resting posture: after services and sufferings, to give law, to give judgment. It is a remaining posture: he sits like a king for ever. All his enemies are now in a chain, but not yet made his footstool. And his kingdom, being set up, shall be kept up in the world, in despite of all the powers of darkness. Christ's people are a willing people. The power of the Spirit, going with the power of the world, to the people of Christs, is effectual to make them willing. They shall attend him in the beautiful attire of holiness; which becomes his house for ever. And he shall have many devoted to him. The dew of our youth, even in the morning of our days, ought to be consecrated to our Lord Jesus. Christ shall not only be a King, but a Priest. He is God's Minister to us, and our Advocate with the Father, and so is the Mediator between God and man. He is a Priest of the order of Melchizedek, which was before that of Aaron, and on many accounts superior to it, and a more lively representation of Christ's priesthood. Christ's sitting at the right hand of God, speaks as much terror to his enemies as happiness to his people. The effect of this victory shall be the utter ruin of his enemies. We have here the Redeemer saving his friends, and comforting them. He shall be humbled; he shall drink of the brook in the way. The wrath of God, running in the curse of the law, may be considered as the brook in the way of his undertaking. Christ drank of the waters of affliction in his way to the throne of glory. But he shall be exalted. What then are we? Has the gospel of Christ been to us the power of God unto salvation? Has his kingdom been set up in our hearts? Are we his willing subjects? Once we knew not our need of his salvation, and we were not willing that he should reign over us. Are we willing to give up every sin, to turn from a wicked, insnaring world, and rely only on his merits and mercy, to have him for our Prophet, Priest, and King? and do we desire to be holy? To those who are thus changed, the Saviour's sacrifice, intercession, and blessing belong.