It's a great morning. As was mentioned, my name is Dave Daugherty and I've been serving at NBI for the last 31 years. Every morning it's my privilege to stand in the classrooms and share with the students the equivalent of either six or eight half hour sermons. So beware.
I also recently heard of two men who were good friends. One was a preacher and the other one was a taxi driver. They were good friends. They both had reputations however.
The preacher was known for being a little bit long and a little bit on the boring side. Don't tell anyone but that's true. Taxi driver had a very heavy foot. In process of time both men died and the taxi driver went to heaven and he was brought to his mansion, beautiful place, marble columns, groomed, long, beautifully situated and he was very pleased.
In due time the preacher passed away. He was brought to heaven and he was being escorted to his place and as he was being brought to his place it was pointed out this is where your friend the taxi driver is now situated. He thought wow what a beautiful place. I wonder what kind of place I'll get.
I was escorted to a little shack in the valley. Broken windows, tar paper, no lawn, no grooming. He said why? I've spent all my life preaching and taxi driver just drove a taxi and looked at the difference in our reward.
The angel that brought him there said well when you went to work people slept. When he went to work they prayed. I'm sure that life wouldn't be normal if you didn't know that but I would like you to turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 110. Over the past week I've been having my morning and sometimes evening devotions from this and related portions of scripture and so I thought I'd like to share that with you this morning.
Psalm 110 and we'll just take a moment to read these seven verses. They are extremely profound. I realize and I'm sure you do that this is not the most common passage of scripture to be used on a Sunday morning service yet we'll never exhaust them back in 1642 one of my good friends Edward Reynolds 1642 picked up his pen to write a commentary on this portion of scripture these seven verses and it took him 491 pages before he came to the end. I've got 20 minutes so fast in your seat belts.
Verse one we read this the Lord said unto my Lord sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool the Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion rule thou in the midst of thine enemies thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth the Lord has sworn and will not repent thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek the Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath he shall judge among the heathen he shall fill the places with the dead bodies he shall wound the heads over many countries he shall drink of the brook in the way therefore shall he lift up the head let's take a moment and ask God to guide us as we look at his truth. Our Father we are mindful this morning not only of our own inability but our own unworthiness to handle the word of God. We thank you that you have given your spirit to live within us to grant us that understanding that personal illumination that we might make your truth our truth. May the Spirit of God glorify the Lord Jesus as we think about him in these next few moments.
May you direct our thoughts keep us from all that would be less than pleasing in your sight. As we take that posture this morning of sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus may our lives be transformed a little more into his likeness. May you be pleased with what takes place here this morning as you see something of the likeness of your son shaping in our lives. We pray for your blessing on your word in Jesus name.
Psalm 110 is generally considered to be one of the most significant of all the Messianic Psalms. It's a companion Psalm to Psalm 2. And so I'd like you to just turn back with me to that Psalm for a moment. Psalm 2 and we won't read all of it but we'll read the opening verses.
In Psalm 2 he asks the question. Now this is a very profound portion of scripture because it's really a recorded conversation between the three persons of the Trinity. In the first six verses we have God the Father speaking. In verses 7, 8, and 9 the Lord Jesus speaks, the pre-incarnate Christ.
And then in 10, 11, and 12 we have the Holy Spirit speaking. You may notice how he begins in verse 1. Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine or meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying, let us break their bands of thunder and cast away their cords from us.
He that siteth in the heaven shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. He goes on to complete the thought going down to verse 12 of Psalm 2. This is very significant because, now you may need to write this down, Psalm 2 follows Psalm 1.
I thought you wouldn't know that if I didn't tell you. But the fact is in Psalm 1 we have the humanity of Jesus. Here we see a book, a river, and a tree. And then in Psalm 2 he elaborates on the deity of Christ.
I mentioned that because that forms a background to what we have in Psalm 110. In Psalm 109 and verse 25 we have allusion to the humanity of Jesus. Notice what verse 25 says. I became also a reproach unto them.
When they looked upon me, they shake their heads as they viewed the Lord Jesus. But then as he comes to Psalm 110 he draws our attention to the deity of Christ. In Psalm 2 the question is asked, why do the heathen rage and the kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord and against his anointed? Why would anybody be against the one who is altogether lovely?
The one whose mouth is most sweet. The one who always does those things that please the Father in John 29. Why would anybody be against him? He is only the incorrigible, the unregenerate, all those who are hostile and strangers to the grace of God.
Now in our Psalm he picks up what was mentioned in Psalm 2 and he elaborates, he gives us an overview of God's program. We'll come to that perhaps as time may allow. Psalm 110 is so significant that it is referred to 27 times in the New Testament. 14 times there is a direct quote from Psalm 110.
In fact, verse one of our Psalm here is the most quoted verse of any in all of the New Testament. What an amazing statement. It's not because God repeats himself, but because of the tremendous importance, the significance of what is conveyed. He says, the Lord said unto my Lord, here we have two persons, the Father and the Son, speaking and in communion with one another.
This is a Psalm that if we had lots of time we could look at Mark chapter 12 and verse 26 and there Jesus described this Psalm as inspired. God breathed. That is enforced here in our text itself. You may notice the word said, the Lord said.
That's a Hebrew word that is used only here in all of the Psalms. And it's a word that is used, it's the Hebrew term neom. And the significance is that this is divine revelation. This is an oracle.
So we have it here in our text and we have Jesus authenticating that in Mark chapter 12. The Lord, notice how Lord is written with capital letters, a large L but then still capital, but smaller ORD following. That's a term that is used 6,819 times in the Old Testament. What an amazing statement.
That's the sacred name of God. When the scribes, the copious were making their copies of the scripture before they would write that name they would go and wash their hands. I think some of them must have had pretty sore hands. Washing 6,819 times.
I think their hands would be sore long before that time. But such was the attitude towards the sacredness of the name of God. Here we have one who is Jehovah or Yahweh and he's speaking an oracle and he says unto my Lord. He, notice how the second word Lord is written, capital L but small case ORD.
That's the Hebrew term don't I, out of 9. That's a term that is used of God. Now keep in mind when we read Mark chapter 12 and we see Jesus quoting from Psalm 110 and ascribing inspiration to it, he acknowledges that David spoke of his son as his superior. I suspect that as David was penning these words under the breathing of the Holy Spirit, he must have stopped and scratched his head and saved just a minute.
I don't understand. My son being my superior, that doesn't make sense. But it's true. David, looking down through the tunnel of time, could see his descendant, not his immediate son, but his immediate descendant in his line being the very Messiah himself.
That was understood and Jesus used that to present who he was as the Messiah to his critics in Mark chapter 12. There are so many things that come out of this portion of scripture. You may look at that little word my, the Lord said unto my Lord. How did David become possessive of the Messiah?
How is it that any of us can say, my Lord? Folks, the simple truth is this. No one can say that truthfully. Anyone can mouth the words, but no one can say that truthfully.
Apart from coming to that place where one recognizes I am a sinner. That yes, Isaiah 64, 6 is true of me. That all of my righteousness is just like filthy ranks. Yes, there is none righteous.
No, not one going back into Psalm 14 or Psalm 53. And looking at Isaiah's statement in chapter one of Isaiah where he says the whole head is sick. That's us. The only person who can say my Lord is one who is bow the knee, bow their heart to the Lord Jesus and trusted him as their own personal Savior.
Exercising faith, not in faith, not in a creed, not in a ritual, but in a person, the person of God the eternal Son who became incarnate and went to the cross as our personal sacrifice. Only David, only a believer, only those of us today who know the Lord Jesus can say my. My Lord. How important is that?
That is the difference between heaven and hell, between a lost eternity and an eternity in God's presence. So it's no wonder we come to this profound little verse where he says, the Lord said, by an oracle, divine revelation, unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand. Now there are four pictures of the Lord Jesus in this song. We may or may not get to all of them, but just for your information there are four pictures.
The first one is that we see Jesus resting. He's seated at the Father's right hand. On what basis? On the basis of completed work.
The posture of sitting in Scripture is emblematic of completed work. The work of providing salvation was finished. And so in his humanity he was raised up and he was seated at the Father's right hand. Let me ask you a question.
Where is God? God is everywhere present. Not only is he everywhere present, but all of God is always everywhere present. So we have all of God right here in this auditorium.
And all of God is simultaneously down in the fellowship room. That all of God is always everywhere present. He fills eternity. He inhabits eternity as we know from Isaiah 57, 15.
How then could you sit at the right hand? Where is the right hand of God? Where God is everywhere present? That is what is called from theology class.
This is anthropomorphic language. There's no test following, so just take it for what it's worth. That's descriptive language. That's a figure of speech.
And what it is symbolizing is acceptance. To be seated at the Father's right hand is to share in his rule. In this Psalm we have two commands. First of all, it is sit, thou.
And the second command is rain, thou. Rule, thou. Two commands. To sit and to rule.
What we find here is tremendous cooperation between the persons of the Godhead. There's no question, well I don't want to. It's not the right time. Who do you think you are telling me what to do?
There's none of that. There's that perfect harmony. And folks, that sets the pattern for us today as the people of God to be in total cooperation, total submission, one to the other. Now as he is seated at the Father's right hand, the Father makes the statement, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
So he's there right now, seated at the Father's right hand. But he's not there staring out the window. He's not there twirling his thumbs. He's not there on a rocking chair.
He's there making intercession for us. And we know that from Hebrew 725 that he ever lives to make intercession. And I often wonder, what is he praying about for any one of us, for tomorrow? For things that are just down the road in life that we can't see but he sees clearly.
Such is our need that he prays for us consistently, continually, compassionately. To realize that we as believers in Romans 8 and verses 26 and 27 have won the Holy Spirit within us who prays for us with groanings that are so intense that there are no words that express that depth. Our need is tremendous. So we have one now seated at the Father's right hand and he's going to be there until his enemies are made his footstool.
So this one who is Adonai has enemies. Does Jesus have enemies today? Yes. Is it not true that in Psalm 7 verse 11 that God is angry with the wicked every day?
Yes. But we also know from Romans 5 that God commended his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. I'm not sure that I can really adequately illustrate that. Those of us who are parents may be able to identify a little bit.
If that little one in your family accidentally or maybe on purpose through a toy or a brick through a window, I'm sure you wouldn't say as a parent, oh, that's nice. Here's another brick here. Try this again. I don't think that would be our reaction.
I think we may be inclined to apply the Board of Education to the seat of all understanding. At the same time, the parent loves the child but disciplines the child. He's not happy with what the child does. God is angry with the wicked every day and yet he loves the child, loves us, loves us to the point of producing Calvary and being our substitute.
So we see the person who speaks is God the Father. We see the position that is stated here, be seated at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. But I'd like you to notice also in verses 2 and 3 his rule, his reigning. What we have in verse 1 is his current ministry.
In verses 2 down through the end of this psalm is his coming ministry. What is he going to do? In verse 2 we have the office of the Messiah King, the King who is the Messiah. And he will rule in the midst of his enemies.
In the midst of his enemies. I'd like you to go with me just a little bit forward to the book of Zachariah. Zachariah chapter 14 and verses 3 and 9. In my opinion Zachariah is the most complex book in the entire Bible.
In chapter 14 and verse 3 we read this, then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. Then in verse 9, and the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day there shall be one Lord and his name one. What the psalmist wrote was picked up by Zachariah and elaborated on and made more complete.
What we find in that 14th chapter, that last chapter of Zachariah is a detailed explanation as the time of the great tribulation comes to a close. So we find the office of the King Messiah reigning and he's reigning with a rod, a staff, a staff for his own as a shepherd. And yet it's a rod of iron that breaks the potter's vessel that we could read if we kept on in Psalm 2. The same rod, the rod of iron that Revelation 19 describes as he will strike the nations and bring them ultimately to repentance.
So there's his office as his ruler. And in verse 3, in the first part of verse 3 we see the obedience that will be under the Messiah King. The people will go to Jerusalem annually. We know that from the book of Zachariah chapter 14 and verse 16 every year to keep the feast of tabernacles.
It is there that God will joy over his people. We read in Zephaniah chapter 3 and verse 17, which by the way is the only verse in the scriptures where God sings. And he sings for joy over his people of what has been done in their lives of bringing them from death to life, bringing them from time and into eternity, that they might share his life, his saving grace and great power. He will joy over his people.
I suspect humanly speaking God must grieve sometimes over the things that he sees in our lives. And yet in that day he will joy with singing over his own. It's a tremendous thing to realize that God is that interested in every individual believer's life, to bring us ultimately into his presence. Then we also see the order of the Messiah King's reign.
So there's his office and then the obedience unto that reign and thou the order that believers will serve and serve in the beauties of holiness, not with all the blemishes of imperfections. The scars and bumps and bruises physically, emotionally, that life and time and experience bring. But there in the beauties plural of holiness, where everyone is not coasting on great things that happened years and years ago, but where there's that due of freshness, that from the womb of the morning, that current, vibrant, life-giving, powerful radiance. Well, there's his position of resting and ruling.
Then in verse four, restoring. Notice what verse four says, the Lord has sworn. Now what the Hebrew text says is the Lord, and what he does is seven times. This is a unique expression.
It is he is repeating an oath seven times. There is a finality, a completeness. The Lord has sworn literally what he's saying is to seven oneself. He repeats this oath seven times and will not repent.
So there's no flexibility. God is not saying, well, this is step one, and it'll be followed by steps two and three and so on. This is finality. Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
So we have a king, priest. That was not possible in the Old Testament, under the Aaronic system, under Moses. It was not possible. You may remember going into second chronicles when King Uzziah got a little too big for his boots, and as king he decided he would go in the temple and participate, and he was driven out, and God judged him, and he became a leper until the day that he died.
Why? Because he assumed an inappropriate office. He was king, yes, but he was not a priest. To combine the king and priest was something that was beyond the Hebrew people themselves.
It was true only in the Old Testament of Melchizedek. In fact, that man was mentioned only twice in the Old Testament. He's talked about nine times in the book of Hebrews, but only twice in the Old Testament. He was king of righteousness and king of peace.
Just go back with me for a moment, just bear with me. So the book of Zechariah, chapter six, once again. Zechariah, chapter six, and there are just two verses here, verses 12 and 13. And here it's speaking of the Lord Jesus as our king priest, after the order of Melchizedek.
In verse 12 it says, and speak unto him, saying, thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, Jehovah of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch, and he shall grow up out of his place, and shall build the temple of the Lord, even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit. Psalm 110 verse 1, he shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest, upon his throne, and the council of peace shall be between them both. Or Jesus holds that unique, non-transferable priesthood. He's our great high priest, and he's interested in us, profoundly interested in ultimately one day bringing us into his presence.
Now if we had lots and lots of time, we could look at the pictures of Christ in the Aaronic order, and we could look a little more at the Melchizedek order. But I'd like you to notice in verses 5, 6, and 7 the fourth feature of Jesus. He's sitting, he's resting, or reclining, and he's ruling, and then he's restoring, as he comes back, as we know from Revelation 19, and then in verses 5, 6, and 7, he is reproving. He will render justice.
Notice what verse 5 says, and the Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. The day of the wrath of God takes in, basically, from Revelation 4, all the way through to chapter 19. It is as if the thermostat is being turned up gradually, little by little, as those chapters begin to unfold, and they culminate in chapter 19 when Jesus returns. And he destroys the massive multinational force that will eventually come against Israel, come against Jerusalem, and then, as our text says, it will stop the noses, the stench of decaying bodies will stop the noses of bypassers.
He will come with that rod of iron, and as Psalm 2 says, with that rod will break the potter's vessel. Just break it into little slivers. He will be reproving and rendering justice. He will remove many national leaders.
I think it would be good for national leaders, and I say this kindly and respectfully to realize that each one is accountable to the God of heaven. And one day he will remove men from positions of political authority, military authority, economic authority, and assume that himself. That is our Savior, the one who went to the cross, who died in weakness in humility and humiliation, will one day take that position, and he will reveal something more of his humanity. Notice what our text says in verse 7.
He shall drink of the brook in the way. To think of the Lord of glory, stooping at the brook side, reaching down, picking up a drink of water. He will lift up the head, things of discouragement, depression, despair, all of the dangers that people face. He says, therefore shall he lift up the head, people will rejoice under his womb.
And folks, I say this kindly, I trust this is your Savior, your Savior, the one who lives and reigns within you, your Savior because you put your trust in him that's bound together in closing prayer. Our Father, we are grateful this morning that we have one who loves us in spite of what he knows about us, in spite of all of our shortcomings and failures, one who desires our presence for the ages of eternity. Thank you for the privilege to be a part of the family of God, and to come together and to feed our hearts and souls on the Red of Life, and to look at the Lord Jesus as presented in Psalm 110. We pray that you will help us to own this psalm, that we might say by word and by attitude and action, my Lord, and may the world about us recognize that today we have been in the presence of the living God, but we pray in his name.